For gay men, such gossip won't cause much harm, but for gay women, it's a devastating blow.
Being pointed at and gossiped about at work, even though it's not a big deal, can be incredibly stressful.
Every time I went to demand an explanation, all I got in the end was a perfunctory "sorry" and that was it.
Many of the people present had experienced similar things to some extent, from small things like the clothes they wore to big things like whether they had a son or a daughter; people would always bring these things up.
Xia Lan shook her head as she looked at Zhao Li's incomprehensible anger.
"Forget it, you have no idea where you went wrong. It's a waste of time to talk to you. Just be careful."
"Let's go, Xiaoling, it's time to open for business." Xia Lan pulled Xiaoling along.
"Go back to your posts! It's time to open the shop." Minister Yang clapped his hands, signaling the two people opening the shop to open the door.
Everyone returned to their counters, ignoring Zhao Li.
Zhao Li returned to her counter with a dark expression. Upon seeing the candies that Xia Lan had separated earlier, she angrily threw them all together.
Xiaoling led Xialan to the deli counter at the corner.
An older woman was sitting leisurely in the deli counter. When she saw Xiaoling coming over, she immediately stood up and gave Xiaoling a handful of peanuts.
"Xiaoling, what brings you to my deli counter today?"
"Sister Yang, this is Xia Lan. She'll be helping you out here from now on!" Xiao Ling said, pulling Xia Lan over to Sister Yang.
"Huh? Why are you giving me a female comrade?" Sister Yang was stunned. Looking at Xia Lan's thin arms and legs, and her delicate appearance, she really couldn't stand her.
"Let her try first! There aren't many empty counters left." Xiaoling patted Xia Lan, and Xia Lan stepped forward.
Hello, Sister Yang.
"You two go ahead with your work, I'll be going now." Xiaoling waved to Sister Yang and Xia Lan and then left.
"Comrade Xia Lan." Sister Yang looked at Xia Lan, somewhat embarrassed.
"Sister Yang, you can call me Xia!" Xia Lan said with a smile to Sister Yang. "I volunteered to work at the deli counter."
"Oh?" Sister Yang became interested. "Other women would love to stay far away from here, but you took the initiative to come?"
The deli counter is where you come into contact with cooked food every day, so you always end up covered in oil, which is why most women don't want to come here.
Xia Lan smiled. "I'm embarrassed to say it, but mine is delicious."
"Haha, what a coincidence, me too! I came here because I could occasionally eat a few bites of meat!" Sister Yang seemed to have found a kindred spirit and happily tried to pat Xia Lan, but quickly withdrew her hand just before she could.
"Ha, you can't take pictures, your hands are all oily."
Xia Lan smiled slightly, walked to the side, and put on her work clothes.
"That way you won't be afraid."
"You're such an interesting girl," Sister Yang said happily. "Come, come, sit down! Let me tell you about our deli counter."
"Don't worry! No one will come now!"
Xia Lan sat down next to Sister Yang, who then took a handful of peanuts from her pocket and gave them to Xia Lan.
Let's eat and chat!
Xia Lan peeled the peanut shell like Sister Yang, took a bite, and her eyes lit up.
"It smells so good."
"This is the skill of a state-run restaurant."
Sister Yang blinked and said smugly.
"Every day at 10:30 a.m., the state-run restaurants deliver the cooked food they've prepared to our stall, and we help sell it. We usually sell out by 11:30 a.m.," Sister Yang explained to Xia Lan.
Xia Lan took a piece of paper from the counter and looked at the price on it.
"This seems to be a bit more expensive than state-run restaurants?"
"People who can afford to eat at state-run restaurants wouldn't be short of a penny or two; they just want the convenience," Sister Yang explained.
"We don't sell much here, and the variety is limited. We only have five salted ducks and five roast ducks each. Once they're sold out, that's it."
"A whole one costs eight to ten yuan, and half a one costs four to five yuan! Those who want to buy will buy half a one. Some regular customers also want to buy half a piece, which costs about two yuan, to take home and try it out. Whether you want to buy half or not is up to you!"
Sister Yang taught Xia Lan earnestly, and Xia Lan listened attentively.
Having said what she needed to say, Sister Yang paused to take a sip of water.
"Our counter isn't anything special; it's really quiet when it's quiet, and it's really busy when it's busy," Sister Yang said with a smile.
"We've just opened, the delivery won't arrive until 10:30, so you should rest for a bit!"
Xia Lan smiled at Sister Yang, and seeing the oil stains all over the counter and empty plates scattered everywhere, Xia Lan simply picked up a rag and began to clean the counter.
When Sister Yang saw Xia Lan's actions, a look of surprise flashed in her eyes.
However, they didn't stop her, watching as Xia Lan cleaned the counter bit by bit.
"That's great." Seeing that Xia Lan had wiped the oil stains off the counter and that everything was neatly arranged, Sister Yang was very satisfied.
There have been newcomers before, but they all disliked the deli display case and the grease on it.
Xia Lan was the first one who didn't mind and even took the initiative to clean.
While chatting with Sister Yang, a man dressed as a chef appeared, and Sister Yang immediately pulled Xia Lan to her feet.
"Chef Hao, why did you deliver this personally today?" Sister Yang asked in surprise.
"I happened to be here to see Old Yang about something, so I brought it over myself," Hao Jian said with a smile, noticing Xia Lan next to Sister Yang. "Is this the new lady?"
"Yes, hello, Master Hao, my name is Xia Lan." Xia Lan stepped forward and greeted him generously.
"That's great, you two get back to work! I have other things to do." Hao Jian nodded with a smile, then handed the things to the two of them and turned to find Minister Yang.
"Take care, Chef Hao," Sister Yang said warmly.
"This is Chef Hao, from the state-run restaurant!" Sister Yang pointed and gave Xia Lan a thumbs up. "He cooks for the leaders; ordinary people can't afford his food."
"That's amazing." Xia Lan smiled and cooperated, while opening the box and taking out the cooked food inside.
Both salted duck and roast duck are served whole with hooks; they can be hooked onto the counter and wait for customers to choose them.
The roast duck was just delivered and is still warm.
After Sister Yang directed Xia Lan to arrange the items, she smiled at Xia Lan.
"Xia, get ready, the guests are about to arrive."
"good."
Xia Lan was also a little curious.
Before long, the first customer to buy cooked food arrived. He was an old man with snow-white hair, a slightly hunched back, and a cane in his hand. He walked over slowly.
Xia Lan raised her hand towards Sister Yang, looking bewildered, while Sister Yang clearly already knew what was going on.
"Alright, Uncle Zhang, your son is back today, right?" Sister Yang reached out and took a roast duck, cut it in half, and then cut the half that Uncle Zhang wanted into one-centimeter pieces, and wrapped them up for him.
Grandpa Zhang took out the tickets and money from his pocket and handed them to Xia Lan with trembling hands. Xia Lan quickly took them and gave him change.
Grandpa Zhang slowly turned around and walked out.
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