Chapter 371: Eighty-Flavor Food System (9)

At 12:30, the Canteen closed.

Xie Yang hugged four lunchboxes and carried a mesh bag of peaches that Xiao Rong had stuffed into her hands, heading home.

Of the four lunchboxes, two were the ones she had brought, containing porridge, steamed buns, and three point two taels of rice.

The other two were borrowed from the Canteen, containing a portion of Stir-fried Pork Liver with Chili and dry-pot pork intestines she had cooked herself, plus a side of cabbage and tofu stir-fried by Xiao Rong.

Two meat dishes and one vegetable dish, one thin and two dry staples—enough for the three of them to eat.

The peaches were grown by the Nongchang itself; every year during this season, they would have delivery drivers bring some for the Canteen procurement staff and Master Chefs of various units.

After all, what ingredients the Canteen purchased was mainly decided by the Master Chefs, while the procurement staff had the authority to choose which Nongchang or breeding farm to buy from.

But wasn't Master Lou away today? The bag of peaches allocated to the Master Chef of Yi Chuangkou was decided upon and distributed by the "third-generation factory worker" Xiao Rong.

Xiao Rong's grandparents, parents, and uncles were all employees of the Gad Steel Factory.

In this day and age, mentioning a dual-income family was enviable enough, let alone a nine-income family.

Especially since his grandfather also served as the vice-chairman of the Union; although he would reach retirement age in the second half of the year, given the network the Rong family had built by rooting themselves in the Gad Steel Factory for so many years, even the parachuted-in Factory Director had to be polite when meeting their family.

Don't look at Xiao Rong as just a Canteen kitchen helper right now; who with a discerning eye didn't know this was only temporary?

Once there was a vacancy in an office or technical position, Xiao Rong would be transferred over.

So even if Master Lou found out—that he had taken it upon himself to distribute the peaches "offered" by the Nongchang—he would at most curse a few times in his heart.

Besides, Xiao Rong hadn't done it completely ruthlessly.

It was true he had distributed the peaches, but he divided them into one large and three small portions, and the large portion was still reserved for Master Lou.

Xie Yang received one of the smaller portions; actually, it wasn't small at all, there were six of them.

But Xiao Rong had also given his own share to Xie Yang, saying that if it weren't for her today, the lunch service wouldn't have gone so smoothly.

Thus, six peaches became twelve, filling the mesh bag until it was heavy.

Xie Yang couldn't help but sigh: Look! A junior from a nine-income family really is different! Only sixteen or seventeen years old, and their grasp of human relationships and worldly wisdom already surpassed many of the older generation.

"Yo, isn't this A Li's wife? Didn't see you all morning, where did you go? Why did you bring back a stack of lunchboxes?"

"Went to take over her mother-in-law's shift, right? Isn't that so, Dani?"

Xie Yang nodded, which served as an answer to the few women washing bowls and pots in the Courtyard.

Before she had even gone upstairs, she heard whispering behind her:

"Did she really take over Zhang Pozi's shift? Has she decided not to leave? Is she staying to raise the Shuisheng brothers?"

"Hard to say. Maybe she only wants the job, not the kids."

"That would be too shameless!"

"And there's A Li's job too; she isn't planning to sell it, is she?"

"A Li's job is a technical position; could it sell for over a thousand yuan?"

"It's really too good for her!"

"..."

Xie Yang only blamed herself for having too good of a hearing.

She had no chance to block out the bad things these people said behind her back; she heard them clearly.

Bah!

Move!

Must move!

It wasn't that she was afraid of her own ears being polluted, but she was worried about the two little ones being brainwashed.

They were still innocent children like blank sheets of paper; hearing the gossip of these long-tongued women in such an environment would inevitably interfere with their correct judgment and thus affect their values.

She had to learn from Mencius's mother and move!

She would go look at houses in a while!

"Dani, off work? How does it feel to take over the shift on the first day?"

Seeing Xie Yang come to pick up the Shuisheng brothers, Liu Shen asked with concern.

"It's alright." Xie Yang said while opening the mesh bag, taking out four peaches and handing them to Liu Shen, "For Daniu to eat."

"Hey, you're too polite! Peaches just hit the market, they're fresh goods, not cheap, right? Take them back for the Shuisheng brothers to eat."

"There are still plenty left!"

Xie Yang didn't say they were issued by the Canteen, fearing it would bring unnecessary trouble to Xiao Rong. After all, the Temporary Workers in other canteens didn't get peaches.

Hearing her say this, Liu Shen exchanged a few polite words and accepted them, saying happily:

"Shuisheng wouldn't eat at our place, and Musheng only drank a few mouthfuls of porridge; you should take them back to eat quickly. You're working this afternoon, so send the brothers over again then."

"Alright, thank you, Liu Shen."

Xie Yang took the brothers and returned home.

"Hungry?"

Xie Yang scooped a ladle of water into a basin, washed the children's hands, and told them to hurry to the table to eat.

"Wow!"

As soon as the lunchbox was opened, Shuisheng cheered.

Today's dishes looked so delicious!

"If it's delicious, eat more. These two dishes were made by me."

Xie Yang served rice for the two children and ladled a few spoonfuls of pork liver, telling them to mix it with the rice.

The pork intestines were slightly spicier than the pork liver; Shuisheng could eat them, but Musheng couldn't. After tasting one, he stuck out his little tongue and went "hiss-ha, hiss-ha," asking for water.

Finally, he drank a few mouthfuls of the porridge from Xie Yang's bowl and then eagerly wanted to try the pork intestines again, probably thinking the intestines were bouncy like fatty meat.

"Mom, the food you brought back is so delicious! Better than what Grandma brought!"

Shuisheng evaluated the food as he ate.

The Gourmet System in his mind issued a random Task at the opportune moment:

【Ding! Please, Host, collect the preparation methods for these two delicacies. Completion will reward the Host with five jin of soybean oil and three jin of pork belly.】

Shuisheng's eyes suddenly lit up.

With his dark, moist Amber eyes, he looked at Xie Yang with a sparkle, and in a breathy voice inaudible to Musheng—who was focused on shoveling down his rice mixed with pork liver—he whispered excitedly, "Mom, there's meat."

Not rice, not eggs, but meat! Three jin of beautiful pork belly!

After hearing his description, Xie Yang: "..."

She was actually starting to crave meat herself!

Mingjiang City had not yet abolished the Meat Coupon policy; buying meat still required coupons.

The few Meat Coupons the family had were all spent on the funeral arrangements for the Zhang mother and son.

To eat meat, one either had to wait for the Canteen to distribute benefits at the end of the year, or wait for Mingjiang City to abolish the Meat Coupons.

But even if there were meat in the Canteen benefits, it was unlikely to fall to a Temporary Worker like her.

And as for when Mingjiang City would abolish the Meat Coupons, that was even more uncertain.

Xie Yang cleared her throat and told Shuisheng the recipes for Stir-fried Pork Liver with Chili and dry-pot fatty intestines as if telling a story.

Shuisheng closed his eyes, conjuring in his mind the image of his stepmother tossing the wok and stir-frying quickly.

【Ding! Congratulations to the Host for completing this random Task. The reward has been issued; please check it.】

Shuisheng was overjoyed and just about to designate a place to store the oil and meat when he was stopped by Xie Yang:

"Don't rush, we are moving first."

How could one eat meat in a Tube Building?

"Moving?"

Shuisheng wore a bewildered expression.

He had lived in this Tube Building since he was born and did not understand that a home could be moved.

"Yes, after eating, you take Musheng to nap at home. When you wake up from your nap, take your brother to Liu Shen's house and don't run around. Mom is going to find a house, a house with a courtyard, and then I'll hang a swing in the yard for you two to play on."

Shuisheng had seen a swing at City Heart Park, but he had never played on one.

Because every time he went, the swing was always occupied by some older children, and no matter how long he waited, it was never his turn.

Now, his stepmother told him: their own home would have a swing just for him and Musheng to play on.

Really?

Shuisheng was so happy.

After finishing lunch, he led his brother to bed for a nap, his mind still filled with images of himself sitting on a swing set, soaring into the wind...