Chapter 379: Eighty-Era Gourmet System (17)

"Clang—"

Master Lou slammed the vegetable basin in his hands down: "Take it or leave it! Who is begging you to eat?"

"..."

"Yo! So Master Lou is back? No wonder..."

No wonder what?

No wonder the Canteen food has returned to its former level of being inedible?

Master Lou's complexion looked even worse.

Someone else was asking: "Which window did the new master get transferred to?"

Someone muttered in a low voice: "Could it be the Er Shitang?"

"Then shall we go take a look at the Er Shitang tomorrow?"

"Why wait until tomorrow? I'm going right now. It's not like I haven't eaten the white-sliced pork liver and stinky fatty intestines before; they're both expensive and taste terrible."

"Being terrible is one thing, but that attitude! Does he think it's still the old days? Hmph!"

"Let's go, let's go! Let's go together!"

Whoosh—

The crowd of employees jostling in front of the Yi Chuangkou suddenly cleared out by more than half.

Almost all who left were young people.

Some were technical workers assigned to the factory after graduating from technical secondary school; some were second- or third-generation factory workers who hadn't been in the factory long; and others were drivers from the Transportation Department.

In this day and age, those who could become drivers basically all had some connections.

These young employees didn't care how many years Master Lou had worked in the Canteen; if they didn't buy his act, they didn't buy it.

Once they left, the Da Shitang returned to its usual desolation.

Master Fan at the Er Chuangkou swept away the gloom of the past week, puffing on a cigarette and cackling:

"Oh my! How come everyone left? Lou, it seems you shouldn't have taken that week of leave! Hahaha!"

"..."

Master Lou had only been angry before, but now he was truly resentful.

So, he ripped the sweat-wiping towel off his shoulder and went to Director Lao's office to lodge a complaint.

"Director, is there no longer a place for me, Lou Sanqiang, at the Yi Chuangkou? If you want to transfer me, just say so; there's no need to toy with me like this."

Director Lao didn't yet know what had happened in the Da Shitang; he had just received a call from the Factory Director notifying him of a meeting in the afternoon.

"Lao Lou, put your matter aside for now. We'll talk after I finish the meeting and return. It's possible our Canteen is about to undergo a major change."

"..."

Outside the kitchen door, Xiao Rong took the melon seeds Xie Yang handed to him, and while cracking them, shared the gossip he had heard:

"... Our factory has been designated by the higher-ups as a 'Reform Pioneer Factory'. According to my dad and the others' analysis, every department must break away from the old mechanisms and carry out deepening reforms. Our Canteen might also see some changes. Sister Xie, what is your take on this?"

What kind of take could Xie Yang have?

She hadn't intended to work here for long anyway.

But after the reform, would the Temporary Worker positions no longer be tradable?

That would be a bit of a loss.

After all, it was bought with Zhang Pozi's coffin money back then.

She hadn't even broken even yet.

"I, for one, am hoping for a real reform," Xiao Rong said with a look of longing. "It would be best to learn from the Light Textile Factory and have the Canteen implement competitive hiring, letting the head chefs compete in public and having the employees vote openly. That way, the masters selected would truly be skilled. But don't worry, Sister Xie, even if our Canteen implements competitive hiring, you will definitely be able to become a Formal Worker."

Xie Yang: "..."

She had no interest in becoming a Formal Worker.

She only wanted to experience what it was like to "fly on the wind."

In the afternoon, after Director Lao returned from the meeting, he gathered the employees from the various canteens together to hold a Canteen staff meeting.

The main point of the meeting was very clear: the factory-run Canteen was going to be reformed!

"In recent years, the problems existing within our Canteen have become increasingly prominent. In order to revitalize the Canteen's internal vitality and improve the food welfare of the factory employees, the factory leadership, after discussion and deliberation, has decided to retain the Er Shitang as an employee welfare canteen, while the Da Shitang and the Third Canteen will be converted into private Snack Bars."

"!!!"

The attendees were quite shocked.

As soon as Director Lao finished speaking, everyone began whispering to each other:

"What? The Canteen is going to be contracted out from now on?"

"Didn't you hear the Director? It's not all the canteens, only the Da Shitang and the Third Canteen are being reformed."

"Private canteens are responsible for their own profits and losses; that sounds unstable. What will happen to us employees? Can we transfer to the Er Shitang?"

"What are you worried about! We are veteran employees of the factory; they can't just fire us!"

"Exactly, they have to arrange positions for us."

Director Lao listened to the hubbub below the stage, took a sip of water to moisten his throat, and then tapped the table:

"Quiet! I haven't finished yet! After the Da Shitang and the Third Canteen are restructured, you are all welcome to contract the windows to open Snack Bars. The operating income will belong to the contractor, but the water, electricity, and fuel costs will be borne by you yourselves from now on. Additionally, the contractor must pay 30 yuan to the factory every month."

"What! We have to pay the factory money too?"

The Canteen employees below the stage couldn't sit still anymore.

"Director, what kind of logic is this! When the countryside implemented the household contract responsibility system for farmland, they didn't make the households pay. Why is our Canteen doing it this way?"

Director Lao glanced at the employee who spoke: "There was nothing in the fields, but in our Canteen, the tables, chairs, benches, pots, bowls, and ladles are all complete. You can start cooking and doing business as soon as you contract it. Can these be the same?"

"..."

"Alright, sit down quietly and listen to me finish." Director Lao continued to read the meeting content, "Employees who do not wish to contract need not worry; the factory will arrange other positions, but you will not be able to choose the nature of the positions, and your wages and benefits will be issued according to the new positions."

The crowd below the stage stirred once again.

Most of the workers expressed their opposition.

The Canteen was the most lucrative department outside of the Logistics Department!

Even for a Temporary Worker, although the pay wasn't high, all three meals were provided, and the Master Chef would take the initiative to distribute any leftover food from the day, which could add quite a few dishes to their families' tables.

The work intensity wasn't high either, and the afternoon start time was an hour later than other departments, which was enough for workers with families to go home at noon to wash clothes or air out quilts.

Many of the Formal Workers among them had spent quite a bit of money and pulled strings to get into the Canteen in the first place.

If the Canteen was restructured just like that, and they weren't even allowed to choose their positions, wouldn't that mean all the money and favors they had spent were washed down the drain?

"Director, the factory's decision is unfair to us."

"Exactly! It doesn't matter for the Temporary Workers, but for us Formal Workers, you have to at least settle us properly, right?"

"Who would contract it if they have to pay money? If they didn't have to pay, I might consider it."

"That's right! Da Shitang loses money every day; contracting it is equivalent to filling this bottomless pit for the factory management."

"I choose to transfer! If I transfer, I'm still a factory worker with a stable income. Contracting it means not only getting no salary, but having to pay the factory money in return; the difference between the two is over a hundred yuan."

"I also choose to transfer, but I don't agree with being placed arbitrarily!"

"The salary and benefits must at least be the same as they were in the Canteen."

The Canteen workers were noisy and clamorous, and in the end, they swarmed to the Factory Director's office, demanding an explanation from the factory leadership.

However, this was a reform plan formulated by the factory leadership after many meetings, and it was absolutely impossible to change it just because of a few words from the Canteen workers.

The Factory Director criticized them with a stern face and issued disciplinary actions to the few workers who led the disturbance, which finally made everyone calm down.

"Instead of causing trouble, you might as well seriously consider whether to contract the Canteen or accept a transfer. Of course, if you choose neither, you can also choose to resign. On behalf of the factory management, I respect everyone's choice."

"..."