Font Size:
Su Yi had no choice but to answer truthfully, “Comrade Xie is out today and asked me to deliver lunch to Commander Zhou for him. It just happens that it’s on my way.”
Political Commissar Wang’s eyes flashed, “Oh! So that’s how it is!”
“Well, Commander Zhou is in for a treat today!”
Su Yi played innocent, “Commander Zhou only arranged special meals for Elder Mo. He himself eats the same as everyone else—just the standard cafeteria meals.”
After saying this, she quickly covered the food with the cloth again, not giving him a chance to peek.
Political Commissar Wang’s expression stiffened slightly. “By the way, Comrade Su, wasn’t it quite a coincidence last time in the cafeteria? We just happened to bring Elder Mo there and bumped into you. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have known what to serve him. You really are our lucky star.”
Su Yi blinked and pretended to be clueless. “Yes, it was quite the coincidence!”
“Political Commissar Wang, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go ahead and deliver this meal to Elder Mo before it gets cold.”
Commissar Wang nodded with a smile. “Sure, and next time, I’ll have to try more of your cooking. Last time was truly excellent.”
Su Yi smiled politely, “Now that I’m working in the cafeteria, there’ll be plenty of chances.”
With that, she quickly left to deliver Elder Mo’s meal. Only after that did she carry the basket to Zhou Jinchuan’s office.
“Commander Zhou, I brought you lunch on Xie Xiaojun’s behalf since I was passing by.”
Zhou Jinchuan nodded. “I heard everything just now when you were outside. Just leave it there.”
Su Yi nodded and, after placing the lunchbox properly, was about to leave.
Zhou Jinchuan noticed that one of the lunchboxes was different from the usual ones he used. It was clearly a homemade dish.
He asked, “What’s that?”
Su Yi helped open it and explained, “This is some braised pork I made at home. I brought a bit for you to try.”
Zhou Jinchuan walked over and sat down at his desk. He looked at the lunchbox filled with braised pork, the pieces glistening with a rich, red color and soaking in a flavorful gravy. Even before tasting it, he could tell it would be delicious.
But thinking about the ambiguous comments Political Commissar Wang made in the corridor, he cautioned, “From now on, just deliver meals to Elder Mo. If Xie Xiaojun isn’t around, I’ll go to the cafeteria myself.”
“There’s no need to prepare special dishes for me, to avoid misunderstandings. After all, you are now—”
Before he could finish, Su Yi’s temper flared up unexpectedly. She didn’t wait for him to complete his sentence. She snatched the box of braised pork back, even taking the piece he had just picked up with his chopsticks and putting it back into the box.
She slammed the lid on with a decisive click.
“Commander Zhou is right, I didn’t think it through. It won’t happen again!” Su Yi said, before swiftly putting the box of braised pork back into the basket and leaving.
If it hadn’t been for Xie Xiaojun asking her, she wouldn’t have bothered delivering lunch. After all, she had used her own money to buy the meat from the black market, only to have to deal with misunderstandings and displeasure from others.
She might as well keep everything for herself!
After Su Yi left, Zhou Jinchuan was momentarily stunned. Did the meat she had brought just get taken away before he could even taste it?
Looking at her angry departure, he couldn’t help but smile wryly.
He had merely been concerned about Commissar Wang creating trouble for her, and with so many people in the cafeteria, he worried about her being gossiped about. He hadn’t expected her to get so upset that she stormed off mid-sentence, taking even the piece of braised pork he had just picked up.
Zhou Jinchuan glanced at the remaining bit of sauce on his rice and couldn’t help but shake his head and smile.
This woman, her temper is really something!
—
Back in the kitchen, it was already past mealtime. Most people had gone off to rest.
Su Yi served herself a bowl of rice and prepared to savor the braised pork. Just as she started eating, Xu Xiaoqin and Zhang Tianhua came over to find her.
“Did you deliver the lunch to Elder Mo?”
“Oh my gosh, braised pork! I was wondering why it smelled so good!”
Su Yi handed them chopsticks. “Here, try the braised pork I made myself. How does it compare to what we have in the cafeteria?”
Xu Xiaoqin grabbed a piece without hesitation. “It’s delicious! Way better than the tough and old braised pork we have at the cafeteria. Did you bring this from home?”
Su Yi nodded. “Yes, I made extra this morning for the kids and brought some with me.”
The three of them, being around the same age and having similar backgrounds, quickly became friends.
Xu Xiaoqin’s warm and righteous personality made it easy for Su Yi to feel comfortable and less bored.
Although Zhang Tianhua was not very talkative, he was diligent and always eager to help with heavy lifting and other tasks. Seeing how envious the others were of the braised pork, she generously offered,
“I can’t finish it all by myself, so you two should help me out!”
Xu Xiaoqin grinned and said, “Well, I won’t be polite then!”
Just as the three were enjoying their meal, they were spotted by Chef Wang, who was on his rounds checking for violations.
“Where did this braised pork come from? Did you take it from the kitchen without permission?”
Xu Xiaoqin quickly stood up to explain, “It’s not like that. Comrade Su brought it from home.”
But Chef Wang was not interested in listening to their explanations. He had finally caught them in a violation and wasn’t about to let it go.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Chef Wang turned and called for Master Ma and the rest of the kitchen staff.
“Master Ma, I just caught these three sneaking around and eating braised pork. How do you suggest we handle this?”
Su Yi rolled her eyes in frustration. Did this man not see clearly?
Master Ma, noticing the situation, asked, “Su Yi, where did this braised pork come from?”
Su Yi put down her chopsticks and asked in return, “Chef Wang, did our cafeteria make braised pork today?”
Chef Wang snorted, “Of course. Otherwise, where would your braised pork come from?”
Su Yi replied coolly, “If the cafeteria made braised pork, was there any leftover? Why not bring it over and compare the flavors?”
Chef Wang gave her a scornful look. “The cafeteria’s braised pork is always in high demand. There wouldn’t be any leftovers. Stop trying to make excuses.”
Su Yi turned to Master Ma, “Master Ma has the best palate. He tastes all the dishes before they are served. If you let him taste it, he’ll be able to tell.”
Master Ma looked at the few pieces of braised pork left in the box and glanced at Chef Wang with a look of disbelief. “No need to taste it. This braised pork is definitely not from our cafeteria.”
“Chef Wang, look for yourself. Our cafeteria’s braised pork isn’t cut into such large chunks, and the color is different too.”
Chef Wang took a look and immediately felt guilty, lowering his head.
Then, he quickly raised it again and said, “Even if it’s not from our cafeteria, this pork was cooked using Elder Mo’s ingredients. That’s still a violation of the rules, akin to stealing!”
Su Yi, uninterested in arguing further, took out a slip of paper from the table and handed it to him.
“Every morning when I pick up ingredients from the storeroom, I write out a slip for the storeroom staff to sign. Check for yourself—I didn’t pick up any pork today. Elder Mo has been eating fish for the past two days!”