Lin Shuyue was hired in the morning and had to start work in the afternoon.

The person who took her to the dormitory was the sophisticated-looking woman who had led her into the office during her disguised visit yesterday. According to her self-introduction, her surname was Tian, and her name was Tian Li.

“This is your dormitory.” Tian Li led Lin Shuyue to a small dormitory at the corner of the first floor of the dormitory building, next to the stairwell. Next to the stairwell was a metal gate that had been pushed to the side.

The entire dormitory building had only one stairwell.

“There are a few things I need to tell you about working here. Look less, talk less, and do more. Take care of the things you’re supposed to, and pretend you didn’t see the things you’re not supposed to. We’ll pay your salary on time every month. But if you do things you shouldn’t, or meddle in things you shouldn’t, your salary will be docked.”

Lin Shuyue nodded repeatedly, saying in the local dialect, “I understand, I understand. I won’t meddle in anything, I won’t say anything. I have eighty-year-old in-laws to support, and two sons who are about to get married. My husband is also paralyzed at home. Boss, please don’t deduct my salary.”

Tian Li ignored Lin Shuyue’s pleas. After she put down her things, she took her to the cafeteria. “Your team leader works in the cafeteria. His name is Mei Daliang. You can call him Team Leader Mei. Your work will be under his supervision. Do whatever he tells you to do.”

Mei Daliang was in his early forties, with a bald head and a beer belly. To make matters worse, he was short, no more than 1.6 meters tall. When he walked, his big belly and big butt, coupled with his slightly splayed feet, made him waddle like a duck.

Tian Li didn’t smile. “Director Mei, I’ve brought the person to you. Her family is short on money, so she’s starting work this afternoon. You decide how to arrange her work. I have something to do, so I’ll be going.”

“Take care, Miss Tian.” When Director Mei spoke, his back bent slightly.

Only after Tian Li had clattered away in her high heels did he turn his head and spit. “Just a mistress, and she acts like the lady of the house. Shameless.”

After saying that, he looked at the plainly dressed middle-aged woman in front of him and said, “The cleaning for today hasn’t been done yet. Go and mop the floor of the teaching building.”

This was exactly what Lin Shuyue wanted. So, under Mei Daliang’s direction, she took a bucket with a little bit of detergent and started mopping the floor of the teaching building.

The school’s hygiene wasn’t bad, and cleaning was easy. Mopping the floor once made it very clean.

After mopping the floor, she used a rag to wipe the windowsills and other places where dust easily accumulated. Lin Shuyue carried the bucket and mop back to the cafeteria’s workroom.

After Lin Shuyue left, two instructors inspected all the places Lin Shuyue had worked, confirming that there were no high-tech devices, and returned to Xiao Changxin’s office.

“Principal, we’ve checked. There’s nothing unusual.”

Xiao Changxin nodded upon hearing this. Thinking of the silent, introverted rural woman who couldn’t speak Mandarin and could barely write her name during the interview this morning, he put down the newspaper in his hand and said, “Alright, there’s no need to keep an eye on her anymore. She probably can’t cause any trouble. Keep a close watch on those students, especially the rebellious one who just arrived the day before yesterday. Make sure to keep him under control.”

“The school is on the rise. We absolutely cannot have any incidents.”

“Yes, Principal.”

Xiao Changxin waved his hand at the instructor, and the instructor obediently retreated.

Lin Shuyue didn’t stay idle after finishing cleaning. Before she had even finished washing the mop, Mei Daliang came to call her. “Go and clean up the cafeteria first. The students will be coming to eat soon.”

The Internet addiction treatment school’s cafeteria wasn’t too big or too small. More than twenty tables with attached benches were arranged in three rows, all in Klein blue.

The floor was concrete. Mei Daliang pointed to the mop made of shredded cloth in the corner and said to Lin Shuyue, “That mop is specifically for cleaning the kitchen. Mop the floor first.”

During the interview in the morning, Xiao Changxin told her to talk less and do more. In the afternoon, Tian Li had reiterated this.

This suited Lin Shuyue perfectly, as she was afraid of exposing herself by talking too much. She silently went over, picked up the mop, and went into the kitchen to get water.

This behavior successfully created the impression in Mei Daliang’s mind that she was efficient and taciturn.

Mei Daliang’s position in the school wasn’t high. He was called the director of the logistics department, but that was just a title. He was in charge of this cafeteria, essentially a cook who made meals for the students.

Outside of this cafeteria, he had to report to Tian Li even if he wanted to take an extra pen.

The only “soldiers” under his command were the janitors who had to do a bit of everything at the school.

But this kind of janitorial work was hard, the pay was low, and salaries were often docked, so many people quit after working for ten or fifteen days.

If this school wasn’t run by his cousin, Mei Daliang himself wouldn’t want to work here.

It was unethical!

But what could he do? His salary was high. Just cooking and stir-frying casually, he earned 1,100 yuan a month. If he worked here for a year, by next March, he could build a big house at home. And when his son got married in a couple of years, he could find someone with much better conditions.

So, he kept his mouth shut whenever possible.

Mei Daliang opened the iron door on the side of the cafeteria and entered the kitchen. Lin Shuyue followed him inside.

The kitchen was small, less than twenty square meters. Against the wall was an electric rice cooker, and next to the rice cooker were two large woks. In the very center was a prep table, on which were two or three basins of chopped radishes, potatoes, and cabbage. There were two kinds of radishes. Lin Shuyue glanced at them and wondered.

As a foodie, Lin Shuyue really couldn’t imagine how these four vegetables could be combined.

At this time, Mei Daliang had already started cooking.

He poured a spoonful of oil into the large wok, coated the wok, and then scooped out half a spoonful of oil. He dumped both kinds of radishes into the wok, stir-fried them a few times, sprinkled in a handful of salt, and added a large basin of water.

His method for stir-frying the potatoes in the other wok was similar, except that the cabbage was added after the water.

Both woks of food were simmering. Mei Daliang was already sweating profusely. He walked over to the electric fan to cool off, wiping the sweat from his face with a towel. He said unceremoniously to Lin Shuyue, who was washing the mop, “You, the new one, I’ll teach you how to serve the students’ meals later. From now on, this will be your responsibility.”

Lin Shuyue nodded and set the mop aside.

Mei Daliang rolled his eyes and ignored her. He had always looked down on these janitors. When he felt sufficiently cooled by the fan, and the food in the woks was cooked, he scooped both dishes into large basins.

He then instructed Lin Shuyue to carry the two large basins of food to the serving window. After she had also brought the rice, he slowly walked over.

Stir-fried white radish with carrots was a dish Lin Shuyue had never seen before. Judging by its appearance, which lacked both oil and visual appeal, it was truly something even a dog would turn its nose up at.

As for the cabbage stewed with potatoes, Lin Shuyue had eaten it before in her previous life. A roommate of hers was from the North, and she had made this dish for them. Honestly, with pork and plenty of seasonings, the dish tasted quite good. Lin Shuyue felt that Mei Daliang’s potato and cabbage stew was an insult to the dish.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one had yet come to the cafeteria, Mei Daliang explained the meal-serving procedures to Lin Shuyue.

“At our school, each student’s allotted portion is half a scoop of rice and half a scoop of each dish. You can’t give them more. There will be instructors watching. If you give them too much, you’re pay will be docked.”

The scoop Mei Daliang was using wasn’t small, but half a scoop of rice wouldn’t even amount to one liang (50 grams). The dishes were even worse. They were mostly broth and water, so half a scoop would be mostly liquid; how much actual food would there be?

The students at this school were all teenagers in their growing years. How could such a small amount of food sustain them? They simply wouldn’t be full.

It was just barely enough to keep them alive.

Lin Shuyue was filled with indignation, but her face remained submissive, without a hint of defiance. “That’s so little food. The children won’t be full.”

Clearly, previous janitors had also asked this question. Mei Daliang said, “They’re all rebellious brats. If they’re full, they’ll be more likely to cause trouble. It’s better if they’re not full.”

Just as he finished speaking, the afternoon dismissal bell rang. Ten minutes later, people started coming to the cafeteria.

Instructors wearing camouflage uniforms took up positions in various corners of the cafeteria, each holding a ruler about two fingers wide.

The students, each holding a stainless-steel food bowl, lined up consciously of their own accord.

Throughout the entire process, apart from the sound of walking and Lin Shuyue and Mei Daliang serving the food, there wasn’t a single other sound.

The atmosphere was so oppressive that Lin Shuyue felt deeply uncomfortable.

The students came up one by one. Half a scoop of rice, half a scoop of stir-fried white radish and carrots, and then half a scoop of cabbage stewed with potatoes—this was the students’ lunch.

No oil, no meat. Almost all broth.

Taking advantage of the gaps between serving meals, Lin Shuyue had already observed these students. None of them were overweight, and none of them had rosy complexions. They were all sallow-faced and thin.

Many of them also had injuries.

Ah Hao was at the end of the line. His non-mainstream hair had been cut, unevenly sticking up on his head.

Just as Lin Shuyue extended the scoop with the rice she had just served, Mei Daliang stopped her. He shook the scoop, giving him only half of the half-scoop of rice, and did the same with the two already meager dishes.

Ah Hao raised his eyes, looked at him, then lowered his gaze and said nothing.

After all the students had been served, Lin Shuyue asked Mei Daliang why he had treated him differently. The work for this noon had been completed, and Mei Daliang was planning to go out to a foot massage parlor to enjoy himself in the afternoon. He was in a fairly good mood. He stuck a toothpick in his mouth, which he didn’t know when he’d put it there, and squinted at Lin Shuyue, teaching her, “Did you see the blue wristband on his hand?”

Lin Shuyue nodded. She had noticed this detail long ago. Of the eighty-plus students, only Ah Hao was wearing this kind of blue wristband.

“This kind of student is a troublemaker at school and needs to be punished. Half a portion of food is enough. If you give him more, you’ll be scolded.”

Lin Shuyue’s gaze followed Ah Hao. He had already finished the pitifully small amount of food and, under the watchful eyes of the instructors, went to the washroom outside to wash his bowl.

Lin Shuyue maintained her persona, twisting her fingers and thanking Mei Daliang fearfully. “I understand, Team Leader.”

Mei Daliang was very pleased with Lin Shuyue’s gratitude. “Alright, tidy up this furniture and wash it, then clean the kitchen. I have to go out.”

Mei Daliang didn’t eat the food he cooked himself. Like the other staff, he ate food ordered from outside by Xiao Changxin.

Lin Shuyue, however, wasn’t so lucky. She ate the food, which had a strange fishy taste. By the time she had finished cleaning the kitchen, it was already pitch-black outside.

The inner courtyard was empty, and the large playground was deserted. The staff dormitories on the second floor of the office building were brightly lit.

Except for the “art room” and “infirmary” on the second floor, which were lit, the teaching building was pitch black.

The lights in the dormitory building were yellow, very dim, very dark. Lin Shuyue estimated that the wattage was at most thirty watts.

Lin Shuyue returned to her dormitory, turned on the light, and, as Tian Li had instructed, went upstairs to inspect the students’ dormitories.

The second floor was the girls’ dormitory, and the third floor was the boys’ dormitory.

It wasn’t bedtime yet, and the students were afraid of sitting on their beds and messing up their bedsheets, which would lead to punishment by the instructors. They didn’t talk much either, just leaning against the wall, their eyes vacant.

They lacked any of the vitality of teenagers.

Lin Shuyue felt uncomfortable seeing this. During the inspection, she adjusted the positions of the miniature hidden cameras she had bought and installed them in the dormitories.

Her equipment was limited, with one for the boys’ dormitory and one for the girls’ dormitory.

After doing all this, she came downstairs. Four instructors were going upstairs at this time. Lin Shuyue greeted them and stepped aside to let them pass.

As they passed each other, Lin Shuyue saw that each of them was holding a white medicine bottle.

The bottles were large; they couldn’t grip them with one hand.

Lin Shuyue’s heart skipped a beat.