Chapter 210 Public Canteen

Chapter 210 Public Canteen

Chapter 210 Public Canteen (Subscribe!)
The next day, a new week.

Li Kailang works with Cui Yuan, and he notices that Cui Yuan's face looks the same as usual, without any change.

There was even a hint of anticipation in his eyes, and a smile appeared on his face.

Seeing this, Li Kailang was happy for Cui Yuan.

After a while, the two arrived at the steel rolling mill and parted ways.

"Good morning, Xiao Yuan."

"Brother Zhao, good morning!"

"Good morning, Team Leader Ma."

Cui Yuan greeted his co-workers warmly, as usual, and no one thought he was any different.

Cui Yuan didn't plan to tell everyone that he wanted to change jobs. After all, this idea had just begun and there was still half a year to go.

The job of a loader is not difficult, just notify us one month in advance before changing positions.

No matter how difficult it was to recruit and retain stevedores, this would not change just because Cui Yuan brought it forward six months in advance.

The most important thing is that if Cui Yuan wants to leave, no one can stop his future.

Everyone had long been prepared for Cui Yuanlai to leave. These stevedores experienced this kind of thing once a year.

Either they are from Ma Qian's group or they are from other groups.

Those who left had worked for a year and were transferred to other positions only after meeting the requirements.

Li Kailang also returned to the transport team.

I only worked one day last week, and there was a lot of work piled up. Without any nonsense, everyone just took the task list and set off.

Trucks rumbled in and out of the steel mill.

Near noon, Li Kailang finished delivering a few tasks, returned to the steel mill, and was about to go to eat.

Zhang Jinwu ordered: "Xiao Li, don't rush to eat, go to the countryside first to get some iron blocks back."

Li Kailang had a bitter face: "No, Master, it's almost noon, let me finish eating first."

Zhang Jinwu glanced at Li Kailang and said, "Silly boy, how could I harm you if I asked you to deliver it now?"

"Someone just came back and said that a commune was holding a buffet with a large table of delicious food. I'm asking you to go and eat the delicious food."

"Really?" Li Kailang didn't believe it.

"If you don't believe me, forget it. If you don't want this mission, then give it to someone else. If your senior brother and Xiao Fen weren't here, this mission wouldn't be yours."

"Yes, yes! Master, I want it!" Li Kailang quickly grabbed Zhang Jinwu and took away the task list.

Then he held it in his arms with a look of cherishment.

"You kid!" Zhang Jinwu pointed at Li Kailang and smiled.

"Okay, hurry up, if you go too late you won't be able to eat hot food."

"Oh, okay!" Li Kailang drove off happily.

While driving, Li Kailang muttered to himself: "I want to see how rich it is!"

Although Li Kailang had stored a lot of food in his ring, no matter how well the food was cooked, it would never be as delicious as something that was eaten for free.

After a while, Li Kailang arrived outside the commune that Zhang Jinwu mentioned.

In a pavilion not far from the commune, a group of people were sitting or squatting.

"Don't miss it if you pass by! The meal is free!"

Li Kailang parked his car not far away and approached the pavilion. Before he could speak, the members of the club warmly invited him:
"Hello, comrade! Would you like to come over for a meal?"

Li Kailang took a look at the dishes, which were quite rich. There were six or seven dishes including bean sprouts, braised pork with fried leeks, meat slices, fried cabbage, etc., and there was soup on the side.

"Comrade, can I eat this?"

"Yes! Yes!" The members nodded quickly.

Li Kailang asked again: "Look carefully, I am not from your village, nor am I from your commune. How can I eat?"

The members were very enthusiastic: "Of course you can! Comrade, our commune organizes buffets to feed passers-by."

"You can eat as soon as you come, and leave immediately after eating. It's free, so eat as much as you want."

"It's really free?" Li Kailang still couldn't believe it. Such a sumptuous dish, with meat and vegetables, was enough to be a New Year's Eve dinner no matter where it was placed.

"No charge, comrade. Are you hungry? I'll make you a bowl!"

After saying that, regardless of whether Li Kailang agreed or not, the member scooped a full spoonful of rice, put all the dishes on it, and then handed it to Li Kailang.

"Comrade, if it's not enough, you can always get more! Come and eat it!"

Holding this bowl of sumptuous meal, Li Kailang was still a little dazed.

He knew that this was a public canteen and that everyone could eat well, but he didn't expect that food could be provided to outsiders.

There are quite a few people cooking in the pavilion, about forty or fifty people, and hundreds of kilograms of meat will be consumed.

"Is this commune so rich? They dare to take out meat to eat."

Li Kailang didn't know how powerful the public canteen was.

After the public canteens were opened, “Eat to your heart’s content and work hard to produce” became a famous slogan that spread across the country.

After people were allowed to “eat to their heart’s content”, many public canteens only focused on the goals of “eating enough” and “eating well”, giving their all and doing everything they could.

Not only is there no limit on the amount of food they eat, but even when it comes to dishes, they emphasize "no repeating in a week" or "no repeating in half a month", and they eat and drink to their heart's content.

Many communes’ public canteens also started “buffet banquets”, where members could eat whenever they wanted.

Some places even opened the door to convenience for passers-by, imitating the method of Zhang Lu setting up charity houses in the late Han Dynasty, with a pavilion every five miles and a restaurant every ten miles.

When pedestrians come, they eat and leave. If they don’t want to eat, we will try to persuade them, saying that eating is free anyway.

Less than two or three months after the policies of “free meals” and “eat as much as you want” were implemented, most canteens were already running out of money.

"No wonder the three years of famine were so difficult to endure. All the food available was consumed, and in the end, only the reserve grain could be used."

Li Kailang finished the meal with peace of mind and handed the bowl back.

The member handed over the rice bowl and was about to get the rice: "Comrade, are you full? If not, there is more, you can have more."

Li Kailang waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, I'm full."

Seeing this, the members insisted.

"Comrade, thank you! I haven't had such a hearty meal in a long time." Li Kailang rubbed his bulging belly.

"You're welcome!" The member laughed and didn't care at all.

After saying hello, Li Kailang drove the car to pull the iron blocks.

Driving on the dirt road, Li Kailang looked at the farmlands on both sides.

The crops in the fields are growing well, but they are sparsely distributed, not as dense as before.

In addition, there are small blast furnaces densely packed outside the crops, emitting thick smoke floating in the air.

After loading a truckload of iron blocks, Li Kailang drove back to the factory.

Li Kailang was on his way to deliver supplies the entire afternoon.

Finally, I delivered all the supplies and returned to the steel mill before getting off work.

"Hey, Lao Zhao, did you see it when you came back? The public canteen in the countryside has such a sumptuous meal!"

"Yes, my mouth is watering. There are meat and vegetables, and they are more abundant than those in our cafeteria. It's free, too. I really want to try it!"

"You know what, it tastes really good. If it wasn't for the fact that I was almost off work and had nothing to do, I would have wanted to go to the countryside to try it."

"I want to, too! Unfortunately, the commune is a bit far from here. By the time we get there, it will be past mealtime and there will be no food left."

Suddenly, several masters sat aside and sighed with regret.

One of the masters suddenly thought: "Don't worry, since it's far, let's drive over and find a random excuse to talk."

"Yes! Then I want to go too, but it's hard to find a reason! Today's mission is complete."

"You are stupid. The technician hasn't come back yet. Let's say the technician's car broke down and we go help him."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, that's why I thought of that!" A master hit his thigh.

"Ouch~" A master covered his thigh and screamed in pain.

"Okay, that's it. Let's go now. If we go too late, there will be no food."

Several masters got on the car in a hurry and drove away.

On the side, Lu Wenjiang watched the masters leave and felt a little curious.

He passed by on his way back and it tasted really good. If he hadn't been so focused on the mission, he would have wanted to try it.

"Are you two going?"

Zhang Fen looked excited and looked at Lu Wenjiang expectantly:
"Go away! Seeing them like that makes me hungry. I want to try it when I come back."

"Xiao Li, what about you?"

"I'm fine with it! I've tried it, and it's really good, with plenty of ingredients and good flavor. It's definitely much better than what we make in the cafeteria."

"You kid stole food without even calling us! Tell me, when did you eat?" Zhang Fen looked at Li Kailang angrily.

"And what time is it? It's noon."

"Okay, since you all want to go, then go now, before they eat you up."

After that, the three of them got on the car without stopping, using the same reason. Half an hour later, the three of them arrived at the commune.

I saw that there were a lot of people standing outside the pavilion, more than at noon.

A bus was parked not far away, and the driver squatted beside it, grabbing food with big mouthfuls, using chopsticks very quickly, picking up the food continuously.

The same thing happened to the person squatting nearby.

But what is different is that these people are dressed more elegantly and have fewer patches on their clothes.

Zhang Fen pointed at those people and said, "Brother Lu, you see, those people should be from the city. They also heard the news and came to the countryside to take advantage of the situation."

Lu Wenjiang looked at the faces of the group of people carefully and agreed in his heart.

"Those are the people from the city. Look at how fair their faces are. They have families with them. They are the ones who come from the city to make money."

"The food in this public canteen is better than that in the city, and it's free. Why don't you come?"

"I just wonder if they came down to help with the work?"

The three of them were talking. After the driver finished his meal, he wiped his mouth with his sleeve, smacked his lips, and drank the soup in one gulp.

"Pa pa~" the driver patted his belly.

"delicious!"

When the people nearby saw the driver finish eating, they immediately sped up their eating speed.

"Hurry up if you're going to the city, we're about to set off!" the driver yelled, picking his teeth, and got on the bus.

"Hurry up! Eat quickly!" Everyone quickened their eating speed.

"Rumble--"

"Stop eating and get in the car!"

They ate the last bite of rice, hurriedly put down their bowls and chopsticks and got on the bus, accidentally kicking over their bowls before leaving.

I saw that most of the bowls had only a small half of the food left, and some had half left.

"Are we going to waste food like this? There's still so much left!" Zhang Fen was filled with indignation.

"Why are you guys coming up here? I'm not in a hurry to leave!"

They also smiled faintly and said nothing, as if they were afraid that he would abandon them.

"Okay, now that you're all here, let's go!"

"Boom~"

With a step on the accelerator, the bus drove away.

The members who were getting their meals looked at the bus leaving with disdain.

"Finally they left. These people have been in the city for several years and have never come back."

"They came out of nowhere, and I thought they were here to help, but they came to eat for free, and they even ate for free for several days!"

"Damn it! He didn't help with the farm work, but he didn't miss a single meal. How shameless!"

“Heh—”

Looking at the half-remaining food and the spilled food, the members felt very distressed.

"It's so hard to get a full meal, but they waste it like this. The village chief should stop them from coming!"

The members were cleaning and cursing at the same time.

"Let's go, let's go eat something!" Lu Wenjiang said to the two of them, and then they walked over together.

"Comrade, would you like some?"

When the members saw them, they immediately put on a smile.

"Is this okay? We are not from your commune." Lu Wenjiang was as confused as Li Kailang was at the beginning.

"Is there anything wrong with that? I see you guys work in the wind and rain every day, so what's wrong with having a hot meal?"

After saying that, he prepared some food for the three of them without caring whether Lu Wenjiang agreed or not.

"Thank you!" It was also Lu Wenjiang's first time eating this and he felt a little embarrassed.

"You're welcome. Come back for more if you don't need it!"

The three of them took their bowls and squatted aside to eat.

While we were eating, seven or eight people came over from a distance.

"Here come a few more freeloaders. I'll deal with them later. Just ignore them!" The member looked at them with disdain and sidelong glances.

Hearing this, the other members said nothing.

The leader walked with a swagger, wearing tattered clothes and with messy hair, looking like a gangster.

He walked up to the members, looked at the dishes, and nodded: "This dish is not bad!"

"What are you looking at? Hurry up and serve me some food!"

The member lowered his head and clicked his fingers, not looking up: "There is no food, and I can't fight!"

"You're talking nonsense, aren't there a pile of them? Hurry up and serve me some food!" the man cursed.

"It's no big deal. I've already told you, there's no more food!"

"Do you think I'm blind? There's so much food here, do you think I didn't see it?" The man slammed the table angrily.

"So what if I treat you as a blind man? I just won't give you food." The member said angrily, pointing at the seven or eight people behind him.

They were all old, weak, women and children, and they all ate for free in the commune.

"Look at you all, you rush here to eat when it's time to eat. You haven't done any farm work in these few days, but you don't seem to eat less at every meal."

"As for people like you, I would rather feed them to dogs than to you!"

That member was also influenced by the previous wave of people and no longer tolerated their behavior of taking advantage of others.

"Damn, do you think I've given you face? How dare you talk to me like that? You're asking for a beating, aren't you?" The man was not polite either.

"If you dare to hit me, just try it!"

“Just give it a try!” After saying that, the man swung his fist and hit.

"Ah!" The member covered his nose and felt a warm sensation. He looked down and found that he was bleeding from the nose!
"Damn, you dare to hit people!" Seeing this, other members rushed forward.

The people behind wanted to help, but they couldn't.

"Ahhh-"

Being beaten by the crowd, the man could only run away with his head in his hands.

"Stop fighting! Stop fighting!"

"He is indeed a silver spear wax head! Beat him to death and teach him a lesson for daring to hit me!"

"what--"

The people eating nearby were shoveling their food, watching with gusto.

Surprisingly, that person ran to the dishes.

"Eat, eat, eat. You're the only ones who still want to eat. Stop eating!"

The man overturned the dining table with both hands.

"Crack~"

"Click~"

"Bang~"

Suddenly the dishes were scattered all over the floor and the bowls were broken.

"Good, good! How dare he waste food? Beat him to death!"

Immediately, several members grabbed him and beat him even harder.

"Stop fighting! Stop fighting!" Those who spoke were the group of the elderly, the weak, women and children.

They were brought down by that man, and he was the backbone.

"Old man! Get out of the way, or I'll beat you too!" the members said without any hesitation.

If it weren't for the fact that they are the elderly, the weak, women and children, I would have taken action long ago.

"Hit! Good job!" Someone on the side clapped and cheered.

Not to mention that they wanted more rice, the waste of food alone was enough to make them angry.

If they didn't have food in their hands, they would have joined in.

"You two eat first. I can't stand it anymore. I'm going to punch you two too!" Zhang Fen said angrily, putting the bowl aside.

"Open up some space, I want to fight too!"

"Bang bang—"

"what--"

"Okay, add me in!" Someone else joined in.

After a while, not only a few members beat people, but seven or eight others also beat people.

The man was beaten all over with bruises and black and blue marks on his body. His face and nose were swollen and his head was like a pig, and he no longer looked like a human.

Only the rising and falling of his chest showed that he was still alive.

(End of this chapter)