Food: Selling Boxed Meals at a Construction Site

Xu An first returned to Xu Family Village and changed into some old, worn-out clothes. Then he brought along his two little free laborers, Xu Kang and Xu Le, and set off to clean the newly rented shop.

The dining area was relatively clean. The only issues were some trash left in the garbage can and a few unwashed, stinking bowls and plates on the tables.

Most of the appliances in the kitchen had been moved out. A quick sweep revealed that not even an egg beater was left behind.

In a corner sat a small pile of wilted vegetables. They had likely been stepped on by the movers, and some had been crushed into a paste that was scattered across the kitchen floor. It was a truly disgusting sight.

Just then, Xu Heping appeared outside the fast-food restaurant.

"Damn it, I knew you’d be here cleaning." Xu Heping started grumbling the moment he got out of his car. "You brought Xu Kang and Xu Le, so what’s the big idea not calling me? You think I’m less useful than two five-year-olds?"

Gazing at the filthy kitchen, where there was barely a place to stand, then at Xu Heping, Xu An quickly made a decision.

"Heping, perfect timing! I’ll leave the kitchen to you. I’m going to clean the second floor." Xu An handed the broom and dustpan to Xu Heping, then dashed out of the kitchen and up to the second floor.

Even from the second floor, Xu An could faintly hear Xu Heping cursing and grumbling as he cleaned.

The second floor was filled with clutter, but it was mostly cardboard boxes and scrap cardboard. There were also three large boxes of flyers and a somewhat tattered poster.

He unrolled the poster and saw that it was a hiring notice Jiajia Fast Food Restaurant had printed two years ago.

Seeing the hiring poster, Xu An was immediately reminded that with the shop now rented, it was time to hire more staff and expand operations.

’I’ll have to hire another cook. I’m the only one who knows how to cook, and once the orders pile up, I won’t be able to handle it all by myself.’

’And now that I have a storefront, I’ll have to offer dine-in service. That means I need to buy tableware and hire a dishwasher.’

’I have to get all of this sorted out before the grand opening!’

He called a nearby scrap collector and sold all the cardboard, boxes, and paper from the second floor for a little over twenty yuan.

He took the money, ran to a small shop to buy four popsicles and a bottle of paste, and then went to a print shop to get a hiring poster made.

After handing out the popsicles, Xu An stuck the new hiring poster over the old "For Rent" sign, a popsicle dangling from his mouth. He nodded in satisfaction.

The poster’s content was simple: "Now Hiring: One Cook, One Dishwasher. Salary negotiable."

Old Zhou, the former cook of Jiajia Fast Food Restaurant, had fled to the next town to lay low two nights ago. The day after he arrived, he ran smack into a massive food safety inspection.

This morning, he heard that three businesses near the Zijing Garden construction site had been cited for violations, one of which was his former employer, Jiajia Fast Food Restaurant.

A wave of lingering fear washed over Old Zhou. ’Good thing I sensed something was off and bolted when I did,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, I’d have been locked up with them.’

Now that the dust seemed to have settled, Old Zhou’s anxious heart finally calmed down. He decided to make a trip back.

He had been in such a hurry when he fled, grabbing only his valuables and a change of clothes. A lot of his stuff was still back at his rented room.

Besides, if he was going to leave for good, he had to contact his landlord to terminate the lease. He’d paid a hefty deposit—two months’ rent—plus the first month upfront.

At 8:00 p.m., Old Zhou left the bus station, hailed a motor-trike, and returned to his rented room.

The room was exactly as he had left it. He packed up all of his belongings and contacted the landlord.

But it was too late, so the landlord said he would come over the next morning.

’Looks like I’ll have to crash here for one more night.’

With nothing to do, his nicotine craving flared up. He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a crumpled, empty cigarette pack.

He went downstairs to buy cigarettes from the corner store. As he passed by Jiajia Fast Food Restaurant, he noticed the sign had been taken down.

He glanced over, intending to walk on, but then he spotted a hiring poster pasted next to the door.

A little curious, Old Zhou moved closer. ’Is this a poster they put up to find a new cook after I left?’ he wondered.

As he drew near, he saw the name on it was Xu’s Fast Food. ’Someone took over the place this fast!’

The landlord came to inspect the room at nine the next morning. The moment he walked in, he said, "Your renewed contract was for a full year. It’s only been six months. If you break the lease now, the contract states the deposit is non-refundable."

Old Zhou was stunned. Besides getting his things, his main reason for coming back was to get his deposit back. It was over a thousand yuan! ’It’d be a huge loss if I can’t get that back,’ he thought.

Just then, the poster he had seen the previous night flashed through his mind. It said they were hiring a cook.

’Maybe I should try to find a new job around here?’

「Zijing Garden Construction Site」

It was 10:50 a.m., just ten minutes before the end of the shift, and the workers were all a little distracted.

The news of Sister Wang and her crew getting arrested last night had caused a huge stir. The workers were furious, but their anger soon gave way to worry.

The cafeteria staff had all been taken away. What were they going to eat?

Haunted by this worry, the workers had been keeping a close eye on the cafeteria all morning, but they hadn’t seen a single plume of smoke rising from its chimney.

Just then, a voice boomed from a loudspeaker below.

"When the shift ends, proceed to the main gate to pick up your boxed lunch in an orderly line. When the shift ends, proceed to the main gate to pick up your boxed lunch in an orderly line."

Qiao Xingguo, who had been slacking off, heard the announcement and his eyes lit up. ’The site actually ordered boxed lunches for everyone!’

The moment the clock struck eleven, Qiao Xingguo tossed his tools aside and bolted for the main gate.

Thanks to his proximity to the gate, he was the first to arrive.

Two vans were parked outside the gate with their trunks open, packed to the brim with boxed lunches. Several foremen were already standing by them.

One of the foremen saw Qiao Xingguo, gave him a nod, found his name on a list and crossed it off, then handed him a boxed lunch.

Qiao Xingguo took the box and hefted it. It felt a little light, probably less than two pounds.

As other workers started to arrive, Qiao Xingguo took his lunch and stepped aside, glancing at the name on the packaging: Lihua Hotel.

’Whoa, a real hotel!’ he thought. ’I heard a boxed lunch from this place costs over ten yuan. They must have really splurged.’

Qiao Xingguo suddenly felt that losing the site cafeteria wasn’t so bad after all. The quality of the food had actually improved.

He happily started to head back with his lunch, but he hefted it again. ’It feels so light. This won’t be enough to fill me up,’ he thought.

Then he glanced over at the bento stall Xu Heping was running. ’Maybe I’ll grab one from him, just like always?’

Old Zhou was up a little after six in the morning. When he went downstairs to buy breakfast, he ran into several acquaintances.

The moment they saw him, they all crowded around, bombarding him with questions. A few even sarcastically asked how he enjoyed his "day trip" to the detention center.

Old Zhou had to explain over and over that he had quit the day before the raid, that he hadn’t been arrested, and that he didn’t know anything.

After dealing with them, he took his breakfast and found a shady spot under a tree. It was some distance from Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant, but close enough to see any activity. He sat down and waited for the owner to appear.

Seven o’clock, eight o’clock, ten o’clock, twelve o’clock...

He waited all the way until one in the afternoon, well after the lunchtime rush, before he finally saw someone arrive with a key to open the door.

Old Zhou peered closer, muttering to himself in confusion, "That person... he looks just like one of the two kids who sell bento boxes at the construction site gate. How could they be the ones who rented the shop?"

Old Zhou suddenly felt hesitant. ’Should I go over and try my luck, or not?’