Food: Selling Boxed Meals at a Construction Site

Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.

At 10:30 AM, Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant officially opened for business. By this time, both the marinated dishes and the hot meals were ready, waiting for customers to arrive and enjoy them.

A stooped old man in a cotton-linen Tang suit slowly approached Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant. He stopped a short distance from the entrance of Shop No. 1, put on his reading glasses, and observed for quite a while. Only after confirming he didn’t see the young man did he slowly walk to the restaurant’s entrance.

The first thing he saw was the display of marinated meats on the left side of the entrance. The rich, intense aroma made the old man’s mouth water.

But in the end, he just smacked his lips a couple of times, suppressed the impulse, and stepped into the restaurant.

At this hour, there weren’t many customers inside, only a sparse two or three people.

Through the glass window in front of the kitchen, he could see all the equipment and staff inside. Only one middle-aged man was busy working in the kitchen.

’Didn’t they say Liu Daxi’s whole team of eight was working at Xu’s Fast Food? Why is there only one chef in there?’

Just as the old man was about to head to the kitchen to investigate, he heard the ringing of a bicycle bell outside. Turning his head, he saw two young men get off their bikes and burst into the restaurant. In unison, they called out to the old woman sitting behind the cash register, "Good morning, Granny Xu!"

After their greeting, the two grabbed trays to get their food. They had only taken two steps when they noticed the old man staring at them.

’He looks unfamiliar, probably a new customer. From the looks of it, he probably doesn’t know how things work here.’

Old Han immediately and enthusiastically pulled the old man over to Granny Xu to pay, get a tray, and then to the hot food counter to get some dishes. He then pulled the old man to sit with them at their table, getting him settled in perfectly.

"Are you two regulars here?" the old man asked curiously after sitting down at the table and unwrapping a pair of disposable chopsticks.

"Not exactly," Old Han said, exchanging a look with his roommate. His tone was full of uncertainty. "I guess you could say we’re employees?"

That hesitant expression, that look of confusion, that uncertain tone—it all instantly piqued the old man’s curiosity.

’How could someone not even know if they’re an employee of the shop?’

A possibility surfaced in his mind: could these two be working under the table for Xu’s Fast Food?!

"How can you not even know if you’re working for the boss? Didn’t you sign a contract?" the old man asked, suppressing his displeasure.

"We didn’t actually sign a contract."

"We even have to leave our ID cards with them before we start work."

"There’s no base salary either."

"..."

With every sentence they spoke, the old man’s face grew darker. The disposable wooden chopsticks in his hand could barely withstand his sudden grip and let out a faint creak.

"What are your responsibilities at the shop? How long do you work each day? How much do you earn? Is it tiring? When do you get paid? Is it on time?" A barrage of questions poured from the old man’s mouth.

In that instant, the old man gave Old Han and his roommate the impression of a stern old professor from their university. It felt as if one more joking word from them would get them a failing grade on the spot.

The two of them immediately stopped joking around and said seriously, "We’re delivery riders for Xu’s Fast Food. We only work for a little over two hours during the lunch rush. On a slow day, we make forty or fifty yuan, and on a good day, we can make over ninety. It’s not tiring at all, actually, it’s pretty fun..."

As the two explained, a look of confusion appeared in the old man’s eyes.

’Work a little over two hours a day for at least forty-five yuan? And meals are included? Also, what kind of job is a "rider"? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it...’ Countless questions flooded the old man’s mind.

The old man wasn’t one to be bashful, so he directly voiced his confusion. Old Han and his roommate answered every question he had.

After several rounds of questions and answers, the old man finally understood.

The two before him were university students, currently just working part-time at Xu’s Fast Food, so not having a contract was a perfectly normal thing.

As for leaving their ID cards, that was a thing of the past. Now, most orders were paid for online, so there was no fear of riders running off with the money. Apart from new employees during their first week, no one else had to leave their ID anymore...

Riders, online ordering, online payments, delivery to your doorstep...

All of these were novel concepts. It was the first time the old man had heard these terms in Hai City.

’Young people these days really have active minds. They dare to think and dare to act!’

While the old man was lost in thought, the two young men sitting across from him had long since finished their meal and left. A new wave of customers, many with stained clothing, poured in, filling up the not-so-small restaurant.

Some people, holding their trays of food, stood by the entrance, looking around for any possible open seats.

Seeing this, the old man quickly drank the last of the soup in his bowl, pulled out a napkin to wipe his mouth, then got up and walked out of the restaurant, heading toward Shop No. 1 next door.

He had just reached the doorway when he heard Liu Daxi, in a hoarse yet shrill voice, directing the others. They were busy but not chaotic, working in an orderly fashion, not having lost the style of his prime.

The old man recognized Liu Daxi at a glance. Although their last meeting was five years ago, besides looking a bit older, Liu Daxi’s features and build hadn’t changed much. He looked just as he did back then.

Perhaps because the old man’s gaze was so direct and unconcealed, Liu Daxi quickly noticed this stranger standing outside the shop, sizing him up.

"Sir, are you coming in to eat?" Liu Daxi asked as he came forward to greet him.

"I just ate next door. I heard this is part of the same restaurant, so I came over to have a look," the old man said with a smile and a wave of his hand. Then, he asked casually, "I just saw several staff members gesturing to each other, but not speaking. Are they..."

Ever since Liu Daxi’s team joined Xu’s Fast Food, people had asked this question almost every day, and Liu Daxi had long grown used to it. "Yes. Although they can’t speak, they can hear, write, and work. They’re no different from anyone else."

The old man followed up with several more questions, and Liu Daxi answered the ones he could.

However, the old man’s questions grew stranger and stranger, for example:

’Is their salary the same as other employees, or is it discounted by twenty percent?’

’I heard you used to work at a grand hotel. Why are you working at a fast-food place now?’

’Are you on long-term contracts or short-term agreements?’

’...’

The old man opened his mouth, about to ask another question, when he saw the figure of a young man appear at the end of the street. Without even a chance to say goodbye, he turned and walked away quickly.

Watching the old man’s retreating back, Liu Daxi suddenly felt that something was off. ’Why did I answer whatever that old man asked, without the slightest bit of caution?’

Then again, the old man had felt so familiar. ’I must have met him before, but when? And where?’

"Master Liu, give me a hand over here!" Xu An’s voice interrupted Liu Daxi’s thoughts. Liu Daxi turned and replied, "You got it, coming!"

Just as Liu Daxi was walking toward Xu An, Xu An also caught sight of the old man’s departing figure.

By then, however, the old man was already far away. Xu An only found the figure vaguely familiar, but the man’s Tang suit was quite common. Xu An just assumed he was a local resident who came to eat often. After a couple of glances, he looked away and took Master Liu with him to get busy in Shop No. 2.

Hai City Convention and Exhibition Center conference room.

While the old man was wandering around outside, a meeting was being held at the Hai City Convention and Exhibition Center to decide which hotel would cater the upcoming exhibition.

"...Alright, the advantages and disadvantages of all hotels have been presented and listed once again. We will now proceed with a signed ballot. Each person gets one vote, and each vote can only be for one hotel. After you’ve finished filling it out, please submit your ballot to me."

As Meng Yuanzhong’s voice fell, all the rustling in the conference room ceased. Everyone picked up their black pens and wrote the name of the hotel they deemed most suitable on the ballots distributed before the meeting, signing their own name below the hotel’s name...

Gao Baolin picked up her black pen and decisively wrote the name "Black Swan Hotel" on her ballot. But when it came time to write her own name as the voter, the tip of her pen paused...

’The Black Swan Hotel’s scale, reputation, and catering standards all perfectly meet the exhibition’s requirements. There’s nothing wrong with choosing it!’

After giving herself a mental pep talk, Gao Baolin put pen to paper, signed her name, and submitted the ballot to Meng Yuanzhong. She then returned to her seat to await his announcement of the final result.

The moment she sat back down, the eyelid that had been twitching all morning and had finally stopped, started twitching again. This time, it was even more violent, and her heart began to pound along with it. THUMP, THUMP.

With the exception of the old man who hadn’t come, the remaining eleven people all participated in the meeting. A total of eleven ballots were collected.

"One vote for Brocade Hotel, one vote for Xu’s Fast Food, one vote for Black Swan Hotel, another vote for Black Swan Hotel..."

After all the votes were tallied, the result of the bid was clear. With six votes, the Black Swan Hotel was the winner of this bidding conference.

In second place was Xu’s Fast Food with three votes, and in third was Brocade Hotel with two votes. All other hotels received zero votes.

"I now have the results of the luncheon catering bid for the first Hai City Machinery Equipment Exhibition." Meng Yuanzhong looked at the name of the hotel in his hand, a flicker of a sneer flashing through his eyes. "The final winner is—the Black Swan Hotel!"

A thunderous wave of applause swept through the room.

After announcing the result, Meng Yuanzhong looked at the young man in charge of drafting the press release and instructed him calmly, "Let me see the draft about the bidding result when you’re done. You can send it out after I’ve confirmed there are no issues."

The young man didn’t know why his superior was giving him this specific instruction, but he still responded quickly, "Yes, sir!"

The meeting adjourned, and everyone from the conference room returned to the office, settling at their desks to get to work.

Organizing an exhibition involved a great many tasks, and as the event drew closer, everyone’s workload became increasingly heavy.

After Gao Baolin sat back down at her desk, her incessantly twitching eyelid finally stopped.

She breathed a sigh of relief, took out her phone, opened her messages, and very skillfully typed in a phone number. She sent a text to that number.

’Bid successful.’

She had just sent the message and was about to delete the chat history when a well-defined hand landed on her desk, its fingers tapping lightly on the surface a few times.

Looking up, she saw Minister Meng standing in front of her desk, smiling at her.

"Minister Meng!" Gao Baolin didn’t have time to delete the message and could only turn off the screen and place the phone face down on her desk.

"Gao, come to my office for a moment. I need to talk to you about something." Meng Yuanzhong said with the same smile, acting as if he hadn’t seen any of Gao Baolin’s frantic actions.

"Yes, sir!"

"Bring your phone," Meng Yuanzhong added.

Clutching her phone in her hand, Gao Baolin followed Meng Yuanzhong toward his office. Her right eyelid started twitching again.

Meng Yuanzhong, walking ahead, opened the door first and made a very polite "after you" gesture to Gao Baolin.

Flustered and flattered, Gao Baolin didn’t have time for pleasantries before she saw who was inside the office: two law enforcement officers in blue uniforms...