23: There are actually people asking for overtime?!

“Let’s go. Time to eat.”

Li Mubai led Ruan Xiu out of the factory building.

After exiting the factory, Li Mubai turned right.

Under Ruan Xiu’s curious gaze, the two arrived at a small building made of corrugated iron.

The building wasn’t large.

It was only about a hundred square meters.

As soon as she entered, Ruan Xiu keenly smelled a fragrance in the air.

Unlike other smells,

this scent was very easy to distinguish; it was a strong aroma of cooking oil, mixed with the smell of meat.

Clearly,

this was the smell of food.

This separate building was what the Steel Factory called its cafeteria.

Most factories provided free meals and lodging, which was very normal.

Otherwise, the factory would not be competitive.

So Ruan Xiu didn’t find anything strange about it.

The two had just arrived.

More than a dozen people gradually appeared behind them.

They were dressed in brand new blue work uniforms, neat and tidy.

These were all recently graduated university students, with extremely young and tender faces, full of youthful vigor.

“It’s eating time again! Just thinking about tonight’s food makes my mouth water.”

“Oh, I, for one, can’t be happy at all.”

“Why? Isn’t eating delicious?”

“Are you silly? Today is Friday, tomorrow and the day after are the weekend, it’s double-day off time again, sigh…”

People gathered in twos and threes, chatting as they walked into the cafeteria.

Their voices were not hushed at all.

This allowed Ruan Xiu, who was following behind Li Mubai, to hear their words.

When she heard about the double-day off weekend,

Ruan Xiu’s eyes widened, and a vast ocean of waves surged in her heart.

She had originally thought that working six hours a day, plus free drinks and fruits like watermelon, was already the limit for this Steel Factory.

She hadn’t expected that her perspective was still too narrow.

This small Steel Factory actually offered a double-day off weekend, something no other factory outside had.

Who would believe this?!

If she told this news to her mentor, or to her classmates,

they would definitely think she had been tricked into a pyramid scheme and brainwashed.

Otherwise, why would she start talking nonsense in broad daylight?

All factories at this stage,

whether private, state-owned, or foreign-owned, could not possibly offer a double-day off weekend.

Thirty days a month.

Once a double-day off weekend was implemented, it meant at least eight days of work time would be wasted in a month.

For a factory assembly line,

time meant money.

If these eight days were used for work, even more goods could be produced.

The profits these goods would bring to the factory would be enormous.

So, no factory would ever implement a double-day off weekend.

Let alone factories, even other companies in society could not implement a double-day off weekend.

The best benefit was a single day off on the weekend.

And that was only something state-owned enterprises could achieve.

As for other private enterprises, such benefits were extremely rare.

Ruan Xiu’s heart was filled with an overwhelming shock, and she didn’t know what to say anymore.

“Come, take a look at what you’d like to eat?”

Li Mubai handed Ruan Xiu a steel meal tray and led her to the serving window.

Her mood finally calmed down a little with great difficulty.

She took the meal tray and looked at the serving window.

At this sight,

her eyes widened again, her small mouth slightly agape, and her previously calmed mood surged once more.

Before her eyes were:

Braised Pork, White Cut Chicken, Lion’s Head Meatballs, Steamed Pork with Preserved Vegetables, and Braised Fish.

These several meat dishes were full of color and aroma; just looking at them made her mouth water.

And,

most importantly,

the portions of these meat dishes were unlike anywhere else.

Here,

it was all meat, with absolutely no vegetables mixed in!

Seeing such generous portions of meat dishes laid out before her,

Ruan Xiu didn’t know what to choose for a moment.

She was so shocked she couldn’t speak now.

Originally, she hadn’t held much hope for the factory’s food, as it was a free meal.

Usually, to save costs,

the factory simply couldn’t make good dishes.

At most, they would make some potatoes, tofu, or bean sprouts, common vegetables like that.

Even if there was meat,

it would be fatty pork or oil dregs mixed in with vegetables.

As for lean meat, that was even more out of the question!

Capitalists exploited workers for profit; how could they provide better food for their workers?

Usually, as long as there was something to eat, that was good enough.

Who would have thought?

The food at Li Mubai’s Steel Factory was actually so good!

This kind of food,

even state-owned and foreign enterprises couldn’t compare, and were far inferior.

The cafeteria window was long.

All the dishes were steaming hot.

Her gaze shifted to the right again, and she saw several more vegetable dishes.

Further down, there were several kinds of fruit.

Finally, there were two kinds of soup, steaming hot.

“Boss, has our Steel Factory always been this generous?”

Looking at Li Mubai, who was serving himself, Ruan Xiu asked expressionlessly.

At this moment, she was already numb.

“Of course. I specifically hired retired master chefs to cook, and they change the menu every day, just so the employees don’t get tired of the food.”

“You can take whatever you want from these dishes. Just make sure not to waste any in the end.”

“If you waste food, I’ll scold you, you know.”

Li Mubai took a Lion’s Head Meatball, turned back, grinned, and joked.

Ruan Xiu smacked her lips, but in the end, chose to remain silent.

She didn’t know what to say, only feeling secretly happy in her heart.

The benefits here were simply too good!

Finally,

she took a little of each dish.

These were all dishes she liked and rarely got to eat normally.

At Yanbei University,

the school had free cafeteria windows.

However, the food at the free windows was mostly vegetables.

Sometimes during festivals,

some meat dishes would appear, with a little oil.

It wasn’t that the school didn’t have good food.

It was just that those dishes cost money, and to save expenses, she had always eaten the free meals provided by the school.

Before long,

the not-so-large cafeteria was full of people.

Everyone was eating heartily, and Ruan Xiu was no exception.

In the past, she usually only ate a small bowl of rice, but today she broke her rule and refilled her plate midway through the meal.

She swore,

this meal was definitely one of the best she had ever eaten.

And,

the taste of the food was no less than that of high-end hotels outside, very delicious.

After a while,

she put down her chopsticks and patted her slightly bulging stomach, unable to help but let out a satisfied burp.

This action immediately made her feel a little embarrassed, her cheeks flushing red.

Li Mubai simply gave a slight grin, then quickly finished the food on his plate in a few bites.

Just then,

a voice suddenly rang out from behind Li Mubai:

“Brother Li, tomorrow is Saturday, can I work some overtime tonight?”

Ruan Xiu, who had been feeling a bit awkward and was looking down,

upon hearing this, she looked up in astonishment, gazing at the person who spoke.

She shouted in her heart:

“Is he crazy? In this day and age, someone is actually volunteering to work overtime!”