83: Chapter 83 Tomahawk Steak Wins Over the Hearts of the People

For this group of low-level workers who had been eating plain noodles and pickled vegetables at Tengfei Electronics for over half a year, this aroma was a total knockout.

"Gurgle."

A chorus of swallowing echoed across the plaza.

Two electric tricycles led the way, followed by dozens of men dressed in pristine white chef uniforms.

Walking at the very front was Michelin chef Lin Dayong, his chef's hat perched crookedly on his head.

He was sweating profusely, clutching a gleaming, oversized iron ladle in his hand.

Behind him, dozens of kitchen assistants pushed over twenty insulated iron barrels, each larger than a water vat, their wheels rumbling loudly against the concrete ground.

"Make way! Everyone make way! Don't block the food!" Lin Dayong roared, waving his iron ladle.

The workers quickly stepped aside, and the dozens of large iron barrels were pushed to the center of the plaza.

"Boss Lu!" Lin Dayong panted as he ran up to Lu Chen. "There are too many of these bastards! We fired up the kitchens at Jinlan and all three canteens in the factory; the stoves are almost melting, but we managed to scrape together the first batch of twenty thousand servings!"

Lu Chen nodded and picked up the microphone.

"The boss at Tengfei Electronics didn't treat you like human beings; he starved you for half a year." Lu Chen pointed at the rows of iron barrels. "Look at you all, your faces are as yellow as paper. It's embarrassing to look at."

Lu Chen took a deep breath, his voice cutting through the entire plaza.

"The canteen meat distribution plan is officially underway!" Lu Chen waved his hand. "Open them up!"

Lin Dayong chuckled and raised his iron ladle, banging it against the lid of an iron barrel. "Open the pots!"

Dozens of kitchen assistants simultaneously lifted the lids of the insulated barrels.

"Whoosh!"

A massive cloud of white steam shot into the air, and an incredibly rich aroma of meat instantly swept across the plaza.

Those standing near the front craned their necks to look, their eyes widening in shock.

No cabbage, no tofu, no shredded potatoes.

The barrels were filled with nothing but meat.

In the ten large barrels on the left, piled high like small mountains, were Australian tomahawk steaks, seared until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Each piece had a bone attached, coated in black pepper sauce, and was still sizzling with bubbling oil.

In the ten barrels on the right were fist-sized braised seafood prawns, their bright red shells coated in garlic sauce.

"Oh, my mother..." An old worker dropped to his knees with a thud, staring fixedly at the tomahawk steaks in the barrel. He had lived for sixty years and had never in his life seen such large ribs at the market.

The little girl held by Sister Liu sniffled, her mouth wide open, a string of drool hanging from her lip.

"Is... is this for us to eat?" The young man with glasses swallowed repeatedly, his stomach growling like thunder.

"Tonight, everyone is eating this!" Lu Chen pointed at the barrels. "No matter what kind of life you lived before, once you've entered the gates of Chenguang Electronics, there is only one rule."

"Eat your fill!" Lu Chen roared. "Stuff yourselves! Eat this for three days to calm your nerves! If anyone leaves even a single piece of meat, don't come see me tomorrow!"

The plaza fell silent for two seconds.

There were no cheers, no applause.

Instead, a series of sobs broke out.

"Wuu wuu wuu..." Sister Liu covered her face, squatted on the ground, and burst into tears.

When she was at Tengfei Electronics, she had spent half a month drinking tap water to fill her stomach, just to save half a bite of food for her daughter.

The old worker wiped away his tears, pulled that tattered plastic bag from his pocket, and threw it into the muddy water, along with the crumpled twenty-yuan note inside.

"There's meat to eat... we get paid without having to work... there's meat to eat!"

The psychological defenses of nearly ten thousand low-level workers, who had grown accustomed to being exploited, were completely shattered by these two heavy blows.

The paid training was a heavy hammer that smashed their fear of unemployment.

The tomahawk steaks were a fire that burned away the humbleness deep in their hearts.

Lin Dayong banged his iron ladle against the edge of a barrel and shouted, "What are you all standing around for? Line up! Get your bowls and basins! Meat is being served first; the steamed buns and rice are on the trucks behind us!"

As if waking from a dream, the crowd frantically grabbed the newly distributed double happiness basins and spontaneously formed dozens of long lines.

No one cut in line, no one fought; they stared with reddened eyes, fixed intently on the ladle serving the meat ahead.

A chubby kitchen assistant picked up a tomahawk steak larger than a face, threw it into the old worker's basin with a thud, ladled a large scoop of black pepper sauce over it, and tossed in a few large prawns right after.

"Come back for more if it's not enough! Boss Lu said you must eat until you're stuffed!" the kitchen assistant shouted.

The old worker held the basin, his hands trembling so much he could barely hold it. He didn't go back; instead, he walked straight to a vacant spot nearby, grabbed the steak with his hands, and stuffed it into his mouth.

After chewing only a few times, his tears flowed down his wrinkles and into his mouth, swallowing them along with the meat juices.

"So delicious... this is real meat..."

Old Zhou stood next to Lu Chen, his throat tightening.

"Factory Director..." Old Zhou wiped the sweat from his face. "This is nearly twenty thousand people. The food costs alone for these three days will be an astronomical figure."

"As long as we can win their hearts, no amount of money is too much." Lu Chen shoved the microphone to Old Zhou. "You watch over this operation. If any problems arise from the food, I'm holding you accountable."

With that, Lu Chen turned and walked toward the car.

The incandescent lights in the plaza shone as bright as day.

The old worker, Sun Dafu, crouched by the concrete steps, holding his double happiness basin, which contained two tomahawk steaks.

His teeth weren't good, so he used his calloused fingers to tear off shreds of meat and stuff them into his mouth. The brownish-yellow black pepper sauce dripped down his wrinkled chin and onto his faded blue old work clothes.

He didn't bother to wipe it, focusing only on swallowing large mouthfuls.

Several young workers gathered nearby, all holding basins. No one spoke; the surroundings were filled with the crunching sounds of cartilage being chewed and the sound of rapid gulping.

The young man with glasses sucked the last bit of meat from the crevices of the bone until it was clean, then let out a long sigh of relief.

"That was damn satisfying." The young man with glasses looked at the white bone in his hand.

"I didn't see a single scrap of meat in half a year at Tengfei Electronics; I drank nothing but boiled water with pickled vegetable soup every day." A dark-faced man let out a burp.

"Boss Lu has given the word; we're eating this meat for three days straight." Another worker wiped the grease from his mouth with his sleeve.

"This is real meat, top-tier meat bought with real money." Old Sun raised his head.

His eyes were bloodshot. "That boss named Wang used to treat us like livestock, but now Boss Lu treats us like human beings. If anyone dares to slack off in the workshop from now on, I, Old Sun, will be the first to take a wrench and smash their kneecaps."

"Right! We'll work our asses off; if we don't, we're not worthy of this meat."

"Kill those foreign capitalists who cut off our livelihood! We'll listen to everything Boss Lu says."

Sister Liu sat by the flower bed, pulling the little girl with her. The little girl held a braised seafood prawn in both hands, her face covered in garlic sauce.

Sister Liu used her finger to scrape the sauce off her daughter's face and put it into her own mouth.

She bowed her head, her tears dripping onto the white rice on her tray.

"Sister Liu, crying won't fill your stomach, eat up." Zhang Xiufang walked over holding a stainless steel lunchbox and sat down next to Sister Liu.

She used disposable chopsticks to pick up a piece of beef and placed it into Sister Liu's tray.

"Boss Lu just gave instructions: there's more in the kitchen, go get more if it's not enough."