’This aroma...’

Unlike the aroma of the pickled vegetable soup from before, this time the fresh tang of the vegetables was mixed with the fragrance of fish. Accompanied by the BUBBLE, BUBBLE sound from the pot, the aroma grew more and more intense!

Su Chen mentally timed it, figuring it was about ready.

He immediately lifted the lid!

A huge cloud of steam billowed out, and an aroma a hundred times more intense than before assaulted everyone’s nostrils.

Bai Xiaobo, who had been sulking in a corner, shot up and darted over. "Quick, let me have the first bowl!"

Luckily, Su Chen had quick reflexes and stretched out an arm to block Bai Xiaobo. "What’s the rush? It’s not done yet!"

Bai Xiaobo brandished his bowl. "Nope, I have to be the first one to eat today!"

Seeing Su Chen’s confusion, Bai Xiaobo looked like he was about to cry from the injustice. "Brother Chen, you don’t know! Seventy-two buns! You steamed seventy-two buns this morning!"

"They ate them all and only left one for me! To keep me from eating more, they even invented a ’two-in-one’ bun! I just wanted to eat two buns! What did I do wrong? Waaah..."

’So it was about the buns.’

Su Chen understood.

That guy Bai Xiaobo stayed up playing games until two or three in the morning every night, so he always showed up to the company right on the dot.

He had simply come in too late today. If he’d been a few minutes later, even that one bun would’ve been gone.

"Okay, I know you’re desperate, but just hold your horses," Su Chen said, patting Xiaobai’s shoulder. "There’s one last step."

Bai Xiaobo grunted and stood obediently behind Su Chen, waiting for this final step to be completed.

Liu Shengnan brought over the cooked glass noodles and blanched enoki mushrooms.

Su Chen spread these side ingredients evenly over the fish soup, then sprinkled on the white sesame seeds, minced garlic, chopped red chili peppers, and minced scallions that Aunt Fang had prepared.

He scooped a ladleful of lard into a wok and heated it over a high flame until it was scorching hot.

"SZZZLE!!!"

The moment the hot lard was poured over, the aroma of the pickled fish soup vanished, replaced by the fragrance of the various spices being flash-fried by the oil!

Everyone knew without even having to think.

The fragrance of the fish hadn’t disappeared; it was simply sealed beneath that thin layer of oil!

A golden surface with a milky-white broth underneath—just looking at it was enough to imagine what a blissful experience a single sip would be!

Su Chen washed his hands. "Alright, time to eat!"

Bai Xiaobo took his place at the front of the line without a second thought.

No one else bothered to fight him for it.

"Huh?" Su Chen took out his phone, his brow furrowing as he looked at a new message. "Why is Director Li bringing friends to eat again?"

Bai Xiaobo, who had just stuck his ladle into the pot, immediately dropped it to lean over for a look, reading the message aloud.

"Boss, I was taking care of business with a friend nearby and just happened to be passing by. I’ll report back to you on my work in a bit, haha!"

Liu Shengnan scoffed. "Heh, Director Li and his ’coincidences.’ He ’just happened to be passing by’?"

"Who knows what he was up to. He says he was passing by, but I bet he’s just bringing someone else to eat. He’s afraid he won’t get his twelve hundred yuan’s worth!"

"He wanders around all day and still has the nerve to talk about reporting on his work. What is there to report? We’ve been slaving away in the kitchen all morning!"

A single message instantly sparked everyone’s indignation.

Su Chen waved his hand. "Alright, alright, that’s enough. Let’s just eat. I was prepared for this and made extra. There’s plenty for everyone."

He had promised to repay his debt to them with food, and he had also promised they could bring family and friends to eat.

Li Mingtao’s behavior was definitely a bit shameless, but since he wasn’t technically breaking any rules, Su Chen, as the boss, couldn’t really say much about it.

Besides, the more people he brought, the faster that subsidy would be depleted. Especially now, with the cafeteria’s new system, that twelve hundred yuan would be used up in no time.

Once that subsidy was gone, he’d have to pay his own money to eat at the company. And if he didn’t want to eat here, well, he’d have no more ties to the company.

He casually replied with a simple "OK" and put his phone away. "Let’s go, let’s go! This dish is best eaten hot! Liu Shengnan, you’re on rice duty!"

"Ahhh, why me!"

"You get a twenty percent discount!"

"You got it, Boss!" Liu Shengnan eagerly scampered off to get rice for everyone.

Bai Xiaobo and Xiaobin repeated their performance from the previous night, carrying the huge, brimming pot of pickled fish and placing it right in the middle of the only round table in the dining room.

Su Chen saw He Shuting bustling about, also moving things. "Shuting, what are you doing?"

He Shuting brushed the hair from her forehead. "I can’t stand Director Li. I don’t want to sit and eat with him."

A small square table and four stools were set up next to the large round table.

Su Chen didn’t say anything. He just shook his head with a smile and sat down at the head of the round table.

And now, for the moment they’d all been waiting for!!! 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Under the watchful eyes of the group, Bai Xiaobo was the first to serve himself a bowl of the fish with pickled vegetables.

"Xiaobai, you’ve gone too far! Who serves themself like that? You’re scraping the bottom and taking all the fish fillets! You expect the rest of us to just drink the broth?"

Bai Xiaobo pouted. "Well, you guys weren’t thinking about me with your ’two-in-one’ bun trick, were you? Hmph!"

’He’d practiced this move for three years in high school!’

Back then, he’d often blow his living allowance early in the month, leaving him too broke to afford proper meals by the end. His only option was to go to the cafeteria for the free seaweed and egg drop soup.

To get more of the seaweed and egg bits, Bai Xiaobo had to scrape his ladle across the very bottom of the large tureen and then steadily raise it along the side.

’This move... he had practiced it for three years!’

’It was finally paying off!’

Watching Bai Xiaobo sit down smugly with a bowl piled high with fish fillets, noodles, and mushrooms, Su Chen stroked his chin. "You know, I have to say, the name of this dish is Golden Broth Fish with Pickled Greens. It’s most delicious when you eat the broth and the ingredients together. The broth... is actually the soul of the dish."

Hearing Su Chen’s words, the expression on Bai Xiaobo’s face changed drastically.

’Why am I always the one who gets hurt?’

With Xiaobai properly humbled, the others suppressed their laughter and took turns serving themselves a bowl of the golden fish with pickled vegetables.

Just as everyone was finishing serving themselves, an unfamiliar voice came from the entrance.

"Hey, Director Li! This company’s pretty interesting. They have outside contractors, huh?" Zhou Kai said as he followed Li Mingtao into the Meiweilai Company cafeteria. His eyes immediately fell on the "Today’s Prices" sign posted on the door.

There was one price for employees with a card, and another for those without.

’So this company has contract workers?’

Li Mingtao saw it too, and his face flushed. ’Weren’t they clearly targeting him?’

Everyone else ate alone; he was the only one who brought guests every day. But Li Mingtao didn’t care. As long as he got his money’s worth, it was fine!

"We have a few temps," he explained casually. "Just doing our part to answer the government’s call to help with unemployment."

After his casual explanation, the two walked into the cafeteria together.

Li Mingtao had told Zhou Kai that Meiweilai Company belonged to a friend. The moment he stepped into the cafeteria, he rushed over enthusiastically and clasped Su Chen’s hand.

"Boss Su!" he boomed. "Hehe, this morning just wore me out! I’m only just now getting a chance to drop by. Oh, everyone’s eating? Great, great! Don’t mind me, I’ll help myself. This neighborhood is so desolate, there isn’t a single restaurant around, hehe!"

Zhou Kai casually sat down at the small square table He Shuting had arranged. Seeing Li Mingtao in action, he was once again filled with admiration.

’Director Li’s network is incredible!’

’This isn’t just a friend’s company. He’s more at home here than in his own house!’

Li Mingtao used the cafeteria’s serving bowls to get two portions of rice, and a slightly larger tureen for the fish with pickled vegetables. As he set everything down on the table...

Zhou Kai leaned in and took a sniff. "Wow, look at their cafeteria! A huge bowl of fish with pickled vegetables is only 48 yuan, and rice is free? This portion is enough for the both of us! Our cafete—"

"Shh!" Li Mingtao quickly cut Zhou Kai off. "Don’t talk about work while we’re eating."

Zhou Kai shot him an admiring glance.

’Director Li has only been here a day and he already treats this company like his own family. You can only badmouth family behind closed doors; you’d never say a bad word about them in public.’

’No wonder he’s a director!’

’I really need to learn from his example!’

With that, Zhou Kai said no more.

He extended his chopsticks, aimed for a slice of fish, and plucked it from the bowl.