Old Mrs. Wang had finally grasped the true essence of the dynamic between a mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law. Just as some of the other wives had said, in the constant tug-of-war, the most crucial element was winning over the man who served as the bridge between them.

The reason Lin Jin, that two-faced schemer, had managed to win every time was because she had diligently put this truth into practice.

And the reason she was now able to turn the tables was the same!

The old woman called for the others and headed toward the commune cafeteria with their meal tins, muttering, "That Zhu Yun, that black-hearted wench... who knows where she got that brilliant idea. She calls all the shots at the factory cafeteria now. Visiting relatives have to apply in advance, and she allocates meals for a certain number of days based on each situation."

"Otherwise, why would I have to eat with you all out here in the sticks? This commune cafeteria might be better than the one in our village, but can it compare to the factory’s?"

The old man and the two youngsters had been wide-eyed ever since they got off the train yesterday. Their gazes darted back and forth between the two neat, beautiful rows of courtyard-style homes and the factory’s office building. They just grinned foolishly and nodded, not saying a word.

The old woman wasn’t really looking for a response from them anyway. She just muttered to herself, "I’ll have my son submit the application for you all today. I wonder how many days it’ll take to get approved."

"When we’re eating later, be smart about it. Eat the dishes first, then the steamed buns. At the end, just scoop the rice and egg out of the soup. Eat as much as you can. You can just drink water when we get home!"

"And remember, when no one’s looking, stuff some dry food into those cloth pouches I sewed for you yesterday. We can take it home, sun-dry it, and grind it into a powder. We can make a paste out of it later..."

Having been the one in charge of the cooking for decades, she had a wealth of experience when it came to eating her fill—and then some.

The three members of the Wang Family nodded eagerly, rolling up their sleeves as if preparing for a major battle.

The four of them marched spiritedly toward the commune cafeteria, but as they reached the entrance, they saw a crowd gathered and couldn’t help but feel curious.

The old woman, throwing all ladylike decorum to the wind, lowered her head and pushed and shoved her way to the very front. When she saw the familiar-looking sheet of paper posted there, her heart sank.

"Friend, what’s... what’s written on there?"

The man glanced at the old woman. Seeing her unfamiliar face, he knew she must live in the factory’s family housing complex and had only just arrived.

He only explained one of the rules. "Oh, it says the commune cafeteria only serves its own members. Outsiders have to pay with money and ration tickets. Otherwise, if they eat up all the grain in the commune’s granary, what are we supposed to do? Live on air?"

Old Mrs. Wang’s eyes went wide. "How can that be? We’re all good comrades of the Party. Why can’t you be a little more accommodating?"

The commune leader had already explained the situation patiently to everyone.

They couldn’t let the cafeteria’s current abundance blind them; they had to think long-term. They were all seasoned farmers who understood grain production better than anyone.

Life was better now, yes, but they still had to carefully ration their grain. How could they pin all their hopes on the Party? There were so many communes; even if the Party wanted to manage them all, it simply couldn’t!

Everyone had to be prepared to make the current supply last for a whole year, unless the Party allocated more grain.

The crowd snapped back, "What’s there to be accommodating about? You people either have a work unit or commercial grain rations. At the very least, you have your own production brigade to feed you. How do you have the gall to come here and try to eat our food?"

"The grain in our cafeteria is for our own people, to make up for the rations we didn’t receive this year! Did you dig any ditches for us? Did you haul any manure? You set foot in our commune and suddenly forget who you are and where you came from?"

"If there were no rules for anything, what if we all followed you back to your brigade and ate a month’s worth of their food in a single day? You think your brigade leader would be happy about that?"

Old Mrs. Wang was so thoroughly rebuked by the crowd that she backed away, unable to say a single word in response.

But she knew every word they said was reasonable. She wouldn’t have a leg to stand on even if she complained to the Party. After all, everyone else was minding their own business at home. She was the one who had gotten greedy and taken it upon herself to call her husband and grandchildren over.

A few days ago, quite a few people had eaten themselves sick at the factory cafeteria, which made the leadership take the matter seriously. They began to strictly monitor everyone coming and going, and patrols started making constant rounds in the family housing complex to prevent any outsiders from sneaking in to take advantage of the situation!

Old Mrs. Wang was furious with herself. She’d done something so stupid! She’d thrown away the chance for three free meals, only to come all the way to the Capital City and be told she had to pay.

"You all stay here. I’ll go get our meals from the factory. We’ll just have to eat a little less, that’s all. How can we actually pay for food? We’d be a laughingstock!"

’With three people in the family able to get meals, including Lin Jin, how could they not feed six people?’

’In a day or two, the application will be approved, and then they can all go get food from the factory cafeteria!’

The leadership had allocated a sizable warehouse to the cafeteria, and Zhu Yun had made detailed plans for every category of ingredient.

The ingredients brought in daily by the procurement team were first checked into the warehouse. For perishable items like meat, fish, shrimp, and fresh vegetables, seventy percent of the volume would be sent directly to the various cafeterias. The remaining amount would undergo basic processing: some would be made into pickles, some sun-dried, and others baked into snacks for easier storage.