Begitu Xu An pergi, para pegawai dari berbagai departemen keluar untuk mengambil jatah makan siang mereka.
Atas instruksi Luo Min, mereka mula-mula memeriksa kotak-kotak makan dari Restoran Cepat Saji Xu yang sudah dikelompokkan.
Mereka mengeluarkan dua daftar yang baru dicetak, dan saat hendak memilih makan siang rekan-rekan kerja berdasarkan daftar tersebut, mereka mendapati bahwa makanan dari Restoran Cepat Saji Xu ternyata sudah dikelompokkan dengan rapi.
Seseorang yang masih ragu membuka ikatan kantong segel, mengeluarkan kotak-kotak makan di dalamnya satu per satu untuk diperiksa, dan menemukan bahwa semuanya memang sudah dikelompokkan dengan benar; pekerjaan itu tidak dilakukan secara asal-asalan.
'Restoran Cepat Saji Xu ini ternyata lumayan juga.'
Beberapa orang mengambil kotak makan untuk departemen masing-masing dan berdiri di samping, menunggu serah terima dari Yipin Xiang selesai.
'...161, 162, 163.' Luo Min akhirnya selesai menghitung kotak makan tersebut, peluh tipis membasahi keningnya. 'Baiklah, silakan ambil tanda terimanya.'
Beberapa orang yang menunggu di samping sudah tidak sabar. Begitu Luo Min menyatakan selesai, mereka langsung menyerbu maju.
Kotak makan dari Restoran Cepat Saji Yipin Xiang juga dikelompokkan, tetapi caranya berbeda dari Restoran Cepat Saji Xu. Mereka mengelompokkannya berdasarkan jenis hidangan, dengan setiap kotak berisi macam makanan yang berbeda-beda.
Semua orang mulai memilah kotak makan dari berbagai wadah sesuai daftar mereka. Awalnya tertib, tetapi karena begitu banyak orang berebut mengambil, suasana dengan cepat berubah menjadi kacau.
'Hei, hei, hei! Itu kan yang sudah kupilih! Ambil saja bagianmu dari kotak sana, kenapa malah mengambil milikku!'
'Permisi, Rekan, bisa tolong ambilkan dua kotak makan ayam rebus putih?'
'Tadi siapa yang memesan nasi bebek panggang? Tidak ada? Kalau tidak ada yang mau, kukembalikan lagi ya.'
'Jangan dorong-dorong! Supnya tumpah...'-
Luo Min memerhatikan dari samping dengan kepala yang mulai berdenyut hebat. Ini adalah kali pertama ia mengurus acara seperti ini, dan ia melewatkan banyak detail kecil. Ia sama sekali tidak menyangka situasinya akan berakhir separah ini. Secara tegas, ini adalah bentuk kegagalan di pihak dirinya.
'Aku memang belum pernah dengar soal Restoran Cepat Saji Xu itu, tapi kerja mereka bagus.'
'Iya, aku tadi lihat kotak makan dari Restoran Cepat Saji Xu. Setiap kotak diberi label nama pemesan dan isi masakannya. Jadi tidak perlu repot rebutan pilih-pilih lagi.'
'Padahal Yipin Xiang kan restoran waralaba terkenal. Kok bisa-bisanya mereka bekerja seceroboh ini?'
'...'-
'Benar juga! Cara kerja Restoran Cepat Saji Xu itu sungguh bagus!'
Luo Min mengeluarkan ponselnya, mengambil beberapa foto kemasan makanan Restoran Cepat Saji Xu dengan bunyi CEKREK, membuka aplikasi pesan, mengetuk ruang obrolan dengan Restoran Cepat Saji Yipin Xiang, lalu mengirimkan foto-foto yang baru saja ia ambil.
'Halo, bisakah besok kemasan dan pengelompokan kotak makannya mengikuti standar seperti ini? Terima kasih atas kerjasamanya. Semoga usahanya semakin maju.'
Ren Peng yang sedang menyetir mendengarnotifikasi ponselnya. Ia memanfaatkan lampu merah untuk membuka dan melihat pesan tersebut.
'Apa-apaan ini? Banyak sekali mauunya! Beberapa hari lagi, apa kalian mau minta disuapi juga pakai sendok?!'
Departemen Desain.
Ketika perusahaan mengumumkan bahwa jatah makan karyawan akan disediakan oleh Restoran Cepat Saji Yipin Xiang dan Restoran Cepat Saji Xu, sembilan puluh sembilan persen orang di departemen itu memilih Yipin Xiang yang lebih terkenal.
Namun, selalu ada pengecualian. Duan Yuwen adalah satu persen itu.
Dalam pemberitahuan pemesanan yang dikirimkan bagian administrasi, menu Restoran Cepat Saji Yipin Xiang berupa poster, sedangkan Restoran Cepat Saji Xu berupa... tautan web!
'Pesan makanan lewat halaman web! Hal baru yang biasanya cuma kudengar di berita. Restoran Cepat Saji Xu ini cukup mengikuti zaman rupanya!'
Didorong rasa penasaran, ia mengeklik tautan tersebut dan diarahkan ke sebuah halaman web yang sederhana, bahkan bisa dibilang agak mentah.
Halaman itu menampilkan pilihan kotak makan untuk setiap hari dalam seminggu. Setiap hidangan dilengkapi dengan foto, sehingga bentuk makanannya terlihat sangat jelas.
'Menu utama besok adalah pilihan antara paha ayam panggang garam dan bakso ketan mutiara. Lauk pendampingnya adalah tahu rumahan dan puding telur kukus, serta sup hari ini adalah sup kacang hijau. Fotonya tampak sangat menggugah selera~'
'Dicoba saja sekali-kali.'
Setelah memilih makan siangnya, ia melihat harga makanan itu hanya delapan yuan, sementara subsidi perusahaan adalah sembilan yuan.
'Tidak boleh membiarkan perusahaan menghemat uang!'
Pandangannya tiba-tiba menyapu sebaris teks di bagian bawah menu, diikuti oleh tombol tambahan.
Rasanya asam dan membangkitkan selera, cita rasa musim panas yang menyegarkan. Tambah 1 yuan untuk mendapatkan Cuka Apel Haiquan.
'Satu yuan... pas genap sembilan yuan kalau ditotal. Aku pilih kamu, Cuka Apel Haiquan!'
Pukul 12.07.
Kedua rekan kerja yang pergi mengambil jatah makan kembali dengan penampilan berantakan. Mereka meletakkan kotak-kotak makan di atas meja, lalu kembali ke meja masing-masing untuk mengambil pakaian ganti sebelum bergegas keluar kantor.
Duan Yuwen adalah orang pertama yang berjalan ke arah meja tersebut. Ia pikir butuh waktu lama untuk mencari makanannya, tetapi begitu tiba di sana, ia langsung melihat kantong plastik bertuliskan
The moment Xu An left, people from various departments came out to get their meals.
At Luo Min’s signal, everyone first looked at the lunch boxes from Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant, which had already been sorted.
They pulled out two freshly printed lists, and just as they were about to select their colleagues’ lunches based on the lists, they discovered that the meals from Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant were surprisingly already sorted.
One skeptical person untied a sealed bag, took out the lunch boxes inside one by one to check, and found that they were indeed sorted correctly; it wasn’t just a sloppy job.
’This Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant is actually pretty good.’
A few people took the lunch boxes for their departments and stood to the side, waiting for the handover from Yipin Xiang to be completed.
"...161, 162, 163." Luo Min finally finished counting the lunch boxes, a fine layer of sweat beading on her forehead. "Alright, please take the receipt."
The few people waiting to the side were already impatient. The moment Luo Min said she was done, they swarmed forward.
Yipin Xiang Fast Food Restaurant’s lunch boxes were also sorted, but their method was different from Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant’s. They sorted by dish, with each box holding different types of meals.
Everyone started picking out lunch boxes from the various boxes according to their lists. It was orderly at first, but with so many people grabbing things, it quickly descended into chaos.
"Hey, hey, hey! Those are the ones I already picked out! Go get yours from the boxes, why are you taking mine!"
"Excuse me, colleague, could you hand me two of the white-cut chicken lunch boxes?"
"Who wanted the roast duck rice just now? No one? If no one wants it, I’m putting it back."
"Don’t push! The soup spilled..."
Luo Min watched from the side, a massive headache building. This was her first time organizing something like this, and she hadn’t considered many of the details. She never expected it to end up in such a chaotic mess. Strictly speaking, this was a failure on her part.
"I haven’t really heard of that Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant, but they do a good job."
"Yeah, I just looked at the lunch boxes from Xu’s Fast Food. Each one is labeled with who it’s for and what dishes are inside. You don’t have to worry about everyone picking through them at all."
"And Yipin Xiang is supposed to be a chain restaurant. How can they be so careless?"
"..."
’That’s right! The way Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant does it is great!’
Luo Min took out her phone, took several photos of Xu’s Fast Food’s packaged meals with a CLICK, opened her messaging app, tapped on the chat with Yipin Xiang Fast Food Restaurant, and sent the pictures she’d just taken.
’Hello, could you please pack and sort the lunch boxes according to this standard tomorrow? Thank you for your cooperation. Wishing you prosperous business.’
Ren Peng, who was driving, heard the phone notification. He took advantage of a red light to open it and take a look.
"What the hell is this? So many demands! In a few days, are you going to ask me to spoon-feed you, too?!"
Design Department.
When the company announced that staff meals would be provided by Yipin Xiang Fast Food Restaurant and Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant, ninety-nine percent of the people in the department chose the more famous Yipin Xiang.
But there’s always an exception. Duan Yuwen was that one percent.
In the ordering notice sent by administration, Yipin Xiang Fast Food Restaurant’s was a poster, while Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant’s was... a web link!
’Ordering from a webpage! That’s a novelty I’ve only heard about in news reports. This Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant is pretty trendy!’
Curiosity drove her to click the link, which took her to a simple, even somewhat crude, webpage.
The page showed the lunch box options for each day of the week. Every dish was accompanied by a picture, making it very clear what the food looked like.
’Tomorrow’s main course is a choice between a salt-baked chicken leg and glutinous rice pearl meatballs. The side dishes are homestyle tofu and steamed egg custard, and the soup of the day is mung bean soup. The photos all look pretty good~’
’Might as well give this one a try.’
After choosing her lunch, she saw that the meal was only eight yuan, while the company’s subsidy was nine yuan.
’Can’t let the company save money!’
Her gaze suddenly swept over a line of text at the bottom of the menu, followed by an add-on button.
Tart and appetizing, a refreshing taste of summer. +1 yuan to get a Haiquan Apple Vinegar.
’One yuan... that adds up to exactly nine. I choose you, Haiquan Apple Vinegar!’
12:07 PM.
The two colleagues who went to get the meals came back looking like a mess. They dropped the lunch boxes on a table, then returned to their desks to grab a change of clothes before rushing out of the office.
Duan Yuwen was the first to walk over to the table. She thought it would take a while to find her food, but as soon as she got there, she saw a plastic bag with the words "Design Department" written in large letters. It seemed to contain just one lunch box.
She reached out, untied the bag, and found her lunch box inside. She hefted it. Ooh, it was pretty heavy.
While everyone else was still digging through the pile of lunch boxes to find theirs, Duan Yuwen was already sitting at her desk, ready to eat.
The colleague sitting next to Duan Yuwen returned to her seat, happily carrying her own lunch. She tore open her chopsticks, ready to dig in, when her eyes suddenly fell on her neighbor’s desk—on Duan Yuwen’s lunch.
She glanced at Duan Yuwen’s lunch box, then at her own. At Duan Yuwen, then at herself. At...
’The more she looked, the more wrong it felt. How come her lunch has three dishes! And such a big bowl of soup! And a drink! Why is her lunch so lavish!’
"Yu Wen, did you order a deluxe set or something? How much was that?"
"Nope, just a regular lunch box. This one was nine yuan."
Duan Yuwen picked up a piece of the salt-baked chicken. The skin was golden brown, the meat tender and white. Juices ran quickly down the side, forming a single, glistening, crystal-clear droplet at the tip.
Her colleague stared at the piece of salt-baked chicken and swallowed hard. "Which set is that? I’m going to try ordering it tomorrow."
"Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant." Duan Yuwen tossed out the four words quickly before popping the salt-baked chicken into her mouth.
Crispy skin, tender meat, exquisite flavor. As she bit down, the juices and a woody aroma mingled, creating a rich taste that swept over her palate.
Her colleague paused for a second when she heard "Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant," then realized it was one of the two restaurants providing staff meals.
’The lunch from Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant is that good?’
She found the notice sent out by administration yesterday, clicked the web link in it, and looked at the Sunday menu on the webpage.
A choice between Three Stuffed Treasures and Braised Pork Belly, Fish-Fragrant Eggs, Dry-Fried Green Beans, Wakame and Pork Bone Soup...
’Every photo was so tempting! She wanted to eat every single dish!’
Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.
Zhang Dezhen had come to Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant to be a delivery rider with the simple idea of earning some rent money. Back then, he didn’t even know what a rider did.
Now, after working for several days and understanding what the job entailed, he was starting to feel anxious.
It was a profession that traded time and stamina for money. As long as you had the stamina and were fast, you could earn a lot.
’I’m in my thirties now, and my stamina is still good, so I can make decent money doing this.’
’But when I’m in my forties or fifties, and my body starts breaking down with all sorts of minor problems, can I still rely on this to make a living?’
’My daughter is only five. It’ll be another ten or twenty years before she’s grown up. I can’t afford to slow down.’
’So I have to find a stable job!’
Settling his wages for the day, Zhang Dezhen went outside, got on his bicycle, and prepared to head over to the restaurants near Hai City Library to see if he could find a job as a chef.
’I can’t get into a big hotel, but a small restaurant should be fine, right?’
As he turned his bike around, Zhang Dezhen suddenly noticed a brand-new hiring poster on the outer wall of Xu’s Fast Food Restaurant.
’Hiring: one chef, three kitchen helpers, one dishwasher. Salary negotiable.’
’A chef!’
Zhang Dezhen’s eyes lit up. He leaped nimbly off his bicycle, rushed into the restaurant, grabbed Xu An by both arms, and shouted, "Boss! I want to apply for the chef position!"
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