Chapter 59: Going to Work Makes Me Happy

Afternoon, Jiang City Orphanage.

In the canteen.

As soon as it was mealtime, Su Tao was once again the first to charge into the canteen.

The moment she burst in, she called out enthusiastically, “Grandpa Zhao, I’m here, I’m here! I came to see you again!”

“What are we having for dinner tonight?”

“Taozi, are you rushing over to see this old man, or to be first in line for food?” Master Zhao asked with a smile.

“Heehee, both of course~”

“You little rascal! Tonight we’re having vegetable porridge, meat-filled steamed buns, and some side dishes,” Master Zhao said with a helpless chuckle.

“Ah, porridge again~”

“But there are meat buns too, not bad! I love meat buns~”

“Whatever Grandpa Zhao makes is always super delicious!”

Soon, the others began trickling in.

Everyone lined up in an orderly fashion to get their food.

Aunt Liu and Yuan Yuan were helping out on the side.

Each person got a bowl of vegetable porridge and one meat bun to start with. If that wasn’t enough, they could come back for more.

Nearby, there were marinated eggs, pickled vegetables, Kung Pao chicken, sweet and sour pork, braised tofu, and stir-fried baby bok choy.

Next to that were washed apples, milk jujubes, and cherry tomatoes.

After Su Tao received her tray of food, she politely said thank you and rushed to the dining area to dig in.

She took a bite of the meat bun first, then picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork.

The glossy red pork was rich in flavor, perfectly balanced between sweet and sour, and the meat was tender and juicy. Absolutely delicious.

Su Tao decided this dish deserved a spot on her list of all-time favorites.

So good.

After finishing the pork, she scooped up a spoonful of Kung Pao chicken.

Mmm~

Still the familiar taste she loved, still one of her favorites~

Then she tried the braised tofu and pickled vegetables.

Delicious, all of it.

Even the pickled vegetables were crispy and refreshing.

The stir-fried baby bok choy was her last choice.

But after taking a bite, she was surprised to find… it was incredibly tasty too.

Compared to the meat dishes, it was just as good (though she still liked meat the most e=(′o｀*))) ).

There was an indescribable sweetness to the stir-fried greens.

Hmm, back when Mama Wu was still around, she used to make stir-fried veggies for them all the time.

But those never tasted this good.

Su Tao took a sip of the vegetable porridge she used to be tired of.

Mmm, so good~

Better than any vegetable porridge she’d ever had before.

It seemed Grandpa Zhao’s cooking skills had leveled up again.

After she finished eating, she planned to go to the kitchen and find Grandpa Zhao.

She wanted to learn how to stir-fry baby bok choy and make sweet and sour pork!

******

When Lu Qingqiang and Zhang Qiang arrived at the canteen with Zhang Haiping and his wife, they noticed something right away.

All the kids, along with Doctor Feng, Yuan Yuan, and Aunt Liu, were sitting at their tables, eating quietly and attentively.

Everyone was so focused on their meal that they didn’t even notice someone had come in from outside.

“Director, Old Zhang, you’re here~”

“And these two are?” Master Zhao looked at the newcomers and greeted them warmly.

“These two are new hires at the orphanage. They’ll be in charge of planting and raising livestock on the back hill.”

“Hello, I’m Zhang Haiping, and this is my wife, Liu Shufen. We’re new here, so please take care of us.”

“Hehe, of course, of course.”

“We’re all colleagues now. Looking out for each other is only natural,” Master Zhao said with a chuckle.

“Uncle Zhang, Aunt Liu, here we usually grab our own trays from the sterilizer and serve ourselves.”

“After eating, we wash our own dishes.”

“The trays are over here. Just help yourselves to whatever you’d like,” Zhang Qiang explained.

“Alright, thank you.”

After getting their food, the couple found a spot to sit across from each other and began eating.

They had to admit, the food at this orphanage was really something.

Even dinner came with meat dishes.

What looked like ordinary vegetable porridge and pickled vegetables turned out to be incredibly tasty.

And that stir-fried baby bok choy, though it looked plain, had amazing flavor.

Even better than the greens they grew in their backyard back home.

Before they knew it, they had eaten too much.

Burp~

It had been a long time since they’d had such a satisfying and hearty dinner.

Back in the village, dinner was usually just something to get by.

Leftovers from lunch, reheated and eaten without much thought.

Or maybe some sweet potato or red bean porridge, a simple stir-fry, and a steamed bun.

That was it.

Only when their children came home would they kill a chicken, cook a few more dishes, and have a proper meal.

Or during holidays, when there was time to prepare something nice.

Now, thanks to Xiao Zhang’s introduction, they had come to work in Jiang City.

They hadn’t expected the food outside to be this good.

No wonder there were so few young people left in the village. Everyone wanted to come out and work.

Working outside really was better.

You earned more and ate better.

The two of them sighed quietly from the bottom of their hearts.

Unaware that the outside world had its ups and downs, and some heartless bosses were no better than slave drivers.

They were just lucky to have met Lu Qingqiang and ended up with such good treatment.

After dinner, the kids, Doctor Feng, Yuan Yuan, and the others gradually left.

Lu Qingqiang also took his leave.

When only Master Zhao and the Zhang couple were left in the canteen, Master Zhao couldn’t help but strike up a conversation.

“Tell me, Old Zhang, why did you two decide to come to the city for work?”

“Is it because farming doesn’t make money anymore?”

“We rented out our land. Nothing to do at home anyway,” Zhang Haiping replied dryly.

“Right? I’m just like you.”

“Back then, I worked at a private restaurant in Jiang City. Busy every day, but life felt fulfilling.”

“But later, my son got into a car accident and passed away. I felt like my whole life lost its meaning.”

“I wanted to follow him, but it was my nephew, Liu Xiang, who pulled me back.”

“After that, I started to see things differently.”

“But when I tried to find work again, I couldn’t.”

“During that time, I started doubting myself.”

“I sat in my courtyard every day, watching the sun rise and set.”

“The moon would rise, then disappear.”

“The sun… came out again.”

“Day after day, time crawled by. I felt so empty.”

“I didn’t know what I could do. I felt like a puppet, a walking corpse.”

“Then one day, the director came to find me.”

“I remember it clearly. She pushed open the half-closed gate to my house, and I secretly opened my eyes to peek.”

“The sunlight at that moment fell perfectly on her. She looked so warm.”

“It was like a beam of light suddenly lit up my entire courtyard.”

“She said she wanted to hire me to cook for the kids at the orphanage.”

“I was moved right away, but I felt inferior. I didn’t say yes at first.”

“But the director’s offer was too generous, and the picture she painted was too beautiful.”

“I couldn’t help myself—I agreed.”

“And you know what? Looking back now, I really did come to the right place.”

“Being here, I feel happy every day.”

“I’ve found that feeling I had when I first became a head chef.”

“I love the kids here. I love the warmth of this place. I love everyone and everything about it.”

“Back then, if I heard someone say ‘Going to work makes me happy,’ I’d have spat in their face.”

“Happy to work? My foot!”

“Working just meant being exploited by capitalists, having the life squeezed out of you.”

“In the end, all I got from working was a body full of ailments and barely enough money to pay for medicine.”

“Meanwhile, the boss drove a Porsche, lived in a mansion, and laughed every day.”

“But now, I actually feel the joy of working. Isn’t that strange?”