Zhou Kai picked up a thin slice of fish, habitually dabbing it on his rice before slowly putting it in his mouth.

"Hmm?" Zhou Kai smacked his lips. "This canteen chef is something else!"

The fish was fresh, tender, and smooth, and the savory aroma of pickled greens danced wildly in his mouth. With just a single bite, Zhou Kai was completely won over by the canteen’s chef.

After that single cry of admiration, Zhou Kai immediately picked up another slice of fish. "Delicious!"

SMACK! SMACK!

Zhou Kai and Li Mingtao were new colleagues, and if they weren’t discussing work, they didn’t really have much to talk about.

Besides, the flavor of this pickled fish completely shattered Zhou Kai’s perception of the dish.

This was way better than the 99-yuan combo he’d had at the mall last time!

To use his mouth for talking right now would be an act of utter disrespect to this bowl of pickled fish.

Li Mingtao watched Zhou Kai wolfing down his food like someone who’d never had a decent meal and found it a little amusing. "Pickled fish is nothing. If you’d tried the buns and the braised eggplant and potatoes here, you’d be drooling yourself into a stupor."

"What?" Zhou Kai’s eyes widened. "Director Li, you eat here often?"

Li Mingtao realized he’d let that slip. "Well, not really. I just came a few times when I was taking care of some business nearby the other day."

Zhou Kai sighed. "It’d be amazing if I could eat here every day. SLURP~"

Scooping up a spoonful of the rich, golden broth, Zhou Kai took a loud slurp, an expression of pure bliss spreading across his face involuntarily. "This broth is even more satisfying than the fish!"

The broth, infused with the flavor of the fish, carried the savory richness of emulsified fats. The pickled greens made it mellow and smooth, and a single spoonful left a faint, spicy aftertaste as it went down.

A pleasant warmth spread through his entire body, seeming to wash away the exhaustion of the whole morning.

With that, Zhou Kai ladled several spoonfuls of broth over his rice, mixed it all together, and took a huge mouthful.

The grains of rice, slightly plump from soaking in the broth, were soft and tender. Zhou Kai couldn’t help but shovel in a few more scoops, only stopping when his mouth was stuffed.

Similarly, at the large round table nearby, everyone else was also left speechless by Su Chen’s golden broth pickled fish, their mouths watering too much to speak.

They had completely forgotten they’d eaten seven buns that morning; everyone was just focused on devouring their meal!

After a few bites of fish, Bai Xiaobo realized Su Chen had been telling the truth. He decisively ladled half a bowl of broth for himself, split his first bowl of fish into two, and began inhaling the food with gusto.

Perhaps having learned his lesson from the morning, Bai Xiaobo ate exceptionally fast. Before anyone else had finished their first bowl, he had already polished off two.

Just as he was about to get another serving, the public ladle was suddenly snatched away by another hand.

"This pickled fish is so good today!" Li Mingtao said, having beaten him to the ladle.

Luckily, there was still plenty of food left in the pot, so Bai Xiaobo just pouted and didn’t say anything.

Meanwhile, Zhou Kai stared at the second serving of pickled fish Director Li brought back and pulled out his phone. "Director Li, hold on!"

SNAP! SNAP! He took a few pictures.

[Mooched a meal at a friend’s company canteen. This pickled fish is seriously good, way better than the one at Wanda Plaza. And a huge bowl like this is only 30 for employees. So jealous of the people who work here~~]

He hit ’send’ on his social media feed and, satisfied, went back to devouring his meal.

"These glass noodles are great too. They have their own unique flavor."

"Who knew enoki mushrooms in pickled fish would be this good? You learn something new every day!"

Zhou Kai felt like one mouth wasn’t enough. He was busy eating, busy drinking the broth, and to top it all off, the broth was like a drug—one sip just made him crave another.

Gulping it down one mouthful after another was just too satisfying. He only stopped, disappointed, when his spoon scraped the bottom of his bowl twice and came up empty. His eyes kept darting toward the large pot on the round table.

The solid ingredients in the pot of pickled fish were almost gone, but there was still a lot of broth left.

"If we weren’t running out of time, I’d totally get another bowl." Zhou Kai wiped his mouth, his voice tinged with regret.

Li Mingtao did the same. "Yeah, it’s getting late. I’ll just send my friend a ’red envelope’ later. We can’t just eat for free."

’After all, I’m an employee, so my share can be deducted from the subsidy the company owes me. I have to play the part.’ Li Mingtao deliberately mentioned the ’red envelope’ to hint to Zhou Kai that this meal wasn’t free.

"That won’t do!" Zhou Kai immediately shot to his feet. "Besides, didn’t we agree it was my treat today? I’ve got this, I’ve got this!"

He pushed Director Li back with his left hand while looking around with his phone in his right. When he didn’t see a payment QR code, he pulled his wallet from his suit pocket instead. "Two servings of pickled fish is 96, and we had six bowls of rice between us... let’s just make it an even hundred."

Zhou Kai had noticed a sign on the wall when they first arrived: [Staple foods are free. Please do not be wasteful.]

’Director Li and I ate six bowls of their rice,’ he thought, ’so an extra four yuan isn’t a big deal.’

To show his resolve, Zhou Kai quickly tossed a hundred-yuan bill onto Su Chen’s round table and started dragging Li Mingtao toward the door.

He didn’t let go until they were inside the elevator. "Director Li, just look at their canteen! If our company’s canteen were even half as good, no one would be so dissatisfied!"

"Their employee price for pickled fish is only 30. That means we basically each just paid for one serving. It’s delicious, it’s cheap... sigh!"

After eating this pickled fish, thinking about the slop their own company canteen served daily made Zhou Kai even more furious. "If they weren’t riding the boss’s coattails, I’d have the entire canteen staff fired!"

Li Mingtao’s mind was elsewhere. He replied dismissively, "They’re hard to deal with precisely because of that connection to the boss. Let’s head back and figure something out later."

’Originally, my plan was to put my and Zhou Kai’s meal on my subsidy account,’ Li Mingtao thought. ’Then I could pocket the money Zhou Kai transferred to me. But now he’s gone and messed it up. The payment for the meal went directly to Boss Su in cash. Even though I have a new job, we’re all in the Development Zone. We’re bound to run into each other. I can’t really go ask the boss for the money, can I?’

His plan ruined, Li Mingtao was annoyed. He walked back to the company with Zhou Kai, went straight into his office, and shut the door to brood over other matters.

... 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

「Meiweilai Company.」

Su Chen and seven employees.

Everyone had been eating happily, enjoying their meal. But just as Director Li was leaving, his friend tossed a hundred-yuan bill on the table, leaving everyone stunned.

Especially Su Chen.

’If I remember correctly,’ he thought, ’this is Meiweilai Company’s first-ever profitable revenue.’

He picked up the hundred-yuan bill and looked at it again and again.

’Getting paid for a meal. That seems perfectly reasonable. But this is a company canteen, so it also feels a little... off. Hsss... This feeling of something being perfectly reasonable yet completely off... It’s so unsettling, isn’t it?’