Chapter 537: Are You Kidding Me?
Experience the staff cafeteria?
Magistrate Qiu, of course, wouldn't agree to such a thing. While he was, by some measure, a decent official, any man of his standing maintained a certain air of dignity, holding himself aloof. How could he possibly eat common laborers' fare with ordinary workers? Absolutely not! It would be beneath his station.
Still, he was a tactful man. He kept these thoughts to himself, not voicing them directly, and chose a different approach. "This official is not hungry right now; I couldn't eat a thing," he declared.
Gao Yiye said, "Well then, we'll be heading over."
She smiled at the guards behind her. "You've all walked quite a while, aren't you hungry? Let's grab a meal at the steel factory's cafeteria."
Padi Tu laughed, "Oh, yes! Perfect!"
Zheng Gouzi added, "I've wanted to grab a meal here for ages. I hear the food isn't any worse than what we get at our military camp."
Padi Tu said, "We can't all go together; someone needs to stay and protect the Saintess. Let's split into two groups. Gouzi, you take half the men first."
Gao Yiye chuckled, "There's no need for that. I'll go with you all."
Magistrate Qiu was secretly startled. *What kind of person is this Madam Li? To actually go and eat common laborers' fare, doesn't she fear losing face for the Li family?*
*This official will certainly take a good look.*
He settled in to watch the show.
He watched as Gao Yiye, accompanied by a hundred guards, squeezed into the queue, waiting for the cafeteria to open. The cafeteria featured a row of service windows, all currently closed.
After a brief wait, one of the windows slid open, revealing an older woman wielding a serving spoon and shouting loudly. "Form a neat line, no pushing, one by one... Which dish would you like?"
"Ma'am, I'll have this... and that... and that one too..."
The woman casually scooped up several dishes, dumping them into the worker's meal box. As she scooped the braised pork, her spoon gave a slight flick, and a piece of meat flipped right out. The worker, holding his meal box, cried out in dismay: "Ah! Don't flick the spoon, please don't!"
Just then, a figure appeared beside the woman. It was the Heavenly Lord, who chuckled, "Let me try my hand at this."
The woman jumped in surprise. "Heavenly Lord!"
"No need to be so flustered!" the Heavenly Lord said, gently pushing the woman aside. He took the spoon, plunged it deep into the braised pork, and took a massive scoop, without the slightest flick. He then unceremoniously dumped a heaping spoonful of meat into the worker's meal box, laughing, "Eat plenty."
The worker was overjoyed and overwhelmed by the unexpected favor. "Many thanks, Heavenly Lord!"
The Heavenly Lord chortled. "Today is the Heavenly Lord Extra Meat Festival! Hahahaha! Everyone, eat plenty of meat!"
The woman whispered from behind him, "If you do it like this, there won't be enough to go around."
The Heavenly Lord chuckled. "Don't worry, the main contingent of workers won't be here to eat for another thirty minutes, and I've already ordered takeout. The braised pork will be delivered to the front lines in 30 minutes!"
The woman didn't understand what "takeout" meant, but she knew the Heavenly Lord's word meant everything was settled, so she offered no further objections.
The Heavenly Lord continued to scoop meat unsparingly, heaping spoonful after spoonful onto every plate. Each worker beamed with joy.
After the workers had eaten, it was Gao Yiye's turn. She flashed a sweet smile at the Heavenly Lord. "Heavenly Lord! I want more vegetables, not meat."
"You're young and still growing. How can you not eat meat?"
"I'll get fat! I don't want to get fat."
"Hahahaha!" The Heavenly Lord burst into laughter. "A little plumpness feels good to the touch!"
Gao Yiye's face instantly flushed crimson. How could a maiden from this era withstand such modern suggestive remarks? She retreated instantly, clutching her meal box, and fled.
A short while later, Gao Yiye and her guards, having finished getting their food, returned to Magistrate Qiu and his entourage.
Magistrate Qiu, being used to rich food, was unfazed. But his subordinate yamen runners and hangers-on were a different story. Their eyes were fixed, utterly transfixed, on the meal boxes in the guards' hands...
The cafeteria offered an abundance of meat and vegetables, with a balanced mix of both. The braised pork was in generous, glistening chunks, absolutely brimming with richness.
Several yamen runners swallowed hard and rubbed their bellies.
Gao Yiye beckoned to them, smiling. "Go get some food!"
The yamen runners turned to look at Magistrate Qiu, their faces practically screaming, "I want to go!"
Magistrate Qiu let out a long sigh. "Go on! All of you, go."
With a cheer, the yamen runners rushed toward the cafeteria...
By the time they finished eating, the true mealtime had arrived. Bells rang throughout the steel factory, and workers emerged from their various workshops, converging on the cafeteria, joking and chatting as they walked.
The long row of service windows all slid open, and at each window stood an older woman. And every single one of them was... flicking their spoons!
It seemed flicking the spoon was an essential skill that every cafeteria worker possessed.
The Heavenly Lord, having had his fill of fun, returned the spoon to the first woman, who promptly joined the ranks of spoon-flickers.
Gao Yiye, the guards, and the yamen runners were all full, their faces glowing as they prepared to continue their tour. Only Magistrate Qiu, stubbornly maintaining his facade, was still famished. He looked up at the sun in the sky. It was past noon, he hadn't eaten, and his stomach rumbled. What was he to do? Never mind, he'd just endure it.
Continuing their wander through the steel factory, they soon arrived at the edge of its large sports ground. This area was provided for the workers to exercise, but at the moment, the workers from one particular workshop were neither on duty nor eating in the cafeteria. Instead, they were lined up in neat formations on the sports ground.
Magistrate Qiu was greatly perplexed. "Why are these people drilling here?"
Gao Yiye smiled. "Today is their turn for military training."
Magistrate Qiu was greatly perplexed. "Military training? What is that?"
Gao Yiye explained, "Although General Xing is a formidable warrior, circumstances are unpredictable, and there are times she can't be everywhere. Perhaps in certain situations, workers might also need to take up arms to protect themselves. That's why every worker must undergo military training in rotation, to ensure they aren't completely helpless if they ever have to fight."
Magistrate Qiu understood. "Ah, the militia!"
Gao Yiye said, "Ah, yes. That's what this should be called: the militia."
The people of Gao Family Village were accustomed to referring to their regular army as the militia, so they hadn't yet come up with a good name for these workers undergoing military training. However, in reality, Gao Family Village's own militia had already, through Xing Honglang's pacification, been formally integrated as regular government soldiers under the Puzhou garrison commander...
And these workers should now be called the militia!
The workers were lined up in perfect order. At the front stood an instructor, and at his command, the workers executed a synchronized left turn, then a right turn, before breaking into a synchronized march.
They generated a thunderous, rhythmic stomping of feet as they quickly moved to the other side of the sports ground. There, a massive table was piled high with a large quantity of decommissioned smoothbore muskets. They swiftly picked up the smoothbore muskets, fixed bayonets onto them, and thrust forward in unison, shouting, "Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Magistrate Qiu gasped sharply. "Wait a moment," he exclaimed. "Your militia, they're training with firearms? Are you kidding me?"
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