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Chapter 614: Chapter 387: Why Do They All Have It?
The noisy canteen was bustling with students carrying bowls of food, coming and going.
"You siblings, how many years apart are you?"
Hearing this question, Chen Siyu and Chen Siqing fell silent, exchanging glances.
Finally, the elder sister, Chen Siqing, said, "We’ll tell you after we’ve gotten our food."
Tang Fu: "Oh, okay."
They each picked up their food containers and headed towards the porridge station.
Jiang Ning chose the queue where Guo Ran was serving, which also happened to be the busiest one.
There were so many people that Guo Ran didn’t see Jiang Ning.
Instead, it was Shan Qingrong who spotted Jiang Ning.
He was holding a large ladle; today was the small canteen’s first day of operation, and inevitably there were some oversights. The teachers found that to improve efficiency, they could add a couple of extra large ladles to the porridge station.
Shan Qingrong patted Jiang Ning on the shoulder and said, "Follow me."
He then used the ladle to start a new queue.
The students queuing next to them were still waiting foolishly when they saw that Shan Qingrong, with a ladle in hand, served Jiang Ning two bowls of porridge.
Jiang Ning held one in each hand.
Xue Yuantong, carrying Geng Lu’s bowl, was wandering around the dining table. She had lost sight of Jiang Ning earlier due to the crowd.
Seeing him return, Xue Yuantong found her anchor: "Bai Yuxia and Geng Lu have gone to get steamed buns; let’s help them get some food!"
Jiang Ning had no objections.
He and Xue Yuantong lined up together, but this time they weren’t as lucky as before; the new queue that Shan Qingrong had opened was already full.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Shan Qingrong couldn’t very well let them cut in line.
So, Jiang Ning chose to queue up at Guo Ran’s station.
Guo Ran was a young teacher, hard-working; she wielded a huge ladle, continuously serving soup to students. The handle of the ladle was quite long, making it somewhat tiresome.
By the time it was Jiang Ning’s turn, Guo Ran’s arm was trembling slightly from fatigue.
She looked up, saw it was Jiang Ning, and a smile touched her eyes, dispelling the rushed atmosphere and creating a warm, friendly vibe:
"Jiang Ning, which one do you want?"
As she spoke, she lifted the ladle, intending to serve Jiang Ning some porridge.
Jiang Ning quickly took the ladle, as if performing a magic trick, relieving her of it:
"Teacher, let me do it."
He ladled out some corn porridge for Bai Yuxia, having Tongtong help carry it away.
Then he scooped up some milk oatmeal porridge for Geng Lu.
After he was done, he returned the ladle to Guo Ran.
When Jiang Ning got back to the small dining table, Bai Yuxia had already returned, and they had picked up a basket of steamed buns from the window.
"Thanks!" Geng Lu’s little tiger teeth appeared again, breathing a sigh of relief.
Everyone had their tasks, all was ready, and it was time to eat.
...
At table 27 not too far away, another scenario was unfolding.
"Gangzi, do you want an egg pancake?"
Zhang Chi, empty-handed, picked up a piece of egg pancake and handed it to his close friend Duan Shigang.
In the previous days, Duan Shigang had brought him breakfast every morning. Although those days were over, Zhang Chi was not the type to forget a kindness. Now he was returning the favor with an egg pancake.
Duan Shigang wasn’t shy; he grabbed it and took a big bite, finishing it in just three bites.
Zhang Chi pointed at the plate: "Brother Gang, eat, eat!"
Then both of them reached out for a pancake.
Yan Tianpeng said, "You bunch of bumpkins, watch how I eat!"
With that, he grabbed a piece of pancake, pulled out a small food spoon, and reached towards the middle dish of the three on the table.
Stir-fried green chilies with dry shrimps—a dish perfect for accompanying rice.
Compared to the stir-fried mung bean sprouts with sanzi and spicy shredded potato on either side, this dish appeared a bit more luxurious.
Yan Tianpeng made a precise move and scooped up a full spoonful of dry shrimps, but that wasn’t enough; he scooped up another spoonful, visibly depleting the dish.
He wrapped the shrimps in two pieces of egg pancake and devoured them with gusto, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Song Sheng returned with a bowl just in time to see the plate with 8 egg pancakes now reduced to only two pieces.
He pointed at the three of them and exclaimed angrily, "These pancakes are to be shared equally by everyone, one per person!"
In the midst of speaking, Zhang Chi grabbed another one, completely indifferent: "I didn’t know."
He didn’t show the slightest bit of guilt.
Song Sheng was very annoyed; Zhang Chi was impervious to shame, his skin thicker than that of an ox.
His gaze then turned to the burly Yan Tianpeng.
Seeing that Yan Tianpeng’s egg pancake was almost gone, Song Sheng seized the moment, snatched up his chopsticks, and grabbed the last piece of pancake for himself.
He quickly claimed his portion of corn before it could be taken.
Yan Tianpeng reached out and found nothing, so he simply grabbed another piece of corn.
When Shi Qianjin returned with a basket of steamed buns, all the egg pancakes and corn on the plate were gone.
But the worst part was the stir-fried green chilies and dry shrimps dish in the middle—all the shrimps were missing, leaving only chilies.
Shi Qianjin: "Damn!"
Wang Yan Yan and Li Shengnan arrived together, only to discover the unsettling situation at their table.
Someone had dared to infringe on their interests, and Li Shengnan, in towering rage, bellowed:
"Where’s my pancake?!"
...
At table 26, the scene was quite different.
Guo Kunnan wanted to help class 7’s Lu Yaya with her porridge, but she declined; however, he felt no disappointment. There would be plenty of opportunities to grow closer in the future.
"Brother Nan, did you get my porridge?" Dan Kaiquan set down the basket of steamed buns on the dining table.
Guo Kunnan’s smile remained bright, and he reassured confidently, "Hey, you can count on me when I’m in charge."
Ma Shicheng: "Where’s Yu Zhu?"
Hu Jun, Wang Longlong, Lu Qiqi, and Tan Meiling were all seated, with only Yu Zhu missing.
In a few seconds, Huang Yuzhu arrived with the basket of steamed buns.
Ma Shicheng said, "Yu Zhu, next time let’s decide who gets the bread; don’t always take it upon yourself, fairness is key."
Huang Yuzhu, with an honest face: "It’s no trouble."
"Sit down, your porridge is ready," Ma Shicheng tapped his chopsticks.
Huang Yuzhu awkwardly muttered thanks.
Guo Kunnan surveyed the table; it was a 4x2 rectangular table with seats welded to the edges.
He rationalized in his mind, then spoke up, "Guys, this table is a bit long, and it’s hard to reach for dishes from the edge seats; ladies first, let them sit inside."
