“This money really isn’t easy to earn.”
Lin Xiaohe was surrounded by eight handsome guys, almost like she was being escorted, and under the curious gazes of the students, she finally arrived at the school cafeteria.
Uncle Chen had been waiting there for a while.
He and the cafeteria manager played good cop and bad cop, practically digging up Lin Xiaohe’s entire family history going back eighteen generations. After being interrogated for over an hour, Lin Xiaohe finally passed the interview and was taken to complete the onboarding paperwork.
Honestly, Lin Xiaohe kind of wanted to kick up a fuss and quit. But thinking about the current job market, finding a job with a monthly salary of 7,000, full insurance and housing fund, weekends off, and no overtime seemed pretty difficult.
If she really didn’t take it, it would be hard to explain to Professor Liu and his wife.
Lin Xiaohe’s perception was extremely sharp—those faint, barely noticeable watching eyes hidden nearby were completely visible to her.
Sigh, surveillance is surveillance. As the saying goes, if you do nothing wrong, you won’t be afraid of ghosts knocking at midnight.
Lin Xiaohe had a clear conscience, so she was fearless.
“This is Chef Li. From now on, you answer to him. Old Li, this is the new hire, Lin Xiaohe. Show her the ropes.” After handing Lin Xiaohe over to Uncle Li, the cafeteria manager left.
Chef Li was a sturdy Shandong man, 1.8 meters tall, with a honest face and a voice like muffled thunder: “So, uh, what can you do?”
He was a bit worried—with Lin Xiaohe’s skinny arms and legs, could she really handle it?
Lin Xiaohe: “As long as you don’t make me stir-fry, I can do anything.”
She could stir-fry, sure—she just worried that nobody would dare eat what she cooked.
The school had four cafeterias in total.
Lin Xiaohe’s workplace was the Fourth Cafeteria, with twelve serving windows.
In the kitchen, there were three head chefs and eighteen helpers.
At that moment, they were all so busy their hands were flying and feet barely touching the ground, only occasionally stealing a glance or two at Lin Xiaohe before focusing on their own work.
Old Li clicked his tongue, looking troubled. What he needed was a prep cook, but who’d have thought the higher-ups would send him a delicate young girl.
Ugh.
“Our work hours are 6 AM to 12:30 PM. Then 4:00 to 6:00 PM. Once you’re officially hired, room and board are provided. During the internship, meals are included too.” Old Li led Lin Xiaohe to a pile of peeled potatoes.
“Can you julienne potatoes?”
Lin Xiaohe revealed a polite smile: “Yes. How thin do you want them?”
” We’re making vinegar-glazed potato shreds for lunch. Not too thin, not too thick—about the size of matchsticks.” Old Li was a little uneasy and added, “If you can do it, great. If not, call someone for help. Don’t hold things up.”
“Don’t worry. If I say I can, I definitely can!”
“Heh, this little girl’s got some spirit.” Old Li left the pile to Lin Xiaohe and went off to handle his own tasks.
Julienning potatoes—that’s simple enough. Thick or thin, either works. This girl should be able to handle it, right?
As mealtime approached, the kitchen was buzzing with activity. The sounds of chopping, stir-frying, washing, and shouting filled the air with a warm, earthy liveliness.
Lin Xiaohe rolled her sleeves up to her elbows, held a potato in her left hand and a knife in her right, and with a swish-swish-swish, her cleaver moved so fast it left afterimages.
The helper responsible for peeling potatoes had peeled a whole basin’s worth early on. He’d just looked up to take a breather when he saw the pile of peeled potatoes being consumed at a visible rate.
He stared in shock at that slim silhouette: “Holy crap!”
This potato-julienning speed was faster than a machine!
He couldn’t resist—he walked over, picked up a handful of potato shreds, and his jaw dropped even further.
Every single shred was uniform in size, all exactly matchstick-sized.
“This can’t be…” He was also a bit of a character—he pulled a measuring tape from his pocket and actually started measuring them one by one.
After measuring dozens of them, he finally had to admit: the new girl prep cook was genuinely amazing!
Seeing that the basin of peeled potatoes had only a few left, which would probably be finished in about ten seconds, he yelped like a monkey whose rear had been scalded and rushed off to peel more.
While peeling, he wailed internally.
The winds of hyper-competition had finally reached the school kitchen! Someone with such incredible knife skills was actually here competing for a cafeteria job.
Old Li, who was in charge of stir-frying the vinegar-glazed potato shreds, took the prepared potatoes. His hand paused for just a moment, then he continued cooking as if nothing had happened.
The potato shreds were uniform in size, so they’d heat evenly. As long as the technique was solid, the dish would naturally taste great.
That day, the Fourth Cafeteria’s vinegar-glazed potato shreds received unanimous praise from the students.
After the students finished eating, the chefs’ apprentices started making staff meals.
Most of the helpers were young men, with a few older uncles and aunties scattered among them.
The young men were too shy to chat with Lin Xiaohe, so Old Li sat down next to her. His daughter was about Lin Xiaohe’s age, so he looked at her like a younger family member.
“Your potato-julienning skills are good. Keep it up—with your technique, you’ll have no problem getting through the internship.”
“Thanks, Uncle Li. That empty plot behind the kitchen—is it being used?”
“What do you want to do?”
“I want to grow some vegetables. It’s such a waste to leave that land empty.”
Old Li was taken aback—he hadn’t expected Lin Xiaohe to make such a request: “Well, you can, but… do you know how to farm?”
Lin Xiaohe smiled softly: “I graduated from an agricultural university.”
When they heard she’d studied agriculture, the older uncles and aunties helping out felt a sudden warmth and familiarity.
“Wow, that’s impressive! What are you planning to grow?”
“We tried farming in the backyard before too. Used to get a few things sprouting here and there, but these past two years it’s been weird—anything we plant dies!”
“You’re telling me. I used to be a farmer—farmed for decades—and then I fell flat on my face in that backyard. If word got out, I’d lose all face!”
Lin Xiaohe answered with a smile: “I’m planning to grow some potatoes, chili peppers, tomatoes, corn, and dandelions.”
“Huh?!”
Everyone was skeptical: “Will that work? Planting such a mix.”
“Let’s give it a try.”
Nobody tried to persuade her further.
It was Lin Xiaohe’s land to farm anyway—she didn’t need their help. Whether it worked out or not was her business.
No need to stick their noses in and annoy her for nothing.
After eating, Lin Xiaohe found a hoe and got to work, huffing and puffing on the farm chores.
The lunch break was long—they could rest until 4 PM. With nothing much to do, people gathered in small groups, chatting and gossiping while watching Lin Xiaohe work.
As they watched, the gossip died down and all eyes shifted to Lin Xiaohe.
“You gotta admit, someone who’s actually studied this is different. Her movements are quick and she looks great doing it.”
A young man corrected: “That’s called ‘flowing like water.'”
“Fine, fine, you’re all right. The weather’s going to get warmer—let’s see if this girl can actually grow something.”
Lin Xiaohe didn’t pay any attention to the eyes on her. Every time she dug a hole, she’d flick her fingers.
The military academy was built on a graveyard—the purpose was to use the academy’s masculine energy to suppress certain things.
Normally, in broad daylight, they shouldn’t appear. But the soil was full of consciousness fragments—that was the reason nothing would grow.
“What are you doing?” a cadet suddenly asked.
He’d been watching from the side for a while. Lin Xiaohe’s farming movements were oddly soothing, but she kept flicking her fingers every time.
Lin Xiaohe looked up, sunlight pouring into her eyes like shattered gold: “The little cuties are being too lively. I’m telling them not to interfere.”
“Who are the little cuties?”
“Hmm, to put it scientifically—they’re neutrinos.”
