Working in Dongguan: The Girls I Met Over the Years

Chapter 31 Feeling Like Sitting on Pins and Needles

Next, the waiter brought out stir-fried pork with chili peppers and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

Each dish was served in generous portions.

Most importantly, there's a lot of meat, unlike in a cafeteria where the side dishes often overshadow the main course.

If you order a serving of stir-fried pork with chili peppers and put it in your own bowl, it will turn into stir-fried chili peppers with chili peppers.

All three dishes were served, and the two of them buried their heads in their food.

In no time, Ma Junjie had eaten three large bowls of rice.

I ate two more bowls before finally stopping, still wanting more.

Liu Bingbing said,

"Ah Jie, next time you eat, you should just bring a big bowl so you don't have to keep getting more rice!"

Ma Junjie gave an awkward smile, patted his stomach, and said...

"Assistant Liu, please excuse my poor appearance. I'm usually different; I was just too hungry today. The steamed buns in the cafeteria aren't very good; three of them aren't as good as one homemade one!"

Then I saw Liu Bingbing had already put down her chopsticks and was wiping her mouth with a tissue.

He was surprised and asked,

"Assistant Liu, are you finished eating?"

Liu Bingbing nodded.

"Yes, I ate a lot of vegetables, but less rice."

Ma Junjie found it unbelievable that Liu Bingbing hadn't finished the bowl of rice he had prepared for her, only eating half of it at most, yet she said she was full!

At this moment, Liu Bingbing stood up and said,

"Ah Jie, let's go now that we've finished eating!"

"Wait for me outside, I'll go pay the bill!"

Ma Junjie quickly stood up. He had already made up his mind. He swiftly pulled out several tens of yuan from his pocket, handed it over, and said...

"Assistant Liu, you barely ate anything. Here, you take this money, and I'll pay for some of it!"

Liu Bingbing chuckled and waved.

"No need, I said it's my treat, you can wait for me outside!"

"Besides, these dishes aren't expensive, let's go!"

After saying that, Liu Bingbing quickly went to pay the bill.

Ma Junjie watched her from afar, then had no choice but to walk away.

A moment later, Liu Bingbing came out, and Ma Junjie went up to her and handed her an ice cream.

"Here you go, it's so hot, quench your thirst!"

Liu Bingbing was a little surprised, but she didn't take the ice cream from Ma Junjie's hand.

He waved his hand and said,

"Ah Jie, thank you, but I don't eat ice cream. You can have it yourself!"

Ma Junjie wondered if Liu Bingbing noticed that he had only bought one ice cream, or perhaps she thought his ice cream was too cheap and therefore not good.

Therefore,

"Assistant Liu, I'm not eating this myself, I bought it especially for you. It's Mengniu 'Suibian' ice cream, it cost several yuan!"

"Hehehe!" Liu Bingbing laughed, answering truthfully.

"Ah Jie, I didn't mean anything by it, I really don't want to eat it..."

"Because I ate too much at lunch and exceeded my calorie limit, if I eat ice cream too, all my hard work on dieting will be for nothing!"

"Losing weight?" Ma Junjie looked Liu Bingbing up and down, noticing that Liu Bingbing was rather large in the front and back.

Elsewhere, it's simply perfect.

Why would I need to lose weight?

Liu Bingbing didn't continue the topic, but turned around and said,

"Ah Jie, you'd better hurry up and get to work. Be careful not to be late!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Junjie suddenly remembered what had happened and immediately took off running.

He said as he ran.

"Assistant Liu, thank you for treating me to dinner!"

Liu Bingbing reached out and shook her hand, looking at Ma Junjie's expression while chuckling.

Ma Junjie ran for a while and entered the factory. On the way, he met a coworker from the workshop who told him not to worry, there were still more than ten minutes left!

Ma Junjie then slowed down, worried that the ice cream would melt, so he tore open the bag and put it in his mouth.

A sip,

The ice cream melts in your mouth.

The filling is sweet and soft milk, with a chewy chocolate layer on the outside and sunflower seeds on top. It's crunchy and gets sweeter with every bite.

This was the first time Ma Junjie had ever tasted such delicious ice cream.

This is the first time I've ever bought such expensive ice cream.

He also deeply realized the truth that you get what you pay for.

As they approached the workshop entrance, Ma Junjie had finished all the ice cream, licking his lips one last time, still wanting more.

When we arrived at the workshop, quite a few people had already begun to arrive.

Zhang Jun was already sitting in his office, listlessly lying on the boss's chair.

No one took a lunch break. They sat at their workstations, listless, like rice seedlings that had been parched for ten or fifteen days, looking sickly.

At 1:30 sharp, Zhang Jun came out of his office.

Shout "Assemble!"

Everyone lined up in the same queue as when they had their morning meeting.

As usual, Zhang Jun took attendance, and seeing that no one was absent, he repeated what he had said that morning.

"Everyone must strengthen their work awareness, improve their work attitude, pursue work efficiency, and complete their tasks perfectly! Otherwise, they will bear the consequences! Good luck this afternoon! Dismissed!"

Everyone numbly returned to their workstations and started working.

The workshop was very stuffy in the afternoon.

The overhead fans creaked and groaned, but there wasn't a breath of air, making the heat feel even more oppressive.

After working for a while, Wang Xiaohua asked,

"Ah Jie, did you get lunch at the cafeteria?"

Ma Junjie replied, "No, the cafeteria just ran out of food."

Wang Xiaohua said, "That's a pity. Eating out will just waste money."

Then he suddenly suggested,

"Ah Jie, once you have a stable job, I suggest you rent a room outside. You can share with others; it's not expensive, you can cook for yourself, and you'll eat and live well."

Ma Junjie pondered to himself

That's a really good idea.

I was suffering terribly in my dorm room. The food in the cafeteria was also bland and I got hungry again very quickly after eating.

Renting a place outside is definitely an option.

However, as Wang Xiaohua said, all of this will have to wait until she is more stable.

At this moment, Zhang Jun suddenly walked out and shouted towards the workshop.

"Hey, everyone, pull yourselves together! Why are you so slow?"

"Don't even think about slacking off. If we don't finish, no one can go back!"

"Also, let me make this clear from the start: some people shouldn't be talking or daydreaming anymore. If I see anyone opening their mouth again, I'll dock their pay!"

As he spoke, Zhang Jun stared wide-eyed at Ma Junjie.

Ma Junjie glanced at him, unconcerned.

Next came the tedious and repetitive assembly line work.

Take the box, open it, put the toy inside, close the lid, seal it... and then repeat!

Ma Junjie felt like he was sitting on pins and needles, and was in great agony.

I suddenly had a feeling,

He found this job even more tedious and boring than practicing horse stance as a child.

But if I want to make money, I can only wait it out...

We worked until 8 p.m., with only a half-hour break for dinner.

Today's task was finally completed on time.

Upon hearing that the mission was complete, Zhang Jun beamed with joy, revealing a kind expression.

"You've all worked hard. A strong general has no weak soldiers under his command. You are indeed the best!"

"Go home and get some rest. We'll keep fighting tomorrow!"

Everyone packed their things numbly, and no one even glanced at him.

They packed their things, then swarmed out as if fleeing...