"These are all the ingredients for Manager Li's dishes," Song Nianchu said as she unpacked everything from the bamboo basket.
The crowd's eyes widened at the sight of the abundant ingredients.
"With so much, how many dishes can we make?" Sister Ahua murmured.
Though they lived in a fishing village, most of their catch had to be handed over as public rations, and the rest was sold to restaurants in the county. What little remained for their own families was often just the spoiled or low-quality fish.
Truth be told, these fishermen had rarely tasted truly fresh and delicious fish.
"I've calculated the portions. For now, we only need to prepare two dishes: crispy fried fish and cumin squid," Song Nianchu explained.
"But we don’t know how to make either of those! And what even is cumin?" Sister Ahua looked at her blankly.
"Don’t worry about that. I’ll prepare everything beforehand. Right now, I just need you all to help me process these ingredients," Song Nianchu began instructing them on how to handle the ingredients.
Since they were all accustomed to cooking at home—albeit simple meals—they picked up the tasks quickly.
Song Nianchu only had to briefly explain the key points before they worked with practiced ease.
She was pleased with their progress.
Over the next couple of hours, everyone focused intently on preparing the ingredients, and soon, everything was ready.
Looking at the neatly processed ingredients, Song Nianchu felt she had made the right decision.
Otherwise, she would have spent the entire night doing this alone.
"Now that the ingredients are ready, what should we do next?" Aunt Wu asked.
"We’ve done enough for today. It’s almost time to clock out—we’ll leave the rest for tomorrow morning," Song Nianchu replied.
"Wait… that’s it? Shouldn’t you assign us more work? Otherwise, I’d feel guilty taking full work points," Aunt Wu said nervously.
They were being credited with a full day’s work points, yet they had barely done anything. She wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully tonight.
"Yeah, give us more tasks!" the others chimed in.
Song Nianchu was amused by their reaction.
Workers begging for more tasks? In the future, people would only complain about their bosses being unreasonable.
"I’d love to assign more, but the newly built stove isn’t ready yet, and there’s nothing else to do," Song Nianchu said with a smile.
Aunt Wu knew that freshly built stoves needed to dry completely before use.
After a moment’s thought, she suggested, "How about we clean up the place a bit?"
"Fine," Song Nianchu agreed, realizing they wouldn’t feel at ease unless they did something.
They kept working until the shift-ending whistle blew, and only then did they finally set down their tools to head home.
"Nianchu, where should we store these ingredients?" Aunt Wu asked.
"We’ll weigh them, and then I’ll take them home. The village office is empty at night, and I don’t want to risk anything happening to them," Song Nianchu said.
"That’s what I was thinking too," Aunt Wu nodded approvingly.
Song Nianchu was strong—no one would dare steal from her.
After weighing and recording the prepared ingredients, Song Nianchu carried them all home.
Meanwhile, Aunt Wu and the others went to report their work points—they had indeed earned five for the afternoon.
Assured of their credits, everyone returned home happily.
But not everyone shared their joy.
"Mom, Song Nianchu is definitely targeting us," Mu Jingmei seethed.
"What?" Mu's mother was exhausted after a full day of labor. To earn a few extra work points, she had barely rested, and now her hands felt numb.
"Didn’t you see? Those women who drew the lucky lots got full work points today, and they didn’t even look tired!" Mu Jingmei fumed.
"Oh? They must be good at cooking," Mu's mother replied absentmindedly, too drained to think clearly.
Back in Jing City, they had hired a cook, and the wages weren’t cheap.
"Mom, are you even listening?" Mu Jingmei grew even angrier at her mother’s distracted response.
"Weren’t you talking about work points?" Mu's mother forced herself to focus.
"Yes, work points! We break our backs all day for six or seven points, while they just wash and chop vegetables and get full credits. Mom, Song Nianchu is supposed to be your daughter-in-law—why is she favoring outsiders over you?" Mu Jingmei didn’t dare admit she wanted the job for herself yet, so she framed it as her mother’s concern.
After all, if Mu's mother got the position, it would eventually fall to her.
"But… I don’t know how to cook," Mu's mother said, finally regaining some clarity.
"This backwater place doesn’t serve fancy dishes—it’s just basic stir-frying. You could learn in a day or two. And full work points are way better than weaving fishing nets all day!" Mu Jingmei couldn’t stand the grueling, low-paying work anymore.
If those country women could do it, so could she.
"But… the team’s already been decided. What can we do now?" Mu's mother wavered, tempted by the idea of full work points and extra rations.
With Mu's Father’s condition uncertain, she needed to earn as much as possible.
"There’s always a way. Song Nianchu is in charge—if she agrees, getting you in would be easy," Mu Jingmei pressed, sensing her mother’s hesitation.
"But… we argued last time. She doesn’t even treat me like her mother-in-law." Mu's mother shuddered at the memory of Song Nianchu’s strength.
"As long as she wants to stay married to my brother, she wouldn’t dare lay a hand on you. Or wait until my brother returns—you can talk to him then," Mu Jingmei schemed.
"Alright, I’ll try bringing it up when he’s back," Mu's mother finally relented.
"Great!" Mu Jingmei beamed.
Her brother was filial—if their mother asked, he’d agree. And if he hesitated, a few tears would sway him.
The thought of soon having a full-work-point job made her exhaustion melt away.
"Mom, let’s hurry home and cook dinner," Mu Jingmei said, linking arms with her mother.
"...Alright." Mu's mother had been working shifts these past few days, coming home only to wash clothes and cook. The exhaustion weighed heavily on her, leaving her posture hunched and weary.
