The canteen was about thirty-odd square meters. Along the window side, there were more than ten sets of tables and chairs, and at the moment only about one-third of them were sporadically occupied.
There were five food service windows, and large sheets of paper were pasted above each window, listing the dishes being served today.
Yan Jin’er took a look around and bought a bowl of egg noodles. She then found a corner seat while waiting for Cheng Yu. Cheng Yu, on the other hand, bought two plain steamed buns and a plate of stir-fried cabbage. It seemed that Cheng Yu’s family conditions were quite good.
Yan Jin’er slurped a mouthful of noodles, and her eyes instantly lit up. The noodles were very chewy, carrying the fragrance of egg and meat, and the soup base seemed to have been simmered from meat bones. She kept eating one bite after another until her cheeks were stuffed full, looking like a little hamster.
The food in the canteen was really delicious. It seemed she could come here often in the future. She could cook herself, but her cooking tasted only average. After eating too much of her own food, even she did not want to eat it anymore.
As mealtime went on, more and more people came in. At the entrance, four to five young men and women arrived, surrounding a carefully dressed man and woman in the middle. One of the girls said something to the group, then quickly went to the window to buy a bowl of noodles. She then carried it over and walked briskly to Yan Jin’er’s table.
Yan Jin’er looked up and immediately recognized Zhao Jing.
“Jin’er, what a coincidence. Is this your colleague?” Zhao Jing asked with a smile as she looked at Cheng Yu.
“Yes, she’s Cheng Yu. She works in the same department as me and is also newly hired today.”
“She’s Zhao Jing, a colleague from the Public Relation Department.”
Yan Jin’er briefly introduced the two of them. Then she casually asked, “Are all those people just now from your department?”
“Of course not, only three of them are. The two dressed very eye-catchingly are from the Public Relation Department. Didn’t I tell you before that the Factory Director’s daughter also took the staff exam? That’s her. The man is her fiancé,” Zhao Jing lowered her voice and said quietly.
“Mm, mm, they do look quite well matched.” Yan Jin’er glanced at the man and woman sitting in the middle by the window. Both of them wore the same air of pride, and she nodded in agreement.
“They are indeed. Tang Miao is the Factory Director’s daughter. I heard Li Ping’s uncle is the Deputy Director of the Revolutionary Committee, so the two of them are considered well-matched in status,” Zhao Jing gossiped.
“Are they easy to get along with?” Yan Jin’er’s eyes flashed with a trace of sympathy. If both of them were difficult to get along with, Zhao Jing’s future work life might not be so easy.
“Li Wen is okay to get along with, just a bit arrogant. But Tang Miao has a rather sharp personality, and she watches Li Wen quite closely.”
Yan Jin’er and Cheng Yu both looked at Zhao Jing with sympathy.
“I won’t be wronged. As long as I do my job properly, no one can pick faults with me. It’ll be fine!” Zhao Jing also thought the same. As long as she was slightly sociable and did her work well, nothing would go wrong. There would always be difficult colleagues in any workplace. If she could get along, she would; if not, there was no need to force herself to fit in.
Yan Jin’er was about to say something more, but when she looked up, she found two people standing in front of their table, so she stopped.
“Comrades, hello. May we sit here?” two young men in their early twenties asked, tugging at their clothes and slightly blushing.
“Yes, of course. Please sit wherever you like,” Zhao Jing replied with a smile.
At this time, the canteen was already almost full, with only seats left next to Yan Jin’er and opposite Cheng Yu. After the two men sat down, they lowered their heads and ate quietly. Yan Jin’er and the others also stopped chatting and sped up their eating.
Only when they stood up to wash their lunch boxes did the two young men finally dare to look up. Their eyes were full of regret, and they still did not know which department those three beautiful female comrades were from.
When it was time to start work in the afternoon, Sister Wang and the others gradually returned to their posts.
Yan Jin’er and Cheng Yu were slowly organizing the documents in their hands.
After eating lunch, it was easy to feel sleepy. In the afternoon, they could not be too idle, otherwise they would easily fall asleep.
“There isn’t much to do this afternoon. Minister Feng won’t really mind either. You can find something to keep yourselves busy,” Sister Wang said while knitting rapidly, not even looking up.
Minister Feng looked like a very strict person, but in reality he was quite lenient with people in his department. As long as the work was done, he would turn a blind eye to other things.
Chen Xiaohong, meanwhile, came over with her yarn, wanting to chat with Yan Jin’er.
“Hehe, it’s great having new colleagues. I was almost getting bored to death,” Chen Xiaohong said excitedly. She could not casually chat with her mother, and there were no other colleagues in the department besides the director.
And she did not dare to casually chat with the director either. Now that two new colleagues had finally arrived, she could properly gossip—no, talk!
“Cheng Yu, Yan Jin’er, do you two have partners?” Chen Xiaohong’s eyes lit up. Before Yan Jin’er and Cheng Yu could even respond, she continued, “Come on, tell me, let’s chat together.”
Yan Jin’er subconsciously turned to look at Cheng Yu and instinctively pricked up her ears, waiting for Cheng Yu’s answer.