After dealing with the matchmaker, Mu Xi left home and wandered around for a while, checking along the way to see if there were any job openings.
Although she had no intention of staying in the city.
Still, she had underestimated just how rare an iron rice bowl was in this era.
It wasn’t necessarily something money alone could buy.
Not only did you need money, you also needed connections, and even influence.
After all, jobs at this time could be passed down.
Even if a family didn’t have a suitable successor, the position could still be kept within their circle of relatives and friends.
So for someone like her, who was simply trying her luck, the chances were no different from winning the lottery.
After wandering around for most of the morning without finding anything, Mu Xi finally stepped into a state-owned restaurant.
Fortunately, she had already decided to go to the countryside. Otherwise, things really would have been difficult. She had been a little too confident before. In this era, without connections, you were nothing.
Forget it. Eating was more important.
In novels, the braised pork at state-owned restaurants was always described as exceptional. Back then, she had been curious about just how delicious it really was. Now that she had the chance, of course she had to try it.
Mu Xi walked up to the service window. Beside it, a young female comrade sat lazily cracking sunflower seeds.
“Serve the people! What do you want to eat? The prices are all written over there. Look for yourself.”
After saying that, she ignored Mu Xi.
Mu Xi: “…”
That attitude. As expected of you—a state-owned restaurant attendant!
All she could say was that the novels really hadn’t lied to her.
Still, she didn’t say anything. After all, the woman really did have the confidence to act that way. Who asked her to have a golden rice bowl?
Looking at the small blackboard, the first item listed was braised pork. One serving cost eighty cents plus two liang of meat coupons.
Without even thinking about it, Mu Xi ordered a serving.
She also ordered a bowl of spinach and egg soup for twenty cents, along with a bowl of rice for six cents plus two liang of grain coupons.
One dish, one soup, and one bowl of rice came to a total of one yuan and six cents.
Mu Xi could only say that it was really cheap.
Of course, for people living in this era, it was actually quite extravagant.
After all, most people only earned twenty or thirty yuan a month.
That twenty or thirty yuan might be an entire household’s income, and the whole family depended on that money for all their daily necessities.
So ordinary families simply couldn’t bear to spend money eating at restaurants.
Of course, that had nothing to do with Mu Xi.
There were two wage earners in the Mu family, bringing in sixty to seventy yuan every month. Compared with other families, they were relatively well-off.
So ordinarily, Jiang Yun would occasionally give the children a few cents to buy some little snacks. During festivals and holidays, she would also give them several jiao or even a yuan or so, simply to add to the festive cheer.
Over the years, the original owner had managed to save a little.
Only now, it all benefited Mu Xi.
Eating the soft, tender, springy braised pork, Mu Xi let out a satisfied sigh.
She had to admit, it really was quite good.
Tender without being dry, melting in her mouth, with the seasoning just right.
This chef really knew what he was doing.
Mu Xi happily polished off everything on her plate. Seeing that it was still early, she thought for a moment and decided to visit the supply and marketing cooperative to broaden her horizons.
Who would have thought that the moment she reached the entrance, she would walk straight into someone?
As Mu Xi looked up, she quickly sprang out of the man’s arms. “Sorry, Comrade. I wasn’t watching where I was going. Are you all right?”
Her attention just now had been completely drawn to a man and woman sitting by the window.
“Mm. I’m fine.”
A deep male voice sounded above her head.
Mu Xi: “…”
This body was probably around 1.6 meters tall. She hadn’t thought much of it before, but right now, she suddenly felt like a complete shorty!
Just how tall was this man?
He actually had to lower his head to look at her. Seriously… not very damaging, but extremely insulting.
Just then, the man and woman over there noticed them. When they saw the man standing in front of Mu Xi, neither of them made a move, but Mu Xi could clearly sense their entire bodies tense up.
She casually glanced at the man in front of her.
Mm. Although he wasn’t wearing a military uniform, with her extraordinary perception, she only needed one glance to understand his identity.
Presumably, the man and woman over there had noticed it too.
After all, people in their line of work feared soldiers the most.