The Entire Mountain Is My Hunting Ground

Chapter 234: Chapter 204: He’s My Dad

The line of five moved quickly, and soon it was Zhao Jun’s turn.

When he saw Zhao Jun standing at the window, Zhao Youcai barely lifted his eyelids. As if he didn’t even recognize his own son, he asked, "What’ll it be?"

"Two flower rolls and an order of chicken and potato stew," Zhao Jun said, handing over the money and ration tickets according to the prices on the small blackboard. Zhao Youcai took them without a glance and tossed them directly into a wooden box to the side.

Zhao Jun opened his two mess tins one by one and placed them on the windowsill in front of the counter. Zhao Youcai picked up a pair of tongs, took a flower roll from the large steamer beside him, and placed it in the aluminum mess tin on the left.

Then he put the tongs down, reached under the counter, and pulled out a steamed bun, placing it in the same mess tin.

Zhao Jun froze, about to say something, but then he saw that the steamed bun had been sliced open horizontally, with something apparently tucked inside.

Zhao Jun kept quiet. He watched as Zhao Youcai, instead of serving the chicken and potato stew from the large basin in front of him, lifted the lid of a separate iron pot on a small stove to the side.

This iron pot also contained chicken and potato stew. But unlike the main basin, which was light on the chicken, this small pot was filled mostly with meat, with only a few scattered pieces of potato.

One scoop, two scoops.

Normally, one scoop was a single portion.

But though Zhao Jun had only asked for one, Zhao Youcai gave him two full scoops.

Two huge scoops, at that. The aluminum mess tin was nearly overflowing.

"Go on, eat," Zhao Youcai said.

Zhao Jun grinned at Zhao Youcai, then carried his mess tins away.

At this point, most people were still queuing at the other three service windows; only a few had gotten their food and sat down to eat.

Zhao Jun easily found a table against the wall and sat down. Seeing no one nearby, he furtively opened the steamed bun. Tucked inside was a fried egg.

’Dad wouldn’t be trying to poison me, would he?’ The thought flashed through Zhao Jun’s mind, but he immediately chuckled. He picked out the fried egg, folded it in half with his chopsticks, and stuffed the whole thing into his mouth to chew.

Delicious!

In those days, winters in the Northeast were so cold that the hens in the villages stopped laying eggs.

Villagers rarely had a chance to eat eggs. The few times Zhao Jun had eaten them at home, they were always ones Zhao Youcai had skimmed from the cafeteria.

After finishing the fried egg, Zhao Jun picked up the steamed bun and started on the chicken.

By the time he’d eaten most of the chicken and finished both halves of the steamed bun, Zhao Jun was already full.

It had to be said, greasy food really filled you up and saved on grain.

Zhao Jun snapped the lid shut on the mess tin with the flower roll. Since he couldn’t finish it, he would just take it home.

But just then, two aluminum mess tins clattered onto the table across from him.

Ma Liang sat down across from Zhao Jun with a huff. "It’s like a robbery in here," he grumbled. "The New Year just ended, so it’s not like anyone’s short on rich food. Why is everyone fighting so hard for the flower rolls?"

Zhao Jun chuckled at his words. In the cafeteria, two steamed buns cost one fen with a ration ticket, while two flower rolls cost one and a half fen.

Even though flower rolls were more expensive, they had oil in them. They were also savory, making them much tastier than plain steamed buns.

An ordinary family might steam their own buns at home, but they would almost never make flower rolls.

Ma Liang had been desperately looking forward to this meal of flower rolls for a long, long time.

Zhao Jun opened the aluminum mess tin he had just closed and pushed it in front of Ma Liang. "Brother Liang," he said, "I haven’t touched this one. You have it."

Ma Liang paused, then quickly said, "Oh, I couldn’t possibly."

But he wanted it so badly that he added, "Well, let me give you the money and ration ticket for it then."

Zhao Jun waved a dismissive hand and smiled. "Brother Liang, according to the old ways, you’re my master. What’s one little roll?"

Ma Liang laughed. "Alright then, I won’t stand on ceremony. If anything comes up in the future, I’ve got your back."

Just as he said this, Ma Liang’s gaze suddenly fell on the table next to Zhao Jun’s hands, where he saw a small mountain of chicken bones.

Ma Liang was dumbfounded.

Seeing Ma Liang staring blankly, Zhao Jun whispered, "Brother Liang, you should eat. Your food’s getting cold."

Ma Liang picked up his chopsticks. He pointed them at the pile of chicken bones and asked, "Brother, you just started this job. People don’t eat like this. How many portions did you order?"

"One."

Ma Liang’s eyes widened as he stared at Zhao Jun in disbelief. "They gave you that much for one portion? How many ration tickets did you use?"

"The same as everyone else." Zhao Jun knew that since Ma Liang was Xu Baoshan’s apprentice, he couldn’t hide some things from him. He changed his tune and added, "But even if I didn’t use any ration tickets, Master Zhao would still have to serve me."

Ma Liang looked at Zhao Jun in astonishment. He thought about the special treatment his own master gave him, then looked at the pile of chicken bones. He couldn’t help but ask, "Brother, be straight with me. Who exactly are you connected to?"

As he spoke, Ma Liang completely forgot about his chicken and potato stew. He started counting on his fingers. "I heard Farm Director Zhang has a daughter. Secretary Bai has a son, I think, but he’s still in school."

"Alright, alright, Brother Liang." Zhao Jun burst out laughing and stopped him. "Brother Liang, I think you’ve got the wrong idea. What I meant was..."

At this, Zhao Jun pointed toward the first service window and continued, "He’s my dad."