Chapter 29: Becoming Famous with One Meal

The two went outside, and the old man helped write up the list. Seeing such a large quantity of items, he was shocked.

He asked with his eyes: Are you taking all of this? Can the leadership approve this? What kind of family background do you have?

Xu Zhi felt awkward, while Tu Shan beamed like a flower.

He Jiahuan...

He Jiahuan’s scalp tingled: "Did you two go to restock a warehouse?"

Xu Zhi looked innocent: "Boss, you know how it is. I can't beat Third Sister."

He Jiahuan choked: "Forget it. Put the things aside for now. Did you discover anything over there?"

Xu Zhi shrank back, feeling guilty; he had been too busy watching Tu Shan pillage the place to notice anything else.

Tu Shan spoke up: "When we arrived, the old man saw us and pulled a rope by the door. There was a bell tied to it that led directly underground.

When those people heard the bell, they went silent instantly. Their movements were uniform, as if they had practiced it hundreds of times.

The entire area beneath the warehouse is hollow, and there are at least three entry and exit passages.

I heard the wind blowing in from the entrances. The passages are at least a mile long, located in the southeast, northwest, and east directions."

Because of the bell, the people below—even Wang Fugui, who was being beaten—had their mouths gagged and didn't make a sound, which made it easier for Tu Shan to hear the subtle noises.

However, if the tunnel entrances were sealed and no wind was blowing in, she wouldn't have been able to hear them, so she could only confirm at least three.

Xu Zhi was dumbfounded. He hadn't done anything, but Tu Shan had done everything. It made him look completely incompetent, didn't it?

Can you actually *hear* the wind?

Is she clairaudient?

Sure enough, He Jiahuan’s deep gaze swept over Xu Zhi. Xu Zhi felt a chill run down his spine; he felt terrible.

"Are there any entrances or exits inside the warehouse?"

"Yes. I walked around the warehouse and confirmed there is an entrance behind the main gate."

He Jiahuan tapped the table in thought. The old man guarding the warehouse lived there, meaning he was on duty twenty-four hours a day.

And the DC area was generally more crowded at night.

He glanced at the restless Tu Shan: "Go eat first—" Before he could finish the word "meal," Tu Shan had already vanished.

He Jiahuan closed his eyes. Forget it, he was the one who recruited her.

He looked at Xu Zhi: "Aren't you going to follow up and investigate?"

Xu Zhi looked shocked: "Captain, it's noon. I'll go after I eat." Don't act like a slave driver.

He Jiahuan: "Will you die if you skip this meal?"

Xu Zhi...

***

The cafeteria.

"Third Sister, Third Sister, over here!" Happy Little Sister waved enthusiastically.

Tu Shan waved back from a distance but didn't go over; she went to get her food first.

"Fill it up, please." She slammed a large clay pot in front of the cafeteria auntie, whose hand-trembling habit was almost cured on the spot.

"Which little brat is trying to pull a fast one on me?"

Tu Shan poked her head out from behind the pot and handed over her meal tickets: "Not pulling a fast one. Fill it up, please."

The auntie looked suspicious: "New to the police squad? Did the others not tell you? Take only what you can eat, no packing leftovers?"

"They told me. I can finish it."

The auntie kept a wooden face. She didn't believe it. Hmph, don't think she didn't know what these people were up to—intentionally taking too much so they could take the leftovers home. Since others wouldn't eat what they had touched, and food couldn't be wasted, they were forced to let them take it. Someone had done this before; she wouldn't be fooled.

She scooped a ladle of rice, half a ladle of potatoes with a few scraps of meat, and half a ladle of boiled cabbage.

This was the standard portion for a female comrade.

"Eat. If you finish it, you can get more."

Tu Shan looked at it silently, then pulled out a homemade large serving spoon. Five mouthfuls—no more than that—and it was wiped clean.

"Refill."

The auntie:?

She silently gave her a refill.

Five mouthfuls later, she asked for another.

Five more mouthfuls, and another refill.

...

The auntie was already numb. She stood at the window, mechanically refilling the bowl for Tu Shan, who hadn't moved an inch and had already eaten at least eight times the amount of a normal person. She was like a heartless refill robot.

With such a small frame, where did all that food go?

You couldn't tell at all; she was thin and small everywhere.

"Another one." The thin, small girl was very generous.

The onlookers were so shocked that they didn't even react when they accidentally shoved their own food up their noses. Is that even a human appetite?

Happy Little Sister swallowed hard. Her Third Sister really didn't pack leftovers.

The auntie was defeated: "How much more can you eat?" Give her a number; she didn't want to keep scooping one ladle at a time. It was tiring.

As for how much, Tu Shan felt she could eat as much as there was.

These things had very little energy. After she ate and converted it, ten bowls of rice might yield the energy equivalent of a single grain of rice, so she could eat as much as they had.

But she had been conspicuous enough for today; if she kept eating, the cafeteria might kick her out.

She sighed regretfully: "Just half a pot more. I was starving today, that's why I ate so much. I won't eat this much in the future."

The auntie’s mouth twitched. No matter how hungry someone was, nobody could eat this much.

She painfully added half a pot. Looking at the empty rice basin, she knew that if Tu Shan asked for one more scoop, she wouldn't be able to give it.

Tu Shan happily ran over to sit next to Happy Little Sister and started eating. Happy Little Sister felt her worldview had been impacted—she could really eat.

But watching Tu Shan eat such big mouthfuls, she inexplicably felt that her own stomach, which had just been full, was getting a little hungry again.

She wanted to go get some more, but the cafeteria auntie had already closed the window and shut down, moving with incredible speed.

Was she afraid of her going to eat?

No, she was afraid of her Third Sister.

Tu Shan became famous for her appetite. When work started in the afternoon, people from many other units came to their unit to borrow the restroom.

"No." Tu Shan rejected them domineeringly. Was she a monkey? How annoying.

On her first day of work, Tu Shan was called into the office.

He Jiahuan hesitated.

He had heard that Tu Sanmei was a spendthrift who would blow her ten-yuan monthly allowance in the first half of the month and spend the second half selling furniture or begging, living a hard life.

He had originally thought she was just wasting the money, but now he knew—she had eaten it all.

At this rate, ten yuan for half a month was actually quite frugal.

Tu Shan... What are you imagining?

He Jiahuan seemed to find it hard to speak: "Um, the cafeteria head just came by. From now on, you’re on a ration. You can't exceed half a pot per meal."

Tu Shan: "...They are targeting me."

He Jiahuan gave a dry laugh. If it were him, he’d target you too.

"Don't worry, I fought for you. You can use two meal tickets per meal, so you can have one full pot."

Tu Shan chuckled: "You're so kind. Can I have sixty meal tickets a month?"

He Jiahuan: "...You only have twenty."

Tu Shan was expressionless: "So I have to starve for twenty days a month."

That was even worse than before; Tu Sanmei only starved for fifteen days.

He Jiahuan felt awkward. He couldn't even guarantee his subordinate's basic needs: "I’m often out on missions and rarely eat at the cafeteria. I can give you some of my tickets to use for now, and I'll think of a way later."

Tu Shan glanced at He Jiahuan’s dark complexion. It wasn't a tan; it was malnutrition. There was no color in his face, making him look sallow.

She was truly afraid that one day, this man would work himself to death.

"Who is in charge of the cafeteria?"

He Jiahuan hurriedly said: "You can't do anything reckless. Don't worry, I said I'd find a way, so I will. I won't let you go hungry."

Tu Shan: "Captain, I am a reasonable person. You should have more trust in me."

He Jiahuan looked at the desk in his office—the wood shavings hadn't even been cleaned up yet. Was this what she called being reasonable?

"Then tell me, what are you going to do with the cafeteria manager?"

"Talk business. They are limiting my food, surely because I eat too much. They think I eat too much, surely because there is little grain.

I have grain."

He Jiahuan was shocked: "You do realize that all the units around us, including the cafeteria, are proper state-run units, right?"

Tu Shan sighed: "Captain, you have to be flexible. Don't be so rigid. No matter how 'proper' they are, they still have to eat. And to eat, you have to be full, right? Otherwise, where would you get the strength to work?"

Strength my foot. Is that the same thing?

"No." This was simply audacious.

Tu Shan turned and left.

He Jiahuan thought she had given up.

No, Tu Shan went to find someone herself.

She headed straight for the cafeteria.

(End of chapter)