Chapter 60: The Factory Canteen

“I think it’s fine, you two can go, but as for the last one with glasses, he looks a bit sleazy, so let’s not bother with him,” said the woman standing in the middle of the group.

She then turned to the woman at the front of the line, “Yanran, which of the first three do you think is the most handsome?”

Liu Yanran, caught off guard by the question, looked up with a naïve expression. She skipped right past Liu Yicheng, the third in line, and gazed at the first two.

Meanwhile, the last in the line ahead, Liu Yicheng—playing the wingman—noticed the three girls behind him. He especially caught sight of the first woman and quickly nudged Xiao Weiguo in front of him, whispering excitedly, “Look, look! She’s a real gem!”

Xiao Weiguo, resigned, followed Liu Yicheng’s gaze and turned around, just as Liu Yanran lifted her head and their eyes met.

For a moment, Xiao Weiguo felt his pupils widen even more.

He saw the girl behind him, about five-foot-five, her figure slender despite being obscured by work clothes. Her face was especially striking, skin as smooth and fair as porcelain, with a healthy blush like dawn’s rosy glow—gentle and brimming with vitality.

Her eyes were deep and bright, like the brightest stars in the night sky, lively and quick. Long lashes quivered delicately, resembling butterfly wings. Her nose was straight and charmingly contoured, and her lips were full and rosy, with the corners slightly upturned, giving her an ethereal beauty.

Her features were in perfect harmony, each part complementing the others, making her face vivid and three-dimensional. Above all, she exuded a delicate aura that stirred compassion, so much so that Xiao Weiguo forgot to turn away, staring at her in a daze.

The girl blushed deeply under his gaze, lowering her head, her high ponytail falling to cover half her face from the side, making her look even more mysterious.

“Hey, Yanran, why aren’t you saying anything? Which one do you think is good-looking?” urged one of the women behind her.

“The one in the middle is nice. He looks kind of small, though,” Liu Yanran replied softly, still dazed.

“So what if he’s small? We’re not exactly big either,” joked the two women behind Liu Yanran, peering more closely at Xiao Weiguo.

Xiao Weiguo, feeling the weight of their stares, quickly turned back around, the image of the girl lingering in his mind. Liu Yicheng might not be always reliable, but his eye for beauty was impeccable—a real gem indeed. With looks like hers, she could easily be a star in the future.

At that moment, Liu Yicheng nudged Xiao Weiguo and Ge Xu again, whispering excitedly, “I think the three girls behind keep staring at me—could it be they fancy me? Is spring finally here for your brother? How am I supposed to choose, haha!”

Xiao Weiguo and Ge Xu ignored him. Just then, the window opened and the cafeteria began serving food.

A colleague inside shouted, “Don’t push, stay in line! Today’s menu: fried cabbage with pork cracklings, winter melon stir-fried with meat, and cornbread buns. Lunch is served~”

The cafeteria was now full of female workers, making Xiao Weiguo and his friends seem like a lone boat in a sea of women—like pilgrims in the land of daughters, with Liu Yicheng playing the monkey.

Luckily, they were early and got their food first. They found a table, placed their dishes, and prepared to eat.

On the table were three lunchboxes: two with winter melon and meat, one with fried cabbage and pork cracklings, and each had two cornbread buns. The three men wasted no time and dug in.

The dishes weren’t exactly delicious, but they were edible. The cornbread buns were made from a mix of cornmeal and wheat flour, giving them a yellow color—mainly because wheat flour was expensive, while cornmeal was much cheaper.

Meanwhile, Liu Yanran and her two companions got their food and sat at the table behind Xiao Weiguo and his friends.

Liu Yanran softly said to the others, “Xiaoshuang, Juanzi, why are we sitting here? Let’s sit a bit farther away.”

Hou Xiaoshuang replied, “What are we afraid of? Sitting close makes it easier to observe, right, Juanzi?”

The third girl, Cui Juan, said, “Exactly. Xiaoshuang, Yanran, you need to take a good look. If you like someone, you have to act fast.

We’re just temporary workers from the countryside, and it’ll be three years before we get permanent status. If they don’t make us official, we’ll have to go back to where we came from. While we’re here, if luck is on our side, we should try to marry a city boy or a permanent worker. That’s the safest bet.”

“That’s right. Our factory is full of women, and single men of the right age are like Tang Monk’s flesh—miss your chance and you won’t get any,” she continued.

And with so many beautiful female workers around, among the three of us, only Yanran can really compare. The two of us are average, so we have to be more proactive,” Hou Xiaoshuang declared.

She added, “Watch me!”

With that, she picked up her lunch and walked straight to Xiao Weiguo’s table.

“Comrades, let’s get acquainted. I’m Hou Xiaoshuang, a spinning machine operator from Workshop Three. Can I sit here? What do you do?” Hou Xiaoshuang placed her lunch next to Liu Yicheng and sat down.

Spinning machine operator was the title for frontline workers in the textile industry, responsible for managing spinning machines.

Liu Yicheng, thrilled to have a girl sit beside him, quickly responded, “Hello, comrade. We’re purchasing agents from the Procurement Department. Of course you can sit here, and your friends are welcome, too. There’s plenty of space.”

At that, Hou Xiaoshuang’s smile could no longer be hidden. She hadn’t expected to meet someone from the Procurement Department so easily—purchasing agents were special figures in any factory. She was already imagining what life would be like married to a purchasing agent.

She waved to Cui Juan and Liu Yanran, inviting them to join.

Cui Juan immediately carried her lunch over. Liu Yanran watched her two friends act so decisively, hesitated for a moment, and then followed, sitting at the edge of the table, head down, eating quietly as she listened to the conversation.

Liu Yicheng was overjoyed—not only had the stunning Liu Yanran arrived, but also Hou Xiaoshuang and Cui Juan, who, though not great beauties, were still youthful and attractive. He launched into conversation at full throttle.

After greeting the three women, Xiao Weiguo and Ge Xu focused on their food, while Hou Xiaoshuang and Cui Juan chatted away with Liu Yicheng.

Liu Yanran, blushing, ate quietly while listening to the lively conversation around her.

Through the chatter, she learned that the handsome young man was called Xiao Weiguo.

Xiao Weiguo, listening to the women’s introductions, realized that the shy girl eating beside him was Liu Yanran.

“A smile as lovely as spring, a smile to enchant the city.”

Such a beautiful name.