Chapter 844: A Graceful Maiden, the Gentleman’s Pursuit
"Hello everyone, my name is Jin Hai. I am ten years old. I am in fourth grade."
A childish voice, a juvenile face.
And that childlike height.
For a moment, many people in the activity room were stunned.
Only then did someone laugh and ask, "Little one, why are you here at the welcome party? Where are your parents?"
"My parents told me not to talk to strangers."
Jin Hai answered.
He said it while getting down from the chair.
When he got down, he was careful, first squatting, then slowly extending his legs, sitting on the chair, putting on his shoes.
Because his remark sounded like a child's playful line, some people found it amusing and laughed.
The person who had asked him the question lowered his face, dark as night.
Jin Hai obviously didn't realize that his ordinary, childlike remark
had just earned him yet another enemy.
The previous adversary—Zhang Yao—was sitting at another table, watching him coldly.
"Hello everyone, my name is Zheng Zihan. I'm very happy to have moved into Alice Apartment, and I'm glad to meet you all."
Zheng Zihan was the last to introduce herself.
Because she looked quite attractive, she naturally drew far more attention at the welcome party than most others.
"Hey, pretty lady, do you have a boyfriend?!"
A stranger blurted out loudly.
Zheng Zihan only smiled. At that moment, a tall male student stood up beside her.
He said, "I'm her boyfriend."
The speed with which he stood up made it obvious he wanted to stake his claim, afraid a big guy would snatch her away.
The stranger then asked, "Are those people sitting with you all your friends?"
Zheng Zihan nodded.
The stranger grinned and said, "Wow, so many beauties. I wonder if they're all taken?"
For a moment, the women at both tables giggled, while the men visibly tensed, showing some hostility.
Self-introductions finished.
Standing at the very front on the stage, Manager Wu Wen spoke loudly.
"Since the self-introduction part of the welcome party is over, it's dinner time next."
"For tonight's welcome party, we prepared dumplings and wontons for everyone."
"We prepared several dumpling flavors."
"Celery and pork, leek and pork, cabbage and pork, and leek and egg."
"As for the wontons, they're fresh pork wontons. Hope you enjoy them."
On the round tables in the activity room, bowls and chopsticks were already set out, along with essential dumpling condiments: black vinegar, chili sauce, sesame oil, and so on.
Now Assistant Manager Jiang Ran, Manager Wu Meiling, Security Captain Xiang Shanfeng, and security guard Zeng Yan—
the four of them—were pushing those restaurant-style food carts.
They took out large platters from the carts, each piled with dumplings and bowls of wontons.
The four of them started distributing platters to every table.
Those at the front who were served quickly had already begun eating.
Those at the back were still anxiously waiting.
Because so many people had to be fed, these four pushed the cart in three times, placing several large platters of dumplings and wontons on each table before leaving the activity room
to continue cooking in the first-floor hall.
"Hey, manager, next time if you make dumplings and wontons again, could we cook them ourselves? And for people like me who are so-so about dumplings and wontons, could you prepare something else? Like sweet rice balls."
An older man said this.
Manager Wu Wen did not leave the activity room to cook, nor did he remain to eat. He stayed on stage.
To this suggestion he actually took out a small notebook and a ballpoint pen from his pocket and scribbled something down sparsely.
Writing as he spoke, "Okay, sweet rice balls, yeah? We'll have them next time. Anyone else have suggestions?"
"Since we're getting sweet rice balls, I want noodles! I haven't had noodles in ages!"
"Damn, why is it all flour-based foods?! I have no interest in that. I prefer hotpot. I don't think we've had hotpot at a welcome party yet! Beef hotpot! Mutton hotpot!"
A chaotic variety of requests flooded the activity room.
Wu Wen's pen flew madly across the page.
As time slowly passed, more and more people who were full left the activity room to return home.
The four—Jiang Ran and the others—who had been cooking outside finally had a chance to bring the last batch in and eat.
When they came in, there were only a few people left in the activity room.
The two most striking tables stood out.
Most other tables had at most three people still eating, but these two tables were both full.
The people at these two tables were Zheng Zihan and her thirteen companions—fourteen in total.
These fourteen scoured the plates like starving ghosts; whether male or female, they ate far more than anyone else in the room.
They even took leftover dumplings from other tables and divided them up properly.
"Is that enough? If not, I can go boil more."
Manager Wu Meiling walked over to the two tables and smiled as she asked the group.
They all shook their heads and smiled, "It's enough, it's already enough."
Jiang Ran noticed the abnormality at these two tables but paid it no mind, quietly eating his dumplings.
His phone lay on the table, displaying TikTok.
"Uh… I'm full."
At last, some of the young men and women at those two tables set down their chopsticks.
It had been a long time since they'd eaten so much.
They had no choice.
All fourteen of them were unemployed.
Whenever they pooled money to eat together, they had to split the bill to cover it. Tonight, finding a free dumpling and wonton feast, they ate heartily and without restraint.
That meant they wouldn't be hungry tomorrow morning, maybe not even at lunch.
Two meals saved.
"Hey, pretty lady, can I add you on WeChat?"
At that moment, a middle-aged man walked up to one of the two tables.
He smiled and tried to strike up a conversation with a girl who looked under twenty.
The girl said nothing. Sitting next to her, a boy snapped fiercely:
"Hey, she already has a man. You old pervert, are you trying to steal someone else's relationship right in front of me?!"
The middle-aged man chuckled, "What stealing? Not stealing someone's corner, that's a mean way to put it."
"I'm calling you a refined lady, gentlemen seek elegant partners."