Chapter 107 Can I come over for a meal?

Chapter 107 Can I come over for a meal?

The aroma of food enveloped the entire Tengyue Advertising office like a warm, cozy cloud. Mengmeng paused, her hand holding chopsticks still. The resignation letter that had been lying on the corner of the table was quietly slipped into the deepest part of her drawer.

The vegetables in the plastic bowl were simmering and glistening with oil, and the tofu soup was topped with finely chopped scallions. She took a bite of rice, feeling a surge of excitement, thinking, "The world is so big, I want to go see it."

Suddenly I softened – I'll eat for a few days first, anyway, work isn't going to run away, it's okay to wait a couple of days before checking BOSS Zhipin.

This tacit understanding of "eating first and discussing later" spread silently among colleagues. At three o'clock in the afternoon, the "slacking off group," which had been quiet for a while, suddenly lit up brightly.

Ada was the first to chime in, adding a drooling emoji after her message: "Didn't you guys notice? The boss's cooking is absolutely amazing! I had already packed my resume, but now all I can think about is tomorrow's meal. I don't want to leave!"

Xiao Li, the receptionist, replied instantly, her words tinged with concern: "I saw the boss peeling potatoes this morning. It took him almost half an hour just to peel them, and his hands were aching. Now the instant noodles in my drawer don't even smell good anymore."

Art student Xiao Zhao sent a voice message with the sound of mouse clicks in the background: "I swear I'd only eat a couple of bites to tide me over, but I ate the whole bowl. Now I'm rubbing my stomach and sighing. I shouldn't have told my gym trainer yesterday, 'I'll start a strict fat loss program next week.'"

Seeing the lively chatter in the group, Mengmeng laughed and typed, "I don't even want to open BOSS Zhipin anymore. What do you guys think? How about I bring a piece of pork belly tomorrow? I can just pay for the pork myself and ask the boss to add an extra dish for us!"

"No loans for work, please!" Xiao Li quickly followed up with a message, then added seriously, "But I have an idea—could we generate some revenue? If we have money, we can upgrade our meals, right?"

The group chat was instantly flooded with "That's right," and the previously lifeless team seemed to have been revitalized by this positive response.

Ada immediately pulled out the client information from the bottom of the folder and organized it line by line on the computer; Mengmeng found the copywriting and planning documents that she hadn't finished in the past few months, and searched for new advertising plans from more than a dozen competitors, taking notes as she looked; Xiao Zhao opened the design software and followed the tutorials to update his skill set, with the layers on the screen piling up thicker and thicker.

Only Xiao Li remained slumped in the reception chair, rocking back and forth for two minutes before suddenly sitting up straight. She arranged the eggplant casserole and tofu soup that Su Yingxue had made together, opened her photo editing app, brightened the colors, added a warm light filter, and even stuck a "So delicious I'll stomp my feet" sticker in the corner. After editing the caption, she clicked send—

"Company perks suddenly upgraded! Today was supposed to be a weight-loss day, but the vegetarian dishes the boss made completely won me over, and I ate three bowls of rice! Like this post for a chance to win a free meal at our company tomorrow!"

Xiao Li was already well-connected in this CBD building; she was beautiful and had a sweet voice, and knew many colleagues from other companies.

Within half an hour of posting on WeChat Moments, it had received over 300 likes, and the comments section was full of messages like "Please take me with you" and "Send me your address."

She put her phone away with satisfaction, picked up her water glass to get some water, and just as she stood up, she saw He Yue, the manager of Qihang Technology on the 18th floor, walking towards her.

Qihang Technology is a new company that just moved here last month. The boss is a rich second-generation heir who is not short of money.

But they always stumble over small things—like just now, the cook was fired because the food she made didn't suit the employees' tastes, saying it was too salty and spicy. The whole company of more than 20 people is now worrying about the food delivery app on their phones.

"Xiao Li," He Yue said with a beaming smile and an exceptionally solicitous tone, "I saw your WeChat Moments. Your company actually cooks for itself? It looks so delicious!"

Xiao Li immediately smiled and handed over the phone: "Look at this eggplant casserole and this tofu soup, they were all made by our CEO Su himself."

Today, everyone in our company needs at least three bowls of rice per person! She deliberately emphasized "three bowls of rice," which made He Yue's eyes light up.

He Yue was worried about where to eat. The company provided a generous meal allowance, but takeout in the CBD often cost twenty or thirty yuan, and was usually oily and salty. Employees complained daily that even with the allowance, they couldn't get anything worthwhile.

She rubbed her hands together and tentatively said, "Well... could we team up with you? Our company is small, only about twenty people. Would that be convenient for you?"

"This..." Xiao Li deliberately hesitated for a moment while holding the water glass, "It seems a bit troublesome, doesn't it? The accounts are also difficult to calculate."

"Oh, accounts are no problem!" He Yue pulled her arm and walked into the office with a smile. "I'll talk to your General Manager Su. It's the same whether we cater to one company or two. It's no trouble at all!"

Before Xiao Li could stop her, He Yue had already pushed open the glass door of Tengyue Advertising.

As soon as she entered, she froze—the office was quiet, save for the sound of keyboards and occasional hushed conversations. Ada was frowning in thought as she looked at client documents, Mengmeng was typing rapidly on the computer screen, and even Xiao Zhao, who usually liked to slack off, was focused on adjusting design drawings; no one was playing on their phones.

He Yue nodded to herself, "The atmosphere at this company is amazing. The employees are all so hardworking, it must be reliable."

As she was thinking, she saw a woman wearing a white apron walk out of the tea room, holding a rag that had just been used to wipe the table—it was Su Yingxue.

Hearing the noise at the door, Su Yingxue subconsciously wiped the rag on her apron, and when she looked up, her eyes still held a gentle warmth from having just finished cleaning the kitchen.

Upon seeing He Yue, she paused for half a second, then quickly reacted, smiling as she greeted him: "Hello, I'm Su Yingxue from Tengyue Advertising. May I ask how I can help you?"

"Hello, Mr. Su, this is He Yue from Qihang Technology." He Yue waved her phone; the screen was still showing Xiao Li's post on WeChat Moments, where a bowl of glistening eggplant casserole gleamed temptingly in the sunlight.

"I saw Xiao Li's posts on WeChat Moments and couldn't resist coming over. Our company just fired our cook, and more than 20 employees are struggling to decide what to order takeout every day. I heard that your cooking is especially delicious, so I wanted to ask you if we could cook together?"

Su Yingxue hadn't expected an "external order," and her fingertips unconsciously rubbed the edge of her apron.

Suddenly, Xiao Li's voice came from behind: "Boss, Manager He is such a nice person! Her company is right upstairs, they're our neighbors!"

She turned around and saw Ada nodding at her while holding up the organized client information.

Mengmeng also mouthed "Give it a try."

Even Xiao Zhao looked up from the design software, his eyes filled with anticipation.

"Cooking together is no problem." Su Yingxue breathed a sigh of relief, her tone frank. "However, I'm cooking for myself now, so I need to prepare more than twenty portions in advance. I'll charge 30 yuan per portion based on the actual price of the ingredients. Is that feasible?"

He Yue laughed as soon as she heard that—a simple home-style meal from a CBD delivery service costs over forty yuan, so getting a freshly made hot meal for 30 yuan is practically a steal. She immediately made the decision: "It's settled then! I'll go back and count the number of people now, can we start tomorrow?"

Su Yingxue nodded. No problem. I'll start making lunch tomorrow.