Volume One, Chapter Nine: The Cost of Meals

After the meal, just as Zhang Shengli finished tidying up the stove, he saw Huang Shigui enter the kitchen with a cold expression. “Xiao Zhang, the broadcasting station has been cleared out. Come, I need to give you some instructions.”

Zhang Shengli took off his apron, washed his hands, and followed Huang Shigui to the broadcasting room.

It was a twenty-square-meter room. On a desk with built-in drawers sat the broadcasting equipment. The microphone was wrapped in red silk, lending an air of sophistication, solemnity, and mystery.

On a wooden rack beside the desk, there was a pile of books, magazines, newspapers, and some assorted odds and ends—this was the entire property of Qinghu Township’s Cultural Broadcasting Station.

In the back corner of the room stood a battered little wooden bed, its yellow paint chipped and mottled. The dormitories for township government staff all had metal beds; this yellow-painted wooden bed was one of the old rejects, likely older than Zhang Shengli himself.

Beside the bed was a cast-iron stove, another antique from decades past, rusted beyond recognition.

Zhang Shengli had once fetched items from the township’s warehouse and knew there were plenty of brand-new iron beds and stoves inside. It was obvious that Huang Shigui had deliberately given him the most worn-out bed and stove.

“You’ll live here and take care of the broadcasting. Make sure you keep the rest of the things safe too—don’t lose anything,” Huang Shigui ordered, gesturing as he spoke.

“Alright,” Zhang Shengli replied with his head lowered.

“You’re not an official employee of the township government, so you’ll have to buy your own coal for the stove in winter…” Huang Shigui paused. “And from now on, you’ll need to pay for your meals each month, just like the other staff.”

“This…” Zhang Shengli was stunned.

It had always been the custom that cooks didn’t pay for their meals. Even if they occasionally brought relatives or friends to eat at the government canteen, it was considered normal courtesy.

He hadn’t expected Huang Shigui to demand that he pay for his meals too.

Huang Shigui shot Zhang Shengli a sidelong glance and sneered, “Now that you’re running the broadcasting station, you’re half an official staff member. It wouldn’t make sense if you didn’t pay for your meals.”

“I’ll buy my own coal for winter, but I won’t pay the meal fee. From now on, I won’t eat in the canteen; I’ll cook for myself here in the broadcasting room,” Zhang Shengli replied calmly.

“What? You won’t eat at the canteen? Then… if you sneak food, who’s to know?” Huang Shigui’s eyes widened.

“Then you can come and watch me every day,” Zhang Shengli retorted bluntly.

Though he was steady and humble by nature, he was no pushover.

“You…” Huang Shigui was so angry his nose seemed crooked.

He hadn’t expected the usually meek Zhang Shengli to stand up to him so openly. And, he also realized, preventing a cook from sneaking a bite was, in truth, the most ridiculous thing in the world. If Zhang Shengli claimed he was just tasting the dishes, even if he ate his fill, there’d be nothing Huang Shigui could do. After all, you couldn’t stop a cook from tasting the food.

“Hmph! Don’t think just because Deputy County Chief Zhou praised you once or twice, you can get carried away! You’re still a mud-footed peasant, dreaming of overturning the heavens, are you?”

Furious, Huang Shigui tossed the broadcasting room key onto the desk with a clatter and stormed out.

Zhang Shengli paid him no mind. He raised his wrist and set the alarms on his digital watch for 6:55 in the morning, 11:55 at noon, and 6:55 in the evening—the times for broadcasting.

Now that he was in charge of the station, he needed to air the broadcasts on time, lest Huang Shigui find fault.

Though Huang Shigui had not taught him how to operate the broadcast, Zhang Shengli wasn’t worried; he could always ask someone else. Aside from Huang Shigui, everyone else in the township was friendly to him.

In this world, there are still more good people than bad.

Having set the alarms, Zhang Shengli fetched a bucket of water and cleaned the broadcasting room until it was spotless. He wiped down the desks, chairs, and stove until they gleamed, and arranged the books and newspapers neatly on the shelves.

“Xiao Zhang, you really are diligent—you’ve turned what used to be a pigsty into a spotless broadcasting station!” exclaimed Secretary Wang from the township office as he entered with a document and saw the transformed room.

“If someone’s going to live here, it has to be cleaned up,” Zhang Shengli replied with a smile.

“Young man, you have a promising future—you’re good material!” Secretary Wang nodded approvingly, then held out the document. “Here’s a notice. After the evening broadcast, please announce it.”

“Alright…” Zhang Shengli glanced at the document. It was a notice for all brigade secretaries to attend a meeting at the township office the next day. “Secretary Wang, I don’t know how to operate the broadcasting equipment yet. Could you show me?”

“Didn’t Section Chief Huang teach you?” Secretary Wang was surprised. “That’s supposed to be part of his handover!”

“He wanted me to start paying for my meals. I refused, so he stormed out in a huff,” Zhang Shengli explained with a laugh.

“What? You’re a temp cook—why should you pay for meals? That Huang Shiren is getting more and more outrageous!” Secretary Wang shook his head helplessly, then turned on the equipment and taught Zhang Shengli how to air the broadcast and use the microphone to deliver announcements.

That afternoon, Zhang Shengli prepared hand-pulled noodles and stir-fried cabbage and kale—simple vegetarian dishes that were easy on the stomach.

At 6:55, Zhang Shengli went to the broadcasting room and turned on the broadcast right on time, sending the sound across all of Qinghu Township.

He then washed the pots and wiped down the kitchen, and at half past eight, he returned to the broadcasting room, turned off the broadcast, picked up the notice, cleared his throat, and switched on the microphone.

A mysterious hum of electricity filled the air, making Zhang Shengli’s palms sweat with nerves. He was about to address the entire township, representing the township government—he could not afford any mistakes.

Steadying himself, Zhang Shengli spoke clearly into the microphone: “Attention! Attention! All brigade secretaries who hear this announcement, please come to the township government meeting room tomorrow morning to attend the autumn harvest work arrangement meeting!”

The broadcasting room fell silent but for the low hum of the current. After a pause, Zhang Shengli repeated, “Once again: all brigade secretaries who hear this announcement, please come to the township government meeting room tomorrow morning for the autumn harvest work arrangement meeting!”

Zhang Shengli’s strong, standard Mandarin echoed through the speakers in every household in Qinghu Township.

His middle school language teacher was from Beijing, and Zhang Shengli had learned Mandarin from him.

“My, Xiao Zhang’s Mandarin is a thousand times better than Section Chief Huang’s rustic dialect!”

“Huang Shiren is nothing—Xiao Zhang’s announcement is better than the county broadcasters!”

“We’ll have to start calling him Station Chief Zhang from now on!”

After dinner, the township staff all gave Zhang Shengli a thumbs-up for his broadcast, while Huang Shigui’s face turned as dark as pig’s liver.

After work, Zhang Shengli rode his bicycle out of the township government compound and returned to Yangcao Village.

Just as he reached the south wall of the hamlet, his fifth brother, Zhang Xuewen, jumped out and called, “Brother, was that you making the announcement on the broadcast just now?”

“Yes, it was. Why, is there a problem?” Zhang Shengli braked his bicycle.

“No problem! I just recognized your voice, but the others didn’t believe me!” Zhang Xuewen replied proudly.

“Shengli, aren’t you a temporary cook at the township? How did you end up making the broadcasts?”

“Isn’t broadcasting the job of the station chief? How did you get picked?”

“Did the township hire you as a full employee already?”

The people chatting and cooling off under the south wall crowded around Zhang Shengli, peppering him with questions.

“Uh… The regular broadcaster had something come up, so I’m filling in for a few days,” Zhang Shengli replied casually.

He always remained composed, his calmness and maturity far beyond his years.