Absolute Fairness at the Cafeteria Serving Counter
On the second floor of Flamebearers' Academy's No. 3 cafeteria, the serving line crept forward.
Sigelica watched Linnai walk away ahead of her, cursing with her tray in hand. The portion of ribs on it had visibly shrunk.
"Next."
Behind the counter, Auntie Li held a stainless-steel ladle, her gaze steady.
Sigelica handed over her tray. "One serving of sweet-and-sour ribs."
A heaping ladleful of sauce-red ribs rose from the pan.
Auntie Li's wrist began to shake. With a few quick flicks, the plump pieces of meat flew neatly back into the pan.
"Clatter."
Only two scraps of bone remained on the tray, soaking in sauce.
Sigelica stared at the pitiful portion and swallowed her words.
She picked up her tray and turned away.
A clear voice rang out. "Auntie, I'd like a serving of sweet-and-sour ribs too."
Dania rose on tiptoe and held out her tray, her pink eyes shining brightly.
Auntie Li scooped up another equally heaping ladleful, her wrist ready to shake.
A hand settled on the edge of the counter.
"Auntie, go easy on her."
Zhou Yu had appeared at the counter, nobody knew when. The red armband on his left arm read "Quality Inspection," and the badge on his chest said "Cafeteria Supervisor."
Auntie Li stopped and narrowed her eyes at him. "Where are you from?"
"Logistics Department. Zhou Yu." He pointed at his badge. "I started today. I'm responsible for supervising food quality and portion sizes."
The cafeteria abruptly fell silent.
Students in line and at their meals all turned to look.
Auntie Li sneered and rapped her ladle against the side of the pan. "Supervise me? You hadn't even been weaned when I started serving food here."
"I wouldn't presume." Zhou Yu's expression didn't change. "I'm just doing my job."
He paused, then adopted the tone of someone reading an official document. "According to appendix two, clause seventeen, chapter three of the Flamebearers' Academy Dining Service Regulations for Faculty and Students, a standard serving of the A-grade dish 'signature sweet-and-sour ribs' must contain no less than eighty grams of meat, with a margin of error no greater than five percent."
The students around them were stunned.
Linnai bit into a rib and craned her neck to watch.
"What regulations? I've never heard of them." Auntie Li's face darkened.
"It's normal that you haven't. They were only added to the employee handbook yesterday afternoon." Zhou Yu spoke naturally. "I suspect the portion you just served and the one you're about to serve fall well below the standard."
"What are you basing that on? Eyeballing it?" Auntie Li raised her voice.
"No."
Zhou Yu shook his head. With everyone watching, he pulled a palm-sized, silver-white portable high-precision digital scale from his work uniform pocket.
The cafeteria instantly fell quiet.
Everyone stared at the little scale gleaming under the lights.
"Now, may I weigh it?" He set the scale on the counter and pressed the power button. The screen lit up blue, displaying "0.00."
Auntie Li's lips moved, but she didn't make a sound.
Zhou Yu used his chopsticks to pick the scraps of bone straight off Sigelica's tray and place them on the scale.
The numbers flickered, finally settling on "17.35g."
He looked up. "The standard is eighty grams. You gave her seventeen, an error of over seventy-eight percent." He pointed at the rules on the wall. "According to the regulations, that's one major demerit and a deduction of half a month's bonus."
Auntie Li's face went from red to ashen.
The hand holding her ladle began to tremble. This time, she wasn't shaking the meat off; she was genuinely shaking.
Zhou Yu cleaned the scale, reset it to zero, and pushed it in front of Dania's tray. "Please give this student a standard portion."
Auntie Li gritted her teeth and scooped up another heaping ladleful. This time, she held her wrist steady and tipped all the ribs onto the tray.
"Not enough." Zhou Yu took a look. "About fifty grams by eye."
Auntie Li's eyes reddened, and she added another ladleful.
"Still not enough."
"Another."
"Keep going."
At Zhou Yu's direction, Auntie Li added ladleful after ladleful of meat. The sweet-and-sour ribs piled up into a small, sauce-red mountain on Dania's tray, filling the air with their aroma.
Dania's eyes sparkled as she looked up at Zhou Yu, her voice full of admiration. "Zhou Yu, you're amazing!"
"Basic stuff." Zhou Yu put away the scale and nodded to Auntie Li. "Auntie, I hope your hand stays this steady when I come to inspect tomorrow. You wouldn't want to lose your job over something like this, would you?"
He led Dania, who was so happy she was nearly shutting down, toward a table. Behind them, the cafeteria erupted in cheers and applause.
"Holy shit! Awesome!"
"What department are you from? No, you're my god!"
Zhou Yu didn't look back. He helped Dania find a seat by the window.
Dania carefully set down her tray, picked up the biggest rib, blew on it, and put it in her mouth.
Crunch. The meat inside was tender, and the sweet-and-sour sauce burst across her tongue.
She narrowed her eyes in delight, her feet swinging merrily under the table. "It's delicious, ten thousand times more delicious than I imagined."
Zhou Yu sat down across from her and leisurely drank his seaweed and egg drop soup.
The sunlight was just right, and the girl was eating ribs.
He lifted his soup bowl, his gaze sweeping past the window and settling in the direction of the distant parking lot.
The bushes in the landscaping beside a red motorcycle rustled slightly.
A pixel-art banana peel icon flashed across the screen of the old-fashioned digital watch on his wrist and vanished in an instant.
Zhou Yu looked away and took a sip of soup.
Dania picked up another rib and held it out to him. "Zhou Yu, you have some too."
"No, thanks." He shook his head. "I'll have my soup."