Chapter 633 452: 270,000 Employees, The Short Video Sector Landscape! Kuai Pao Cafeteria? No! It's the Employees' Home

An unknown amount of time passed. The sky had just begun to lighten, but the summer wind was already growing warmer, and the cries of the cicadas grew more piercing.

Song Yuncheng slowly stirred awake. Noticing Chen Yansen was no longer in bed, she picked up a pink nightgown draped over the footboard, put it on, and padded out of the room, her eyes still heavy with sleep. Just then, she spotted Chen Yansen on the terrace.

"Were you dreaming?"

Chen Yansen asked before Song Yuncheng even got close.

"How did you know?" Song Yuncheng kicked off her slippers, climbed onto the sofa, and curled up in President Chen's arms like a little kitten.

"A guess," Chen Yansen said, a faint smile playing on his lips as he chuckled softly.

"Oh, good." Song Yuncheng breathed a sigh of relief, having worried that she had been talking in her sleep and Chen Yansen had overheard.

"I'll take you horseback riding this morning," Chen Yansen said casually.

"But we just rode last night. Let me rest for half the day, please," Song Yuncheng pleaded, tilting her head up at him pitifully.

SMACK! Chen Yansen's hand came down in a slap.

Song Yuncheng winced, biting her lip as she instinctively rubbed her butt.

"What's going through that head of yours all day? I'm talking about the Xiangcheng Racecourse." Chen Yansen rolled his eyes at her.

'You were the one being vague, you led me on!' Song Yuncheng fumed silently, but there was nothing she could do about it.

「Meanwhile.」

After confirming the interview's theme, questions, and itinerary with Wang Shixiang and Meng Yun, *Time* magazine dispatched a team. Lead reporter Steel was put in charge of a 15-person special interview crew, which included a translator, photographer, videographer, transcriber, lighting technician, and a special coordinator. They flew to Yanjing overnight.

「Two hours later.」

The scorching midsummer sun had climbed high into the sky.

Heat shimmered up from the ground, and the surface temperature soon exceeded 35 degrees Celsius.

「Hu City, Yishan Road Subway Station.」

Having finished the morning rush, Li Zhou took off his helmet. His short hair was plastered to his head, and pea-sized beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and cheeks.

"Damn... Hu City is even hotter than Luzhou. Luzhou is just scorching sun, but this place is a sauna. It's so muggy and suffocating."

Li Zhou let out a long breath, pulled a bottle of iced tea from his vehicle's storage box, twisted off the cap, and guzzled down a huge mouthful.

"Brother Zhou, in the summer you... you should drink lightly salted water. Iced water isn't... healthy," Xu Jiacheng said. He then turned to his own electric vehicle and retrieved a bottle of lightly salted water he'd prepared, handing it to Li Zhou.

"True, it's not healthy, but man, does it cool you down!" Li Zhou chuckled. Not wanting to refuse Xu Jiacheng's kind gesture, he took the bottle of lightly salted water and drank half of it.

"Nannan's acceptance letter... a-arrived. Let's go to the... Huangshan... food stalls tonight. It's my treat."

Xu Jiacheng offered.

"Peng City Mining University? That's a 211 school! Brother Cheng, keep up the good work. You've got to earn Nannan's living expenses now." Li Zhou clapped Xu Jiacheng on the back, genuinely happy for him.

Since the company was covering the tuition, a lot of pressure was off Xu Jiacheng.

"Mhm. Nannan said that after she graduates, she wants to... to join Senlian Capital to repay President... Chen." Xu Jiacheng nodded, his expression earnest.

"Come on, let's head to the Kuai Pao Cafeteria and grab a table before they're all taken."

Li Zhou pulled out his phone, glanced at the time, and hurried Xu Jiacheng along.

The two of them got on their electric vehicles and headed toward the nearby Kuai Pao Cafeteria.

As they pushed open the door, a bone-chilling blast of cold air hit them. A dozen or so Kuai Pao Riders were sitting in the dining area, all colleagues from the same station.

As soon as they saw Li Zhou and Xu Jiacheng, everyone waved and called out, "Brother Zhou! Brother Cheng!"

"There's free mung bean soup and lemon tea over here!"

Before the lunch rush began, most Kuai Pao Deliverymen chose to either return to their station or come to the Kuai Pao Cafeteria to enjoy the air conditioning and cool off with a bowl of refreshing mung bean soup.

The cafeteria staff wouldn't chase them out either. To put it bluntly, they were all colleagues with the Kuai Pao Deliverymen and Cloud Speed Couriers.

Li Zhou called back a reply but didn't dare waste time. He grabbed a tray and told the server, "Mouth-watering chicken, shredded pork with potatoes, a bowl of luffa soup, and a bowl of rice."

"That'll be 7.8 yuan," the cashier called out in reply.

The luffa soup was free, and rice was one yuan with unlimited refills. The mouth-watering chicken cost 7 yuan, and the shredded pork with potatoes was 5 yuan. Employees enjoyed a 40% discount, bringing the total to exactly 7.8 yuan.

A 500-yuan monthly meal subsidy was included with their salary. If they wanted to cook for themselves, they could keep the money for groceries; if they preferred to eat at the cafeteria, they could load it onto their meal card.

Xu Jiacheng, who was behind him, was a bit more frugal with his food choices. He only ordered shredded pork with edamame and a serving of mapo tofu, swiping his card to pay 5.4 yuan.

"Brother Zhou, how many deliveries did you make this morning?"

"This weather is killer. I'm enjoying the AC so much, I don't even want to go back online."

"Compared to the riders from Qian Du Delivery, we've got it made. Our station has air conditioning, the Kuai Pao Cafeteria has air conditioning... they can only hang out in shopping malls and subway stations."

"That son of a bitch Li Yanhong only knows how to do shady things. Compared to our boss, they're worlds apart!"

The dozen or so couriers and deliverymen chatted as they ate.

Just then, a rider from Qian Du Delivery happened to pass by the Kuai Pao Cafeteria, and a flash of envy crossed his eyes.

'We're all delivery guys, but the difference between us is just too damn big!'

He'd been running deliveries all morning and was completely exhausted. He, too, wanted to go inside and enjoy the air conditioning for just a few minutes.

'Just a few minutes would be enough!'

THUD!

His vision swam, and he collapsed onto the concrete road. A sharp pain shot through his hands, feet, and elbows.

Li Zhou glanced out the door and, without a moment's hesitation, dropped his chopsticks and bolted outside.

"Hey man, you okay?" The moment Li Zhou stepped outside, he felt the sun sting his skin. The late-July sun in Hu City was truly unbearable.

Lv Bo slowly opened his eyes. His lips were pale and his whole body ached. He lifted his arm to see a palm-sized patch of scraped skin, which was now oozing blood.