Chapter Seventy-Seven: Truly Nothing Better to Do

First, she hadn’t insulted anyone. Jiang Huan had never cared much about her younger brother, nor did she demand others to treat him with special regard. The other party merely discussed the issue at hand, and their attitude was already decent, considering they were all strangers.

Second, Xiuying spoke plainly about the pros and cons, which actually soothed some people's hidden dissatisfaction. They felt things were “fair,” reducing friction and conflict.

With such a manager who didn’t stir up trouble, the logistics team's tasks progressed in an orderly manner.

Once the food was ready, another squad would deliver it as quickly as possible.

If it were just delivering meals, there wouldn’t need to be a dedicated squad. But with the cold weather causing dishes to cool too rapidly, those delivering meals also had to reheat the food and collect the utensils for cleaning afterward.

After their meals were sent out, the kitchen crew could finally eat.

When busy, nobody caused trouble; but when things eased up, that’s when idle hands sought mischief.

At mealtime, Jiang Huan and her brother lined up for food. The volunteer serving the meal dug around in the bucket, and when the ladleful reached her bowl, there was more water and less grain.

Jiang Huan didn’t pay it much mind—after all, consistency was impossible to standardize, and she assumed it was coincidence.

She finished serving and waited for her brother, only to find he received the same watery serving. Jiang Huan frowned, led her brother to a spot, but didn’t sit down. She set her tray aside, snapped a photo of her meal, then walked over to the serving station, standing right beside the woman.

The woman expected Jiang Huan and her brother, having been bullied, to shrink away, eat quickly, and avoid further harassment. Unexpectedly, Jiang Huan didn’t even bother with her meal, and dared to stand by her side, watching her serve.

This woman wasn’t one to back down either. She immediately banged the ladle several times. The metallic clang was especially conspicuous in the room.

Several gazes turned their way. Jiang Xi was about to stand up, but Jiang Huan waved him off, signaling him to eat while the meal was still hot.

She stood composed, saying, “Go on, serve—what’s the delay? If you wait till the food’s cold, do you want everyone to get stomachaches, or waste fuel reheating?”

Her words laced with sarcasm, stinging the woman who fancied herself high-minded. The woman snapped, “Nonsense! You’re the one interfering with my serving. Go eat your own, don’t disrupt us!”

“I’m not touching you. I just want to see if you’re giving others two bowls of water as well, so I won’t blame the wrong person when I bring it up later.”

Jiang Huan was not the type to be bullied into silence or tears; quite the opposite, she was unafraid of trouble, articulate, and clear in her intentions—to make the other party feel more discomfort than the embarrassment they tried to inflict.

Isn’t that fair, after all?

After all, the instigator is the one at fault.

Jiang Huan’s words were loud and clear, and now everyone around and in line understood—the server had given her and her brother bowls with more water and less food.

“Are you done yet? The ratio of water to food is random! You want more, you want more—so nobody else eats, is that it? Why don’t you take the whole bucket, then!”

The woman’s unreasonable retort drew more unfriendly looks toward Jiang Huan. People had worked half the day, tired and hungry, and didn’t want to watch a quarrel.

Seeing Jiang Huan’s reasonable demeanor and refined manner, many urged her to return to her seat and eat.

“Fine, I’ll take it.” Jiang Huan snatched the ladle from the woman, nudged her aside with a smile, and addressed the queue: “Sorry, she’s making trouble so no one can eat. Here, let me serve you.”

Jiang Huan’s serving was much more skillful; when she ladled food into their bowls, it was visibly thick, more than half solid. Seeing she didn’t skimp, people took their bowls and went to eat.

The woman stared in disbelief at Jiang Huan’s actions. Perhaps it was her first encounter with someone so tough, and for a moment, she didn’t know what to do.

By the time she tried to snatch the ladle back, only one person remained. Jiang Huan gave them the last thick scoop from the bottom of the pot, leaving only a watery ladle with a few grains. She tossed the ladle in and walked away briskly.

The serving woman glared, “You left just water—what am I supposed to eat?? Are you insane!”

She lunged, aiming to grab Jiang Huan’s hair.

When women fight, they gouge eyes, scratch faces, yank hair, tear clothes, stomp feet—she started with the hair.

Jiang Huan dodged, the woman stumbled forward, Jiang Huan never touched her, just spread her arms, watching as the woman nearly fell, letting out a mocking laugh, and stood with folded arms as if nothing happened: “You claim serving water is random, but when you’re left with just water, it’s insanity? What, was ‘insanity’ invented just for you?”

Steadying herself, the woman was hit by Jiang Huan’s words, her anger boiling over. She felt everyone was snickering at her, watching her make a fool of herself. A surge of rage shot up from her soles to the sky—she was determined not to let Jiang Huan off.

She screamed, imitating those dramatic scenes, and charged at Jiang Huan, headfirst. Jiang Huan grabbed her hair, feeling its rough, greasy texture.

Ignoring the sensation, Jiang Huan twisted her wrist, forcing the woman to spin stiffly, then her legs buckled and she landed hard on her backside.

Someone snorted with laughter; now many were truly watching the spectacle.

Jiang Huan stood three or five steps away, wary of another outbreak.

As expected, the woman stood up, face flushed, teeth gritted, glaring at Jiang Huan as if she were her mortal enemy: “Just you wait! You’re dead!”

Jiang Huan spread her hands, watched her leave, and saw her brother hadn’t touched the water in his bowl; she shook her head and poured it out.

It was only water; waste didn’t matter.

She didn’t insist her brother eat the food there—she’d only brought him to experience it. Turning, she took him to a restaurant for a bowl of noodles with shredded meat, egg, and vegetables. She ordered a bowl of rice noodles for herself. The contribution points spent could have fed a family of three in the base for more than a week.

Leaving the restaurant, Jiang Huan saw from afar that the logistics hall was bustling. Someone pointed at her: “She’s back, she’s back.”

Jiang Huan walked ahead and saw two armed men following the troublemaking woman from before.

The woman’s face was smug: “You wretch, daring to cross me—you’re dead, I tell you.”

After all, she was associated with Li Pingchuan, the most notorious squad leader in the base.

Jiang Huan blinked in surprise.

The two men behind the woman froze, reluctant to move forward, even considering retreat.

These two were the very ones who had cornered Jiang Huan over the gold-buying incident. Back then, Jiang Huan had offered to donate a meal’s worth of grain, prompting the leader to scold Li Pingchuan’s squad leader in public. Their boss couldn’t stand up to her, so how could they?

The woman, unaware that her supposed protectors were dreading Jiang Huan, wanted to back away but foolishly pressed closer, her finger nearly poking Jiang Huan’s eye.

Jiang Huan slapped her hand aside and asked the two men behind, “Are we fighting, or not?”