Li Ru sat in the boss's chair, picked up the black coffee, sniffed it, but couldn't help frowning.
The taste was still the same, but he felt no desire to drink it.
The rich aroma of rice seemed to still linger at his nose.
He gently shook his head and took a sip anyway.
"Ugh… so bitter..."
Looking at the black coffee in his hand, Li Ru kept feeling that it didn't smell appealing at all.
Involuntarily, he glanced at his lunch box on the cabinet, maybe...
Li Ru, expressionless, appeared in the break room again.
Zhou Ruoqing and Shen Yu had already heated up four portions of cheung fun and were ready to feast at the table.
Li Ru stood at the door, staring at the two of them without speaking.
Shen Yu and Zhou Ruoqing felt uneasy under the boss's gaze, not understanding what he meant. Was eating in the break room not allowed?
Shen Yu tentatively asked, "Boss, should we go back to our desks to eat?"
Li Ru shook his head, "No need, you can just eat here."
Shen Yu felt a bit troubled. If he allowed them to eat in the break room, then why stare at them like they made a mistake?
Zhou Ruoqing also tentatively asked, "Is the smell bothering you too much?"
Li Ru shook his head, "No, although the smell is indeed strong, it's quite pleasant."
???
Zhou Ruoqing and Shen Yu exchanged glances, seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.
What's up with the boss? Why is he staring at us like that?
No idea, he can't be interested in us, right?
In your dreams, haven't you met the boss's wife? She's as stunning as a star, next to her we're like village girls!
After some eye contact, they still couldn't figure out the boss's intention.
Until Shen Yu saw the lunch box seemingly revealed unintentionally by the boss.
Oh my gosh, no way?
Shen Yu tested again, "Boss, you haven't eaten yet, do you want to... join us for some food?"
Zhou Ruoqing looked at Shen Yu in shock. Everyone at the company knew the boss never ate in the morning, yet you've got the guts to invite him to breakfast?
Aren't you telling the boss that you don't pay him any attention? Aren't you afraid that he'll give you a hard time?
Zhou Ruoqing was confident that the boss would refuse Shen Yu's invitation.
But to her surprise, Li Ru actually agreed!
"Hmm, since you're sincerely inviting me, then I'll join you for some."
With those words, he elegantly sat down at the table.
???
Zhou Ruoqing stared at Shen Yu in shock, and Shen Yu looked bewilderedly at Zhou Ruoqing.
What's going on?
Did the sun rise from the west? The boss actually wants to eat breakfast?!
Li Ru set down his lunch box and called out, "What are you standing there for? Eat, don't be shy."
"Huh? Oh, thank you, boss!"
After hearing Li Ru's words, the two quickly responded.
But as soon as they spoke, they felt something seemed off.
If they remembered correctly, wasn't this cheung fun something they bought themselves? How did it feel like the boss was treating them to a meal?
Oh my gosh, have the tables turned unknowingly?
Li Ru naturally picked up a piece of cheung fun and placed it in his lunch box.
The smooth, transparent rice noodle rolls looked adorable, and with the bright red sauce, it became very enticing.
Especially the aroma dominated by the smell of rice, it made him eager to enjoy a big meal.
Although Li Ru was also an overseas returnee, he didn't have the typical superiority of using forks and knives.
He used chopsticks too.
Using chopsticks to bring cheung fun to his mouth, the silky texture made him instantly like this breakfast.
With a slight bite, the rice skin as thin as a cicada's wing broke, and an extremely rich and fresh taste filled his mouth instantly.
Li Ru felt like all his taste buds were cheering at that moment.
The rich sweet and fresh flavor was unparalleled, even by the dishes from those Michelin three-star restaurants.
He could taste it, it was the flavor of scallops.
This dish must have been steamed; the plump, tender, and juicy quality of the scallops was unique to steaming.
With a bite, the scallop seemed to unfold in his mouth, fully releasing its freshest flavor to every corner of his mouth.
And the most captivating part was that lingering rice fragrance.
Not only was the rice aroma not overshadowed by the scallop flavor, but it highlighted the scallop's fragrance even more, achieving an effect of one plus one equaling three.
Li Ru couldn't help but exclaim, "Delicious, really delicious. I didn't expect you two to indulge in such tasty food, it seems your personal funds are quite hefty."
Shen Yu was dumbfounded; what does buying a bit of cheung fun have to do with having a hefty personal fund?
No matter how poor they were, they could still afford to spend ten or so bucks, right?
Seeing his two subordinates in a daze, Li Ru thought he hadn't explained clearly enough, so he added, "I mean, since it's so delicious, it must be expensive, right? I feel a bit bad eating your expensive food, I'll treat you to a grand meal next time."
Zhou Ruoqing quickly shook her head, "No worries, boss, this cheung fun is quite cheap, only 12 RMB per portion. All four portions cost less than 50 RMB, you don't have to worry."
A huge question mark appeared above Li Ru's head, "You're saying such delicious food is 12 RMB a portion? In US Dollars or Euros? Even in Euros, that would be considered very cheap."
Shen Yu hurriedly said, "Neither, boss, just RMB, 12 RMB. It's very cheap."
Li Ru was even more puzzled, "What currency is RMB? How come I've never heard of it before?"
"Pfft..."
Seeing the embarrassed Shen Yu and the curious boss, Zhou Ruoqing nearly burst out laughing.
She quickly caught her breath to explain, "Boss, it's just the Huaxia Coin we normally use. We bought it from a snack stall in Shuofeng Park this morning. But today seems to be his last day operating the stall; we probably won't find such delicious cheung fun anymore after this."
Li Ru nodded, "That's really too bad."
With that, he picked up another piece to eat, this time tasting the shrimp cheung fun.
Also seafood, yet the flavor and texture were slightly different.
Shrimp cheung fun was even sweeter and fresher than scallop cheung fun.
Li Ru, having lived abroad for some time, was used to sweeter foods, so this taste was spot on for him.
Before long, he had already devoured three large pieces.
Shen Yu and Zhou Ruoqing were shocked to see it, the boss had such a big appetite?
At this rate, we'll be left sipping on soup!
So they stopped worrying about maintaining a ladylike image, and their chopsticks swung readily toward the cheung fun.
Li Ru also got anxious, it was rare for him to have an appetite in the morning, yet these two subordinates didn't seem to be giving him any leeway, fighting for it like mad, totally ignoring the leadership!
Taking things into his own hands, Li Ru fully engaged, stuffing his mouth like a hamster's cheek pouches.