Canteen System Assistance Notes

Canteen System Aid Notes by Forgotten Maple X

(Rewritten by the original author, original text: "Shandong University Canteen System Assistance Record")

There aren't many weapons here, nor are there two-way passages, but there's more than just the canteen system.

Chapter 1: Time Traveler Liu Helian 7

Canteen System Assistance

By Forgotten Maple X

2643 words

2020-10-13 12: 16: 00

In early 1937, Fushe.

Liu Helian walked out of the cave and shook his legs. Yesterday, when he was going to Fushi, he was trying to be brave and gave his horse to a farmer who was going to Fushi for medical treatment. His legs were still sore.

However, compared to his previous self, his physical fitness had already improved significantly. Although that "painful alien" had given him a new identity, it hadn't changed the malnutrition common in this era - so he had always paid attention to supplementing his nutrition and exercising.

So I am considered a big man with a height of eight feet and broad shoulders and a strong waist - in this time and space, I can be said to be a typical strong man.

Liu Helian couldn't remember when he'd traveled through time, but he knew it was a long, long time ago. In a pure white space, yet filled with countless details, a shirtless "Troublesome Alien" approached him with a man, also eight feet tall and plainly dressed, hoping he'd take on the task.

I couldn't see the plain man's face clearly, but I knew I was easily persuaded by him:

"You are our eyes! To know what things are really like, you have to see it with your own eyes, taste it with your own mouth, and do it with your own hands!"

"Your first task is to experience life to the best of your ability," the Danteng alien added. "As a restriction, we've limited your ability to express yourself. Until further notice, you can't reveal your future identity or history to anyone. All of your super-age gadgets will be securely sealed."

After he finished speaking, a white light flashed, and everything around him began to flow again, as if he had turned from a black and white silent film back into vivid reality.

"1937.01.13"

Then a number appeared, and he could "see" it by closing his eyes.

This clearly suggestive number clearly pointed to Fushe. Liu Helian was well-versed in history, and this was the time when central government agencies were stationed in Fushe. Before then, he couldn't reveal his future identity or historical information to anyone. So, he followed the arrangements, both overt and covert, and began his work: traveling to Vladivostok, joining the Party through local investigation, serving as an instructor at a local coal mine, working at the Party School, and finally, in 33, studying in Moscow.

At the same time, his excellent basic qualities from the future still played a role in his life: he once helped the party organization coordinate overseas relations, managed some overseas economic routes that he developed through hard work, and even participated in coordinating the evacuation of some anti-Japanese soldiers across the border.

These experiences made him grow up quickly, but also made him quickly feel awe. He originally wanted to reach the pinnacle of his life, but gradually he had a deeper understanding of the term "wave of the times" - the power of one person is small, and in this era of heroes, a future time traveler who was once an ordinary person can do very little.

But he firmly believed that if he could change a little bit, just a little bit.

Life is a matter of inertia. Liu Helian quietly drifted along his own path, like a silent ship, gradually approaching its final destination. But compared to others of his time, his path had several distinct beacons, guiding him down a foggy, diverging path.

In other words, he has a very clear "hope".

"Why bother? If we really want to talk about 'hope', isn't it now?" He looked at this place full of yellow earth and deeply believed that many years later, a group of people who were full of ideals but down-to-earth would come out from here.

However, this will still require a long time and a lot of effort, as long as the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers. The first priority now is to resolve the soreness. After washing up, he began to do his own strangely modified "radio gymnastics".

"Commander, good morning!" It was his guard who spoke. "Commander, you've started your morning exercises again—your breakfast has been brought to the cafeteria!"

"Good morning! Dachui, why don't you come and do morning exercises too?" Liu Helian was not arrogant. The guard named Wang Tiechui was assigned by the Central Committee to this "temporary representative of the Communist International". His identity was enough to have a guard, but because he had just returned from Moscow, after completing the task of delivering the communication codes to the Central Committee, he was waiting for the Central Committee's work arrangements.

"It's an iron hammer, not a sledgehammer!" Wang Tiechui corrected. Liu Helian was not arrogant and the communication between the two sides was very casual.

Once the next step of work is done, Wang Tiechui will probably return to his own unit.

"Commander, did you make up this exercise yourself? Oh! This one looks very similar to the one made by Little Nose. They must be the same, right?"

Comrade Tiechui began to follow the "chest expansion exercise," a little clumsily but seriously. This former Fengtian Army soldier was now like a puppet pulling his own strings, determined to complete every movement. "I've never heard of any army in the interior doing exercises like this before. The Japanese do it every day,"

"It's not the Japanese kind. I saw kids doing radio calisthenics in the Soviet Union, so I adapted it..." Liu Helian thought of a more plausible reason. "In Soviet schools, they listen to slogans on the radio and do these exercises five days a week."

"Hey, Commander, those Soviet kids all go to school. Can they all do this exercise?"

Wang Tiechui is a curious person. Whenever the Soviet Union is mentioned, he would ask all kinds of strange questions. The Shandong onion flavor in the speech of this former Northeastern man made Liu Helian feel a little nostalgic.

"That's... people need to exercise regularly to grow strong."

As he was thinking, he glanced at a group of soldiers passing by the door.

But, alas, compared to himself, the people around him… Liu Helian saw in them many of the same marks that had once appeared on his own body—the shadow of malnutrition, like a lingering demon, had haunted him for a long time. It wasn't until he arrived in the Soviet Union, after adhering to a carefully designed nutritional supplement plan and exercising for a long time, that his muscles began to plump up again and his skin regained its radiance.

It was obviously impossible for all the soldiers in front of him to eat the same thing as him.

"If there were KFC and McDonald's like in my past life, I think they'd be able to grow bigger like balloons. Obesity? High blood lipids? Absent." He closed his eyes and said regretfully, "Even without meat, the cheap rice and eggs of today are enough to fill everyone's bellies."

The numbers reappeared, 1937.01.13, crimson and glowing.

Liu Helian once complained that this number felt like the halo above an angel's head, a constant presence that kept him awake every night. After all, imagine how sleep works when you close your eyes and see something like an old Windows 98 screensaver drifting around in the center of your vision. It made him mentally send affectionate greetings to the ancestors of the "Dan Painful Alien" over and over again.

The next day, he discovered that the number would turn into navy blue from 8 pm to 7 am the next day.

Grass.

Just as he was about to greet the eighteen generations of descendants of the Danting Star people again, Liu Helian heard a crisp sound of glass breaking, and then another sound, just like in spring, the frozen river kept cracking, but the river water that should have been carrying the broken ice remained still, presenting a completely opposite silence.

Where does Fushi City get so much glass?

No, how can I hear this sound?

Liu Helian's modern thinking quickly revived, and he quickly found the answer: This must be the work of the annoying aliens!

After all, if someone directly and forcibly restricts his own expression and communication, seals his laptop and mobile phone, and only leaves himself with a lighter, anything can happen!

The strange number 1937.01.13 appeared in his vision. It was like a thin piece of rice paper, being pulled out from under a ruler, pinched between fingers and displayed before him. The next second, the paper was violently torn to pieces, engulfed in a silent, transparent flame.

"Request accept, Enable streaming."

“Language selected.”

"CC_Mod_1937 is deploying."

"Hello, time traveler, you can now use the first phase of the cafeteria system. Please refer to the user manual for relevant information."

"Future information is unlocked, future identities are unlocked, and communication restrictions are lifted."

"Travel Customer Service is dedicated to serving you, and wishes you good luck."

Chapter 2 Mod_1937's Canteen 7

Canteen System Assistance

By Forgotten Maple X

2421 words

2020-08-25 12: 00: 00

On the Phoenix Mountain in Fushe, a cave was shrouded in smoke. Two guards were standing at the door, and a company of soldiers were surrounding it outside. It was so tight that it looked like the Beijing people who were just watching the fun and making trouble.

But this wasn't just a spectacle. After Comrade Liu found Section Chief Ye and told him he needed to report some confidential matters to the Chairman, he had only been inside for a few minutes when the report turned into a small meeting. Then he watched as Comrade Liu, surrounded by a large group of Security Department comrades, returned to his cave, carrying a black briefcase. Not long after, a group of people from the Border Security Department arrived, connected the electricity to the cave, and then set up a double-guard perimeter around the entire cave yard.

What's going on? Could it be that Liu Helian is a Japanese spy?

Comrade Liu, breathing in the secondhand smoke in the cave, had no idea he was being whispered about outside. He was explaining his origins, the history of his original time and space, and the most important thing he had to report: the "Trans-Time and Space Canteen" that was about to land.

Setting aside the usual historical information exchange and future identity verification, everyone's attention quickly focused on this "canteen system." According to Comrade Liu, this is a university canteen from his time, installed in a flying building, capable of landing in areas above the county level controlled by the Red Army, or (soon to be) the Eighth Route Army. Once landed, it cannot be moved and can only be deployed on the spot. Once deployed, the canteen can produce a variety of food and goods, including but not limited to:

Steamed buns, rice, noodles, bread, greens, spinach, cauliflower, pork, mutton, chicken, fish, fried skewers, hamburgers, hot pot, stir-fried vegetables, Coke, Sprite, Fanta, and toilet cleaner...

"Alright, forget about the dishes." Boss Zhu raised his hand to stop the list, which was over a dozen lines long. The dazzling array of products and the small font size made him feel dizzy. "Let's get to the main points first!"

At this moment, Zhu, Mao, Wang, and Luo sat at a corner of the conference table, looking at Liu Helian's IBM little black notebook. This thing, along with their own cell phone, had been sealed by some strange force field during the time they traveled through time, and it had only been turned on and used today. Fortunately, nearly 20 years hadn't seemed to have affected this big black brick at all. It was as if time had been deliberately paused, wearing black-framed glasses.

The screen was showing the PowerPoint presentation the other person had sent him. It detailed the usage, precautions, warranty, and technical certifications for the cafeteria (1937 edition). Much of the data was charted, creating a concise and clear layout with cool but not superfluous animations—it was obvious that it had been created by a corporate slave working overtime.

"The key point is, this system can provide us with food supplies for over 6 people per day. While we can't directly purchase raw grain for the time being, the corresponding food, non-staple food, and beverages are almost unlimited—of course, almost unlimited, after all, our transportation capacity and payment power are not unlimited." Liu Helian introduced this new "golden finger". "No matter how you think about it, I think it can at least solve the food problem for central government agencies and most stationed troops."

"Ability to pay... Comrade Xiao Liu, how does this cafeteria charge for food? What currency do they accept? Copper coins? Silver dollars? Banknotes? French francs? Or some foreign currency?"

There's no such thing as a free lunch. Those present here are all experienced revolutionaries, and they know that nothing comes easy. Everything depends on one's own efforts. After all, as Comrade Xiao Liu frankly stated, this canteen system doesn't provide food for free; it requires payment.

Although this kind of thing where you can buy food with money does seem like a free lunch,

It's important to remember that while the country was nominally unified at the time, there were countless warlords, both large and small, operating in various locations. Among the key requirements for rallying forces and gathering troops, food was as crucial as guns. In fact, in 1937, when customs and borders were porous as a matter of fact, having food was highly likely to secure guns—or become someone else's gun.

"Oh, here it is." Liu Helian flipped the PPT down, revealing a glowing area. "When the cafeteria lands, there will be a basement with an area for selling goods. We just need to put the things we want to sell in there, and then operate my machine, and we can sell them. The specific rules are written here:" He read the line of notes at the bottom of the PPT.

"All materials sold will be directly converted into RMB—oh, leaders, this is the currency we'll use in the future—based on the market price of the original time and space and transferred to bank accounts. When the transaction begins, this system will automatically open a public account within the ICBC online banking system. Related interbank services will be provided by third-party banking partners...

"The sale of munitions, radioactive materials, unauthorized toxic and hazardous chemicals, and other substances is prohibited. For specific operations, please refer to the local laws and regulations of the original time and space."

……

The PPT quickly scrolled to the end. Except for Political Commissar Wang who was in poor health and had to lie half-lying on a chair, the rest of the people started smoking. Suddenly, the atmosphere in the cave became much more relaxed.

After all, knowing the future success, any hardships along the way are merely medals pinned to one's clothes at the moment of victory, or a glorious time to remember. Even after hearing Liu Helian's identity as a time traveler and confirming that "our revolution will be victorious in the future," Secretary Luo, who was always busy, was exhausted and fell asleep against the wall.

The meeting had already lasted a whole day. From the initial 4+1 people, the number of people now almost filled the cave. Liu Helian glanced around. Now, the cave was ablaze with stars.

Chairman, General Zhu, General Peng, Political Commissar Wang, He Huzi, Biao Wawa, General Liu, Zhang Hao, Chief of Staff Ye, Commissioner Xu...Except for those currently working outside, all members of the Central Military Commission were present. Each of them was a distinguished figure who had emerged from the arduous revolutionary struggles of the past years. Liu Helian couldn't help but tremble violently, but his rational mind finally maintained the confidence that belonged to a time traveler. He took a deep breath and said frankly:

"Earlier, when I joined the Party, I was restricted by those 'annoying aliens.' Any information I shared about my identity and the history of my time and space was deliberately ignored. However, the records I wrote on paper could not be erased, although they were still ignored. Now, these restrictions have apparently been lifted."

After all, he has worked diligently in the party for so long, and he is clear about the party's review and work processes.

"I can swear on my Party spirit that I have not concealed anything from the organization, and I am willing to cooperate with all of the organization's review and screening procedures..."

"Compared to when we first met, our Comrade Xiao Liu has clearly become more lively!"

The Chairman interrupted Liu Helian. His relaxed, frank, and fearless voice drove away the smell of gunpowder that had just emerged from the cave: "You come from your future, you are a comrade of the future. Coming to our world, which has nothing to do with you, to support us is not an easy thing in itself!

"You have lived in this world for a long time and have been tested. Since you are a Party member, you must believe that the organization will not forget your contributions. Our Party will not let a bad person go, but it will certainly not wrongly accuse a good comrade."

This Marxist, proletarian revolutionary, theorist, and strategist from Hunan Province stood up and set the tone:

"I think Comrade Xiao Liu from the future is pretty good!"

Chapter 3: Fushi City is fine 7

Canteen System Assistance

By Forgotten Maple X

2130 words

2020-08-26 12: 00: 00

The people in the border area acted quickly, efficiently and confidentially.

Liu Helian's files were retrieved and corroborated with related accounts, and with the corroboration of other witnesses, they were confirmed. The Central Committee also found a paragraph in his application to join the Party that explained his identity—but at the time, his party introduction and reviewers, for unknown reasons, collectively ignored this information.

The records of the Lenin Academy and the records transferred back to China from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union apparently contain similar explanations, but they have also been ignored.

It seems that this is the so-called "future information blockade", and now with the blockade lifted, everything is returning to normal.

The relevant branch's evaluation of him was this: apart from his usual love of eating (referring to the fact that he often used his allowance to buy meat, sausages and butter), he was a party member who worked diligently, had outstanding abilities, treated others kindly, adhered to principles, and had reliable party spirit. This was obviously a very good evaluation.

As for the authenticity of the cafeteria system...

Come on, if you took all the mechanical calculators in the world, put them upside down, and then stood them upside down for the Pope's blessing, they wouldn't have the same computing power as the silicon chip inside that big black brick. Mathematically adept Comrade Li Qiang had this thing calculate pi, and it broke the current world record in under two seconds, and at 10 seconds, it stretched the number of digits after the decimal point to a dizzying length.

This thing is right in front of you, and you still don’t believe it?

Following the review, Liu Helian's work was quickly transferred to a newly established department, the "Central Logistics Special Committee." The committee was filled with highly capable individuals, forming a highly capable planning team. In a dizzying array of organizational changes, Liu Helian's immediate supervisor became Political Commissar Wang Da, his supervisor became Staff Officer Zuo, and he himself became Deputy Director and Advisor of the Logistics Special Committee.

The team's first task was to develop a comprehensive "takeover" plan and act as a central coordinator. Perhaps due to work habits, they habitually classified the incoming canteen organization as an asset to be "taken over," to be transferred to the central government and flexibly utilized within the border region's economic, civil affairs, and military systems. To this end, the working group soon included representatives from the Central Military Commission and the Chinese Soviet Republic's Northwest Office.

"First, according to intelligence, this organization will land in seven days. The landing site will be designated by us, and it needs to be... at least 200 mu, or two hectares, of land." Liu Helian, who was taking charge of a task for the first time, was a little nervous, but after all, he had been tempered by so many years. He continued speaking from his notebook, "The terrain and organization of the site are not picky. Generally, a flat area will be fine. The earthwork for the canteen organization will be solved by itself after landing. We just need to do a good job of educating local comrades, complete tasks such as requisition and compensation, and evacuate the personnel within the area to avoid casualties.

"Defense..."

"Regarding security, the Military Commission has coordinated with the Border Region Security Office and the garrison troops, including the 2nd Regiment responsible for protecting Fushe, to provide security around the area," the Military Commission comrade replied immediately, clearly well prepared. "Regarding intelligence, the comrades at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be responsible. They've always been reliable."

"I understand. Once the canteen is established, it will have persistent optical camouflage—well, it should be so that it can't be identified unless someone approaches closely. That's all you need to understand. The daily security pressure won't be very high, and there will be specialized solutions for aerial reconnaissance and air raid defense." Liu Helian turned to the person from the office's food department. The comrade nodded with a deep gaze, his hands folded, as if with a hint of doubt. "When we try to export some goods, we'll need to organize some manpower to carry them."

"We've mobilized a 200-person transport team, prepared 20 large carts and large animals, and contacted the warehouse. Commissioner Liu, no matter how much food you come up with, we can find a way." The vigilance in his eyes turned into an eagerness to try, the enthusiasm of facing a challenge. "It all depends on how many big white flour buns Commissioner Liu can conjure up for us!"

As of January 1937, in the border area, the westward-bound Red Army retreated early due to some seemingly strange orders. A comrade named Gong Chang was accused of being a Napoleon's heirloom, and then the accusation was taken away - so that in the Battle of Shanchengbao, our Hu Baoan was beaten up extra badly, lost two brigades and one regiment, and even his own masterpiece, "The World's No. 1 Brigade", became "The World's No. 1 Donkey", and was captured by the Eighth Route Army and made into donkey meat hotpot.

Comrade Xiao Liu, you have actually changed a lot of things.

The Military Commission then announced a well-paced, phased, yet somewhat radical plan for military expansion and training, as well as a strategic plan to expand anti-Japanese revolutionary bases eastward and expand into the vast North China region to fight the Japanese. In the border regions, surveying, site selection, and preliminary strategizing for numerous factories also began. Beneath the calm surface of this yellow land in central China, eddies stirred and undercurrents surged. Naturally, these arrangements were met with jubilation by some, with deep doubts by others. Still others expressed objections to the central government's plans: "We need greater prudence and caution. The Japanese invaders have been in China for years and are ready to make a move. They will inevitably break through the treaty restrictions and launch a full-scale invasion in the future." Expansion at this time would dilute our strength, which might not be a good thing.