Chapter 631 - 312: Cafeteria Speech! Someone Has to Stand Up, Don’t They? (Part 2)

The cafeteria was dimly lit; he stood up and jumped onto a table, shouting loudly:

"I stand here today, just like all of you students at this school, wanting to say a few heartfelt words."

His voice was loud, instantly capturing everyone’s attention in the cafeteria.

The people in the cafeteria gradually quieted down.

He casually lifted the plate of food he had just gotten.

"Do you all know what the price of this kind of meal was two years ago?"

"Five bucks!" someone responded.

Yang Shao chuckled and affirmed, "Yes, five bucks!"

Suddenly, he raised his voice: "But now, this same meal costs twenty-five bucks! That’s a fivefold increase in just two years!"

"Hey, student, what’s your living allowance?"

He placed a hand on a student’s shoulder and asked.

"It’s always been the same, a thousand bucks per month," the student shook his head and replied.

"And you, young lady?"

"Eleven hundred."

"You?"

"Nine hundred."

"You?"

"A thousand."

"..."

Swiftly, he moved from the window to the entrance of the cafeteria.

Yang Shao spread his arms wide and declared loudly: "Alright, take a look around you, at our cafeteria, at our campus!"

"The Star River School we once took pride in, what’s it become now? How can meal prices within two years have surged over fivefold!"

"Even the taste, portion, and quality of the food are almost like pig slop!"

"Why is this happening?!"

He clenched his hands tightly, pounding them on the table, producing a loud noise, furiously admonishing:

"Is it those few reckless managers in the cafeteria? It’s both them and not them!"

"If it weren’t for certain individuals backing them, how could they be so brazen! Casually stuffing our parents’ hard-earned money into their pockets and serving us a bowl of pig slop! They exploit us, squeezing out every bit for their own gain!"

The students around began buzzing with discussion, constantly nodding.

"Moreover, because we students are in a weaker position, we can only retreat in compromise..."

Yang Shao pounded his fist against his chest, his voice turning sorrowful.

The fragmented discussion in the cafeteria quickly faded away.

Because his voice grew louder, they couldn’t hear what this classmate was saying.

"If I ask you, saying, Yang Shao, I need to calmly get through school, I need not to worry my parents, then I think you’re right, you are kind individuals."

"But!"

Yang Shao’s voice suddenly heightened: "If, at this moment, we are kind and accept their greed, they will realize that even pig slop you are willing to accept, then they will step by step, step by step test our limits!"

Yang Shao’s voice was like an enticing devil: "Initially, they’ll make the meals somewhat unpalatable, then completely unsavory, and finally like pig slop! We will struggle in the thresholds of taste, sink into whirlpools where only the cafeteria is available for meals, until we are completely unresisting!"

Yang Shao scanned the cafeteria, walking around as if searching for something.

But everyone was waiting for his next words.

Then someone asked, "Hey, student, what are you looking for?"

Yang Shao raised a finger in response: "I am searching for a free spirit."

"Did you find it?" the person continued to probe.

Yang Shao gradually lowered his finger, regrettably saying: "Unfortunately, not yet."

The cafeteria erupted in commotion.

Yang Shao’s words were tantamount to pointing at them, saying: All of you are spineless.

Indeed, most of the people in the cafeteria at this moment were passionate, this was the peak of their fervor.

Instantly someone questioned: "Hey, student, what do you mean by that? Are you saying we don’t even have the courage to stand up and defend our rights?"

In the dim light of the cafeteria, hearing the classmates’ questioning, Yang Shao smiled from the front, a smile full of joy, and he said:

"I just counted, there are roughly three hundred and fifty people in the cafeteria now, yet I haven’t heard a single person discuss others; not a single person talks about the aunt selling you cheap and tasty tea eggs in front of the cafeteria; not a single person discusses all sorts of inappropriate issues."

His voice gradually rose, his words escalating layer by layer in questioning: "Among these 350 in our cafeteria, they’re all like this, but what about the others? How are they?!"

"Why is this happening?" he asked everyone.

All became silent at once.

Then he continued: "Because we’ve been trapped, firmly shackled. If right now we can numb ourselves for our future, just making do! In that case, we likely won’t be affected, and our future will naturally fall into place."

"However, in the future, all we will have is the pursuit of money. Like how we can remain indifferent when something doesn’t concern us, yet it’s difficult to have that spontaneous passion again."

Suddenly, someone couldn’t sit still, feeling an overwhelming rush of passion within: "This isn’t right! We should stand up!"

Instantly others chimed in: "Yes! Well said! We should stand up!"

"To hell with the Star River! Damn!"

Many were angry, clenching their fists, their burning passion scorching their skin.

Yang Shao raised his hand, signaled them to calm down: "Comrades! Academics are important! But I’m telling you, there’s something else that’s very important, and that is dignity!"

His words were powerful, hammering home into the students’ ears.

"Is non-human food like what’s in the cafeteria now supposed to be this way? We pay meal fees, should we be eating this type of thing?"

Without waiting for a response, he directly shouted, "No! Enough is enough!! We’ve had enough!!!"

"We need to smash these chains! We must overthrow those devouring our parents’ hard-earned money! We still have hot blood, and we will never bow down!"

Finally, Yang Shao raised his fist high.

"Unite!"

The crowd grew fervent and began to boil over, raising their arms in chorus, "Unite!"

Yang Shao shouted, "Smash the chains!"

The crowd responded, "Smash the chains!"

Yang Shao exclaimed, "Unite!"

The crowd echoed, "Unite!"

"Smash the chains!"

"Smash the chains!"

"..."

The cafeteria doors were flung open instantly, and many fervent students spilled out all at once.

All eyes turned toward this commotion.

"What’s happening?" someone asked.

"Not sure. Maybe we should go and ask."—The curious crowd.

"Not sure, maybe we should join them."—Those tired of the cafeteria.

"Maybe we should report to the teachers, this crowd is too crazy."—The timid crowd.

"I don’t know what’s happening, but as they’re coming out of the cafeteria, it seems they’re going to collectively protest against the awful cafeteria food."—The sharp-eyed student.

"..."

And Yang Shao was crowded and lifted ahead...

"Classmates!" Yang Shao shouted out.

"Today we gather here as people sharing common pursuits, to protect our own interests, to voice our own voices! But just like being a bunch of cowards, we can’t become a bunch of bandits!"

"We must unite, we must speak up for ourselves! In this campus where our voice isn’t heard, use our own ways to speak out for ourselves!"

Yang Shao’s body moved with the fervor of his words, constantly stirring everyone’s emotions.

More and more people were infected by his passion, joining in voluntarily.

Their commotion was considerable, and the reaction over there wasn’t slow either.