"Rice with every meal..." Zhao Chen frowned slightly.
The eyes of some female crew members began to dim.
Zhao Chen shook his head and said, "Having rice every day is a bit difficult because we can have porridge and bread in the morning, noodles at noon, and rice or other meals in the evening."
Upon hearing the Captain's words, those female crew members whose eyes had dimmed instantly felt as if they had returned to heaven.
"Alright, you all continue eating. I'll go handle other matters first." Seeing the suppressed joy of the female crew members, Zhao Chen tactfully left the dining hall.
The moment he stepped out of the dining hall, he could hear laughter and sounds of joy coming from behind him.
"Oh my goodness... We can actually have rice with every meal, every day!"
"Is the Captain fooling us? How is this possible... Even the lord's fleet in our former territory didn't have such treatment!"
"I don't think the Captain would lie to us. Look at the food he just gave us! It was literally the most delicious thing I've ever eaten in my life."
"Why would the Captain need to deceive us? We are Slaves he bought. Even if he didn't give us these things, we'd still have to work obediently for him, wouldn't we?"
A slight smile curled at the corner of Zhao Chen's mouth. This was exactly what he wanted.
He didn't want a lifeless slave fleet; he wanted an elite fleet with morale and a desire to fight!
Although in this era, the technological capabilities of the Starships themselves, to some extent, surpass the morale of the crew on board.
However, in situations of equal technological level, a fleet with high morale will always be stronger than others.
And a fleet with high morale can create miracles!
How does one possess such a fleet?
It's simple: give the crew what they want, fill them with hope for the future.
This way, anyone who stands in the way of their hope, anyone who tries to destroy it, will be seen as their mortal enemy!
Tap, tap, tap, tap
Hurried footsteps sounded from behind.
"Captain, I believe your decision is highly ill-considered!" Deputy Captain Charlotte blocked Zhao Chen's path.
"What's wrong? I think it's quite good. Everyone seems to like it, don't they?" Zhao Chen shrugged.
Deputy Captain Charlotte said seriously, "I am grateful that you have improved the crew's meal standards, but do you know what it means to allocate 0.3 Star Coins per person per day for meals!"
"I can still do that math. That's 10 Star Coins per month. With our current one hundred crew members, the monthly expenditure would be 1000 Star Coins," Zhao Chen said calmly.
Deputy Captain Charlotte said earnestly, "One thousand Star Coins! Do you know how many energy blocks, how much military supplies, how many missiles, how many bullets that could buy!"
Zhao Chen smiled at Charlotte. "Are you finished?"
Deputy Captain Charlotte continued, "You can improve everyone's food provisions. I think 0.1 or 0.05 per day would be sufficient. We don't need to completely abandon those synthetic foods either."
After waiting for Charlotte to finish speaking, Zhao Chen said with a smile, "I know what you're worried about, but in my view, none of that is as important as making everyone happy and satisfied.
Before, they were a group of lifeless Slaves.
But do you know what I saw in them just now?
Hope!"
"I want a fleet with hope, not one that's like walking corpses. Alright, there's no need to discuss the issue of welfare benefits and dining standards.
This is the Captain's order. It will not be revised, nor will it be lowered. In the future, if necessary, it may even be gradually increased!
If a Captain cannot even fill the stomachs of his own Starship Crew, then he is not a qualified Captain."
As he spoke, Zhao Chen suddenly reached out and brushed his finger across Charlotte's lips.
Charlotte was taken aback. She saw a grain of rice on Zhao Chen's finger, and then she watched as he actually put that grain into his own mouth.
"Later, have the logistics department personnel come for a meeting. We'll discuss in detail how many daily supplies need to be procured and the future menu for the Starship Dining Hall."
After saying this, Zhao Chen walked away, leaving Charlotte with flushed cheeks.
Thump, thump, thump, thump...
It took Charlotte a long moment to regain her composure. She pressed a hand to her chest.
The Captain's actions just now had truly stirred something in her heart.
Especially his unwavering insistence on setting that 'luxurious' meal standard made her feel an indescribable emotion.
...
"The menu is finalized. From now on, you will provide meals for the crew according to this menu.
Since we will be embarking on a long voyage in a few days, I will procure a batch of daily supplies and military supplies.
Charlotte, you are responsible for compiling a detailed list for me. I will then arrange for all the required daily supplies and military supplies to be transported here.
You don't need to worry about funding issues; just calculate based on the actual situation of the Zero Blizzard." Zhao Chen looked at the few senior female crew members present at the meeting.
"Y-yes, understood," Deputy Captain Charlotte responded, but from the moment she entered the room, she had avoided making eye contact with Zhao Chen.
"Your logistics department can start preparing. I will first order a batch of food ingredients to be delivered within three hours.
Our new meal standard will start with tonight's dinner," Zhao Chen said.
"Yes, sir!" The female crew members from the logistics department responded enthusiastically and then filed out of the meeting room.
"Um..." Zhao Chen looked at Charlotte.
Before Zhao Chen could even speak, Charlotte hurriedly left after saying, "I'll go compile the list of required daily supplies and military supplies right now."
Zhao Chen was puzzled. Why did he feel his Deputy Captain was acting a bit strange?
That evening.
Word spread quickly from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred. The news about the Starship Dining Hall changing its menu soon reached all posts on the starship.
Previously, they thought it would take some time for the commander's policy to be implemented.
They didn't expect that changes were being made by dinner time, having just been discussed at noon.
Soon, female crew members who were not on duty swarmed to the dining hall.
The dining hall now was completely different from before; even the layout had changed somewhat.
The previous ration system for meals had been changed to a self-selection system.
Before, the daily three meals had fixed menus, offering only one or two choices at any given time, mostly synthetic food, divided into set meal one and set meal two, with fixed portions that were often insufficient.
But now it was different.
In addition to the food displayed in the display windows available for selection, one could also place orders directly with the kitchen, choosing what they wanted to eat, and the kitchen would prepare it on the spot.
Of course, the food choices must be from the menu, and the unit prices are slightly higher.
The menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner have each been expanded to over ten categories.
Additionally, the meal allowance for each female soldier has been changed to 10 Star Coins per month.
Every female Starship Crew member can order freely.
As long as the monthly total does not exceed this allowance, and there is no wasteful behavior allowed.
"There's meat too!" one female Starship Crew member pointed at a serving of vegetables stir-fried with shredded meat, her eyes wide with excitement.
However, that dish was relatively expensive, equivalent to three days' worth of meal standards.
But if one saved a little on ordinary days, eating meat once a week would be no problem.
"Um... may I order now?" one female Starship Crew member asked timidly yet eagerly.
"Of course, as long as it's an option lit up on the signboard or food displayed in the cabinet, you can order," the head chef personally came out to explain.
This beastman head chef previously worked as a chef for a beastman lord and is quite skilled in cooking.
On the Zero Blizzard, he holds the position of head chef in the logistics department.
"Give me a serving of rice topped with sauce!"
"I want meat steak!"
"Just give me a serving of rice and some vegetables!"
"I want beef noodles!"