Qiao Yu was not an official employee when she was working in the factory. Everyone received meat coupons and food stamps together with their salary at the end of every month. However, Qiao Yu only had a card.
Unlike the others who could use their food stamps and money to buy the food they wanted to eat, Qiao Yu needed to bring her card to the canteen and have it signed. At the end of the month, the food expenses would be deducted from her salary before she was paid.
This was something which Xia Wen had instructed Director Tan to do. His goal was to prevent Qiao Yu from saving money by not spending it on food. If she was able to save money, she would go looking for trouble with Qiao Mei once she had some spare cash.