Mother Liang sniffed the fragrance in the air and took a deep breath. She thought such a pretty girl wouldn’t lie, so she said, “Dad, c’mon, let’s order some and try it.”

Father Liang nodded. “We were planning to eat out to celebrate our son’s admission to college anyway. This dish is still cheaper than eating out.”

Mother Liang felt relieved and chose steamed eggs with minced meat and vegetables stir-fried with garlic. Father Liang specially ordered a dish he didn’t often see, that is, the red braised chicken, as well as some home-style spicy and sour shredded potatoes.

Seeing his parents were already ordering, Liang Hai immediately walked over to check in. His parents might not have heard clearly, but he had clearly heard Luo Huai’an teaching others how to shake the serving spoon. Would this dish really be as generous as Luo Huai’an said?

Third Fish took a plate, picked up the big serving spoon, scooped up the dishes from the tray dish, shook the spoon slightly, allowing the excess portions to fall off.

After all the dishes were served, Liang Hai looked at his parents’ plates and was a little surprised. The portions were indeed quite large, more than what was served in his high school cafeteria, and there was no shortage in the servings at all.

Luo Huai’an saw that he had been staring at the plates, blinked, and understood his thoughts. “You just heard me teaching them to shake the serving spoon—did you think I would cheat our guests?”

Liang Hai’s thoughts was exposed and he hmmed in embarrassment.

Luo Huai’an explained with a smile, “What I mean by shaking the serving spoon is not to make the dishes smaller, but to control the servings so that all dishes served are within a standard weight range. For example, if two students order spicy and sour potato shreds at the same time, we will try to keep the two portions of spicy and sour potato shreds to the same weight as much as possible.”

Liang Hai suddenly understood and said in admiration, “So that’s how it is. This is indeed very fair.”

Luo Huai’an sighed. She had her own reasons for doing this. When she was working outside before, the person who served her food saw that she was a girl and deliberately gave her only half of the rice she ordered. On top of that, the person asked her to pay the same price. If Luo Huai’an had asked for less rice herself, it would have been fine, but the problem was that she didn’t ask him to give her less. As a divine beast, she was a big eater! Fortunately, she got her money back in the end.

In short, her Eighth Canteen must put an end to this unethical practice. Unless students requested a larger portion, all dishes were to be the same size. Students could also order a half portion for half the price. If someone ordered a larger portion, they would be charged a different price accordingly.

Holding his tray, Liang Hai went to the window and looked at the six dishes being offered, feeling a belated sense of dread as a consequence of his earlier decision to come here. However, all  the dishes looked delicious. The steamed egg with minced meat looked as smooth and tender as pudding and incredibly chewy. The greens stir-fried with garlic were as green as jade. The hot and sour shredded potatoes, with their golden, red, and green colors, whetted his appetite.

Seeing that he hasn’t made a choice yet, Father Liang took the initiative and said, “Your mother and I ordered different dishes on purpose. You can order the last two dishes and we can all eat together.”

The family usually ate together, so they had no reservations in doing it this way. Liang Hai immediately ordered the remaining red braised pork and tiger skin green peppers.

The family found a place to sit down and gathered together, with three plates close together, looking like they were having a meal at home, and the atmosphere was very warm. However, the dishes before them did not look like home-cooked dishes at all; they were exquisite and beautiful.

Liang Hai was more knowledgeable. These stir-fries looked better than those heavily-filtered photos of dishes on the Internet. If you were to tell him that these dishes were actually sold in a five-star hotel, he would believe it.

Liang Hai had just noticed the difference in the Shanghai greens and immediately picked one up from the plate. The closer he looked, the more surprised he became. “Mom, why does this Shanghai green look different from the ones at home?”

Mother Liang, who has grown such greens herself, also found it somewhat strange. “Ordinary Shanghai greens aren’t this brilliant emerald color. The leaves are more or less wilted, and the undersides aren’t as tender and white. This Shanghai green feels like it’s been purified and is full of vitality.”

Liang Hai nodded agreement. His innate love of research had taken over, and he was about to examine the greens for a moment longer. But then a fresh aroma from the Shanghai greens piqued his interest, then directly piqued his appetite. He popped the greens sauteed in garlic into his mouth and immediately took a bite. The crisp, juicy sensation hit his taste buds.

He actually didn’t particularly like vegetables, having never liked them since childhood, but he still had to eat them for health reasons. The vegetables he’d eaten before were either bland or had a pungent earthy smell, making them tasteless but it would be a waste to discard them. 

But this Shanghai green was completely different; it was imbued with the unique fragrance of plants. Luo Huai’an had sautéed the Shanghai greens at the perfect temperature, using freshly refined lard, without sacrificing any of its sweet, pure flavor, preserving the pure crispness of the plant fibers.

Extraordinary ingredients and the perfect cooking skills made this greens stir-fried in garlic go from ordinary to extraordinary.

After taking a bite, Mother Liang mother was amazed. “How come this vegetable is so refreshing and delicious! The vegetables sold in the market nowadays have no flavor and don’t taste sweet. I haven’t eaten such fresh vegetables in a long time.”

Liang Hai couldn’t stop eating and mumbled, “The chef is amazing. Unfortunately, I don’t have much knowledge much about food, so I can only say that good food can indeed conquer the world.

Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: Red Braising is a cooking method in which meat, fish, or vegetables are lightly sautéed with sugar and soy sauce to color, then simmered with water or broth until cooked through, and the sauce thickened. This dish is practiced in every household, and the finished product is typically in a wide range of reddish color, but achieving a bright red color and flavorful sauce requires skill and practice as it involves mastering the heat.

Steamed eggs with minced meat

Red Braised Chicken is a classic Hunan cuisine dish, that uses chicken, onions, carrots, chili peppers, and is characterized by its spicy flavor. The chicken pieces are first stir-fried until the surface is slightly charred, and then seasonings such as light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar are added to simmer until the sauce is reduced. The finished product is in a state where the oil and sauce are separated, highlighting the spicy and rich flavor. 

Hot and Sour Potato Shreds is a classic home-cooked dish originating from Sichuan that uses potatoes, chili peppers, white vinegar. It can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty when potatoes were first introduced to China . The dish is characterized by bright color, crisp taste, and sour and spicy taste. Common ingredients include green onions, ginger, and peppercorns.

Tiger skin green pepper is a Sichuan dish. It is so named because the surface of the green pepper is fried until slightly burnt , and the mottled burnt spots resemble tiger patterns.

Braised pork belly is a dish that is popular all over China, with each region having its own unique version. It is made with pork belly or pork hind leg, best to use ‘three-layer meat’, that is, alternating fat and lean meat. 

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Chapter 7 — Why Are So Many People Coming to the Eighth Cafeteria?
Chapter 8.1 — How Does The Boss Have So Many Connections?
Chapter 8.2 — How Does The Boss Have So Many Connections?
Chapter 8.3 — How Does The Boss Have So Many Connections?
Chapter 9.1 — Seduce The New Students
Chapter 9.2 — Seduce The New Students
Chapter 10 — The Only New Variable Is The Eighth Cafeteria
Chapter 11 — Eat In Front Of The Freshmen During Military Training