When Luo Huai’an saw the construction foreman walk in, her eyes lit up and she immediately went up to greet him. “Uncle Li, why are you here?”

If it weren’t for Uncle Li’s introduction, she might not have ended up accidentally operating the Eighth Canteen. She was now the boss of this cafeteria thanks to Uncle Li.

The foreman looked a little embarrassed but quickly regained his composure. “Before, you specially came over to tell us you were contracted to operate this cafeteria. Today, they didn’t want to eat my cooking and insisted on having a different meal. So I asked them to take care of your business.”

Luo Huai’an was a little confused when she heard his words. When she was working at their construction site, she ate the lunch provided: it was pork stew with vermicelli prepared by the foreman. The pork stew had plenty of meat, with a strong meaty flavor, and the vermicelli was authentic Northeastern vermicelli, chewy and fragrant. It was cooked in a huge iron pot, giving it a unique flavor.

Luo Huai’an asked the question in her mind, “I had the pork stew with vermicelli. I think it’s pretty good.”

Next to the foreman was a thinner man, whom everyone called Xiao Li. Xiao Li scratched his head, revealed a simple smile, and said to Luo Huai’an, “Hey, the foreman only knows how to make pork stewed with vermicelli. No matter how delicious it is, you can’t eat it for 360 days.”

After hearing what Xiao Li said, the foreman grumbled to himself, “Pork stewed with vermicelli is so delicious, how could you get tired of eating it?”

The foreman then said, full of dissatisfaction, “If you don’t like my cooking, you can make it yourself.”

The workers around them were speechless. Each person’s cooking was worse than the other’s. It was definitely much worse than eating the foreman’s pork stewed with vermicelli every day!

Luo Huai’an couldn’t help laughing and tried to smooth things over, “Then go line up and try my cooking.”

“Okay.” Everyone nodded and walked towards the food windows on the left.

The foreman, feeling disdained by his fellow workers, felt a sense of grievance and a surge of schadenfreude. His daughter who was Luo Huai’an’s age couldn’t even cook a meal. 

Furthermore, the construction company had given them meal coupons valid for all cafeterias in the university when they first came to start construction on the teaching building. When they first arrived, they were all filled with longing for this nationally renowned university, hoping to experience the delicious food served in the university cafeteria. However, after a single visit, they returned to the site with sullen faces.

You could just imagine how the dishes tasted if they could make even construction workers, who were not picky about food at all, stay away.

The foreman couldn’t help but speculate that the reason why such a young girl like Luo Huai’an was able to contract operations of this cafeteria was probably because she had reached a consensus with the other cafeterias regarding their dark cuisine!

Hmph, sooner or later these people would realize their mistakes and return to the embrace of my pork stewed with vermicelli!

The foreman walked calmly, his hands behind his back, not in a hurry at all. He felt that nothing could be better than his pork stewed with vermicelli, so he had no expectations for this meal.

But after a while, he found that something seemed to be wrong. Why was everyone so excited?

The foreman looked up at the crowd. His workers weren’t as downhearted as he’d imagined; instead, they were brimming with enthusiasm, shouting, “I want this!” 

“Give me more!” 

“That smells so good!”

The foreman did not choose to queue up but walked to the lunch window to look at the food in the chafing dish. The sight made him stunned.

These dishes were completely different from the dark cuisine he had imagined; they looked incredibly delicious. The braised pork was three-layered pork belly, bright red and emitting steaming heat. The fat had been cooked to release the oil, making it very plump, like amber.

Psychologically speaking, strong colors like red and green stimulated the appetite, and the culinary technique of braised pork (or the so-called ‘red braised pork’) perfectly utilized these colors. Its alluring color, rich flavor, and tender texture ensured that it satisfied 99.9% of the population.

The foreman looked at the braised pork, his eyes unblinking, and swallowed a mouthful of saliva with a gulp.

But as he stood there fascinated by the braised pork, a hateful serving spoon scooped up the braised pork one spoonful at a time.

A familiar voice from a worker came from the side, “I’ve never seen such beautiful braised pork. It’s as good as the ones on TV food shows. Give me one order quickly.”

“Three layers of pork belly, alternating between fat and lean. This braised pork looks very authentic. I want two.”

As more and more orders were placed, there was less and less braised pork in the chafing dish.

When the foreman saw this situation, he suddenly woke up and realized something was wrong. He quickly took his tray and walked to the back of the line.

But he arrived too late, and the line was now too long. He could only watch helplessly as the amount of braised pork in the chafing dish dwindled until only a few pieces remained. He looked at the other food windows with hope, but braised pork was a top-tier delicacy that would never go out of style. Almost everyone loved it, and the braised pork at other windows had already been sold out.

Foreman: “…” I regret it, I really regret it now.

Fortunately, when it was finally his turn, there were still two pieces of braised pork left.

Third Fish looked at the braised pork that was obviously not enough for a full serving and felt a headache. “There are only so many left, do you still want it?”

“Yes, yes,” the foreman nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

These were the last two pieces of braised pork in the whole place. He must have it!

Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

---

T/N: Pork Stewed with Vermicelli

If you’re enjoying my translations, do consider buying me ko-fi and get access to advance chapters as reward. Thank you for your support! ☺️
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
Chapter 12.1 — Suzhou-style Mung Bean Soup
Chapter 12.2 — Suzhou-style Mung Bean Soup