When Instructor Zhang saw his former superior, he no longer had the mind to eat. He even ignored the tempting aroma in the air. After randomly ordering two dishes, he sat next to Vice Chancellor Ling.

After meeting Vice Chancellor Ling, his outward excitement was just the tip of the iceberg; inside, his heart was filled with turbulence. Although he had long known that the old regiment commander had been transferred to Aeronautics University as Vice Chancellor and had felt himself mentally prepared, he still couldn’t control himself when he saw him.

Vice Chancellor Ling had a distinguished military career. However, while subduing a gangster, he was stabbed twice in the abdomen, with another bullet penetrating a lung. This left him with numerous sequelae, preventing him from continuing the intense military training. His superiors transferred him from the front lines to the Aeronautics University.

Instructor Zhang recalled what happened before and felt sad and uncomfortable in his heart.

Vice Chancellor Ling was very angry when he saw that he was not talking and was only staring at him. He glared at him and said, “What are you looking at? Eat your meal.”

Instructor Zhang choked and thought to himself that the regiment commander was still the regiment commander; his bad temper hasn’t changed over the years.

He picked up his chopsticks but didn’t move them. He turned around and asked Vice Chancellor Ling, “How are you doing recently? Are you adapting to school life?”

Vice Chancellor Ling remained silent for a long time. After a moment, he said, “Mind your own business and don’t bother me.”

This huge Aeronautics University was good, but there was nothing here that appealed to him.

Vice Chancellor Ling sighed inwardly. If his superiors hadn’t told him to rest and recuperate, he really would have wanted to return to the company. But obeying orders has been his life motto, and no matter how much he hated it, he had no choice but to stay at the Aeronautics University.

He was serious and responsible. Although he felt that he was not suitable for the position of Vice Chancellor, he still worked diligently from morning till night.

Instructor Zhang had been with Vice Chancellor Ling day and night before and knew him very well. He sensed something was wrong, but since Vice Chancellor Ling was so uncooperative, he had no choice but to eat in silence.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

The moment the tiger skin green pepper entered his mouth, Instructor Zhang was a little stunned.

Huh? How strange, why does the taste of this dish differ so much from what I imagined?

Their company has cooperated with the Aeronautics University many times before. Although it was his first time to visit the Aeronautics University himself, he has heard of the ‘reputation’ of the Aeronautics University cafeterias from other people.

One of his comrades said, “The food in the Seventh Cafeteria of the Aeronautics University was terrible. The dishes used very minimal oil, the steamed buns were dry, and the food had no flavor at all. We thought Seventh Cafeteria was the worst, but after going to several other cafeterias, we realized that the Seventh Cafeteria was actually pretty good. At least the Seventh Cafeteria just cooked unpalatable food, some of the other Cafeterias were just wasting ingredients by making incomprehensible dishes.”

After their comrades returned to the team, even the overly-greasy food prepared by the chef of their mess hall made them very happy.

Instructor Zhang naturally thought that the food from the Eighth Cafeteria wouldn’t be very good either, but it was surprisingly much better than what he’d imagined. The tiger skin green peppers had just the right amount of oil, a fresh aroma, and a tender texture.

Instructor Zhang loved green peppers, but he’d never tasted anything quite like these before. The peppers, imbued with spiritual energy, were fresh, tender, and fragrant, large and thick. 

Luo Huai’an was actually quite particular about making the tiger skin peppers. She didn’t add any oil at first, but simply stir-fried the peppers in a dry wok until fragrant. This allowed the skin to rise and bubble, creating a naturally rich, beautiful, tiger skin texture.

Instructor Zhang chewed the tiger skin green pepper in his mouth carefully. It was as beautiful as emerald jade, and tasted fragrant and tasty.

He couldn’t help but eat the tiger skin green peppers in the bowl piece by piece, completely forgetting the old commander next to him. His only focus now was on the food in front of him.

By the time he noticed it, he had already eaten all the tiger skin green peppers.

He realized that he was being a bit too obsessed about the food, and he began to reflect on himself. Unlike other bold and unrestrained officers, the old commander was a Confucian general who had always taught them to practice self-discipline and respect propriety, not to indulge in external temptations, and to avoid eating too quickly or be too full. He believed this would cultivate a strong will and enhance their combat capabilities. 

The old commander was proven right. During military training in the rainforest, his company could go without food or water for two or three days, and was more resistant to heat, cold, and hunger than the other units.

He always kept the old leader’s words in mind and always required himself to emulate the standards he set.

Despite this, while the old leader was sitting next to him no less, he had exhibited no manners at all when eating. This was simply too presumptuous of him.

Instructor Zhang felt a little embarrassed and quietly looked at the old commander next to him, but he was stunned as soon as he saw him.

Although the old commander’s movements were steady and polite, he ate very quickly. He finished the food on the plate in just a few bites, as fast as a whirlwind. Instructor Zhang even saw the momentum of swords and sabers in his eating.

Instructor Zhang: “…”

Vice Chancellor Ling saw him looking at him and glared at him again. “What are you looking at?”

Instructor Zhang said, “Didn’t you say we shouldn’t eat too fast? Even if the food is delicious, we should be restrained?”

Vice Chancellor Ling paused what he was doing and his face turned a little red, but it was not noticeable because of his dark skin.

Ever since eating Luo Huai’an’s sweet and sour carp, his danger radar had been beeping. He keenly felt that the appearance of the Eighth Cafeteria might erode his strong willpower and turn him into a foodie, which was something he absolutely did not want to see, so he decided to stay away from the Eighth Cafeteria.

But today the Chancellor had insisted on dragging him here, so he had to come. Actually, his resistance to the Eighth Cafeteria was like a paper tiger that would tear apart at the slightest poke. He was truly half-hearted in his resistance.

Vice Chancellor Ling snorted and turned his head away. “I’ve already been discharged from service.”

Although he didn’t want to, he had to admit that the arrival of the Eighth Cafeteria, with its exceptional food, had somewhat changed his impression of Aeronautics University, giving him a sense of belonging. Perhaps this was why he initially resisted coming here, fearing he would become a hedonist, a foodie, and thus become inseparable from the Aeronautics University.

Instructor Zhang couldn’t help but laugh. Far from feeling unhappy, he felt relieved. He had previously sensed that the old captain wasn’t happy at this school, but now his thoughts had changed. While the old commander wouldn’t say it, his actions were telling: he clearly loved the Eighth Cafeteria.

Instructor Zhang sighed. His regimental commander was capable and loyal, but he set too high a bar for himself, being constantly on edge. His superiors had transferred him here so he could relax and enjoy a happy retirement. He initially thought this approach was futile, but now it seemed that things were turning around.

Vice Chancellor Ling was so angry when he saw Instructor Zhang staring at him that he bapped him on the head and said, “Eat your meal. If you don’t eat, I’ll help you.”

Under normal circumstances, Instructor Zhang might have replied, ‘Then you can eat it.’ However, thinking of the taste of the tiger skin green peppers, Instructor Zhang hesitated for the first time.

He immediately chose to protect his plate. “I’ll eat it. I’ll eat it now.”

The more Instructor Zhang started eating, the more astonished he became. He had ordered three vegetarian dishes: tiger skin green peppers, greens stir-fried in garlic, and hot and sour shredded potatoes. There wasn’t a hint of meat in any of them, yet the flavors rivaled any meat dish he’d ever had. The greens stir-fried in garlic were refreshing and rich, while the hot and sour shredded potatoes—fried in lard—were crispy at first, then softened after a few bites. The flavor was as rich as meat and simply unforgettable.

After Instructor Zhang finished eating, he felt extremely confused and felt like he was living in a dream.

Was this really the Aero U cafeteria that his colleagues described?

Instructor Zhang looked at the contract next to him and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the school’s name. It was not a dream after all.

It seemed that the only new variable was the Eighth Cafeteria!

He pulled out his phone and sent a message to his colleagues: [The food in the Eighth Cafeteria of the Aero U is delicious.]

[Colleague A: Hahahahaha this joke is so funny.]

[Colleague B: Xiao Zhang, you haven’t gone crazy just because I pushed the military training responsibility to you, have you?]

This year’s military training was originally supposed to be headed by another instructor, not Instructor Zhang, but he had been afraid of the cafeteria at Aero U and desperately looked for a replacement. Coincidentally, Instructor Zhang wanted to meet his former regimental commander. The two hit it off and swapped roles.

Instructor Zhang thought of their gloating expressions before leaving, and couldn’t help but smile. He turned off his phone and put it back in his pocket.

Everyone agreed that Instructor Zhang never lied. They all laughed until they felt something was amiss and were about to question him, but Instructor Zhang waved his sleeves and simply stopped talking, leaving everyone hanging.

[What happened at the Eighth Cafeteria of Aeronautics University of Jiangcheng? Tell us!!]

Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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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
Chapter 12.3 — Suzhou-style Mung Bean Soup
Chapter 13.1 — Suzhou-style Mung Bean Soup Part II
Chapter 13.2 — Suzhou-style Mung Bean Soup Part II
Chapter 13.3 — Suzhou-style Mung Bean Soup Part II
Chapter 14.1 — Pepper Pancakes
Chapter 14.2 — Pepper Pancakes