The victims were happy to see that Big Fish would be punished, and seeing Luo Huai’an, they even felt that the physical and mental blows they suffered during this morning’s training was worth it.

However, just as they were about to leave to find food elsewhere, Luo Huai’an stopped them.

Luo Huai’an smiled brightly at them, revealing two dimples, and her smile was filled with a desire for their wallets. “Since you are already here, why don’t you have a meal in the Eighth Cafeteria first before leaving?”

The students didn’t understand the meaning of her smile and felt a little shy. However, after hearing the name ‘Eighth Cafeteria’, their minds, which had been overwhelmed by her beauty, calmed down and gradually understood what this place was.

Zhang Jiusi frowned. “Damn! Why am I in the Eighth Cafeteria? I heard it’s haunted!”

Zhao Jing suddenly realized, “No wonder this young lady is so beautiful, she doesn’t look like a human.”

When everyone heard his words, they recalled the fear that dominated their hearts when the seniors recounted the ghost stories surrounding the Eighth Cafeteria in the campus forum. As a unit, they unconsciously turned around, wanting to take the opportunity to leave.

However, Luo Huai’an stood in front of them and said, “Don’t go. Do I look like a ghost to you?”

Zhao Jing said weakly, “Like a very beautiful, female ghost.”

Luo Huai’an: “…”

In order to stop these cowards, she appealed to their emotions and reasoned with them, “It’s lunchtime now, and you freshmen have military training again this afternoon, so you need to eat to sustain your energy. I’m guessing you want to go to the snack street outside, right? But you’ve been dawdling for so long, and the snack street outside is already crowded, and there’s no way to get in line and still eat before your break ends. Why don’t you spend your money in the Eighth Cafeteria instead?”

Everyone thought about it for a while and felt that what she said made sense. Before Luo Huai’an’s gentle words, everyone’s fear of the Eighth Cafeteria gradually disappeared.

Seeing such a beautiful girl, even if she was a ghost, what did it matter?

Just then, a large group of workers arrived at the Eighth Cafeteria to eat. As soon as they entered, they walked directly to the food windows, skillfully getting their orders, and the air was soon filled with the tempting aroma of food.

Some students’ stomachs began to growl. After a long morning of military training, with only the occasional water to drink, they were already starving. Under the invasion of this aroma, their psychological defenses had completely broken down.

Zhang Jiusi swallowed his saliva, put aside his reserve, and couldn’t help asking, “How do I pay here? Do I use a campus card as well?”

“Yes, there are trays over there and a meal card reader at the food window. Go ahead and line up,” Luo Huai’an said with a smile. “And there are two new dishes today, a Suzhou-style mung bean soup and pepper pancakes. These two dishes are available at the newly opened food windows.”

Zhang Jiusi thought that the mung bean soup sounded familiar, so he asked, “Is this the mung bean soup that that man drank earlier?”

“That’s right.”

Students: “…” My fists want to hit something!

They forgot all about the fear that dominated them earlier and didn’t even want to order the braised pork. They walked directly to the food window that sold these two dishes.

“Give me a bowl of mung bean soup, bigger than what that bastard drank.”

“I want a pepper pancake. If the pepper pancake isn’t good, I’m going to beat that bastard up.”

Big Fish: “…”

Ahh, I really pay too much for the Eighth Cafeteria!

… …

Luo Huai’an was delighted to see so many new students, so she mentally credited Big Fish for his contribution. Although her promotional methods had a minor flaw, it still achieved excellent results. She was truly worthy of her reputation!

Luo Huai’an ignored the distraught Big Fish and walked to the food window to help serve food.

The mung bean soup she made was not just any mung bean soup but Suzhou-style mung bean soup. Someone once said that a bowl of iced mung bean soup was all the Suzhou people needed to beat the summer heat!

Summer in Jiangnan was so hot you could fry eggs on the side of a train. To combat the heat, Suzhou residents created their own unique mung bean soup. Seeing this appear around town marked the beginning of summer in Suzhou.

After drinking a bowl of mung bean soup, not only was the mouth sweet and even more sweet, but the mint flavor was also refreshing, making the whole body feel comfortable. If you fan yourself with a cattail leaf fan under the shade of a tree at this time, you could enjoy a unique and ultimate coolness.

A bowl of authentic Suzhou-style mung bean soup was incredibly delicate, requiring meticulous attention to detail, from ingredient selection to preparation. Brown or dark yellow mung beans were definitely not fresh enough. Even more so, those with white spots on the skin were not  good—those were infested with insects!

However, Luo Huai’an didn’t need to go to the market to pick mung beans. The mung beans grown in Fragrant Mountain were uniform in size; green and green¹; and had a dark, shiny skin. The mung bean soup made from such mung beans looked the best and had the highest appearance.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

However, not everyone could accept Suzhou-style mung bean soup.

Zhang Jiusi and the other three people from the same dorm room ordered a tall cup of mung bean soup and a serving of pepper pancake. Then they found a table to sit down.

Because they had been busy ordering, they didn’t take a close look at the mung bean soup. Now that they had it in front of them, they found that something seemed to be wrong.

Zhang Jiusi looked at the mung bean soup in the bowl and said in shock, “Why does this mung bean soup look like this?!”

Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: Suzhou is a beautiful city in Jiangnan (lit. south of the river (Yangtze)) known for its gardens, canals and stone bridges. It has a sub-tropical climate, with intense, humid summers. It has its own dialect, mutually intelligible (speakers cannot understand each other) from Mandarin, and is known for it’s ‘sticky’, sing-song, musical quality. The women of Jiangnan are traditionally ‘more delicate’ compared to their northern counterparts and has been the subject of many poems since ancient times.

Shameless plug, the FL in my other translation, Seventh Year of My Secret Love For You, is from Suzhou and the traditional beauty of her hometown is very much highlighted in the story. Check it out!

Mung beans.

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 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
Chapter 15.1 — Pepper Pancakes Part II
Chapter 15.2 — Pepper Pancakes Part II
Chapter 15.3 — Pepper Pancakes Part II
Chapter 15.4 — Pepper Pancakes Part II
Chapter 15.5 — Pepper Pancakes Part II
Chapter 15.6 — Pepper Pancakes Part II

FOOTNOTE:

1. Green and green. A word is sometimes repeated like this for emphasis. It’s not a typo. ↩︎