The canteen had only been open for two days, and the money earned was not a huge, but it was the largest amount of money Luo Huai’an had made recently. After counting the money like caressing a lover, she turned her attention to the students in front of her.

“Are you tired from military training?”

The students nodded one after another, “Very tired.”

“I practiced goose-stepping for half a day, and it cost me half my life. I was tired and hungry, and my chest was almost touching my back.”

Luo Huai’an smiled sweetly, “The mung bean soup is not ready yet, why not try the pepper pancakes I made instead!”

Unlike other multi-grain pancakes like jianbing and jiangxiangbing, which were popular all over the country¹, pepper pancakes were relatively niche. Many people have never heard of pepper pancakes, but when these students thought of the taste of the mung bean soup, they grew slightly curious about them.

They whispered to each other, “The mung bean soup is so delicious, so the pepper pancakes can’t be too bad.”

Wei Ziwei wasn’t particularly interested. She didn’t like dry pancakes at night and came here just to buy mung bean soup. However, Luo Huai’an’s smile was so beautiful that she couldn’t even think of refusing. She just wanted to listen to her and buy things because she said so.

Her mind moved, and her feet moved faster than her brain, and she couldn’t help but follow Luo Huai’an forward.

Zhang Jiusi had already eaten pepper pancakes at noon. When he heard the familiar name, his eyes immediately lit up. “I was just thinking that I didn’t have enough for lunch; it turns out you also have them in the evening. I want to buy some too. Can I still pay by card?”

“Of course, come to the window.” Luo Huai’an stood up and walked behind the food window.

On the left side of the door were the windows for getting food. The closest to them was the window selling stir-fried dishes.

Further inside, there was a place selling mung bean soup. Behind the window was a large freezer containing six large metal buckets. Inside, the mung bean soup sat quietly, emitting a faint chill. Since mung bean soup was the only drink on offer, the freezer was quite dull.

Luo Huai’an decided that when there were more drinks in the future, she would set up this place as a congee and beverage window, and put a variety of drinks in the freezer.

Further ahead was a pepper pancake window, with two large ovens behind the window. Luo Huai’an donned plastic gloves and began making fresh pepper pancakes. If you observe carefully, you’ll notice that many baked goods were best enjoyed right out of the oven. Their flavor was fleeting; if you missed this opportunity, you’d never see it again.

Although Luo Huai’an was very obsessed with money, she took cooking very seriously because of the influence of the Kitchen God. She has never thought of making pepper pancakes and letting them cool before selling them.

Luo Huai’an rolled the dough into the shape of a fist, and then said to Second Fish next to her in an encouraging tone, “Look carefully and learn well, and I will let you make pepper pancakes in the future.”

When she said this, she was actually a little excited. When she was learning to cook, she was always instructed by the Kitchen God. Now that she has been promoted from a daughter-in-law to a mother-in-law, hey, she could also give orders!

Second Fish pinched her apron and hummed obediently. She glanced at her husband Big Fish’ dejected look, then at Luo Huai’an’s calm and composed look, and made up her mind to hug Luo Huai’an’s thigh tightly.

When she first arrived at the Eighth Canteen, she was a little hesitant, but now she has already faced the reality.

Fish people would never be slaves—unless they were provided with food and shelter.

After Luo Huai’an wrapped the ‘big buns’, she grabbed a handful of sesame seeds and sprinkled them on the buns like fairy flowers, and then put the buns into the iron oven to bake.

Her movements were so skillful and smooth that the students outside the window were stunned. However, before they could recover, an even greater shock came: the oven gradually emanated an alluring burnt aroma.

As the buns baked, their white crust gradually turned golden and crispy, while the white sesame seeds on the crust released the aroma of sesame oil. The complex aroma was as charming as a siren, making it difficult for sailors to control themselves.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

The students suddenly had an idea, and some who were busy looking at their phones were also drawn back to their senses by the fragrance. 

“Why is it so fragrant? I’m almost losing my mind.”

“I can’t even look at my phone anymore.”

Everyone stared at the oven eagerly. After a while, the first batch of pepper pancakes were finally baked. The students in line had been waiting for a long time, and when they finally saw the long-awaited pepper pancakes, they swallowed their saliva, their hearts filled with impatience.

Because the oven’s capacity was limited, not many pepper pancakes were baked. Wei Ziwei and Shu Wenwen happened to get the last two from the first batch. Compared to the frustration of those behind them, they were as happy as if they had gotten a great bargain.

At this time, the mung bean soup was also chilled, and they both ordered another bowl of mung bean soup.

Although Wei Ziwei had no interest in eating pancakes at night at first, she always wanted the ones that were more fragrant. Moreover, the pepper pancake was so beautiful. It looked like a plump, chubby, round ‘little fat man’. They looked very cute indeed.

Wei Ziwei was reluctant to destroy the plump pepper pancake, but Shu Wenwen across her was eating it so happily that Wei Ziwei couldn’t help but also take a bite.

Once she started chewing it, she couldn’t stop.

The pepper pancakes were filled with fresh pork that had been marinated in soy sauce and scallions. After being oven baked, they exuded a subtle charred aroma. The skin was incredibly crispy. A bite revealed a rich aroma of sesame, meat, soy sauce, and scallions.

The hot gravy had been locked tightly inside the bun, and Wei Ziwei’s tongue was burned because she ate too quickly.

She raised her head, took two deep breaths, and wanted to put the pepper pancake down. However, the soup was too delicious, hot, and fragrant, and she couldn’t bear to put it down after all.

She took a short break before returning to the battle, feeling the extreme deliciousness and rich taste every time she chewed.

Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: Jianbing gouzi is a street food that originated from Tianjiin. 

It consists of a thin pancake (like a crepe) topped with egg, wrapped around fried dough sticks (gouzi; like a non-round donut). Additional toppings include sauce, chopped green onions, fermented bean curd, and optional chili sauce .

Jiangxiangbing (fragrant soy-flavor pancakes) originated from the autonomous Enshi Prefecture in Hubei province.  

See, these are both bing or flat/pancakes. Pepper pancakes is also called a bing but is NOT actually flat. It’s more bun-shaped 😅

Pepper Pancake is a popular street food in Taiwan but originally came from Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian province in China. It used to be called ‘Fuzhou pancakes’ (fuzhoubing) but became the similar sounding ‘Pepper pancakes’ (hujiaobing). Presumably the original ones were more bing looking.

It’s made of flour filled with a combination of pork, scallion, salt and pepper, and other seasonings, mostly with sesame seed sprinkled on top. The outer bun is crisp and flaky like a croissant.

While it can be baked in a conventional oven, traditionally it was baked in a deep, circular, stone oven, with fire underneath.

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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

1. Pepper pancake is a popular street food in Taiwan, but I guess not so well-known in mainland China. ↩︎