These freshmen were so imaginative!

Xu Changle was speechless. How could the Eighth Cafeteria be so good that they, the seniors, would keep it secret and protect it like a treasure trove? Even the old Eighth Cafeteria, which had performed so well last semester, wasn’t worth this kind of treatment.

However, these freshmen not only thought that they were deliberately concealing the truth, but also believed that their presence here now was the real evidence!

He turned his head and looked at the sky. It wasn’t snowing in June. How could he be as wronged as Dou E?

Xu Changle looked constipated and asked the freshmen, “What kind of magic potion did the Eighth Cafeteria feed you?”

Luo Huai’an happened to be at the mung bean soup window. She laughed out loud when she heard this. “There is no magic potion. I don’t know how to make that. There is only mung bean soup here.”

When Xu Changle heard her clear and pleasant voice, he turned around and looked at her in astonishment. She was so beautiful!

Luo Huai’an wore a dust mask on her face and her clothes were not fancy. However, her ordinary dress not only did not make her look ordinary, but instead gave her a different temperament.

Xu Changle had been questioned by a freshman, but he didn’t feel embarrassed at all. He was filled with the composure of a seasoned veteran. However, after seeing Luo Huai’an, his confidence disappeared, and a blush appeared on his face. “Oh! I get it.”

After Luo Huai’an looked away, he acted as if he had discovered the truth and said to his roommate, “I now understand why the freshmen are so fond of the Eighth Cafeteria!”

His roommate asked curiously, “What’s the reason?”

Xu Changle said firmly, “The staff serving food here are so beautiful.”

His roommate initially thought this was outrageous, but on second thought, it suddenly made sense. One cafeteria had a counter selling cheese baked rice. The owner occasionally asked his son, who was attending high school nearby, to help out. While the baked rice was terrible, his son was handsome, and many girls still came to buy the cheese baked rice. He truly managed to increase sales at the counter through his own efforts.

His roommate sighed deeply, his tone somewhat sour, “…Alas, this is a world where appearances are everything.”

The two of them complained bitterly, both thinking that the new students came because of Luo Huai’an.

Xu Changle thought he had solved the case, but at this moment a strong aroma suddenly wafted over.

The newly baked pepper pancakes were giving off an enticing burnt aroma that filled the air of the entire cafeteria.

“What smells so good?” Xu Changle couldn’t help but sniff and stepped forward, following the smell as if he was possessed.

He followed the scent to the window where the pepper cakes were sold. A new batch of peppers had just been taken out of  the oven. Second Fish wrapped the pepper pancakes in paper, then slid them in a plastic bag and handed them to the freshman lined up at the window.

The freshman took the pepper pancake in his hand and, not caring about the heat, immediately took a bite. The aroma of pork, scallions, and burnt peppers filled his mouth like an explosion, the stimulation reaching his taste buds and perking him up.

Although his  mouth was a little burned, he was reluctant to discard the pepper cake, wanting only to keep this ultimate fragrance. After taking huffing breaths, he lowered his head to bite again.

He ate with such relish it made the people around him so hungry that the sound of people gulping down their saliva could be heard.

Xu Changle also felt hungry and his stomach started to growl. He couldn’t help but walk to the back of the line and queue up.

When Xu Changle finally got his pepper pancake, he was stunned.

This pepper pancake was really cute.

It looked like a steamed bun, feeling very thick in the hand, but had a golden, flaky skin, sprinkled with white sesame seeds. The appearance alone was enough to make the money back.

Some people feel a protective urge when they see cute things, while others feel a destructive urge. This was called ‘cute aggression’ in psychology. For example, when you see a particularly cute child, you might want to pinch her cheeks.

Xu Changle was just such a person. An urgent thought flashed through his mind, ‘Bite it open and see what the precious filling inside looks like!’

Just as he thought so, he did it.

The peppercorns were toasted, but not dry at all, and they were incredibly fragrant. His teeth broke through the peppercorns’ defenses, releasing a stronger, meaty aroma. The gravy, carrying the aroma with it, brought the flavor into his mouth. Every bite was filled with an exquisite sweetness.

The reason why pepper pancakes were called pepper pancakes was because the essence of black pepper was prominent. In ancient times, black pepper was called black gold, and its flavor was pungent. The competition for more pepper even led to numerous battles, demonstrating the allure of black pepper.

Adding a little black pepper to a dish generally wouldn’t make it taste bad, especially since these pepper pancakes were meticulously crafted by Luo Huai’an, and the proportions of each ingredient had been diligently adjusted to the optimal level.

Black pepper was good for the stomach and helped digestion, and it tasted a bit spicy. After eating half of the pepper pancake, Xu Changle felt that his whole appetite had been aroused.

He has never eaten such delicious pancakes before. He quickly finished the pepper pancakes in big mouthfuls and then sighed with satisfaction.

“This is so delicious!” Xu Changle said in a daze, but got no response.

He found that no one was paying attention to him, so he turned to look at his roommate next to him, only to find that his roommate was also busy savoring his pepper pancake and had no time pay him any attention.

Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: The Injustice to Dou E That Touched Heaven and Earth, also known as Snow in Midsummer is classic play (from late 1200s) that tells the story of Dou E, a child bride turned widow, who suffered injustice as she was framed and convicted through the machinations of a jilted suitor and a corrupt physician. 

The man put poison in the soup of Dou E’s mother-in-law, intending to forcibly marry Dou E after the old woman dies, but the soup was mistakenly drunk by the man’s father instead, and the man pushed the blame on to Dou E.

Prior to her execution by beheading, she said 3 things will happen to prove her innocence: all the blood will fall on her white robes and none on the ground; snow will fall in June covering her body; 3 years of drought will follow. 

Everything happened as she said. After the third year, her ghost appeared before her father crying injustice, and he sought her case to be reinvestigated and the actual culprits were punished.

The phrase ‘snow in June’ is now used to mean ‘suffering injustice’.  

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Cheesy Baked Rice

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Chapter 16.2 — Pepper Pancakes Part III
Chapter 16.3 — Pepper Pancakes Part III
Chapter 16.4 — Pepper Pancakes Part III