Third Fish took the headphones away from his ears slightly and said, his tone very impatient, “Dad, I’m playing games, don’t bother me.”

After Third Fish finished speaking, he put on his headphones again, oblivious to the world outside, his mind focused solely on reaching the plateau.

Big Fish: “…”

He thought of his wife and children laughing and talking in the kitchen, then looked at his eldest son typing away on the keyboard in the game room, and suddenly felt abandoned by the whole world.

… …

Luo Huai’an was making shaved ice, and she didn’t know what the ice maker next to her was doing when he suddenly ran out.

Fortunately, he came back after a while, but this ice maker seemed more depressed than usual.

Luo Huai’an actually disliked aquatic creatures with many scales. The reason she was more friendly to Second Fish and Third Fish was because they were more capable. However, Luo Huai’an knew that Big Fish always wanted to escape and was a bad fish with no sense of discipline, so she didn’t bother to care about his mental health.

She didn’t give him any benefits and instead pointed to the many large metal buckets at the back. “Remember to turn all the purified water and milk in those buckets into shaved ice. I want four kinds of shaved ice: first is the most exquisite smoothie; the second is slightly coarser shaved ice; the third is crushed ice; and the last is continuously smooth, silky shaved ice. Remember to keep it cold and don’t let the shaved ice deform.”

The four different types of ice each had their own taste, and there was no distinction between high and low. Luo Huai’an wanted to eat them all.

Big Fish’s eyes went dark: “…”

Big Fish prepared all the ice. Luo Huai’an picked two bowls of silky shaved ice made from milk, poured condensed milk and homemade strawberry jam on them, and added a lot of strawberries cut in half.

Luo Huai’an’s conscience was awakened, and she handed a bowl to Big Fish. “Try it.”

Big Fish paused, warning himself: these are just sugar-coated bullets from the enemy! Don’t be fooled so easily! Just take a bite then put the bowl down.

Big Fish, who was feeling dispirited, took the strawberry shaved ice, took a bite casually, and was instantly surprised by the taste in his mouth.

“This strawberry shaved ice is so delicious!”

The silky shaved ice was as soft and creamy as its name suggested, with a rich, milky flavor. The strawberries in the strawberry jam were incredibly fresh and sweet. As Big Fish filled his mouth with shaved ice and pursed his lips, the multi-layered flavors spread throughout his lips and teeth.

Big Fish’s lips and teeth felt the fragrance, sweetness, coolness, and silkiness of the ice, which passed through his throat as if nothing was in it, leaving his mouth full of sweetness and fragrance.

Big Fish couldn’t believe that a part of this delicious shaved ice was made by him.

Sweetness produced dopamine in the brain, bringing a sense of satisfaction. After eating the strawberry shaved ice, which had a unique texture and taste, Big Fish suddenly felt that the whole world had become wonderful.

He originally planned to eat only one bite, but after one, he took one big bite after another, with no intention of stopping.

Big Fish’s eyes were filled with tears as he bit the spoon viciously and took big bites of the shaved ice, putting aside his original thoughts of escape.

The enemy’s sugar-coated bullets are too strong, let me defect for a minute.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

After Luo Huai’an put shaved ice on the agenda, her premonition as pixiu gave her an epiphany, and she keenly realized something: she was going to make a lot of money again!

Among these four types of ice, Luo Huai’an’s favorite was silky ice. This silky ice was as soft as clouds and felt like there was nothing in the mouth. It made people feel as if they were eating clouds. The taste was very wonderful.

But Luo Huai’an didn’t just make shaved ice. After all, she was now a seasoned business owner who catered to the diverse needs of her customers. Different flavors appealed to different people, so she also offered other flavors. And she had access to countless ice-makers, so she could customize her ice to suit her needs without having to worry about costs.

Shaved ice has always had huge profits, and unlike ordinary merchants, she grew most of the ingredients herself, with only a small portion purchased from the market. Even the ice was made by the Fish, so the cost was very low.

Luo Huai’an smiled excitedly and served shaved ice in the cafeteria the next day.

She originally wanted to combine the shaved ice counter and the mung bean soup counter into a beverage area, but the mung bean soup was selling so well that customers kept coming in. If she sold both drinks together, the line would have been even longer, which would be inconvenient.

It seemed that the child Mung Bean Soup really wanted to stand out alone and didn’t want to squeeze into the same window with others.

Fortunately, there were twenty food windows on the first floor of the cafeteria, and less than half of them were currently in use, so there was no need to consider merging the two food items.

Luo Huai’an placed many large metal buckets behind the newly opened food window.

Because these shaved ice were condensed by mana, and she asked Big Fish to re-inject mana from time to time, the shape of these shaved was well maintained, almost exactly the same as when they were first frozen, without any signs of melting or clumping.

Luo Huai’an had observed several other cafeterias and saw that there were unified signage above the windows of other canteens, with words like “Teachers’ Window” and “Sweet Porridge Shop” written on them.

However, the Eighth Canteen had just started operating, and the food window layout was not yet so rigid, so there was no customized, unified signboards. All the window signs were made on plain paper.

The sign for the stir-fries window said ‘Taste of Home—Exquisite Stir-Fries’. The mung bean soup window sign said ‘A Touch of Summer Green—Suzhou-Style Mung Bean Soup’. The window for the pepper pancakes had a sign that said ‘Flavor Bomb—Special Pepper Pancakes’. 

To make it easier for teachers and students, the corresponding prices were written to the right of the dish names.

Luo Huai’an pondered for a while, took out a piece of A4 paper, and wrote on it: ‘The Soul of Summer – Shaved Ice’.

Her handwriting was vigorous and sharp, and looked quite pleasing to the eye.

Although it was a marketing ploy, fortunately, the students bought into it and were completely unaware of the scheme behind it. Even if they did know, they wouldn’t care. After all, the taste of the dishes in the Eighth Canteen was totally worth boasting about.

Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: The fourth kind of shaved ice translates to ‘continuous/unbroken ice’ which is a description of what it looks like. They come out of the ice maker in delicate, feather-thin, ‘continuous’ sheets . I just translate it to ‘silky ice’ because that’s what it is.

I’m with Luo Huai’an on this—I love this version of shaved ice best, too! It’s like eating cold cotton candy 🥰

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Chapter 17.4 — Shaved Ice