Mrs. Wen placed the order because of the trouble caused by her grandson, Tongtong.

Ever since Tongtong tried the red bean bamboo rice, he has fallen in love with this sweet and sticky dessert.

Mrs. Wen was amused, so she asked him, “Will you still like to eat big chicken leg rice in the future?”

Tongtong immediately replied, “I want both. I can eat the big chicken leg during regular meals and have the bamboo rice as dessert.”

Seeing that Tongtong had arranged his meals so meticulously, Madam Wen felt both amused and delighted. The bamboo rice was sweet and soft, which suited Madam Wen’s taste perfectly, so she agreed and bought five servings of bamboo rice to take home.

After returning home, she froze the bamboo rice. The next day, she put one into Tongtong’s lunchbox so he could take it to school.

Tongtong’s school was a very expensive private elementary school. When students felt hungry, they could buy food at a convenience store or bring their own lunch.

During the 10 a.m. break, Tongtong felt very hungry, so he found his teacher and handed her his lunchbox, saying, “Teacher, could you heat up this lunchbox for me? I’m hungry and want to eat something.”

The homeroom teacher was somewhat surprised to see Tongtong come to her. She knew the students well and knew that Tongtong suffered from childhood anorexia, which actually worried her a lot. Upon hearing that Tongtong was asking her to heat up his lunchbox, the homeroom teacher felt a surge of joy and immediately put the lunchbox in the microwave and turned it on.

As the temperature rose, the aroma of bamboo rice wafted from the microwave oven, filling the air in the lounge.

The homeroom teacher swallowed hard, “What smells so good?”

Tongtong said excitedly, “This is bamboo rice that my grandma bought for me.”

The fragrant bamboo from Fragrant Mountain has an incomparably refreshing scent that can invigorate the spirit and refresh the mind. 

The homeroom teacher hasn’t smelled bamboo in this big city for a long time; she even found it hard to find bamboo in perfumes sometimes. Upon smelling this fresh bamboo scent, she felt as if she had returned to the mountains and forests of her hometown, breathing in the fresh fragrance of grass and trees.

The homeroom teacher, feeling invigorated, returned the warmed-up lunchbox to Tongtong and decided to ask the child’s grandmother where she bought the bamboo rice when she comes to pick up Tongtong later.

Tongtong took the bamboo rice and carried it back to the classroom. During break time, many students either brought their own snacks or went to the nearby convenience store to buy spicy strips, filling the air with the aroma of food.

After the bamboo rice was brought in, the fresh scent of bamboo permeated the entire classroom, overwhelming the aroma of other foods and drawing the attention of all the elementary school students to Tongtong.

“What are you eating?”

“He’s holding a bamboo pole!”

“Are you a panda? Why are you eating bamboo?”

Tongtong calmly returned to his seat and earnestly explained, “I’m not a panda, and I don’t eat bamboo. I’m eating bamboo rice.”

Tongtong skillfully broke open the bamboo tube, the snow-white glutinous rice and red bean rice inside. He inserted a single chopstick into the glutinous rice and red bean rice. Tongtong held the bottom of the chopsticks and gently pulled, and the glutinous rice left the inner wall of the bamboo intact, appearing perfectly cylindrical in his hand.

The cylindrical glutinous rice and red bean rice was steaming hot, with translucent grains of rice and vibrant red beans, emitting a rich aroma of rice.

This bamboo rice, with its rustic charm, seemed to awaken the most primal need for food in the Chinese people’s bones, gradually attracting the attention of the entire class.

Tongtong’s deskmate smelled the aroma of glutinous rice and swallowed hard, “Tongtong, let me have a bite.”

Tongtong and his deskmate had a good relationship and often copied each other’s homework. Although he was reluctant to give him a bite, he still handed him the bamboo rice.

As a result, his deskmate opened his mouth to its full limit, took a big bite of the red bean and glutinous rice, and bit off half of it.

His classmate couldn’t hold all the rice in his mouth, so he had to cover it to prevent it from falling. As he chewed, he said with relish, “So soft and sticky! Your bamboo rice is amazing!”

Tongtong was furious when he saw that was only half left of his bamboo rice. When his classmate once again tried to bring his mouth closer, he immediately pushed his head away and said, “I don’t want you to eat it, you bad person.”

The other elementary school students smelled the enticing bamboo scent in the air and looked at Tongtong’s deskmate who was eating with great relish. They couldn’t help but look down at the snacks in their own hands and suddenly felt that even spicy strips didn’t taste so good!

The elementary school students all gathered around Tongtong: “Tongtong, I want to eat bamboo rice too!”

“If your deskmate can have some, then I can too.”

“I’ll just take a tiny bite, I promise it’ll only be a tiny bite.”

However, after being thoroughly ravaged by his deskmate’s gaping maw, Tongtong dared not let his guard down again. He ignored them completely, turned his back, and began to eat his bamboo rice.

He ate very quickly, and his breath was filled with the fresh fragrance of bamboo, which made people feel more hungry just by looking at him.

These elementary school students, only seven or eight years old and just graduated from kindergarten, couldn’t hold back anymore.

As the precious children of their family, they were skilled a using tears, so when the homeroom teacher arrived, they began to cry.

“Tongtong is eating so deliciously, I’m so hungry, waaaaah.”

As soon as one child started crying, the entire class was moved by the emotion. After a small group of elementary school students cried, genuinely or feigning their own, the other students, thinking about not being able to eat bamboo rice, also became overcome with sadness and burst into tears.

Homeroom teacher: “…”

Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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