Luo Huai’an snapped out of her thoughts and ignored Third Fish, who often argued with people online. Anyway, she wasn’t the one being insulted.
She carried the dragon beard candy and salted egg yolk pastry to the back kitchen, glanced inside, and saw Qi Ze putting on an apron.
He was tall and slender, and the one-size-fits-all apron didn’t fit him properly. Qi Ze pinched the apron’s drawstring, somewhat reluctant to put it on, but he was going to control the fire, and if the ashes got on him, it would soil his clothes.
Thinking of this, he had no choice but to tie up his apron.
Luo Huai’an found the takeout box, put the last of the dragon beard candies and egg yolk pastries into it, and then handed it to Qi Ze. “This is for you.”
Qi Ze looked down at her, a hint of disbelief flashing in his eyes. He was exceptionally intelligent; after only a few days here, he had a thorough understanding of everyone’s temperament. Aside from the label of a ‘reclusive master’, the boss’s most striking characteristic was… stinginess.
Why would she suddenly give him such an exquisite pastry?
He took out his phone and said, “Did you buy this at a store outside? How much did it cost? I’ll pay you.”
When Luo Huai’an heard that he thought it was bought from outside, she retorted, “I made this myself. You can’t buy this taste outside.”
Qi Ze asked in confusion, “Why are you suddenly giving me pastries that you made yourself?”
Luo Huai’an replied, “This is a reward for outstanding employees. You’ve been working very hard lately, and I’m giving you this reward in the hope that you’ll continue to work hard in the future.”
Qi Ze, completely unaware of Luo Huai’an’s thoughts, obediently accepted the pastries and said gratefully, “Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.” Luo Huai’an nodded seriously, then secretly glanced at his expression and saw that he was somewhat moved. She couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
He who ate someone else’s food was bound to him. Once Phoenix regained his memories, he’ll surely forgive her for making him tend the fire every day and spare her life.
… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com
After getting off work in the evening, Qi Ze took off his apron, picked up his schoolbag, and prepared to leave. Suddenly, he noticed two portions of pastries on the table. He paused slightly, then reached out and put the pastries into his bag.
After he returned to his dorm, Ji Wuchen was playing on his phone, muttering to himself, “What do the dragon beard candy and egg yolk pastry that the Eighth Cafeteria community is talking about actually taste like? Everyone says they’re heavenly pastries, but I went there and couldn’t buy any.”
He replied in the group chat: [Is it really that delicious? You guys aren’t lying to me, are you?]
Immediately, replies came in: [Those who have bought it say it’s not tasty at all (please don’t try to take it from me).]
[Yes, we were just kidding. Please don’t buy any pastries from the Eighth Cafeteria. Leave all the dragon beard candies for me. I’m going crazy with cravings after only getting half a piece so far.]
Ji Wuchen: “…”
The students in the community forum were exaggerating surely.
Although Ji Wuchen thought the various stir-fries and large chicken leg rice dishes in the Eighth Cafeteria were amazing, he was a very meticulous person who believed that practice makes perfect and he wouldn’t easily draw conclusions without having tried the pastries.
It was well known that only excellent pastry chefs could make good pastries. So far, the Eighth Cafeteria has only produced red cuisine, so the pastries made from white cuisine may be quite ordinary1.
Moreover, the Eighth Cafeteria actually called these two kinds of pastries ‘Teacher’s Day’ pastries. Today, each student was limited to buying five servings, while teachers could buy a maximum of ten servings.
After hearing the message in the community forum, Ji Wuchen went to buy it and was very unhappy because he didn’t see a single hair of it.
Ji Wuchen felt a pang of jealousy at not getting the unattainable pastries. “I don’t care for the pastries from the Eighth Cafeteria. How good can the cafeteria-made pastries be?”
After silently criticizing the pastries in his heart, Ji Wuchen looked up at Qi Ze, who had just returned, and asked with great doubt, “You’ve been doing this for several days now. Do you really intend to continue working part-time at the Eighth Cafeteria?”
Qi Ze walked straight to the computer desk. He had already discovered that the food from the Eighth Cafeteria had an effect on his body. Whenever he ate the food from the Eighth Cafeteria, the pain in his body would be suppressed.
Actually, he didn’t need to be an employee; he could just eat at the Eighth Cafeteria every day.
However, ever since hearing Luo Huai’an’s explanation, he has developed a great curiosity about this mysterious world she talked about. So far, the best way he has to learn more about the mysterious world was through the Eighth Dining Hall.
Therefore, he did not want to resign or leave yet.
Qi Ze nodded in agreement but did not tell Ji Wuchen the truth. “The work atmosphere there is not bad. Although the salary is indeed a bit low, I don’t care about that.”
Qi Ze took out some pastries from his bag and casually said, “These are employee perks.”
When Ji Wuchen saw the snow-white dragon beard candy and the golden egg yolk pastry, his eyes lit up like light bulbs and became glued to the things Qi Ze had taken out.
Based on his many years of experience in eating, drinking, and having fun, pastries that look so good usually didn’t taste too bad.
Just as Ji Wuchen was about to ask for some of it, Qi Ze took the pastries back, as if he had only shown them to Ji Wuchen and had no other intention.
“Oh right, you just said you didn’t want the pastries from the Eighth Cafeteria, so I won’t give you any.”
Ji Wuchen: “…”
Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com
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FOOTNOTE:
- In Chinese kitchens, cooking is classified into ‘red’ and ‘white’. Red refers to cooking meat, seafood, and vegetables; white refers to making noodles and related dishes, like buns and dumplings. ↩︎
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