After swallowing the salted egg yolk pastry whole, One Bird couldn’t help but ask, “Can I eat something this delicious every day from now on?”

Luo Huai’an smiled at him. “Of course, every employee has a basic employee meal. If you do an excellent job, the employee meal can be doubled.”

If he could have such delicious food every day, it would be equivalent to him making a lot of money. One Bird suddenly realized that working here wasn’t as bad as he had imagined, and he even got a ‘salary’ in the form of excellent food, and could leave after working for a year.

The other bluebirds thought the same thing. They had lived on dew and wind in the mountains, and hadn’t had anything good to eat since leaving. When they saw fried skewers in human hands on the road, their mouths practically watered.

The bluebirds looked at each other and whispered, “Why don’t we stay here for a while?”

“Anyway, since Qing Niao senior is here, our lives shouldn’t be too bad.”

Seeing that the bluebirds were no longer as wary as before, Luo Huai’an smiled and said, “It’s too late now. I’ll assign you jobs tomorrow. By the way, our staff here are provided with food and lodging. Do you want to stay in Fragrant Mountain?”

Qing Niao hadn’t gone to Fragrant Mountain because he wanted to take care of this flock of bluebirds. Now that the flock had been adopted, Qing Niao felt it didn’t matter where he went.

After discussing it for a while, they agreed.

Luo Huai’an arrived in Fragrant Mountain with everyone.

These little bluebirds were all chatterboxes, chirping all the way to Fragrant Mountain.

If their first visit to the Eighth Cafeteria was like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden, then their trip to Fragrant Mountain was like Grandma Liu visiting the Heavenly Palace.

The abundant spiritual energy here invigorated all the supernatural beasts. With each breath, they felt refreshed and invigorated as the spiritual energy cleansed their meridians, slowly revitalizing their parched meridians.

Qing Niao felt as if he had discovered a treasure and couldn’t help but exclaim, “This is the place with the most abundant spiritual energy I’ve seen since I woke up.”

Luo Huai’an nodded. The spiritual energy of Fragrant Mountain was not as great as that of West Kunlun, where the Qing Niao used to live, but it was still the best among the worst choices, and it was a very precious feng shui treasure in these modern times.

“Where would you like to stay? In the villa?”

Luo Huai’an hesitated for a moment. There were only twenty-odd rooms in the villa, not enough for more than thirty people.

However, the birds weren’t interested in the villa; instead, they all pointed with their wings at the tall trees next to it. “I want to live in a tree.”

“Me too, I want to live in the biggest tree.”

Upon hearing this, Luo Huai’an’s eyes widened, thinking that this solved her problem. So she nodded and said, “You can stay in any of the trees here, choose whichever you like.”

At her command, all the birds shot out like cannonballs, flapping their wings and rushing towards their dream tree.

The tallest camphor tree had countless admirers, who fought over ownership of it, causing feathers to fall from the trees.

“Qing Niao, where do you want to live?” Luo Huai’an asked. “Do you want to live under the tallest camphor tree?”

If strength was the only criterion, then the most powerful bird-like monster here was definitely Qing Niao.

However, Qing Niao was a kind and generous bird. He didn’t want to compete with the other birds for the largest camphor tree. Instead, he turned his attention to the osmanthus tree at the main entrance of the villa. “Can I live in that osmanthus tree?”

Qingniao knew that Luo Huai’an was powerful, but he didn’t know the extent of her power. He thought that if he lived near the main entrance, he could protect his boss.

“Okay,” Luo Huai’an nodded.

So Qing Niao settled down on that tall osmanthus tree. Its original form was a small, beautiful bluebird, very light in weight, so it wouldn’t collapse the thin osmanthus branches.

Luo Huai’an initially thought these thirty free laborers were quite good in all aspects, but after a while she discovered one of their characteristics—they were too noisy.

Each of these bluebirds was incredibly talkative, their mouths never stop moving, and when all thirty of them talk together, it’s practically noise pollution.

Luo Huai’an didn’t want to stay with them for too long. After arranging accommodations for them, she simply returned to the villa and installed a soundproof barrier. Only then did the world quiet down.

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

The next morning, before dawn, Luo Huai’an got up early to wash up, opened the door, and prepared to start a new day of making money.

After she and all the supernatural beasts returned to the Eighth Cafeteria, she began to arrange the day’s work. “There aren’t many takeout orders to deliver right now. So all thirty of you birds will be working in the kitchen today.”

The bluebirds were so excited by their living environment yesterday that they couldn’t sleep all night. They didn’t resist Luo Huai’an’s arrangements and readily agreed.

While the bluebirds were getting familiar with their work environment in the kitchen, the wenyao employees came over one after another.

Big Fish was clearly very dissatisfied with his new colleagues, so he said, “These bad birds like to eat fish and are one of our natural enemies. I don’t want to work with them.”

Even the gentle Second Fish nodded, clearly showing some fear of these new colleagues.

Luo Huai’an glanced at Big Fish, then casually wiped her mouth. “In ancient times, the wenyao was food for almost all carnivores. Even humans also ate wenyao, and the Classic of Mountains and Seas even records the taste of the wenyao—sour.”

Actually, she herself really wanted to eat the wenyao.

Big Fish was hit in the lungs and choked for a moment. Yes, fish had always been at the bottom of the hierarchy. Birds could eat fish, people could eat fish, and beasts could eat fish.

Big Fish was completely bewildered; this world that loved to eat fish was terrible!

To ensure harmony among her employees, Luo Huai’an took the initiative to comfort Big Fish. “Actually, you have now cultivated into supernatural beings and have accumulated many years of cultivation. You are different from ordinary fish, and no one can eat you at all.”

The wenyao thought for a moment and then nodded. They had already developed intelligence, making them essentially a different species from the unintelligent wenyao.

Luo Huai’an concluded by saying, “Don’t worry, with me here, I will absolutely not let these birds harm you. Just focus on your work and leave everything to me.”

The wenyao had actually come here seeking these words of reassurance. Upon hearing them, they felt reassured and immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Actually, the wenyao didn’t need to worry at all. Qing Niao had already anticipated this situation, so last night he instructed the bluebirds not to frighten the other employees. The bluebirds listened to him and didn’t have any intention of harming the wenyao

Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

---

T/N: I really like Qing Niao. I always imagine this soft and fluffy bird that’s actually valiant and powerful but is just so squishy inside, innocent and earnest and protective. Quite the opposite of our resident stingy Pixiu.

Luo Huai’an catching strays: Hey!

Enjoying my translations? Check out my PATREON. You can get advance access to all ongoing translation works, single work only, or bundled works. Or just leave a tip! Thank you for your support.