Chancellor Wen followed his heart and left the office.
Seeing him leave, the secretary asked curiously, “Where are you going, Chancellor?”
When Chancellor Wen saw the secretary, his eyes lit up, and he put his hand on the secretary’s shoulder. “Xiao Wu, it’s lunchtime now, aren’t you hungry?”
The secretary nodded, “I’m a little hungry. I plan to go home for a meal after I get off work in a bit.”
Chancellor Wen said with a smile, “You’ve never eaten at the Eighth Cafeteria, have you?”
The secretary shook her head and said, “Because my family cooks for me, I don’t eat out and I haven’t eaten in the cafeteria.”
Chancellor Wen sighed with feigned regret. “That’s a pity. After the contractor was changed, the food quality in the Eighth Cafeteria has improved a lot, and it even sells food that’s better than restaurants outside. Why don’t we go to the Eighth Cafeteria for a meal together?”
This would give him some courage.
The secretary, realizing that his boss had invited him to lunch, quickly nodded and replied, “Okay, I’ll just call home first, please wait a moment.”
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Chancellor Wen smiled kindly and, after his secretary finished making the call, they went together to the Eighth Cafeteria.
… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com
As soon as the secretary entered the Eighth Cafeteria, she was attracted by the braised pork. After telling Chancellor Wen, she went straight to the window where the stir-fry dishes were sold and joined the queue.
Chancellor Wen went straight to the window at the very back where they sold wontons.
Because the students hadn’t finished their morning classes yet, and it was a newly opened dish, there weren’t many people. Chancellor Wen waited a little before it was his turn in line.
Luo Huai’an had handed over the tasks at the other windows to the clever little birds. Since they were all simple mechanical tasks like collecting money and packing food, she only had to teach them once, and they learned how to do it.
Luo Huai’an went behind the wonton window to cook wontons for everyone, with One Bird standing next to her to help her.
Luo Huai’an wanted to teach One Bird how to cook wontons, so she demonstrated the process to him. She put a small portion of wontons into an iron strainer, placed the strainer in a large pot, and started cooking.
Turning to One Bird, she said, “Boiling them over high heat for two minutes will cook them. Don’t cook them for too long, or the meat will become tough. Don’t cook them for too short a time either, or they’ll be undercooked. If you don’t know how to tell time, you can look at the clock on the wall.”
One Bird was quite clever and quickly learned how to cook wontons, so he started cooking wontons for everyone.
Luo Huai’an turned her head and suddenly noticed that Chancellor Wen had arrived.
This was a distinguished guest!
Her eyes lit up. “Chancellor Wen, what brings you here?”
Chancellor Wen looked around and, seeing that Qing Niao with his blue hair wasn’t in the cafeteria, breathed a long sigh of relief.
He didn’t mention the embarrassing fact that he hadn’t managed to get takeout, but instead said calmly, “Didn’t you say in the group chat that first come, first served? So I came here to eat in the cafeteria. Give me a serving of goldfish tail wontons, to go.”
“Okay.” Luo Huai’an nodded, then turned to One Bird, “You can make the next order of wontons.”
Chancellor Wen’s eyes flashed with surprise when he saw One Bird, a completely unfamiliar face. Why was there a new employee at the Eighth Cafeteria?
Chancellor Wen turned his head and noticed quite a few new faces in the area behind the window. A rough count revealed there must be some thirty people!
Chancellor Wen’s heart skipped a beat. Thinking of the wenyao and Qing Niao from before, could these thirty-some newcomers all be supernatural beasts too?
Upon thinking of this, Chancellor Wen felt a surge of intense fear, as if he were suddenly surrounded by supernatural beasts.
Just then, One Bird who had been cooking wontons let out a heartfelt sigh. “I really want to play on the computer.”
Luo Huai’an looked at him upon hearing this. It was during working hours, and she naturally wouldn’t let One Bird play on the computer. Besides, she had promised Qing Niao that she would help these little birds overcome their internet addiction, so naturally she couldn’t let them leave.
Luo Huai’an then said, “You can’t play on the computer during work hours. If you do well at work, you can play for an hour in the evening.”
One Bird was extremely surprised. Luo Huai’an only allowed them to play on the computer for an hour? Supernatural beasts rarely needed to sleep. He often stayed up all night; an hour wasn’t even enough time to play a game.
One Bird suddenly became unhappy and slammed the bowl on the table down. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”
Luo Huai’an turned and glared at him, then whispered, “If you don’t want to work here anymore, I’ll have Qing Niao put you in jail on charges of fraud.”
One Bird shuddered upon hearing this. He had spent a few days in the detention center, where conditions were worse than in prison; the environment and food were appalling. The difference between the Eighth Cafeteria and that place was like heaven and earth.
One Bird was a clever little bird who knew how to read people and treat them accordingly. He vaguely felt that Luo Huai’an was not as kind and easy to mess with as Qing Niao, so he gradually put away his previous casual attitude and became more and more serious.
He stammered, “Okay, okay. I don’t want to play on the computer for now.”
Luo Huai’an then let him go and turned around to swipe Chancellor Wen’s meal card.
Chancellor Wen was initially worried that this new employee might be a supernatural beast, but based on what he had just heard, this bird could not possibly be one.
Which supernatural beast wanted to play on the computer every day like a child?
Chancellor Wen shook his head inwardly, immediately relaxing and even starting to chat with Luo Huai’an. “This new employee looks quite energetic. Is he your relative?”
Luo Huai’an looked up at Chancellor Wen and saw that there was no one behind him and almost no students around him.
Chancellor Wen was the head of the school, and no matter what, she should have informed Chancellor Wen about her use of supernatural beasts as employees.
However, Luo Huai’an recalled how Chancellor Wen had been frightened by Qing Niao before, and was worried that Chancellor Wen might not be able to handle it. But Chancellor Wen smiled so kindly, he seemed to be in a good mood. He probably had a strong ability to cope, so telling him now was the best thing to do.
Luo Huai’an then lowered her voice and said, “Chancellor, you’ve come at the right time. I have something to tell you, but don’t be afraid.”
Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com
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