Xiao Su, a Chinese literature major, often went to the Eighth Cafeteria for pepper cakes. Although she didn’t get tired of them and found them refreshing every day, Xiao Su was someone who easily got bored. Even with her ideal man, she hasn’t forgotten her past love, so she specifically left a message for the cafeteria owner on the app, asking them to add new breakfast items.

To her surprise, the boss was incredibly efficient, launching a new breakfast item in less than a day.

Xiao Su felt like she’d been chosen by the emperor, and last night she told her roommates about it. Her roommates were also curious about the new dishes at the Eighth Cafeteria, and with Luo Huai’an offering a discount, they were immediately eager to try them and agreed to go together next morning.

Making a decision felt good in the moment, but actually getting up meant ending up in the crematorium.

At 6:30 in the morning, an annoying alarm clock rang, and four girls in the girls’ dormitory reluctantly got out of bed.

Qin Qing scratched her messy hair and quickly climbed down the bunk ladder to get off the bed, shouting to her roommates still on their beds, “Get up quickly, let’s go get some money from the boss.”

The other girls touched their hair, somewhat excited, “Let’s go, let’s go get some freebies from the boss!”

Xiao Su said with some distress, “We’re all seniors now, but why do I feel like I’m back in freshman year military training? Getting up is such a pain. If it weren’t for the opportunity to get freebies, I wouldn’t want to get out of bed.”

The others, upon hearing this, were quite in agreement.

Their senior year courses weren’t that many, and none of them were the first class in the morning, so they didn’t need to get up early at all. However, the temptation of the goldfish tail wontons was just too great!

In addition, to boost sales, Luo Huai’an posted a message in the community that the first ten customers each day would receive a buy-one-get-one-free offer.

Although this discount was as small as a scrap of iron dropped by a miser, it was the only discount ever offered by the Eighth Cafeteria! How precious was that!

All four of them were a little sleepy, but the thought of the discounts offered by the Eighth Cafeteria suddenly filled them with excitement. This excitement gradually overcame their sleepiness, and they quickly got dressed while yawning.

On the way to the Eighth Cafeteria, Xiao Su said, “I don’t think anyone got up earlier than us. The freshmen probably didn’t get up earlier either. We’re sure to be able to grab the first order when it opens.”

The other three nodded deeply, feeling confident, “Only a fool would pass up a bargain.”

“The boss never offers discounts or promotions, so this time I’m determined to snag a bargain from her!”

When they entered the Eighth Cafeteria, they were surprised to find that there were already people inside, and not just one person.

A rough count revealed that there were at least fifty people queuing at the innermost window selling wontons.

Xiao Su and the others: “…” This was too much!

Xiao Su was devastated, “It’s all over, it’s all over, someone else has taken all the boss’s money.”

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

They were a little disappointed, but they weren’t actually short of money; they were just excited to see Luo Huai’an offering discounts for the first time. After composing themselves, they cheered up again and joined the queue.

The four of them each bought a serving of goldfish tail wontons.

Luo Huai’an asked, “Would you like chopped green onions, scallion oil, and seaweed?”

Xiao Su nodded sharply, “I want them all.”

Luo Huai’an handed her a red key ring with the number three written on it. She hung another identical number three on her plate and turned to One Bird, “Make another batch of wontons.”

One Bird yawned, and white mist rose from the transparent cafeteria-style mask on his face.

He used to be able to play video games for ten days and ten nights without feeling sleepy, but he gets so sleepy when he starts working.

He really didn’t want to work, but he had promised Qing Niao he would work, so he had to settle down for the time being.

One Bird placed the wontons into an iron strainer and then hung it on the side of the large cooking pot. At this moment, there were already more than ten servings of wontons in the pot.

The wontons were newly made, and they only started cooking them when a customer ordered. The small wontons were cooked thoroughly in the boiling broth for two minutes.

Luo Huai’an prepared the wonton seasoning, poured in the small wontons, sprinkled some dried shrimp, added some seaweed, added a spoonful of lard, drizzled two drops of scallion oil, and finally scooped up a large ladleful of wonton-boiled water and poured it into a bowl.

When wontons and seaweed come into contact with boiling hot soup, they unfold as if infused with a soul.

Xiao Su took the bowl of steaming hot wontons. The scalding steam hit her face, making her shiver and instantly wake up.

After nodding to her roommates, Xiao Su couldn’t wait to find a seat.

She stared at the goldfish-tail wontons in front of her and couldn’t help but exclaim how wonderful the name was. The translucent wontons revealed the pinkish-red meat filling, with dried shrimp, scallions, seaweed, and sesame oil floating on top. The delicate ‘little goldfish’ appeared and disappeared among the seaweed.

The chef has done a great job; whether or not the guests were willing to dip their chopsticks down was up to them.

Xiao Su couldn’t help but swallow hard twice, and impatiently dipped the spoon to scoop up a thin-skinned ‘little goldfish’.

Upon taking a bite, Xiao Su’s first impression was that it was incredibly fresh.

Dried shrimp, lard, seaweed, and pork were all delicious ingredients. No MSG was used, yet the dish was incredibly flavorful.

Mythical Beast Cafeteria translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: Wonton soup is my go-to order in a Chinese restaurant, but I usually get the one with noodles.

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