Chapter 18: The Cafeteria

Qin Qing’s business at Baiyun Temple was decent, though most of her clients were elderly, and she hadn’t found another opportunity to earn high commissions. For the elderly, she mostly dealt with family matters, minor ailments, and such. Each session cost 100 yuan, bringing in one to two thousand yuan daily.

At noon, she would go to the Baiyun Temple cafeteria for a free meal, pack some leftovers to take home, and even have ingredients for dinner.

She packed up promptly at 10:50 AM every day, not staying a minute longer. She was probably the earliest “early bird” to finish work.

Leading Mumu towards the temple, a lazy Big Orange emerged halfway, probably having slept in some bush or under an eave. Its eyes weren’t even fully open. Big Orange walked up to her, stretched out its front paws in a perfect cat stretch, shook its fur, and swayed its head as if waking up. It didn’t leave, but simply lay down at her feet, starting to “extort” attention.

Mumu whined, trying to shoo it away, but it didn’t budge. It even looked at her and meowed lazily, in its tiny, high-pitched voice.

Qin Qing understood. She squatted down and scratched the cat’s chin. From her bag, which held her laptop, she took out a small, sealed bag of cat treats and skillfully fed it a few.

She bought pet supplies for Mumu online, and she wasn’t sure if the seller had made a mistake, but the free gift was a can of mint biscuits. Mumu didn’t like them, and Qin Qing didn’t know any other cats, so the two cats at Baiyun Temple benefited.

She carried them with her every day, and if she encountered Big Orange or Tabby, she’d feed them. After only a few days of feeding, Big Orange started to “extort” her for treats. Tabby, on the other hand, was much more reserved, always needing to be coaxed repeatedly before deigning to eat a little. After eating, it would jump away, not allowing pets or hugs. If it saw Big Orange “extorting,” it would also give it two glares of disapproval.

“Alright, Feifei, stop rubbing. We agreed you can only have five pieces a day.”

Big Orange was named Feifei, and Tabby was named Chaichai.

She used to be afraid to call them by name, always referring to them as “the big cat.” After setting up her stall here for a long time, she finally heard a young Daoist acolyte call them by name one day, and only then did she dare to follow suit.

Qin Qing was being clung to by Feifei, who was playfully holding onto her leg, while Mumu was tugging at Feifei’s thick neck, trying to pull it away for her… The scene was chaotic when Liang Jian and Lu Yang arrived.

Liang Jian came every day to pick her up in the afternoon to check for changes in Liang Jinguo’s bidding results at Jinsheng International, so his presence wasn’t surprising. But what was Lu Yang doing here?

“I came to eat, Senior Sister,” he said, gesturing to the bento box in his hand.

He then bent down to tease Feifei, but Feifei ignored him. He somehow pulled out a cat stick, and Feifei instantly let go of Qin Qing’s leg and threw itself into the embrace of the cat stick.

Lu Yang said proudly, “I have a great relationship with the stray cats at school. They all know me.”

Liang Jian: “They don’t know you, they know your cat sticks, right?”

“Isn’t it all the same?” After Feifei finished the cat stick, Lu Yang picked the little fella up and placed it on his shoulder. Feifei squatted on his head, holding on, and surprisingly didn’t run away.

It really had no vigilance at all; give it some food and it would follow you. No wonder its name was Feifei; the Daoist who named it truly understood its essence.

{T/N: 飞飞 (Fēi Fēi) means “flying” or “soaring.” Symbolizes freedom, energy, and a lively spirit.}

After teasing the cat, Lu Yang actually started complaining, “Hmph, you found a new food check-in spot and didn’t even tell me!”

He leaned closer to Qin Qing, “Senior Sister, you don’t know, Liang Jian here has very low standards for food. It’s just a necessity for survival. What’s the fun in eating delicious food with him? He doesn’t appreciate it.”

“You should call me when you eat, Senior Sister. I eat a lot, so you can order more dishes to try. And I’m not picky, I don’t have any dietary restrictions, so whatever delicious food you share with me won’t be disappointing. Plus, I know a lot of places with good food, I can take you too, so you don’t have to find restaurants every time.”

“Also, I’m much handsomer than this guy. Taking me out would give you face, wouldn’t it? Hahahahaha.”

“Is there really a cooking master hidden in this cafeteria? I wonder what the master cooked today. The vegetarian meals I’ve had before were so unappetizing. I wonder about this master’s skill.”

“Did you really figure this out, Senior Sister? Wow, that’s amazing. I really want to learn. Senior Sister, what do you think of my Talent? Do I have the bones for learning metaphysics? I learn things very quickly, Senior Sister, would you consider taking an apprentice? Senior Sister, please consider it, I’m very well-behaved, obedient, and eager to learn.”

Qin Qing said expressionlessly, “No consideration.”

“Why, Senior Sister? Am I not handsome enough? Or not smart enough? My grandma always says I’m quite clever. Should I get a trial period first for evaluation?”

Qin Qing: “My ears hurt from the noise. I’m afraid I’ll go deaf.”

Run quickly, this chatterbox is toxic.

Doesn’t he get tired talking so much at once? And how can he find so much to say? Did he load more language compression packs at birth than others?

Didn’t he just break up? Can’t tell at all.

Lu Yang’s face instantly fell, looking wronged and deeply struck.

Liang Jian was about to pat his shoulder to comfort him, but his hand had just lifted and hadn’t even touched his shoulder… when he saw him fully revived, chasing after Qin Qing and continuing to babble, “I’ve reflected, Senior Sister. Talking is my strength, so with me by your side, you won’t be bored, right? Ah… I’m truly a warm little sun, and this isn’t me bragging, my grandma said so. As long as I’m with her, she’s happy every day and can eat half a bowl more rice. Senior Sister, are you sure you don’t want to try taking me on? Maybe I really have the potential to become a master of metaphysics…”

Liang Jian: “…”

So you were only down for three seconds? You say you’ve reflected, and the result of your reflection is to turn your weakness into a strength?

Whether Lu Yang had the potential to become a master of metaphysics, he didn’t know, but he was sure of one thing: this guy would never suffer from internal friction; he would only exhaust others with his extraordinarily vigorous energy.

Qin Qing decided to ignore this chatterbox. The more she engaged with him, the more energetic he became. She also didn’t want to have a “grandson” who just croaked like a frog at such a young age.

Upon reaching the cafeteria, she felt a sense of relief. Looking at Lu Yang, she pointed to the “Quiet” and “Cherish Food” signs on the wall.

Lu Yang nodded, indicating he understood, and surprisingly, he really stopped talking. Just as he said, he was quite obedient.

Today, Qin Qing had checked beforehand: Daoist Wutun had made vegetarian dumplings. And it was a filling she hadn’t tried before: eggplant.

Because the eggplant in the temple’s vegetable garden was overflowing recently, and the cafeteria could only consume a limited amount. So Master Wutun came up with a new idea.

Can eggplant be used as a filling? It turns out it can, and it’s super delicious!

You could tell the eggplant was peeled, diced, and then stir-fried in oil. Besides eggplant, there were also diced mushrooms. The two small dices were stir-fried until fragrant and oily, and the dumpling wrappers were thin and not overcooked. Taking a bite was incredibly satisfying.

Daoist Wutun must have some secret, as the eggplant wasn’t mushy like it usually is when stir-fried or steamed. Instead, it had a dry fragrance, not greasy, and when chewed with the chewy mushroom dices and the slightly sweet wrapper, it became more fragrant with each chew, making you unable to stop.

Lu Yang had been struggling to hold back his words, but once he started eating dumplings, he had no time to think about talking. He ate them one after another, like a dumpling shredder.

Other diners in the cafeteria hadn’t initially gotten dumplings, but Lu Yang’s “mukbang” was so appealing that others gradually started getting them, and they were widely praised.

By the time the three of them finished eating and were ready to pack up, there wasn’t much left. Roughly eighty dumplings were divided equally among the three.

A few minutes later, a plump Daoist in a dark blue robe with a high topknot, having finished his work, came out with a cup of tea and a large bowl, ready to enjoy his lunch. He went to the serving counter, where the two stainless steel basins he had seen overflowing with dumplings were now empty, not even a single piece of dumpling skin remaining.

“Where are the dumplings?” he asked, eyes wide.

The volunteer serving food replied, “Sold out.”

“All five hundred sold out?!” The plump Daoist looked at the clock on the cafeteria wall. “It’s only 11:20. Less than twenty minutes since opening.”

The volunteer nodded, quite happily, “Yes, your dishes have been selling particularly well these past few days. The last bit was all packed up.”

The plump Daoist’s face darkened. Couldn’t he see that he hadn’t had lunch? What was this new volunteer so happy about?

“Was it those young male and female pilgrims who come to pack food every day again?”

The volunteer wasn’t sure what he had done wrong, but he could see that Daoist Wutun was not pleased, so he stopped smiling and explained, “Yes, it was them. Besides them, there was one more person packing today. It was that new male pilgrim who ate so deliciously that he made other pilgrims get dumplings too.”

This was hard to judge!

Indeed, this plump Daoist was the legendary Daoist Wutun. To use up the eggplant from the vegetable garden, he had specially made over five hundred dumplings. It took him a whole morning. Many people don’t like eggplant, but dumplings don’t spoil easily.

He had already planned it: if they didn’t sell out at lunch, he could save them for pan-fried dumplings in the evening.

Imagine, a clear breeze and bright moon on the mountain, a plate of pan-fried dumplings, a few cups of clear tea… a few fellow Daoists sitting cross-legged in the courtyard, discussing metaphysics and the Dao, how delightful!

Who! Could! Have! Imagined!

He just lingered a bit longer in the back, and his own lunch was gone. How could he have his clear breeze and bright moon set for the evening?

He hated the feeling of his plans being disrupted.

The plump Daoist huffed and puffed, carrying his large bowl back to the rear.

Halfway, a young Daoist acolyte saw him and greeted him, “Uncle-Master, aren’t you eating?”

Daoist Wutun flicked his sleeve and walked away, “No, I’m full.”

The young acolyte scratched his head, “Full? But you haven’t eaten yet…”

“Full of anger!”

The volunteer serving food muttered to himself, this Daoist is so strange, someone likes his cooking and he’s still angry…

Just as he was thinking, several young girls who had come together, carrying their lunchboxes, anxiously asked, “Dumplings, are there any eggplant dumplings left?”

They received a negative reply from the volunteer.

The girls, who clearly weren’t pilgrims from the temple, walked away with slumped shoulders.

The volunteer faintly heard their conversation.

“Ah, we’re late again.”

“Yeah, yeah, the uploader posted too late, and it takes time for us to get here.”

“Gotta say, this uploader really knows how to eat. All the food she finds are hidden menus, I wonder how she discovers them.”

“Right, when I went to ‘Yawei Jiangnan’ and ordered soy sauce fried rice, the waitstaff looked at me strangely. Later, a female waitress nearby happily told me that soy sauce fried rice was a new menu item, officially launching next month.”

“I heard that when the uploader first posted about the Baiyun Temple cafeteria, a fan happened to be nearby and got to try the stir-fried winter melon. In the comments, they praised it so much, with such eloquent words. Something like, ‘Never eaten winter melon in my life, only now tasted winter melon, yet suffer from lovesickness.’ I’m even more curious. This Daoist Wutun is like the sweeping monk of Baiyun Temple; just hearing about him makes me want to try it.”

“Exactly! Ever since the uploader started rating the delicious foods she discovers, I’ve only managed to eat the beef noodles next to the Wuning Police Station. It was indeed delicious. But the beef noodles only got a comprehensive score of over 70, soy sauce fried rice got 80, and Baiyun Temple Master Wutun’s skill got 90 points! What a clear deliciousness ranking!”

“I don’t know how the uploader rates these dishes. Think about it, over 70 points is already very delicious, so how delicious must 80 and 90-point food be?”

“I suspect the uploader’s profession is a food tester, or a side account of a famous food critic. Otherwise, how could she find so many hidden gems? I really hope she can develop more check-in locations.”

“More locations are useless if we keep missing out and just crave the food. Now I just hope the new menu at ‘Yawei Jiangnan(Elegant Taste of Jiangnan)’ launches soon, otherwise I have money but can’t buy food.”

“I just thought of something. We’ve come here several times and haven’t eaten. Could it be because we didn’t burn incense when we came? Passing the Daoist gate three times without bowing or anything…”

“Ah, it wouldn’t be that mystical, would it?”

“We’re in the realm of metaphysics, so maybe. Anyway, burning incense doesn’t cost money, let’s go burn some. Otherwise, it does seem quite impolite, like visiting someone’s home several times without greeting the host, and just going straight into their kitchen…”

“You’re right, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go bow.”