The Cafeteria

Shen Yu'an sometimes felt quite helpless; they wouldn't believe her even after she told them.

Soon, they all fell asleep, and when they woke up, they had already reached Black Wind Stronghold.

Madam Shen had just woken up when she found herself sitting in a chair. She quickly knelt down and kowtowed, saying:

"Your Majesty, spare me! I didn't mean to fall asleep; I don't know how I just drifted off."

Oh dear, where are my children? Where are these three kids? Were they eaten?

Waaaaah... Shen Yu'an, where the hell have you been? I told you not to come to the mountain stronghold, not to come to the mountain stronghold, and now look what's happened, my children have all been eaten.

You owe me my child! You owe me...

Zhou Wanwan held a pen, staring blankly at the lady.

The surrounding ministers all stopped what they were doing and watched her performance in silence.

Shen Yu'an coughed and said, "My wife is a little flustered. When we came, she thought we were all bandits."

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said, "Madam Shen, don't be afraid. We don't eat people here, and we certainly don't eat children."

Madam Shen looked at Zhou Wanwan and said:

"Are there still such young children on this mountain? Were you also brought up here by bandits?"

Oh dear, God have mercy, are the bandits good to you? Bah! How could I ask such a question? How many good people can there be among the bandits?

Zhou Wanwan burst into laughter, and Shen Yu'an blushed and said:

"I've told you there are no bandits, no bandits, why won't you believe me?"

This is the bandit leader; she's in charge of the entire stronghold.

Madam Shen was startled and stared blankly at Zhou Wanwan. Zhou Wanwan looked at her and said:

"Don't be afraid, the children have been taken over for dinner."

If you get hungry, you can also eat in the cafeteria.

Madam Shen was led into the cafeteria, but she didn't know what a cafeteria was.

When she saw the cafeteria, she was dumbfounded. As soon as she entered, she was greeted by a row of neat little windows with sparkling clean glass, and steaming hot air inside.

Someone led her to the window in the very center and said softly, "Madam, this is where you eat. Whatever you'd like to eat is written on this window!"

She looked up and saw that each window had a wooden sign hanging above it, with the words clearly written.

The outermost window displays the meal options: white rice with three side dishes and a soup, a balanced mix of meat and vegetables.

Next door is a duck blood and vermicelli soup restaurant. The soup is rich and flavorful, the vermicelli is smooth and tender, and it includes duck intestines, duck blood, and fried tofu.

There's also a noodle stall nearby, offering noodles, steamed buns, and dumplings in rotation, with a different option every day.

Further on are noodle and rice noodle soups, available in clear broth, braised, and hot and sour broths. The noodles are chewy and springy, making it a favorite spot for people in a hurry.

Madam Shen swallowed hard and asked, "Is this your canteen? Can everyone eat here?"

The person who brought her in nodded and said, "Not everyone can come to eat here..."

"Oh dear! I knew it! How could we possibly feed everyone in the mountain stronghold? How many people are there in your stronghold?"

The man replied, "More than 138,000 people..."

"Huh? Your mountain stronghold actually hides over a hundred thousand people? Oh my god, that's terrifying! Is it too late for me to get down the mountain now?"

The man laughed loudly:

"I'm afraid it's too late. Once you're in the stronghold, you're one of them."

Here, as long as you work every day, you'll receive a receipt, which you can use to get food.

The man served Madam Shen a bowl of duck blood and vermicelli soup. Madam Shen smelled it and said, "This vermicelli soup smells so good! Can vermicelli soup made with duck blood really taste good?"

The three children from the Shen Clan rushed over, nodded, and said, "Mom, the food here is delicious!"

I ate a bowl of porridge, a tea egg, and a steamed bun...

"I ate a big chicken leg and a bowl of wontons, and my stomach is still full!"

Madam Shen was starving and quickly finished the vermicelli soup. Only after she had drunk every last drop did she say with satisfaction, "Delicious! It's absolutely delicious! You call this duck blood vermicelli soup?"

"Yes, Madam Shen, I'll show you your courtyard."

Madam Shen smiled and said, "Your mountain stronghold even has a courtyard?"

Yes, there are.

Soon, Madam Shen saw her own courtyard, and she almost burst out laughing, "No, both of these large courtyards belong to our family?"

The butler nodded and said, "That's right, they're all yours. There are five rooms in one courtyard, which should be enough for your needs."

Madam Shen almost spun around:

"My God! How could your mountain stronghold be built so luxuriously and so grandly!"

It's much better than my house!

The butler smiled and said:

"You can stay here without worry. If you don't want to cook, you can just go to the cafeteria for meals."

If you'd like to cook at home, that's fine too; there's a small kitchen available here.

Madam Shen was overjoyed. "You can even grow flowers and grass here! This place is perfect. I've always wanted a flower garden like this."

The butler smiled slightly and said:

"Well, you've got what you wanted today. You came in a hurry today, so I'll take you to visit the mountain village again tomorrow."

Your luggage has arrived; please arrange it yourselves.

The clothes and blankets in the room are all new, made by our own factory, and we've already cleaned them for you."

Madam Shen looked at her and said, "Thank you for your trouble, young lady. You are from this mountain stronghold..."

The girl smiled and said:

"My name is Yinyue, and I am the housekeeper for these houses."

"Madam, please feel free to call me if you need anything. I live in the courtyard over there."

Madam Shen looked at her, blinked, and said, "Are all the housekeepers here women?"

Yinyue laughed and said, "That's right! Men have their own things to do. I was assigned here specifically to manage this place."

Madam Shen slipped her an ounce of silver and said, "Miss, thank you so much for today."

Yinyue quickly waved her hand and said, "Madam, we don't allow these things here. If we're discovered, Miss will be furious."

Madam Shen quickly shrank back and said, "So the rules in your mountain stronghold are quite strict, huh!"

Yinyue waved her hand and said:

"Actually, the rules in our mountain village aren't very strict, and there's even a special school in the village."

If your young master and young lady need to learn to read, they can go to the school.

Our school is free.

Madam Shen looked at her and said, "Oh? There are free schools too?"

"Yes, I'll take you to see it tomorrow. I'll be going now, you all get some rest." Yinyue said and left.

The eldest son of the Shen Clan said softly, "Mother, why do I feel like I'm dreaming? Is this Black Wind Mountain Stronghold?"

The second son of the Shen Clan also found it unbelievable:

"Aren't they saying people eat people here?"

It made me so nervous while I ate dinner, I was terrified that the bun contained human flesh.

The third son of the Shen Clan sighed and said, "Are they planning to fatten us up before killing us?"