The Unbreakable Vegetable 咬不斷的青菜

I dreamed I went to a Western-style buffet. Since there was a drill coming up, I wanted to quickly grab some food while I still had time.

I looked for a plate but couldn’t find one. I thought to myself, "I came here yesterday, and there were plates then!" I asked the staff, and they told me the plates were in a small cabinet below. I got a plate and started picking food.

I saw some mixed lotus root, which I love, but there wasn’t much left. Yesterday, I had taken a lot, so I felt a bit disappointed that I couldn’t enjoy it as much today.

As I continued to get food, someone noticed a plate of food sitting near the serving area and asked me if it was mine. I said, “No, look, my plate is still in my hands!” They said the plate had some of the mixed lotus root I loved and offered it to me. I replied that it probably belonged to someone who had taken it and forgotten to bring it along.

I kept getting my food. The restaurant was large, and after filling my plate, I found a seat and sat down to eat. Just then, my friend Vincent and his wife arrived. It seemed like Vincent had just gotten a promotion. He had bought lots of fried chicken, ice cream, boba, mung bean tofu pudding, and mung bean soup to treat everyone. I thought, "Wow! That’s quite a feast—it looks delicious! Is this to add to the buffet for everyone?" No wonder they came in later; I figured they must have gone to the kitchen to talk to the chef about what they were bringing, so the chef could prepare fewer dishes today.

They handed me a cup of chocolate chip ice cream and told me to eat it quickly. I took a few bites before going back to get more food. When I returned, the ice cream had started to melt, so I quickly finished it—it was so filling!

Vincent’s wife brought over a tray with cups of mung bean soup and mung bean tofu pudding. I thought, "It’s been so long since I’ve had tofu pudding," and grabbed a cup. This meal really was a treat.

My hands felt sticky, so I went to wash them. I saw a small corridor in the restaurant and remembered there was a faucet there. I went over, turned on the tap, and washed my hands in a small stone sink. I thought, "I need to close the faucet tightly to avoid water pooling."

After washing my hands, for some reason, I sat on the floor next to the sink with my plate of food and started eating. I picked up a piece of vegetable and tried to bite it, but it wouldn’t break. I pulled and tugged, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t bite through it. I thought, "Why is this vegetable so long? Why didn’t they cut it into smaller pieces?"

The piece was too big to swallow in one bite, and I struggled to tear it apart. Just then, my old middle school teacher, Mr. Xie, walked by and glanced at me. I thought, "How embarrassing!" A long piece of vegetable was hanging out of my mouth, and I looked like a starving person.

Mr. Xie chuckled as he walked past. I finally managed to finish that bite of vegetable, but then I realized, "Huh? Where’s my plate of food?" It was completely gone.

I returned to my seat, and Vincent and his wife reminded me to grab more food quickly since the drill was about to start. I could continue eating, but I wouldn’t be allowed to walk around to get more food.

I thought Vincent and his wife were really considerate. Not only did they want to treat everyone after his promotion, but they also coordinated with the chef to bring fried chicken and mung bean soup, so the buffet wouldn’t go to waste. It seemed like most of the buffet dishes were vegetarian, and their fried chicken was the only meat dish. The mung bean tofu pudding was especially unique—I hadn’t had it in such a long time, so I grabbed another cup, worried it might be gone later.

夢見我來到一間西式自助餐廳，因為待會要演習，所以現在要把握時間趕快夾菜。

我想找盤子，但找不到。心想我前一天有來，那時就有盤子啊！我問服務人員，他們告訴我在下方的小櫃子。我拿了盤子，開始夾菜。

我看到喜歡的什錦蓮藕，可是已經剩不多了。我前一天來的時候夾了很多，有點遺憾今天沒法吃過癮。

我繼續夾菜。有人看到供食區有一盤某人夾的菜放在那裡，跑來問我是不是我的。我說：「不是啊！你看我的這盤還在我手上啊！」他們說這盤有我愛吃的什錦蓮藕，要給我。我說這應該是有人夾好了放在那裡，可能忘記拿了。

我繼續夾我的菜。餐廳很大，夾完後我找個位置坐下來準備享用，朋友 Vincent 夫婦正好來到。好像 Vincent 剛升官，他買了很多炸雞、冰淇淋、粉圓，還有綠豆豆花跟綠豆湯，要請大家。我心想：「哇！很豐富耶！看來好好吃，是幫大家加菜嗎？」難怪他比較晚進來，我認為他們應該是有到廚房跟大廚講，他們今天會帶一些菜，讓大廚可以少做幾道菜。

他們給了我一杯碎巧克力冰淇淋，叫我趕快先吃。我吃了幾口再去夾菜，回來後看到冰淇淋有點融掉了，得要趕快吃掉，真飽！

Vincent 的老婆端來一盤上面都是一杯杯的綠豆湯跟綠豆豆花，我心想好久沒吃豆花了，拿了一杯，這餐真的很豐富。

我的手黏黏的，想去洗手。看到餐廳有個小走廊，我知道那裡有水龍頭。我過去打開水龍頭洗手。這裡有個石頭的小水槽，我心想水龍頭要關緊，免得積水。

洗完手後，不知道為什麼，我端著我那一盤菜，坐在水槽旁邊的地上吃了起來。我夾起一條青菜吃，「哇！怎麼咬不斷」，我一直拉扯，怎麼咬也咬不斷。心想「這青菜這麼長，怎麼不切小段？」

這一口太大口，我沒有辦法整口吞進去。我很用力的想扯斷這條青菜，偏偏又一直咬不斷。正在拉扯青菜時，剛好國中謝老師從旁邊經過，看了我一眼。我心想真是太糗了，我嘴巴上還掛著一大條的青菜，吃相實在很難看，根本像個餓鬼。

謝老師在笑。我好不容易終於把那一口青菜吃掉，「咦？我的那一盤午餐呢？怎麼都不見了？」

我回到座位，Vincent 夫婦提醒我要快點夾菜，因為待會要演習。可以繼續吃，但不能走動夾菜。

我覺得 Vincent 夫婦還蠻細心的。升官想請大家吃飯，又怕自助餐菜太多會浪費，跟大廚講好他們會帶炸雞和綠豆湯。感覺今天餐廳供菜都是素菜，只有他們帶來的炸雞是葷食。最特別的是綠豆豆花，我好久沒吃豆花了，趕快拿一杯，免得待會沒了。