Making glutinous rice flour and regular rice flour (often used for rice noodles) is actually quite simple, but without high-tech appliances, it takes quite a long time.
Gan Lan poured out the glutinous rice that had been softened by soaking in a high-tech machine for half an hour, drained it, and spread it out. Then, she covered it with black-tech absorbent paper to draw out all the remaining moisture.
Next, she tossed it into the food processor, blending it into a fine powder. She sifted it directly onto another sheet of black-tech absorbent paper, spread it out, and waited a few minutes.
The process for the regular rice flour was identical to that of the glutinous rice flour. Once both flours were ready, the rest of the steps would be simple, though nearly an hour had already passed.
The cooked rice had already cooled down. Gan Lan added white sugar, water, the cooked rice, and the regular rice flour into the black-tech high-speed blender, pulsing it until it formed a smooth, silky batter. She then tossed in an appropriate amount of yeast and stirred it evenly. She poured the mixture into a clean container and sealed it tightly to allow it to rapidly ferment until it doubled in size.
Setting it aside for now, she wasn’t in a rush to proceed with it; the fermentation time wasn’t quite long enough yet.
She prepared eight clean containers and poured an appropriate amount of glutinous rice flour into each. Using a black-tech device, she slightly heated the freshly squeezed fruit juices, careful not to ruin their delicate flavor profile. Then, she poured the various colored fruit juices into the containers, stirring and kneading them into doughs before covering them with plastic wrap to rest for about ten minutes.
Gan Lan checked the time. There were fifty minutes left. It was enough, though it seemed the full two hours would be used right down to the wire.
She decided to speed up. Taking the fermented rice batter, she stirred it evenly to deflate the air bubbles, then poured the batter into exquisite, specially made paper cups, filling them to about ninety percent capacity. Gan Lan had made a bit too much batter—enough for sixteen cups in total. But whatever, she had worked so hard, so making extra meant she could eat one later. She sprinkled the tops with a type of dried fruit unique to this era; it tasted somewhat like cranberries but had a brighter, more radiant red color.
She placed them in a steamer over cold water. Since time was running short, she had to rely on black-tech appliances again. What would normally take half an hour to steam now only required fifteen minutes.
Next, she began assembling the tangyuan. She started with the Golden Liquid Fruit flavor. The bright, golden-yellow dough looked exceptionally beautiful. She pinched off a small piece of dough, rolled it into a ball, and pressed a small dimple into it with her pinky finger. After filling the dimple with the filling, she sealed the opening and rolled it back into a perfect little sphere.
Gan Lan’s hands moved with a blur of speed, finishing the wrapping in just ten minutes. She seemed to have made quite a large batch, her portion control slightly off, but the excess didn’t matter. The competition rules only required her to leave two portions for judging; the contestants could do whatever they wanted with the rest. She planned to boil them all later and take them back to share with her teachers or mail them to her friends.
The rice sponge cakes were almost done. Gan Lan could already smell their sweet aroma, though there wasn’t much time left on the clock. However, all that was left was to boil the tangyuan, and her work would be perfectly complete.
Once the water reached a rolling boil, she gently dropped the wrapped tangyuan into the pot, giving them a light stir to prevent them from sticking to the bottom. When all the tangyuan floated to the surface, she scooped them directly into a bowl, ensuring all eight flavors were present.
The eight colors—gold, red, pink, aquamarine, green, navy blue, purple, and orange—each represented a distinct flavor. Arranged in a white porcelain bowl, the dish looked vibrantly Banlan, a delightful feast for the eyes.
The rice sponge cakes were also finished steaming. Gan Lan walked over, turned off the heat, and lifted the lid, releasing an even richer aroma. She carefully took them out one by one with tongs, placing them onto a white porcelain plate nearby.
The paper cups were designed to look like two slender, dark green leaves wrapping around the white sponge cakes inside. The tops of the cakes had split open beautifully, resembling blooming flowers, and the cranberry-like dried fruit crowning them looked even redder and brighter after being steamed. The entire pastry looked just like a beautiful flower, delicate and gorgeous.
Gan Lan was incredibly satisfied with her finished creations. After an hour and fifty minutes of hard work, she was finally done! She immediately pressed the completion button, and the Isolation Shield lifted.
The arena broadcast announced: [Congratulations to Contestant Number Nine for successfully completing two ’rice’ themed delicacies! Total time: one hour, fifty-two minutes, and three seconds. The Star Network tasting function is now active. Voting will open in seven minutes and fifty-seven seconds and will remain open for 24 hours. Hurry and cast your vote for your favorite contestant!]
Hearing the broadcast, Liu Changyi, who was seated at the judging panel, heaved a sigh of relief. He had been genuinely terrified that Gan Lan would exceed the time limit; it had scared him half to death.
Judge Number 78 said, "Finally. I thought she was going to run out of time. Scared the life out of me! I have high hopes for Number Nine. It would have been a massive shame if she got eliminated just for going over the time limit."
Ma Wenzhou had also been keeping a close eye on Gan Lan. Contestant Number Nine had truly blown him away during the preliminaries, and it would have been a pity to see her knocked out now. Thank goodness.
Ma Wenzhou didn’t even want to use the Star Network for the digital tasting. He directly summoned his robotic assistant and ordered it to fetch a physical portion from Number Nine’s station. He wanted to taste it in person. He added that if there were plenty of leftovers, the robot should bring back a couple extra portions. After all, she had spent so long preparing it, so she must have made a sizable batch. He refused to be left frustrated like he was yesterday, when he had only managed to snag a few meager bites.
When the other judges heard him speak, they paused mid-motion, abandoning their plans to log into the Star Network. For some reason, they had an inexplicable faith in Gan Lan. They believed she had absolutely created another mind-blowing dish; it was quite a magical feeling.
Liu Changyi was one of the people who stopped in their tracks upon hearing Ma Wenzhou’s voice. Chuckling, he sauntered over to the seat right next to Ma Wenzhou. He wanted to secure a prime spot right away—maybe he could score a larger portion later. He wasn’t being gluttonous. Nope, not at all!
Meanwhile, the vast majority of the audience in the stands was there specifically for Gan Lan. A small fraction of them were her original fans who had come purely to support her. When the time limit had almost ticked down to zero and they still hadn’t heard their goddess’s number called, their palms had grown sweaty. Fortunately, the notification finally rang out with just seven minutes to spare. They erupted into cheers and scrambled into Gan Lan’s virtual tasting room, one after another, to sample the food.
Their goddess had finished last, meaning she was definitely the grand finale!
The Yan Xiang couple also let out a collective sigh of relief at the broadcast. They exchanged a glance before breaking into laughter. They had been genuinely worried that they had bet on the wrong horse, but it turned out she was just saving the best for last.
Moving in perfect sync, the husband and wife logged into Contestant Number Nine’s Star Network tasting room simultaneously. It wasn’t that they couldn’t acquire the physical food to eat, but they were here to observe Gan Lan in secret. They needed to evaluate whether she was worth the massive investment the open faction was pouring into her. So far, she seemed promising enough. But if she managed to clinch the championship, they wouldn’t say another word—they would immediately throw their full weight behind her.
Upon entering the live broadcast room, the couple was immediately greeted by a faint, refreshing fragrance. However, the actual food was completely obscured by a dense wall of scrolling comments. Left with no other choice, they disabled the chat barrage.
The dishes that finally appeared before their eyes could only be described as exquisitely beautiful. But were both of these really made out of rice? It was incredible! To think she could create such intricate variations out of mere rice. It really showed that young people dared to dream and dared to act.
Xiang Xincai’s eyes were instantly drawn to the colorful little spheres. The green leaf pastries on the side were strikingly beautiful as well, leaving her torn on which one to try first. Ultimately, she made up her mind to go with the glutinous rice fruit tangyuan, simply because she adored such vibrant colors.
Using a spoon, she scooped up a fiery red tangyuan and popped it directly into her mouth. The outer skin was soft and chewy, carrying a faint, milky aroma and a slight tartness. It was Flame Fruit; Xiang Xincai figured it out immediately.
As she bit into it, the uniquely sweet and fragrant filling burst into her mouth. It was sweet but not overwhelmingly cloying. The flavor was absolutely divine!
Next, she scooped up a purple tangyuan. Another bite, another burst of juice. The texture of this skin was completely different. It was like eating various fruits, yet the mouthfeel of each piece was entirely distinct.
This Contestant Number Nine was anything but simple. She wondered just how the girl had come up with all these ideas.