Gan Lan exited Number Fifteen’s tasting room. After sampling Number Fifteen’s entries, she felt her own ranking was a bit precarious. After all, she had completely finished Number Fifteen’s "Colorful Rice Porridge" and "Colorful Rice Crackers," and still wanted more.
As she continued eating the "Colorful Rice Crackers" and got used to their unique flavor, she found them quite enjoyable—almost addictive.
Having sized up Number Fifteen, Gan Lan moved on to Number Seven’s tasting room.
What met her eyes was a creation resembling a lotus flower. Six differently colored batches of rice, each mixed with various ingredients, had been steamed and shaped into petals, then assembled into a six-color lotus. The stamen was made of pale pink rice. It looked exquisite and beautiful.
Gan Lan tasted the petals one by one. The six colors corresponded to six flavors, including sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty.
It was incredibly creative. The other dish was also floral-themed, but it consisted of tiny flowers molded from various colored rice grains, each containing fillings. They had a unique taste and exceptionally high aesthetic appeal.
Gan Lan finally understood Number Seven as a competitor. It seemed they exclusively made floral creations. "Is it because we are currently on Banan Star that making floral creations earns extra points?" Gan Lan wondered.
She proceeded to check out the top ten entries one by one. Having gained some understanding of her competitors, she logged off the Star Network.
She was hungry. She hadn’t eaten breakfast yet. An hour had already passed, and there were still over two hours left until voting closed.
Gan Lan got out of bed to wash up, casting an envious glance at Gulu, who was already playing games on the sofa. She thought it would be nice to be a robot; they could stay energized without sleep and never feel hungry without eating.
The competition results were coming out today, meaning she had nothing else to do. Not wanting to sit idle, she decided to host a livestream and wait for the final voting rankings with her audience.
Before checking the rankings, she could make some delicious food—a three-delicacy seafood porridge paired with sunny-side-up potato pancakes. A perfect breakfast!
After purchasing the necessary ingredients, Gan Lan started her livestream.
Gulu, who had been playing games on the sofa, saw Gan Lan carrying the temperature-controlled box. He quickly put down his game console and leaned in. "What delicious food are you making?" he asked expectantly.
The green of the Qingtuan is really beautiful: [Host, you actually found another man behind my back? And such a unique one at that? I didn’t expect your taste to be so... distinctive~ If you like this type, I can be like that too T^T]
Immortal Barbecue: [My god, is that a man?! I can’t believe I’m seeing a man in my goddess’s livestream! If it weren’t for his flat chest, I really would have thought he was a girl. This guy is a bit of an eyesore...]
Princess Yan is the cutest: [Nonsense! Gulu is clearly the most handsome. Long, pastel pink curly hair, a handsome face, a loose green T-shirt, and long white pants to show off those long legs! So handsome and radiant. Gulu, you look really beautiful today ^^]
Feiran: [...]
"Good morning, everyone! That’s right, I’m streaming again. I just can’t bear to leave you all for even a day," Gan Lan said with a smile. She then introduced Gulu, who was standing beside her, to prevent any misunderstandings. "This is my new assistant robot. His name is Gulu."
Princess Yan is the cutest: [Gulu, Gulu, guess who I am!? You’re still as radiant as ever today!]
"I don’t even need to guess. It’s obviously the most elegant and beautiful Miss Xu Yashu~ Actually, I just scrolled through the chat history, and you’re the only one praising me like this~" Gulu cupped his hands over his heart, puckered his lips, and blew a loud kiss—SMACK—to the camera.
Livestream Audience: [...] Although he had a pretty face, they still broke out in goosebumps. What should they do about this sudden wave of nausea?
Gan Lan’s face darkened with exasperation. "Gulu, I’m going to start making breakfast. Please keep quiet or go play your games."
"I’ll go play games, then. See you next time, Miss Xu~" Gulu blew another kiss before drooping his shoulders and slowly shuffling back to the living room.
While chatting earlier, Gan Lan had already put the rice in to soak. Now, she began prepping the seafood.
As her fingers washed the shrimp and crabs, she explained, "Today, we’re making three-delicacy seafood porridge and sunny-side-up potato pancakes. The rice is already soaking, and right now I’m washing the shrimp and crab. The clams are also soaking and will be cleaned in a bit."
Gan Lan removed the shrimp heads and veins, then quickly peeled off the shells. She had specifically chosen smaller shrimp that could be eaten in a single bite.
For the crabs, she extracted the meat, setting aside the crab roe and tomalley to be used for a different dish next time.
She had given up expecting Gulu to help—he was far too lazy—but today’s meal was simple enough that she didn’t need him anyway.
Fiery Phoenix: [This looks so hearty. There’s actually meat today! I thought the host wouldn’t stream today since her voting rank temporarily dropped to second place, but she actually looks to be in great spirits.]
I was captivated by Number Nine: [I managed to catch Number Nine’s stream again, which means more good food! The sticky rice fruit dumplings and rice sponge cakes were so delicious~ I truly love them; they were beautiful and tasty. But my absolute favorite is Number Nine herself. Love you!]
Number Nine is my life: [Why am I only discovering you now?! I watched all your past videos. Your selflessness, kindness, and beauty really hit my heart. I’m going to be your fan for the rest of my life!]
She finished prepping all the necessary ingredients and set them aside. Next, she placed a clay pot on the stove, poured in an appropriate amount of water and the soaked rice, and let it simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
She peeled and julienned the potatoes, soaking the shreds in clean water to prevent oxidation. She then peeled and julienned the carrots, followed by the green peppers, making sure to remove the stems and seeds first.
Taking the potato shreds out of the water, she drained them and placed them in a clean bowl along with the carrots and green peppers. She sprinkled in an appropriate amount of salt, white pepper powder, and flour, then mixed everything evenly.
She poured oil into a flat pan. Once the oil was hot, she turned the heat down to low and swirled the pan to coat the bottom evenly. She placed a portion of the mixed shreds into the pan, shaping it into a nest with a small hole in the middle, and fried it until the shape set.
Carefully, she cracked an egg into the center hole of the vegetable nest. Once the egg set as well, she flipped it over and fried it until both sides were golden brown.
Sky Blue: [No wonder it’s called a sunny-side-up potato pancake! The egg in the middle really looks like the sun. It smells so good~ It must be delicious. My junior rarely repeats dishes. At least, I haven’t seen any duplicates in the livestream yet. This just proves what a genius my darling junior is!]
Feiran: [Of course my junior is the best ^^]
Hot Pot Balls: [My... junior?]
Blooming Beauty, Moonlit Grace: [I feel like I’ve stumbled upon another massive secret! Do I know too much? Shivering~]
Handsome Mingyu: [This sunny-side-up potato pancake looks incredible! And the aroma is so rich. I can’t take it anymore, my mouth is watering T^T]
Gan Lan removed the finished sunny-side-up potato pancake from the pan and continued frying the rest. In between, she stirred the porridge in the clay pot. The rice grains had already split halfway open, and the water level had decreased.
While frying the pancakes, she set up another pot, brought some water to a boil, and cooked the clams until their shells popped open before scooping them out.
Glancing at the potato pancakes that still needed to be flipped, she called out toward the living room, "Gulu, come over and help me with a small task! You can get first dibs on the cooked potato pancakes!"
Gulu’s fingers paused on his game console. Had he finally been reduced to washing vegetables?