"You’re actually eating all by yourself! And here I am working so hard to make these buns!" Gulu complained to Gan Lan impatiently, picking up a cookie and popping it into his mouth.
"Thanks for your hard work! Eat up~ We still have to make molten yolk buns later." Gan Lan poured more than half of the cookies into a transparent jar and handed it to Gulu. Honestly, Gulu was two or three times faster at wrapping buns than the robot assistants. He was just too useful. If she could bribe him with a few cookies, her life would be much easier from now on.
"You think you can make me slave away for you just for this little bit?! In your dreams!" Gulu lifted his chin, though his hands swiftly snatched the cookie jar Gan Lan offered.
Gan Lan chuckled, watching Gulu, whose actions completely betrayed his stubborn words.
"What are you laughing at! I just saw how clumsy these robots are. They wouldn’t even finish by nightfall!" Gulu hugged the cookie jar, speaking haughtily.
No. 9 is My Life: [These cookies taste even better cold! Super magical! No. 9, you... A thousand words can only be summed up in one sentence: I love you.]
Feiran: [She doesn’t love you.]
Hot Pot Balls: [...?]
Love Ugly Shellfish, Love Kale: [Junior, I’ve missed you so much while you were gone! I couldn’t sleep from missing you, and I even lost weight! These cookies are so good, they’re my true love!]
The Prodigal Surnamed Li: [Boss, I got dragged here by your two apprentices to do manual labor. Business has been bad lately, and I’m really broke enough to eat dirt. So, I wanted to ask, can I get a portion of the cookies?]
Seeing this comment, Gan Lan wondered who this person was. Checking the username, she thought for a moment and finally remembered. Wasn’t this Li Langbai, the guy who had helped her with the barbecue?
His words reminded her. Later, she would send a portion to him and her two apprentices. After all, pickling sauerkraut was physically demanding work.
"I know, I know. Thanks for the hard work!" Gan Lan opened the lid of the steamer holding the mushroom and pork buns. A rush of hot steam hit her face, revealing a batch of plump, white, steaming buns.
There were three tiers in total, all perfectly steamed. She swapped them out for a fresh batch of raw buns and continued steaming.
BBQ Pork Buns Are So Cute: [Seeing these chubby little white buns reminds me of my BBQ pork buns. I absolutely love buns! Especially when you take a bite right now—the wrapper is soft, and the filling is so fragrant and savory. They’re genuinely so delicious!]
Retreat: [They don’t smell as rich as the cookies, but when you take a big bite, your mouth is filled with a rich aroma. It’s truly low-key yet wonderful. Especially the outer skin—when you grab it, it’s so soft that it caves in. It feels incredibly good to the touch!]
I’m Here to Learn: [What are you talking about upstairs? Weren’t you praising the buns? Why the sudden dirty turn? I’m just a child!]
It’s Too Hard for Me: [Obviously, you’re the one with the dirty mind! Bro Retreat is describing how the buns feel, how especially soft they are. More importantly, are you really a child? A child actually caught the hidden meaning?! Don’t corrupt my goddess! She’s still young! Stop polluting her mind!]
...
Gan Lan’s hand holding the bun paused. She stealthily gave it a squeeze. The texture really was...
What was she thinking about? She vigorously shook her head and took a massive bite of the bun. A rich aroma dominated her entire mouth. Chewing the perfectly textured filling mixed with savory juices, Gan Lan wore a look of pure satisfaction.
As expected, she still preferred eating savory foods to fill her stomach. Gan Lan had also prepared soy milk. How could one eat steamed buns without soy milk? Eating a couple mouthfuls of buns and then taking a sip of soy milk—life was truly beautiful~
Fiery Phoenix: [The streamer made so much delicious food today! Are you doing a giveaway? A speed-clicking contest works too. I haven’t even had lunch yet. Although tasting the data is delicious, my stomach is protesting, saying it needs real food to be satisfied T^T]
Fire Phoenix: [Bring it on! Whether it’s a giveaway or a speed contest, I’ve never been afraid of anyone! I’ve already bathed, changed my clothes, and lit incense, just waiting for it to start.]
"I’ll do the giveaway a little later. The molten yolk buns aren’t done yet, and I haven’t made the Cucumber Lime Sparklers either. Don’t rush." After eating two buns and drinking a cup of soy milk, Gan Lan finally soothed her half-starved stomach and felt alive again.
Gan Lan stood up, washed her hands, and took the solidified molten yolk filling out of the refrigerator, setting it aside.
She kneaded the fermented dough a bit more, then cut it into small, even portions. She rolled them out into round wrappers—thick in the middle and thin at the edges—stuffed them with the filling, and sealed them, placing them seam-side down.
Wrapping molten yolk buns was much simpler than making mushroom and pork buns. With Gulu, whose hand speed rivaled three people, and the two robots, they quickly filled two steamer tiers. Gan Lan placed them in the steamer and started cooking.
Next, she moved on to making the Cucumber Lime Sparklers. The cucumbers of the future grew to an enormous size. Gan Lan had prepared quite a few. Since it was simple, she could make a lot. Although sparkling water would lose its fizz if left out for too long, she had a temperature-controlled box! So, that wasn’t an issue at all.
"This beverage is very simple. You guys can go buy the ingredients right now. I’ll wait for you for three minutes~" Gan Lan told the viewers in the livestream as she brought out several beautiful tall glass cups.
Sweet Grass Jelly Tian Tian: [I’ve bought everything! I’ll trust the streamer one more time. Although I’m still not confident, I don’t want to disappoint her. She’s specially waiting for us to buy the stuff. Sisters, hurry up and get moving! What if it actually succeeds~]
My Favorite Milk Tea: [Mhm! I bought mine too! I’m so looking forward to this. If I really succeed, I’ll be drinking the exact same beverage as the streamer. What should I do, I’m so excited!]
Immortal Barbecue: [Hmph! Every time you say it’s simple, I believe you and buy the ingredients. But I’ve never been able to make it right even once! Am I an idiot? Even my roommate, who is completely useless with his hands, managed to brew milk tea last time, while I... I burned the milk tea to a crisp T^T]
...
"Alright, time’s up. We’re going to start making it now. Trust me! This is even simpler than squeezing orange juice. You just need to add the ingredients in! It’s only to enhance its appearance and taste!" Gan Lan promised the audience in the livestream.
She used a knife to slice the washed, giant cucumber into long ribbons, ensuring they wouldn’t break when curled up and placed inside the cups later.
"If you guys don’t know how to slice them, just cut them into sticks. It won’t affect the taste, but it will affect the presentation." After slicing the long ribbons, Gan Lan began placing them into each cup. The long cucumber ribbons curled into a shape resembling vines winding around a branch.
After finishing this step, she filled one-third of the cups with ice cubes and slowly poured sparkling water down the sides. On top of the floating ice, she placed chunks of lime. Originally, Gan Lan had wanted to buy small limes, but many ingredients in this world had mutated to be several times larger than their original sizes. Therefore, Gan Lan picked relatively smaller ones to cut into chunks, then added the washed mint leaves.
A visually stunning cup of Cucumber Lime Sparkler was complete!
Gan Lan put a straw into the Cucumber Lime Sparkler and took a big gulp. It was so refreshingly cold!
The light fragrance of cucumber, the unique aroma of lime with a hint of tartness, combined with the cooling sensation of mint and the sweetness of the sparkling water—downing a big mouthful felt absolutely wonderful!