Gan Lan filtered hundreds of ways to eat shrimp through her mind. Although those were cooked shrimp, and some were seasoned, she could still repurpose them.
Though the taste might differ slightly from dishes made with fresh shrimp, they would be just as delicious. Fresh shrimp were simply more succulent, which wasn’t a major issue for her right now.
"Of course you did nothing wrong. They are just paid trolls hired by Huang Xingyan, so you don’t need to take it to heart. If he can buy trolls, can’t our Mingzong afford them too? Besides, the public isn’t that stupid. They won’t be easily swayed by the trolls Huang Xingyan hired. Just treat it as him giving you another huge wave of free advertising," Chu Yuanyi said. He then turned on his Light Brain and sent a private message to someone.
"Exactly. Let them get curious about you, look up your information, and then dig through your past livestream videos..." Liang Cong trailed off. He looked at Gan Lan meaningfully and chuckled.
Gan Lan guessed Mr. Liang’s unspoken words and laughed as well. It was her first genuine smile of the day.
"Mr. Liang, now that you mention it, it really seems that way. I’m very confident in the food I create."
"That’s right. Everything has its pros and cons. Although it’s causing a huge uproar right now, it isn’t necessarily a terrible thing. Anyway, just don’t look at those abusive comments. What you can’t see can’t hurt you." Seeing Gan Lan smile, Liang Cong finally felt relieved.
"Then can I borrow the spaceship’s kitchen to livestream? I don’t want to hide just because of this incident. I want to livestream, and I want to turn the leftover shrimp into brand-new delicacies right in front of those people to shut them up. This whole thing started with shrimp, so let it end with shrimp." Gan Lan was brimming with fighting spirit.
"You may. Do whatever you want without any worries. Our Mingzong will always be your strongest backer!" Chu Yuanyi waved his hand grandly, in a great mood. This student, Gan Lan, truly had an excellent mindset.
He had already contacted the accompanying psychotherapist to come over, but it seemed there was no need anymore.
After seeing the two teachers off, Gan Lan began preparing the spices and secondary ingredients. The spaceship kitchen was fully stocked; at the very least, it had everything she currently needed.
Before starting the livestream, however, she opened the Foodie Group. Her friends were definitely worried about her, so she needed to let them know she was fine first.
[Foodie Group]
Feiran: [Gan Lan, are you okay? You’re not answering calls or replying to private messages. I’m really worried.]
Feiran: [I hired paid trolls and got people to make forum posts. The posts written for you have already been pushed to the trending searches by your fans and the trolls. Look, there are still so many people supporting you. Those who maliciously slander and attack you are just a temporary nuisance. In the future, they’ll be begging for forgiveness on their knees, adding the phrase, ’Goddess, I was wrong.’]
Handsome Mingyu: [Junior, I’m also very worried about you. Could you reply to a call or message? I’ve already taken revenge for you. I got someone to hack Ge Feng. Anyone with half a brain would know Ge Feng did this. If not him, it’s his mother, or else that master of his.]
Sky Blue: [Junior, reply to our messages! It’s obvious that either Ge Feng or Huang Xingyan did this. I investigated Huang Xingyan’s hidden records and found many suspicious points. Then I looked at the files of his other apprentices and found that they all seemed to have used this underhanded tactic. Their goal is to crush their opponents’ psychological defenses!]
Hot Pot Balls: [Did you need to spell that out? Couldn’t we check it ourselves? Junior, just send a message and let us know if you’re okay right now T^T. I went to get revenge for you. I hired someone to hack Huang Xingyan. That old geezer is incredibly sinister!]
Binbin: [Sister, even though I can’t afford a premium VIP account to make posts for you, Ning Yue and I pooled our money to hire paid trolls. Ning Yue is currently fighting hard on the Star Network. Oh... I also organized a group to beat up the Mingzong students who slandered you. They had quite a few people, but we had more! A perfect victory!]
Blooming Beauty, Moonlit Grace: [Beaten black and blue and limping, barely making it out alive—you call that a perfect victory!? Junior, hurry up and answer your calls! Are you trying to scare me to death??]
Come and have some barbecue!: [I’m doing very well right now. Those abusive comments can’t crush me. I’ve made you all worry and go to so much trouble for me again. I really don’t know how I can ever repay you.]
Feiran: [Glad you’re okay.]
Blooming Beauty, Moonlit Grace: [You’re finally willing to show up! I was worried to death! Who needs you to repay us? We did it willingly!]
Gan Lan scrolled through her friends’ comforting and caring words. For their sake, she had to pull herself together.
Turning on her livestream, Gan Lan put on a bright, refreshing smile. She greeted the viewers flooding into the channel with her daily question. "Good afternoon, everyone. Have you eaten today?"
No. 9 Stinky Fish and Rotten Shrimp: [Eaten? Heh, people from a poverty star really have no sense of shame. You can actually still eat at a time like this? Oh, I almost forgot—you still have a massive pile of leftover shrimp. It’s enough to feed you for quite a while, you shameless wretch!]
Gan Lan, What Are You Pretending For?: [If she had any sense of shame, she wouldn’t have done such a thing. Stop pretending. You’ve been completely exposed. Are you still trying to argue your way out of this?]
Gan Lan simply laughed off the foul language on the bullet screen. She stopped the system from muting the anti-fans and kicking them out of her livestream, as she had a few words to say.
"I don’t understand. Why is saving food—or even cherishing it—described as an unforgivable sin? It’s true that I come from a poverty star. Food is hard to come by for me, so I cherish every single portion. Is that wrong?
"As for the questions regarding my home planet and the gifts, I’ve already explained them. I don’t want to waste my breath on it anymore." Curling her lips into a smile, she continued, "Are you watching right now? Did you come to see if my mental state had collapsed? Sorry to disappoint you.
"If you wanted me to have a mental breakdown before the finals started, is this the extent of your abilities? It’s not nearly enough!" Gan Lan blinked mischievously.
"Let me state this one more time. Any account that has insulted me is banned from entering my livestream and downloading the Huaxia Cuisine Series videos. Furthermore, any account that has verbally abused or slandered me is prohibited from purchasing any goods I produce." Smiling, Gan Lan waved at the anti-fans. "Farewell forever, haters~"
Gan Lan couldn’t help but marvel at this era of advanced technology. Anything said on the Star Network would be permanently recorded by the Main Brain system.
All Gan Lan had to do was set a restriction requiring the system to screen anyone attempting to download her videos or enter her livestream. Not a single person who had insulted her would be able to escape the ban.
A person could only have one Star Network account in their lifetime, so starting over with a new account was impossible—unless they reincarnated.
They could forget about ever eating the food she cooked or the instant noodles she was about to sell for the rest of their lives. They didn’t even have the right to learn from the Huaxia Cuisine Series videos anymore!
This function was absolutely fantastic!
"The annoying flies have been shooed away. Today’s theme is all these leftover shrimp I packed and brought back. We’re going to have a mini all-shrimp feast today~" Gan Lan opened the temperature-controlled box and took out the shrimp, which had already been steamed, seasoned, or grilled. "You guys don’t mind that they’re leftovers, do you?"