Gan Lan watched the retreating backs of Zhao Mengru’s little clique. She pondered the lackey’s parting words and that final, meaningful look. What kind of trump card was Zhao Mengru cooking up to make them so smug?
Whatever it was, she would cross that bridge when she came to it. Standing up, she thanked her lovely classmates.
The short-haired girl waved her hand. "We’re all classmates, so it’s only right to help. You don’t need to be so polite. However," she touched her hair and reminded Gan Lan, "you should also be careful. Zhao Mengru comes from a third-rate prominent family. She’s been pampered since childhood, so she’s arrogant, willful, and extremely vicious. You... just play it safe. If anything happens, you can come to me. I’ll help you however I can."
Gan Lan accepted her goodwill, nodding with a smile. "Don’t worry."
The instructor walked in. Gan Lan looked up and realized it was a teacher she had only seen three times before. Did they change instructors? She was a bit confused but remained quiet.
Liang Cong adjusted his glasses and swept his gaze over the students in the classroom, pausing on Gan Lan for two seconds. "Your previous instructor has some recent matters to attend to and was transferred to another school by the principal. From now on, I will be your teacher for the Edible Plants course."
So that was it. But it wasn’t just that, she thought. That previous teacher had shielded Zhao Mengru and helped her frame Gan Lan, making it impossible for him to stay at this school any longer. Gan Lan breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried about facing petty revenge and failing this course, so this was a great outcome.
After class, Gan Lan packed her things and prepared to head back. Just as she stepped out, the instructor stopped her at the door and asked her to come to his office.
Gan Lan had no choice but to put her things down and brace herself as she followed Mr. Liang. Not knowing what this was about, she probed, "Mr. Liang, may I ask why you’re looking for me?"
Liang Cong didn’t even turn his head. "My assignment to your class was arranged by the dean. The dean has high expectations for you and specifically asked me to supervise you." He pulled out his chair and sat down, gesturing for Gan Lan to make herself comfortable. Adjusting his glasses, he continued, "And I am here to check on your coursework. You can ask me if you have any questions."
Gan Lan didn’t seem to have any questions. She could basically solve everything on her own, as long as it didn’t involve ingredients she had never seen before.
Liang Cong observed her expression. "It looks like you don’t have any questions. That’s very good. During the competition, special edible plants or unique meat varieties might appear, or sometimes just ordinary ingredients." He organized the documents on his desk and handed them to Gan Lan. "These are materials on special categories. Take them back and study them carefully. If there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask me anytime."
Gan Lan took the documents and glanced over them. They were entirely filled with special ingredients she had never seen before. Grateful, she said, "Thank you, Mr. Liang. I’ll head back first then. Thanks for your trouble. Goodbye."
Back home, Gan Lan brewed herself a cup of tea. She sat leisurely on the sofa, flipping through the materials. They were full of futuristic ingredients and spices she had never encountered. Fortunately, she had an eidetic memory, so memorizing them wasn’t too difficult.
She had previously thought about writing down all the recipes in her head and handing them over to the school to promote. However, when she tried to transcribe them from memory, she discovered a strange restriction: she could easily write down recipes for dishes she had physically cooked in this era, but recipes she hadn’t made with her own hands were completely blocked. She had tried dictating them, posting them on forums, writing them on paper, and even reciting them silently, but nothing worked. It was as if some unseen force was stopping her.
She had to make them one by one before she could make the recipes public. Even if she had cooked them in her original world, she wasn’t allowed to write, recite, dictate, or type them out. Only the ones she had cooked in this world were permitted.
Gan Lan was confused. Why was this happening? Relying on her alone, even if she lived to be six hundred years old, she couldn’t possibly cover it all. Her original world’s culinary culture had thousands of years of heritage. Furthermore, she was only twenty-five; it was impossible for her to thoroughly understand thousands of years of culture from top to bottom.
Forget it, she wouldn’t dwell on it. Perhaps her arrival here was also fated by some unseen force. Gan Lan cherished this second life of hers. She would take it one step at a time; there was no need to rush. Besides, the people of the future were so smart. They would definitely be able to develop cooking methods that Huaxia had never possessed.
She closed the documents and rubbed her eyes, which felt a bit sore. The sky outside had already grown dark. She had read for four solid hours and still hadn’t finished, but she had benefited greatly.
Only now did Gan Lan deeply realize that this was the future. This was a world larger and vastly richer in species than her original one—a world where humanity had evolved. It was incredibly different from her original world. She could only catch glimpses of her past life through familiar ingredients and seasonings, which gave her some peace of mind.
Sighing, she put the documents away. She hadn’t opened her stall yet today, nor had she marinated the ingredients. She hurriedly took out the necessary ingredients and seasonings. Adjusting her mindset, she put on a warm, refreshing smile and turned on her livestream.
After a minute of waiting, viewers gradually trickled into the livestream channel. Gan Lan smiled and waved at them, saying gently, "Good evening, everyone. I had something come up at the last minute, so my stream is a bit late today. I apologize."
After speaking, she stopped looking at the bullet comments and looked down to introduce today’s ingredients, seasonings, and necessary tools one by one.
"Scrub the Big Crabs clean and prep them, then add the necessary seasonings to marinate for a while. Since it’s a bit late today, I’ve added a little extra seasoning to ensure the flavor seeps in properly, which means we can shorten the marinating time. Under normal circumstances, you’d marinate them for two hours. But because of our special situation today, marinating for about an hour will do."
Gan Lan mixed the crabs and seasonings evenly, then set them aside.
"Those of you who aren’t in a rush can marinate them for two hours or more. Alright, now let’s make another dish. This one also uses crabs as the main ingredient. The marinade is a little different, but they’re mostly the same.
"Next, we just have to wait. During this one-hour wait, we can make something else. I plan to make a simple version of Osmanthus Rice Cake."
Gan Lan took out the required ingredients. The main components were osmanthus flowers, rice noodles, and milk powder.
"The secondary ingredients are white sugar, milk, and yeast. You can go to the Star Network store to buy them right now. All of these are available and very cheap. I’ll wait for you for five minutes, and then we can start making it together!" Gan Lan prompted, glancing up at the bullet comments.
**I’m Too Stressed:** [Wait for me, Junior! Even though you say it’s simple every time, it’s still really hard for those of us with clumsy hands!]
**Retreat:** [I’ve already bought everything, Junior. Hehehehe, just waiting for you.]
**Sky Blue:** [I’ve bought mine too, Junior! I’m very good with my hands! Also, let me quietly tell you, the captain secretly bought them too. When I went to pick up my delivery just now, he also went out to pick his up. Hmph! A kitchen hazard like him! Does he even deserve to try?!]
Seeing Gao Haiyang’s comment, Gan Lan couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. "He’s in the livestream room too. You... had better watch your back!"
**Feiran:** [...]
"Alright, five minutes have passed. Those of you who are interested should have bought everything by now, so let’s start making it.
"First, wash the osmanthus flowers clean and soak them for fifteen minutes. Because I’m making a large batch, I’m soaking quite a bit. For those making portions for one or two people, just soak a little less—around twenty grams is enough.
"Take out a large bowl. I guess mine is more of a basin, haha! Use whatever you see fit, but don’t use a bowl that’s too small, or it will be inconvenient to stir later.
"Put in the main and secondary ingredients along with the soaked osmanthus, add the milk, and stir evenly. Cover it with a lid or plastic wrap and put it in the oven to ferment.
"Once it’s done fermenting, stir it evenly again, and then pour it into six-pointed star paper cups. Filling them to sixty percent is perfect. Then, put them back into the oven to ferment for a few more minutes.
"After that, put them into the steam oven and steam them for twenty minutes. Alright, next, we just wait."
**Sky Blue:** [Junior, I’m done! Sitting here waiting for my Osmanthus Rice Cake. I’m super excited! This is my first time making it!]
**Love Ugly Shellfish, Love Kale:** [Same here! I’m done! Looking forward to it...]
Seeing these five words, "Love Ugly Shellfish, Love Kale," Gan Lan felt slightly offended...