Gan Lan took out the two plates of marinated Big Crabs with different flavors and said to the audience in the livestream room, "Cut all these Big Crabs in half. For the ones to be grilled, coat the cut sections with dry starch to seal them. For the Spicy Fried Crabs we’ll make later, coat the cuts with flour."
With the help of five robots—yes, five! Gan Lan was now a multimillionaire, so she could leave all the tedious tasks to the robots. As long as she set the program for the amount of ingredients per crab, everything would be a breeze.
"Wrap the Big Crabs that will be charcoal-grilled later in tin foil. After this, we’ll head out to set up the stall together. Remember to prepare plenty of cooking oil; we’ll need it later."
Immortal Barbecue: [Junior, did you forget that you also made Osmanthus Rice Cakes? How could you forget!]
Seeing this comment, Gan Lan clapped her hands in slight frustration. "I almost forgot! The Osmanthus Rice Cakes are done baking. Let’s go see the finished product. You guys should check yours too and see if they taste similar to mine."
Opening the oven, the fragrance of osmanthus wafted out. Gan Lan couldn’t help but take a deep breath. "Looks like it’s a success. The osmanthus aroma is rich, and there’s a hint of sweetness in the air."
She carefully took out the Osmanthus Rice Cakes with tongs. "Come on, let’s taste them together. These Osmanthus Rice Cakes look so pretty; they must be delicious!" Gan Lan began to boast.
Sky Blue: [Ah! Why are the ones I made a bit blackened?! We obviously used the exact same ingredients, methods, and time! This makes no scientific sense! They are bitter with a hint of sweetness. I’m crying.]
Feiran: [Because you’re stupid!]
I’m So Stressed: [Why can’t I achieve the same texture as Junior either? Mine are so sweet they’re bitter, and they’re ugly.]
Gan Lan noticed that the comments were full of failure stories, with only a few occasional ones claiming the taste wasn’t bad. She was somewhat puzzled. It seemed impossible. People of the future were clearly highly intelligent with excellent memories. Why was it that out of so many people making it together, only a few dozen succeeded? It didn’t make scientific sense.
Unable to figure it out, Gan Lan shook her head. "Try a few more times. It’s perfectly normal not to succeed on the first try. Now, let’s taste mine."
Gan Lan tore open the paper cup, revealing the soft, milky-white rice cake speckled with osmanthus flowers. Full of anticipation, she took a bite.
I’m So Stressed: [Soft and sweet, it’s so delicious! I never liked sweets before, but that must have been because I hadn’t met my true love!]
Sky Blue: [This is way too delicious! Junior, you’re amazing! Can you do magic?]
Retreat: [So are our hands just too clumsy? I don’t believe it. My mentor clearly praised me, saying I’d definitely be a manufacturing master in the future. Was he actually lying to me?]
Sky Blue: [Upstairs, I used to have the exact same thought as you. Could a future manufacturing master like me be defeated by a mere little dish?! Well... I was defeated... T.T This is truly a sad fact.]
Meanwhile, inside a villa dormitory at the First Military Academy on Mingyang Star, Yan Yifei looked at his finished product, his expression darkening. It was completely impossible to tell what the original ingredients had been. Inside the paper cup was just a blackened mush. He felt immensely depressed.
Sighing, he realized he truly wasn’t suited for making food. He might as well go line up. Grabbing his jacket, he headed out the door.
As soon as he stepped out of his room, he spotted a sneaky, cowering figure next door. Upon a closer look, who else could it be but Gao Haiyang?
Yan Yifei covered his mouth and coughed, reminding the cowering figure that someone was there.
Hearing the sound, Gao Haiyang jumped in fright. When he saw that it was his captain who had made the noise, he hurriedly ran over to Yan Yifei and tried to grab his arm, but Yan Yifei dodged him.
Gao Haiyang didn’t mind and said flatteringly, "Captain, are you heading next door? Can you give me a ride? You know Old Zheng is keeping a tight watch on me right now, and I can’t get out. Please, Captain! What was said in the livestream room was from my classmate; it has nothing to do with me! Captain, give me a ride, give me a ride, give me a ride!"
Yan Yifei didn’t want to, but if this nuisance kept pestering him, there would likely be nothing left by the time he reached the barbecue stall. If he had known, he would have just left quietly. Why did he have to make a sound! With a slightly dark expression, he had no choice but to take out his Flying Car and head toward the neighboring school.
The Food Street was even livelier at night. Laughter and cheerful shouts could be heard everywhere, and the aroma of food permeated the entire street.
Many people were already lining up in front of the stall. Gan Lan methodically took out her tools.
"Junior! Bring out the Osmanthus Rice Cakes to sell first so we can satisfy our cravings." Wu Mingyu was once again first in line. How did this guy have so much free time?
After starting the fire, Gan Lan placed the tin-foil-wrapped Big Crabs on the grill to roast slowly. Hearing his words, she took a moment to look up at Wu Mingyu. With a smile in her eyes, she said slowly, "I didn’t make many Osmanthus Rice Cakes, so they are limited. One per person!"
"Junior, one isn’t even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth! How about two?" Wu Mingyu held up two fingers, sounding a bit uncertain.
"Yeah, yeah! Goddess, I’ve been squatting by your stall watching ever since you started your livestream. My head is covered in mosquito bites! Have pity on us and make the limit two?"
"Where did mosquitoes come from? If you’re going to lie, at least be realistic. When I got here earlier, you were happily scarfing down skewers of grilled meat one after another!" a muttering voice came from behind.
The youth turned around and saw it was an acquaintance. He immediately raised his arm and threw an elbow at him, and the two began fighting right then and there.
Gan Lan was speechless. Teenagers were truly full of energy. It was great to be young. However, she still wasn’t moved by the youth’s energy. She ruthlessly maintained the limit of one per person!
The crowd was rendered speechless. So they had put on an act for nothing? They could only silently accept it. Who could they blame but their own clumsy hands? They all sighed in unison.
Seeing that even their sighs were so synchronized, Gan Lan found it somewhat amusing. She waved a hand to have a robot help flip the Big Crabs on the grill, then said, "While these are still roasting, let’s make something that cooks quickly first."
The people in the livestream room were also clamoring like starving chicks, urging Gan Lan to hurry up.
She brought out a wok, turned the heat to high, and waited for the oil to bubble slightly before pouring in the marinated Big Crabs. SIZZLE! They began to fry, and soon, a mouthwatering aroma permeated the air. Once the Big Crabs turned golden yellow, she scooped them straight out. Fried Big Crabs didn’t need to be double-fried, otherwise, the meat would become tough.
"This smell! Isn’t it too fragrant? It smells even better than the lamb skewers!" Wu Mingyu was the closest, so the aroma he smelled was the richest. He took a deep sniff. "Are they ready, Junior? Give me ten of them!"
"Give me ten too! I’m about to faint from this fragrance; I need to be saved by crabs!"
The people in line shouted to Gan Lan one after another.
Meanwhile, comments were flooding the livestream room like crazy.
Have You Eaten Today?: [Sob sob sob~ I’m so jealous of you guys. I want to eat it too! Eating digital data just isn’t satisfying enough!]
Immortal Barbecue: [Why did I follow my mentor to another planet to collect materials? If I had known, I wouldn’t have come! I missed out! Sob~]
At this moment, Yan Yifei and Gao Haiyang finally arrived at the Food Street. Yan Yifei looked at the long line and breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had the foresight to ask someone else to line up for him; otherwise, he definitely wouldn’t have gotten to eat anything.