Lying on her soft bed, Gan Lan let out a sigh of relief. Although she had robots to help her, which kept her from feeling physically exhausted, she was still mentally drained. However, thinking about the sheer number of people who supported and liked her, she felt that these hardships were nothing. Closing her eyes, she thought about tomorrow’s recipe, eventually drifting off to sleep.
It was another bright and sunny day. Mingyang Star truly lived up to its name; she hadn’t seen a single drop of rain in all the days she had been here. After washing up, she smoothed out her school uniform and headed to the classroom, full of energy. Her classmates were even friendlier today, repeatedly nodding at her in greeting. If only Zhao Mengru’s little clique wasn’t there to ruin the mood, it would have been perfect. As usual, Zhao Mengru furiously threw some harsh words at Gan Lan, let out a disdainful scoff, and swaggered away.
Gan Lan remained incredibly calm. However, she wondered why Zhao Mengru hadn’t unleashed her ultimate move yet, even though a whole day had passed. Had she failed to come up with a new scheme? Shaking her head, she decided to continue reading the information on special ingredients.
Gan Lan had already figured out today’s menu. Since she had made crab, how could she not make shrimp? Grilled shrimp, salt and pepper shrimp, and a pastry. She decided she would make some fruit juice too. Simple!
Once classes ended, Gan Lan hurried back to her dorm. She had a lot to do today and hadn’t even bought the necessary ingredients yet. She purchased all the required items and seasonings but got stuck trying to find mugwort. Since she planned to make Qingtuan, she decided to try her luck at a traditional herbal medicine shop, where she actually managed to find it!
Starting her stream, she greeted the viewers entering the channel. "Good afternoon, everyone! Today, I’ll be making four different items. The ingredients and seasonings are all right here." Gan Lan pointed at the items on the table. "If you want to cook along, you can go buy them now. I’ll give you five minutes. Once the time is up, I won’t wait any longer."
[Did You Eat Today]: Wow, it’s so rich today! Four kinds of food! Junior, are you a treasure? This is such a pleasant surprise.
[I Love BBQ]: They all look so delicious!
[Immortal Barbecue]: So... to the person above, you can just buy them and eat them directly now. No need for processing!
[My Life Is So Hard]: Is there going to be a raffle today too? I’m definitely going to be blessed by the God of Luck today!
Gan Lan chatted with the viewers in the stream while waiting for those buying ingredients. Hearing that more than half of them had no intention of cooking along, she felt a bit helpless. "Aren’t you going to buy the ingredients and give it a try? Today’s grilled shrimp is very simple! It’s a blessing for the clumsy-handed, trust me!"
Seeing Gan Lan speak with such certainty, the viewers in the stream hesitated.
[My Life Is So Hard]: Really? Very simple? Why do I find that hard to believe?
[Love Ugly Shellfish, Love Kale]: Usually, when she says it’s simple, it’s never actually simple!
[Big Crabs Are Delicious]: Hmm... why don’t we trust her one more time? I’m going to go buy them!
[Immortal Barbecue]: I’ve already bought them and come back. Let’s trust the goddess this once. I really am too kind!
Gan Lan was speechless. She wondered if that was how she truly came across. It really was simple!
Gan Lan took out the genuine giant shrimp. They were huge, weighing two hundred grams each! They would definitely be delicious when grilled, so she planned to make the simplest grilled shrimp.
"Wash the shrimp clean, butterfly the backs, and remove the digestive tract. Then add some ginger and cooking wine to remove the fishy smell, and finally, marinate them with salt." Placing the cleaned shrimp onto a separate plate, she continued, "Done! It’s just that simple. Do you believe me now?"
She handed the rest of the washing and butterflying over to the robots, planning to marinate them all together in a bit.
[Immortal Barbecue]: It looks simple now, but who knows what will happen later!
Gan Lan shook her head in silence and decided to ignore them.
"Next up is the salt and pepper shrimp. Just like before, wash them, butterfly them, remove the tract, and marinate them with the same seasonings.
"Set them aside to marinate first. Now, it’s time for dessert: Qingtuan. Boil the mugwort until it’s soft, scoop it out, and blend it into a fine mash. Add a pinch of sugar for flavor since mugwort can be slightly bitter.
"Place glutinous rice flour into a container, pour in the mugwort juice, and mix. Add a small amount of cooking oil, then knead the mixture by hand until it forms a dough. As long as it doesn’t stick to your hands, it’s ready.
"Knead it into balls, flatten them into small discs, and place the prepared red bean paste in the center. Seal the dough around the filling, wrap them in plastic wrap, and steam them. It’s that easy!"
Looking up, Gan Lan asked the viewers in the stream, "Have you finished making yours?"
[My Life Is So Hard]: Um... it’s not looking too good. [Image] [Image]
[Did You Eat Today]: Hahaha, what the heck did the person above make? This is cracking me up! The junior’s is green, but yours is dark gray! Hahaha!
[Immortal Barbecue]: The person above, post your creation! Let everyone see it!
[Did You Eat Today]: [Image]
[Sky Blue]: Hahaha, this is way too ugly! It’s green, alright, but why is it a dusty, grayish green? Did you not wash your hands?
Seeing the images posted in the chat, Gan Lan spoke in a tone laced with disappointed frustration. "Aren’t you all supposed to be geniuses? With step-by-step instructions, how could you still make it look like this!"
She was truly left speechless. She had thought her guidance was foolproof. She had assumed they were just inexperienced the first time around, but now, they had actually managed to butcher something as simple as Qingtuan! Fortunately, a few people posted images that looked similar to what she had made, otherwise, she would have exploded with anger! It was like a teacher lecturing tirelessly, explaining a concept over and over again, only to find that two-thirds of the class scored barely above zero. How could anyone not be mad?
Gan Lan gave up and decided to let it go. Those who genuinely wanted to learn could always rewatch the stream’s recording. That was at least a small comfort.
[My Life Is So Hard]: Ms. Gan Lan’s expression doesn’t look too good...
[Love Ugly Shellfish, Love Kale]: Duh! If I had a bunch of students this dense, I’d be mad too!
[Immortal Barbecue]: Put like that, it makes sense. But I really did follow her step-by-step instructions. It’s just that...
[Sky Blue]: Junior, look at what I made! [Image] Don’t be upset, give us a smile!
[Feiran]: ...Is it so bad being alive?
[Immortal Barbecue]: Hahahaha, this is so well done! It’s incredibly lifelike! The big boss actually looks pretty good bald, hahaha.
[My Life Is So Hard]: Someone’s done for. A moment of silence for him.
[Blooming Beauty, Moonlit Grace]: A moment of silence for him.
[Binbin]: A moment of silence for him.
...
Gan Lan glanced at the image Gao Haiyang had posted. Her slightly depressed expression instantly blossomed into a radiant smile. The picture showed a Qingtuan molded into the shape of Yan Yifei’s head. Black threads were used for the hair on the sides, leaving a glaring bald spot right in the middle, and it even had lipstick on!
She looked at the screen with sympathetic eyes, wondering why this guy was so hellbent on courting death. Was living not good enough for him? Following the chat’s lead, she also said, "A moment of silence for him."
Clapping her hands together, she announced, "Alright, next, let’s juice some oranges. Peel them, remove the pulp and seeds, and cut them into small pieces before tossing them into the juicer. If you like it very sweet, you can add sugar. If you prefer the natural taste, you don’t need to add anything. You can also throw in a few ice cubes."
Gan Lan poured herself a glass of orange juice, added two ice cubes, and took a sip. Her eyes crinkled in delight. It was so delicious! The oranges in this era tasted unbelievably good, bursting with rich, fruity flavor.
[Retreat]: I did it! I successfully made it! It’s so good!
[My Life Is So Hard]: I did it too! *Sob*, drinking something you made yourself is just too blissful, isn’t it?
[Sky Blue]: If you can’t even make something this simple, wouldn’t you just be an idiot!?
Yan Yifei was left speechless. He silently admitted that he was indeed that idiot. Looking over at his own creation, the color was perfect, but the taste... Was he cursed? He immediately ran next door and pinned Gao Haiyang down for a good beating, finally venting his frustration!