"Thank you all for today. I’ll invite you to eat tomorrow," Gan Lan said, adjusting her mood. While at it, she served bowls of Luosifen to the three big shots.
Despite the incident, people were still lining up. Gan Lan had originally wanted to close her stall, but the crowd stopped her.
"It’s fine, Junior. There are only a few dozen portions left. You might as well sell them out before leaving."
"Exactly! Besides, those guys only suffered superficial injuries. It’s not a big deal, so you don’t need to feel guilty about it."
"They probably want to thank you for giving them such a thrilling fight, even though most of them got beaten into the ground. HAHA, what should I do? Thinking about it now makes it feel kind of exhilarating."
Gan Lan was speechless. These people hadn’t been affected by the incident at all. They were discussing it with great enthusiasm, and some were even rubbing their palms together, eager for another fight.
She really couldn’t understand how they thought. In a situation like this, wouldn’t most people normally run away immediately? Or at least watch from a safe distance, and then go home once the show was over? Who would still have the mood to eat?
However, thanks to their lighthearted banter, Gan Lan’s mood began to improve.
The troublemakers had been taken away by the security department, who promised to inform her of the resolution later. Gan Lan felt a bit annoyed. The moment the incident occurred, she had immediately contacted security before even calling Professor Ye. Yet, they only showed up after everything was over. The people you needed most always arrived late.
"What are we eating tomorrow, Junior?" Gao Haiyang looked up and asked with a look of anticipation as he slurped his noodles.
The other two also looked up at Gan Lan, their eyes clearly saying they wanted to know too.
"I’ll treat everyone to hot pot tomorrow," she replied, not planning to keep it a secret. Besides, they had all had hot pot before.
"That’s great! The last time was incredibly satisfying!" Lu Ziyu excitedly said, wiping his mouth. "I was just wondering when we’d get to eat it again, and now the day has come so quickly!"
Hearing the answer, the corners of Yan Yifei’s mouth curled up into a smile. He realized that ever since he met Gan Lan, his picky eating habits had improved. He found everything she made delicious; he never got tired of it, and the aftertaste was always endless.
"What’s hot pot?" a young man sitting at another table asked Lu Ziyu after overhearing their conversation.
"Hot pot is just hot pot!" Gao Haiyang replied matter-of-factly.
The young man and the others slurping noodles rolled their eyes in unison. That answer was as good as nothing. He turned to Gan Lan. "Junior, what’s hot pot?"
"It’s... just a type of food. You’ll find out tomorrow. I can’t really explain it clearly right now," she answered.
A silver-haired senior girl chimed in. "Will everyone get a share tomorrow? What about us? We couldn’t squeeze into the fight earlier, but we were cheering from the sidelines!"
"Yes, yes, everyone will get some. You can eat it tomorrow after your classes end. Just wait for my announcement on the forum for the exact time," Gan Lan patiently answered while busy roasting snail meat.
Hearing this, the crowd gasped in unison. "If we eat like that, won’t we eat our junior into bankruptcy?!"
The viewers in the livestream room were also discussing this. Gan Lan had completely forgotten she was still broadcasting. It was truly her first time encountering a group brawl where she was the main character. In her panic, it had completely slipped her mind.
It’s Too Hard for Me: [I want to go too, but it’s too far away. BOOHOO.]
The green of the Qingtuan is really beautiful: [I want to go too. I’m going to buy a spaceship ticket right now. Streamer, can I go?]
Gan Lan was lost for words. She figured she really was going to go bankrupt tomorrow.
"Sure, everyone can come. Anyway, I’ll be using the Credit Points you tipped me to treat you all to a meal. It’s not a loss at all," she said casually.
Will Come Tomorrow: [Now that you mention it, that really seems to be the case! Treating us to a meal using our own Credit Points. HAHA.]
Immortal Barbecue: [So everyone, start spamming gifts! Let’s try not to let our junior go completely broke tomorrow. I’m still in the medical bay getting my wounds bandaged. That fight was so thrilling!]
Barbecue Bibimbap: [... Watching you guys get beaten up was pretty thrilling for us too, especially when you kept howling ’OW, OW!’ It was hilarious!]
Spicy Fried Crab is the Best: [It’s a pity Boss Yan and the others arrived so quickly. Otherwise, we could’ve watched a bunch of Mingzong guys trying to tag-team over fifty people, only to have not a single enemy fall while a pile of them laid there howling. The sight was too comical!]
Flower Pastry is True Love: [If the big shots hadn’t shown up soon, our junior would have cried miserably. Seeing her cry made my heart ache.]
Binbin: [Our physical strength is just a bit weak, that’s all. Even without those three from the military academy, we still could’ve protected our junior perfectly fine! Didn’t you see a few of the enemies get knocked down later? If you gave us a bit more time, we definitely would’ve knocked them all down! We were just getting warmed up!]
It’s Too Hard for Me: [Really? All I saw was you guys getting completely suppressed and beaten without any power to fight back! How tragic!]
Gan Lan watched as the topic drifted ten thousand miles off track, feeling somewhat helpless.
After closing her stall, Gan Lan called Professor Ye and mentioned that she wanted to borrow the Culinary Department’s Exchange Area square for tomorrow.
"Professor, would it be cheaper to buy ingredients from the school?" Gan Lan was afraid her Credit Points wouldn’t be enough. Even though her total funds, including livestream gifts, were approaching over a hundred million, it was better to be safe than sorry.
"You can. Just take whatever you need directly from the cafeteria and put it on your tab," Ye Lanyu said calmly.
"Thank you, Professor! Remember to come tomorrow! And please invite the dean, the principal, and the other teachers too."
"Yes, I will notify them. As for what happened today, I had originally gathered people and was on my way, but the principal stopped me. He said he wanted to temper the students’ spirit of unity. The school will deal with those troublemakers severely."
Hearing this explanation, Gan Lan was slightly taken aback. "Professor, I’m fine, but why would the principal do that? Isn’t he afraid that someone might actually get hurt or killed from something like this?"
"The principal said the students have been too undisciplined lately, so he wanted to use this opportunity to stimulate them. Actually, the security department personnel were already there when the fight broke out. However, the principal stopped them and told them to stay hidden while keeping an eye out to protect the students and prevent any casualties. So, you don’t need to worry."
It was Gan Lan’s first time hearing Ye Lanshi say so much. Out of her trust in the school, she accepted this explanation. Who knew what those leaders were thinking, anyway!
After hanging up the call, Gan Lan went to her class group chat to send out invitations.
Gan Lan: [I’m hosting a treat tomorrow. Can you guys come help out and learn a new dish while you’re at it?]
Liu Yingye: [I’ll go! I’ll help out! What time tomorrow?]
Lin Xiqian: [I’m going too!]
As soon as Gan Lan sent the message, the class group chat blew up. Everyone eagerly agreed to come help.
Gan Lan: [Then let’s do it tomorrow at noon. I remember our class doesn’t have any lessons tomorrow afternoon, right?]
Yu Youyou: [We don’t! We’ll definitely be there. We have no classes tomorrow on Friday afternoon, and the day after is the weekend. The timing is perfect!]
Gan Lan smiled as she read the replies. This was fantastic. With over a hundred people helping out tomorrow, preparing the soup base would be a breeze. Since they were all from the Culinary Department, making simple dishes would definitely be no problem for them.
However, a hundred people were still too few. She decided to ask the sophomore and upperclassman seniors from the Culinary Department to see if they had time to help her.
Gan Lan: [Senior, does your department have classes tomorrow afternoon?]
Sophomore Senior: [No, we don’t. What’s up? Are you okay?]
Gan Lan: [I’m fine, thank you for caring, Senior! In that case, can you come help me out tomorrow? You get to eat for free and learn a new dish for free. Are you interested? It would be best if you could call everyone in your grade over too. HEHE.]
Sophomore Senior: [I’ll ask around for you.]
Gan Lan systematically sent private messages to the junior and senior upperclassmen she knew, inviting them to come eat tomorrow, help out, and learn a new dish. When she received several affirmative replies, she beamed with joy. The allure of good food and new recipes was truly immeasurable!
With thousands or even ten thousand people helping, treating the entire school wouldn’t be a problem at all. She finally felt at ease.
The location, ingredients, and helpers were all sorted out!
The sight of the entire school eating hot pot together tomorrow would definitely be a beautiful one. Picturing the scene in her mind, Gan Lan burst into laughter. The gloominess that had plagued her all day was completely swept away.
All that remained was her anticipation for tomorrow.