"Alright, alright, everyone, please stop. Just tip what you can afford," Gan Lan announced, her voice full of pride. "I’ve received all of your support, and you all have a share in the future Huaxia Cuisine Star!"
"The soy milk is freshly pressed. Just add the right amount of sugar, and it’s ready to drink. Pair it with the fully cooked sticky rice chicken, and this is what a happy life looks like!" She unwrapped the lotus leaves covering the sticky rice chicken.
The unique, delicate fragrance of sticky rice immediately wafted out. Taking a spoon, she scooped away the rice, revealing the Zhenzhen Chicken wrapped in the center. The aroma instantly grew richer and more intense.
Gan Lan scooped up a spoonful of sticky rice mixed with the savory chicken filling and popped it into her mouth. The robust flavor of the chicken, paired with the lotus-infused rice, instantly filled her palate. She narrowed her eyes in pure satisfaction.
Surprised Beggar Chicken: [Ah, this familiar taste of Zhenzhen Chicken, it’s been so long! The sticky rice is soft and glutinous, and the chicken is fresh and tender. It smells amazing!]
Braised Chicken Legs Are the Highlight: [I absolutely love chicken! I used to think chicken could only be stir-fried or steamed and dipped in soy sauce. But ever since I met my junior, I suddenly discovered that chicken can be even more delicious!]
The Silk Tree Blossoms Have Bloomed: [There’s so much good food today! Ever since I found this streamer, I abandoned Huanhuan. Now, I camp here every day waiting for the stream to start. Sob, sob, what should I do? I want the streamer to keep streaming like this forever! Also, the shrimp dumplings completely captured my heart!]
After drinking a cup of soy milk and finishing a sticky rice chicken—on top of the shrimp dumplings and shumai she had earlier—Gan Lan felt quite full.
"I think I forgot something—the BBQ pork buns haven’t been steamed yet! This is our final dish for today." Gan Lan opened the steamer basket containing the buns. She had been worried they might spoil from over-fermenting. Fortunately, while they had puffed up a bit larger than expected, it shouldn’t affect their texture. They just needed to be steamed over high heat until the water boiled, then simmered over low heat for about twenty minutes.
Seeing her two apprentices and the five robots running around in circles at her command, she felt a pang of guilt and told the apprentices to sit down and rest. She prepared a plate for each of them, piling on shrimp dumplings, egg tarts, shumai, and sticky rice chicken. She also poured them two cups of soy milk, urging them to eat dinner first before they finished wrapping the rest of the sticky rice chicken and BBQ pork buns. Naturally, she took over their stations and continued wrapping the buns and chicken herself.
Blooming Beauty, Moonlit Grace: [Whimper~ I’m so jealous. Our junior’s two apprentices get to eat so many delicious things, while we can only eat data. I want to cry.]
Not Coming Tomorrow: [I’m not just sour, I’m downright envious! My face is completely twisted! Not even food data can save someone as distorted by jealousy as me!]
Feiran: [Junior, I’m so hungry. Look at me T.T]
Sky Blue: [Junior, the Captain has completely thrown away his dignity! He’s actually pretending to be pitiful over here!]
Hot Pot Balls: [Shocking! The Captain actually busted out the same trick he used on his kindergarten teacher back in the day! Captain, you’ve grown up! You’re no longer the little princess you used to be!]
Yan Yifei was actually acting cute and playing the pity card! Gan Lan shuddered in shock. She hadn’t fallen for his honey-trap before, but now that he was acting all adorable and pitiful, she wondered if she should do him a favor.
Her hands paused mid-wrap. Acting as if nothing had happened, she said, "Then let’s test your hand speed now. I’ll put up the shrimp dumplings, shumai, sticky rice chicken, egg tarts, and soy milk. The rest is up to you!"
Immortal Barbecue: [Me?? Are you guys even human? It’s only been one minute, and you’ve already snatched up thousands of portions?!]
Binbin: [I can’t live like this! These people are way too much, too much! I didn’t manage to grab a single one!]
Sky Blue: [Hehe, when it comes to hand speed, yours truly has never feared anyone! I snagged everything! I’m so happy, this is fantastic.]
Feiran: [I managed to grab them too. Looking forward to the real things ^^]
Hot Pot Balls: [Uh, Captain, I’ve noticed you’ve been acting weird these past few days. You’re actually acting cute? You’re a 1.9-meter-tall hulking man now. Your childhood skills don’t really work anymore, do they?]
Feiran: [Do you have a death wish?]
"Our final dish for today is finally fully cooked," Gan Lan hastily changed the subject, walking over to the BBQ pork buns that were already exuding a mouth-watering aroma.
The moment she lifted the lid, a wave of hot steam rushed against her face, bringing with it the signature scent of the BBQ pork buns. Gan Lan felt a surge of energy. Cheng Haozhen kept sneaking glances at the steamer, while Su Wanying was slightly more reserved—though Gan Lan still caught her secretly swallowing her saliva.
Inside the steamer sat rows of neat, plump, and white buns. Their tops split open like blooming flowers. Although simple and white, they looked exquisitely appealing and smelled divine.
Gan Lan swapped in a new batch of twice-fermented BBQ pork buns, added some water, and continued steaming. Carrying a steaming basket of the cooked buns, she headed over to the table outside and called her two apprentices over to eat.
After letting them cool slightly, she picked up one of the soft, fluffy buns with her bare hands and took a bite. Cheng Haozhen, who couldn’t wait any longer, had actually beaten her to it, taking a massive bite and chewing with an expression of pure bliss.
"Master Gan Lan, how did you come up with so many different recipes? Every single one of them is so delicious!" Su Wanying asked softly, taking a bite of the fluffy bun.
"You’ll both be able to do this in the future, too!" Gan Lan said with a beaming smile. "I’ll teach you well. If you have any questions, you can always ask me, and I’ll explain everything in detail." She directed her words to Su Wanying, glancing at Cheng Haozhen, whose ears were pricked up even as his mouth kept moving.
The green of the Qingtuan is really beautiful: [Even though they both have ’bun’ in their name like the soup dumplings, the flavors are so drastically different! I love them both so much! I’m practically dying of cravings! Gan Lan’s two apprentices look so happy eating them! I’m so envious. I’ll just lower my head and silently eat my data with tears in my eyes.]
One Roast Shrimp Per Bite: [Holy crap! The taste of this BBQ pork bun paired with soy milk is truly, truly intoxicating! The rich bean flavor mixed with the soft and delicious bun is absolutely unparalleled!]
BBQ Flavored Nutrient Fluid: [The nutrient fluid in my mouth suddenly lost all its appeal. No, I have to give it my all this time! I’m going to unleash forty years of singlehood hand speed!]
Old Grandpa: [What? You think forty years is enough to win? I’m three hundred years old this year, and even my three hundred years of singlehood hand speed couldn’t win! Such a naive youth!]
Retreat: [Uh, I thought the majority of the streamer’s audience were students. Now I find out there are three-hundred-year-old old men here!]
Have You Eaten Today: [Three hundred years old is only considered middle-aged, okay? You’re not an old man until you’re around five hundred. The streamer’s channel is actually quite popular among middle-aged and elderly people; they just don’t like posting comments. Haven’t you noticed that dozens of the people sending major gifts to Gan Lan have Star Network accounts registered for three to five hundred years?]
Seeing the topic being discussed in the chat, Gan Lan checked the profiles herself. She discovered that among the viewers gifting her Cosmic Starships, there were indeed over a dozen regulars who never spoke but frequently showered her with gifts.
Looking at their profile ages, she saw many ranging from two hundred to over four hundred years old. As she scrolled through, she was shocked to see that a twelve-year-old kid had actually gifted her two Cosmic Starships! She hurriedly asked the moderators to look into the situation.
"I’m putting the BBQ pork buns on the virtual shelves now! Good luck, everyone!" Gan Lan raised her fist, offering some encouragement to the viewers in her stream.