Gan Lan stood in front of the mirror, examining herself. Her pretty but originally sallow and emaciated face had gained a bit of a fair, rosy complexion. She also seemed to have grown a tiny bit taller, though it wasn’t very noticeable.
The doctor had said that only by consistently taking the Nutrition Potion for a month would there be obvious results. However, Gan Lan could only afford to buy one or two bottles a day. After all... she was still poor.
With a wail, she miserably packed her things and prepared to go to class.
It turned out she had forgotten it was the weekend—there wasn’t a single person in the classroom!
Since the weekend brought a larger crowd, she decided she might as well update her menu! Filtering through the recipes in her head, she made up her mind. She would make braised pork elbow and trotters! They were practically from the same part of the pig anyway.
She could leave the ingredient prep to the robots; all she needed to do was boil a good master stock.
A batch of master stock could be used for a long time. In fact, the older it got, the richer and more mellow it became. Just like the century-old master stocks back on Earth, the flavor was absolutely exquisite!
She selected a hundred whole front trotters and elbows. The elbows cost fifty Credit Points each, and the front trotters were fifteen. She planned to sell the elbows for a hundred Credit Points and the trotters for fifty!
It took her a long time to pick out the necessary braising spices, leaving her dizzy and bleary-eyed. Some of the traditional spices weren’t even available, so she had to find new ones with similar effects.
After placing her order and buying everything she needed, she started making the broth and boiling the master stock to braise the elbows and trotters. It smelled incredible!
The meat was tender, fall-off-the-bone, and perfectly seasoned. After gnawing through a large elbow and polishing off a trotter, Gan Lan let out a satisfied burp. This was her first truly fulfilling meal since arriving in this world.
She logged onto the school forum.
Come and have some barbecue!: [Setting up the stall at the usual spot in half an hour. Today, aside from mutton skewers and Choubei, there’s also a mysterious and delicious meat dish! First come, first served! See you soon!]
1st Floor: As expected of our treasure of a junior! I’m already here. I arrived two hours early, and yet I’m actually not the first one!!
2nd Floor: Sorry, upstairs, but I’ve been camping here since this morning. The first one is me, me!! Treasure junior, I’m finally going to meet you! Can’t wait!
...
Gan Lan stared at the long line in front of her stall, completely dumbfounded. She hadn’t expected her food to become this popular, let alone that its reputation had spread to the military academy next door.
She spotted several students in the neighboring academy’s uniform mixed into the queue.
Surprisingly, the very first person in line was a handsome, long-legged young man in a military uniform with a somewhat scholarly air. He was gazing at Gan Lan with a look of touched anticipation. It was a little... cute!
"Junior, I finally get to meet you! It wasn’t a waste for me to camp out here since early morning. I’m so happy! WAAAH~" Gao Haiyang was truly moved. He had skipped class and come here at the risk of being lectured by his academy instructors and having his captain complain to his mother. After all, they had morning training sessions on weekends! They didn’t get time off until the afternoon!
Gan Lan smiled and took out a plate. She lined it with lettuce leaves and placed a braised elbow—now sporting a shiny, reddish-brown glaze, its meat tender enough to fall off the bone—on top. On another plate, she arranged halved trotters with the same vibrant color and tender texture. Finally, she ladled a little extra braising sauce over both.
Gao Haiyang stared at the elbow and trotters, barely able to control his drool. It smelled too good! However, he managed to restrain himself. After all, he was at another school; he couldn’t afford to embarrass himself too much!
If someone snapped a picture of him drooling today and it unfortunately ended up on the forum, Gao Haiyang could already imagine the title: [SHOCKING! After crying his eyes out, Gao Haiyang has now started drooling in public! With pics for proof!]
"Junior, I want twenty elbows, twenty trotters, twenty Choubei, and a hundred mutton skewers!" Gao Haiyang looked at Gan Lan expectantly with his watery peach-blossom eyes.
"Um... senior, you’ll probably have to wait a while. I haven’t started grilling the Choubei or the mutton skewers yet. How about you eat an elbow and a trotter first, and I’ll have the robots pack up the rest for you?" Seeing that he was on the verge of drooling, Gan Lan made an amused suggestion.
"Sure, sure! I’ll listen to you!" Gao Haiyang happily took the plates holding the trotters and the elbow. He thought to himself that this junior wasn’t just a great cook; she was also incredibly gentle. She was a bit short, but that didn’t affect his favorable impression of her in the slightest!!
Gao Haiyang noticed that several people nearby were already sitting on small stools or squatting down, gnawing on elbows. He instantly felt a wave of regret! It was all because he talked too much. He had been first in line but wasn’t the first to eat! Still, chatting a bit more with the junior was nice!
Without bothering to stand on ceremony, he squatted to the side, pulled on a pair of plastic gloves, picked up an elbow, and started chomping! God! What was this flavor? It was way too delicious! It melted in his mouth, filling it with a rich, savory aroma. He loved it, he absolutely loved it! She really was their treasure of a junior! WAAAH, he was so moved! This was so tasty!
As he ate, he suddenly felt the sunlight above him being blocked. He looked up and stuttered, "C-Captain? Why are you here!?" Gao Haiyang’s hand trembled, and the elbow dropped back onto the plate with a jiggle.
Yan Yifei stared coldly at Gao Haiyang’s messy eating habits with a look of slight disgust. He didn’t say a word.
The people around them quickly recognized the tall, slender figure in the military uniform. With his exquisite features, classic phoenix eyes, and clear, noble aura, it was undoubtedly Yan Yifei.
"My god! I can’t believe Yan Yifei is actually here. I’m seeing the real Yan Yifei! He looks even better in person than in his photos!"
"If the one standing right now is the genius commander Yan Yifei, then the guy squatting and gnawing on an elbow couldn’t possibly be Gao Haiyang, could it!!?"
"To actually see two absolute legends today... What a flex! I can brag about this for the rest of my life!!"
"If I could also see Yan Yifei squatting down to gnaw on a pork elbow... well... that might shatter the illusion a bit! But even if he was gnawing on an elbow, he’d definitely still look handsome!"
...
Yan Yifei listened to the whispers around him. Some people had even stopped eating their elbows to sneak glances at him. He twitched his mouth, feeling a bit helpless. Next time he went out, he definitely needed to change his clothes, wear a mask, and put on a hat.
Gao Haiyang heard the chatter as well. He looked innocently at Yan Yifei and immediately stood up. "Captain, do you want to eat? This is seriously super delicious! I’ll get you a plate!" Without waiting to see Yan Yifei’s darkening expression, he walked over to the temperature-controlled box sitting on the table next to Gan Lan and took out a packed elbow and trotter.
He offered the plate to Yan Yifei with an ingratiating smile. "C-Captain, I still have a hundred mutton skewers and twenty Choubei that the junior hasn’t finished grilling yet. She asked me to wait a while... is that okay, Captain!?"
Yan Yifei scoffed coldly and took the plate. Inwardly, he breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, few people were discussing him anymore; their attention had been hijacked by the aroma of grilling meat. Great! He couldn’t even compete with barbecue now!
He calmly sat down on a small stool without any disdain. After all, the conditions during outdoor training missions were far worse. Eating in public by the side of the road for the very first time, Yan Yifei actually found the experience somewhat novel.
Looking at the people squatting or sitting around him, he took in the various aromas of food. The sound of chewing filled his ears. The atmosphere was brimming with the comforting warmth of everyday life, and it didn’t feel bad at all!
Holding the plate with both hands, he cast a sidelong glance at Gao Haiyang squatting next to him, who was rudely and ravenously gnawing on a trotter. It was truly an unbearable sight!
The surrounding crowd watched him with expressions ready for a good show, their gazes broadcasting a clear message for him to hurry up and eat, to start gnawing on it so they could watch! Yan Yifei’s lips curled up slightly. How could he possibly let them get their wish?