Holding the five million Credit Points distributed by the school, Gan Lan was so excited she was practically over the moon.
She finally had money! But how was she going to spend it all? To top it off, the school had featured her video on its homepage today. Each download cost one Credit Point, and all the revenue went straight to her.
Although a single tutorial video was only one Credit Point, the school had tens of millions of students. At least half of them would probably download it. Even if they didn’t, the Culinary Department alone had a million students. That meant a minimum income of several hundred thousand. From now on, she could just sit back and watch the money roll in!
Gan Lan chuckled as she stared at her account balance, envisioning her beautiful future.
However, she quickly regained her composure. While she no longer had to worry about food and tuition fees, she still had to run her stall. This was merely a tiny step toward her ultimate goal; she was still lightyears away from the sea of stars.
She also needed to prepare for the competition in a month. She had no idea what to prepare just yet, but she figured her instructors would guide her in upcoming classes.
Ever since seeing Wen Ningyue’s Live Streamer that day, Gan Lan had been itching to get her hands on one. However, the two hundred thousand price tag had instantly killed that desire. Things were different now! She had money! She was a little millionaire! Her confidence was practically bursting at the seams.
She would buy it! Right this instant! It was just two hundred thousand; she was rolling in cash now. She would also buy a whole box of Nutrition Potions! She was determined to grow a little taller.
Once she bought the Live Streamer, she could broadcast her barbecue stall and stream the entire cooking process step by step.
She decided to stream the recipe for one type of food every day. Of course, if people wanted to actually taste the finished product, they would just have to wait for her stall to open.
Gan Lan browsed the Star Network Ingredient Store. The ingredients were vast and varied. What new items should she introduce tomorrow? Barbecue meat was a must, so why not grilled chicken mid-wings? She also had the master stock. What should she braise? Braised chicken legs sounded good—why not just do a whole chicken!
Without further delay, she purchased the necessary ingredients and the seasonings for the grilled mid-wings. Since she already had the master stock for the chicken legs, there was no need to buy anything extra for those.
She then turned on her new Live Streamer and linked her account. TSK. She still needed to choose a streaming platform.
Why hadn’t she needed to do this last time? Oh, right. She had used Wen Ningyue’s Live Streamer before, so the setup was already done. She decided to go with the same platform Wen Ningyue used: the Happy Dreams streaming platform.
After changing her room name to [Huaxia Barbecue Stall], she posted the link on her school forum account.
System: [Come and have some barbecue! has started a live stream. Welcome to watch!]
Everyone following Gan Lan received the notification and eagerly clicked the link.
The screen showed Gan Lan sitting in the kitchen, fiddling with the Live Streamer Xiaomi. The Xiaomi bobbed around unsteadily until she finally adjusted it, allowing the viewers entering the room to clearly see her pale, pretty face.
I’m So Helpless: [It really is Junior Gan Lan! Are you streaming instead of opening the stall? Have you already started looking down on the stall’s income?]
I Love Barbecue!: [Watch how you speak, the guy above! Pay attention to your attitude when talking to my goddess! My goddess is finally streaming!]
Barbecue is Delicious!: [Even though I’m pleasantly surprised that Junior Gan Lan is streaming, the thought of her closing down the barbecue stall fills me with despair!]
Having just finished setting up, Gan Lan found the barrage of comments quite amusing. "Don’t worry, everyone. I started this stream to share my cooking process so more people can learn. It’s actually all very simple. Once you master it, you can eat it whenever you want. Isn’t that convenient? You won’t even have to wait in line at my stall anymore. And let’s be honest, the worst part is waiting in line and not even getting a bite!"
I Want to Eat Choubei: [That sounds nice and all, but I feel like Junior Gan Lan is a bit silly—silly and cute. Anyone with a recipe would hide it away like treasure. If you do this and everyone learns it, won’t your business get stolen?]
Love Eating Lamb Skewers: [The person above is right. As far as I know, the Food Street is already flooded with stalls selling grilled lamb skewers, Choubei, pork knuckles, trotters, and mud balls. They’ve even developed various ways to grill other meats using your spices and seasonings. So, Junior, I’m a little worried.]
Love Ugly Shellfish, Love Kale: [Don’t worry! Even if Junior Gan Lan makes her recipes and techniques public, there’s practically no one who can grill it better than she does! I personally tried them at the Food Street today!]
...
Gan Lan was quite moved by the comments. These people were genuinely looking out for her, afraid her business would be ruined. In truth, it was unnecessary. She was far more interested in seeing Huaxia’s culinary culture spread.
They could call her a saint if they wanted, but just like the countless delicacies back on Earth, the same ingredients cooked by different people would always yield completely different flavors.
Tilting her head, Gan Lan offered a warm smile to the screen. "Thank you for your concern. I’ve already considered all of this, but my original intention hasn’t changed. I hope to see delicious food spread throughout the entire Federation Star System so more people can enjoy it! Besides, I have absolute faith in my own craftsmanship. Don’t you guys have faith in me?"
Love Ugly Shellfish, Love Kale: [We do! Junior is the best! Anything Junior makes is guaranteed to be a masterpiece! I support you! Keep it up!]
Gan Lan was instantly amused by the username and the comment. She actually had fans now.
Looking at the viewers trickling into the stream, most were alumni who followed her, while a small fraction were probably from the First Military Academy.
There might have been newcomers too, but it was impossible for her to tell. The viewer count had already reached a million, and she hadn’t even done anything yet after streaming for just a few minutes. It truly was the heavily populated era of the future!
Gan Lan brought out a large tray of chicken mid-wings. "Today, we’re going to make grilled chicken mid-wings. First, we score the wings. Once that’s done, soak them in clean water for a while to draw out as much blood as possible. This makes the wings taste much better!"
She pushed the soaking wings to the side. "Alright, while they’re soaking, we’ll prep the seasonings and ingredients. Cut the scallions into sections, slice the ginger and garlic, and set them aside until the wings are ready."
"Let me introduce the seasonings we’ll be using shortly," Gan Lan continued. "Salt, sugar, soy sauce, cooking wine, chili paste, chili powder, cumin powder, chili oil, and my specially made barbecue sauce! I couldn’t find any on the Star Network, so I had to make it myself. It’s fine if you don’t have barbecue sauce; the previous seasonings alone will still make it taste amazing!"
Trotters Are So Good: [Oh my god, does it really need that many seasonings? It looks so, so hard. I’d rather just go wait in line.]
Pork Knuckles Are the Best: [After watching for a bit, I’ve decided to go line up tonight too. This is suffering for those of us with clumsy hands!]
Immortal Barbecue: [Junior’s explanation is way too detailed, isn’t it!? Are you planning to take on apprentices online?]
Seeing the mention of taking apprentices online, Gan Lan smiled mischievously. "Actually, calling it ’taking apprentices online’ isn’t a bad idea. If you learn my techniques, even without a formal apprenticeship ceremony, you can be considered half an apprentice of mine. So, I hope my half-apprentices do a good job and don’t embarrass their half-master!"
Meanwhile, inside the faculty office, the Dean sat in the seat of honor in Ye Lanyu’s workspace. Beside her sat Liang Cong, Liu Changyi, and three other instructors.
They were watching Gan Lan’s live stream. The entire office was dead silent.
Sitting off to the side, Liang Cong suddenly stood up and left the room to fetch a delivery. He had purchased all the necessary seasonings and ingredients, intending to follow Gan Lan’s instructions step by step.
"Dean, the items have arrived. Shall I start cooking now?" Liang Cong asked, his expression somewhat serious as he held the temperature-controlled box.
The old man—the Dean of the Culinary Department, Chu Yuanyi—kept his eyes glued to the stream. Without even turning his head, he waved his hand and said in a hoarse voice, "Begin."
Liang Cong frequently glanced up at the steps shown in Gan Lan’s stream as he worked.
He didn’t know if he would succeed. Just as Gan Lan had said in her stream, even with the exact same ingredients and seasonings, the flavors produced by different people would still vary.
The other instructors were discussing how the barbecue sauce Gan Lan mentioned was made, urging Ye Lanyu to go ask her.
However, Ye Lanyu refused, and the Dean also disapproved of the idea.
In fact, the old man issued a stern warning to the instructors. "If she wants to hand it over, she naturally will. If she doesn’t, we have no right to force her! Remember, nothing in this world is owed to you!"
Hearing this, the instructors instantly fell as silent as mice.