Gan Lan washed the chicken wings one by one, added the seasonings, and mixed them evenly with her hands. She took a moment to promote her previous work as she set the wings aside.
"Now, we’ll start marinating. Because I’m making a large portion, don’t copy my exact measurements when you make this at home. Just add an appropriate amount of seasoning. You can taste it to check the saltiness. It needs to marinate for about half an hour to an hour. The most important thing is letting the flavors fully seep in.
"Next, let’s talk about the braised dishes. I already prepared the braising broth at the Culinary Department’s assembly square before. If you’re interested, you can download the video from the school’s homepage and take a look. The braising broth can be reused multiple times.
"That’s all for today. I’ll start the broadcast again tonight when I set up my stall so everyone can try the finished products, and then—"
Before she could finish her sentence, the screen suddenly exploded with visual effects. A screen full of miniature warships lined up in an orderly formation, looking incredibly stunning!
System Notification: [Broadcaster ’Come and have some barbecue!’ has received ten luxury warships from ’Feiran’!]
System Notification: [Broadcaster ’Come and have some barbecue!’ has received eleven luxury warships from ’Sky Blue’!]
System Notification: [Broadcaster ’Come and have some barbecue!’ has received gifts from ’Moonlit Grace’...]
The system notifications continued to flood in.
Gan Lan was dumbfounded by the screen full of gifts. She hadn’t even done anything! Why was this happening? Her face was full of question marks. Was becoming rich overnight actually a real thing? She had only been broadcasting for half an hour, and her earnings were already approaching two million Credit Points.
"Um, thank you all for the gifts. Just sending a few small flowers to show your support is enough. There’s no need to spend so much," Gan Lan said. She still felt like she was dreaming, her head completely in the clouds.
I See You: [Big spenders have appeared!! I’m new here and don’t get it. The broadcaster is literally just standing there looking dazed, yet these tycoons are sending so many gifts? Is there something amazing about her?]
Sky Blue: [What do you know, upstairs? It’s no big expense at all. Congratulations on starting your broadcast, Gan Lan! It’s just a little gift!]
Immortal Barbecue: [Just a little gift? Can’t you see that our sheltered Gan Lan is already completely stunned?]
Watching the number of viewers in the broadcast room nearly break the ten million mark, Gan Lan jumped in fright. She quickly turned off the stream, needing a moment to calm down.
Gan Lan truly hadn’t seen much of the world. In her past life, she had always been content as long as she had enough money to get by; the rest of her time was spent single-mindedly studying and researching her culinary skills.
She didn’t care much for anything outside of cooking. She only watched the news occasionally, and whenever she randomly scrolled past stories of someone stealing their parents’ bank cards to tip broadcasters huge sums, or broadcasters receiving millions in tips overnight, she would just laugh it off.
Now that it was suddenly happening right in front of her eyes, she couldn’t process it.
It was only now she remembered that ’Sky Blue’ among the gift senders was Gao Haiyang. That made the other one, ’Feiran’, easy to guess. With the character ’Fei’ in the name, who else could it be but Yan Yifei? She had also spotted many other familiar names. Broadcasting really was a highly lucrative profession! Her heart swelled with delight.
Food Street.
Using the reward money issued by the school, Gan Lan bought a hoverboard Flying Car. Even the most basic model surprisingly cost twenty thousand Credit Points!
She leisurely tested out her new mode of transportation on Food Street. Not to mention, it was actually pretty good. The feeling of not having to spend ten Credit Points on the round trip every day was fantastic!
Gan Lan stood on the hoverboard with a beaming smile, looking left and right. Her eyes could barely take it all in. Smelling the various roasted meat aromas permeating Food Street, she realized that the food items originating from her own stall now made up more than half of the street’s offerings.
Some people had even taken inspiration from her and started grilling beef, pork ribs, and more. Surprisingly, there was even grilled fruit! There were also braised eggs and similar snacks. The people of the future were truly versatile and multitalented. With just a little guidance, they could create a massive variety of foods. The taste should be pretty good, right?
Wanting to try something new, Gan Lan stopped her hoverboard and bought a skewer of grilled strawberries. They were a bright, vibrant red and looked absolutely delicious.
Full of anticipation, she took a small bite. Hmm... it was a bit greasy. She had thought the shiny coating on the outside was sugar, but it turned out to be oil! It was also a weird mix of salty and spicy. HISS... HAA... She thought, "Is this the devil’s work!?"
The Culinary Department was confirmed to be full of absolute demons. Why had she let her guard down? It was so spicy! Gan Lan took a tissue from her pocket, wiped away her tears, and walked away in sorrow. She had been too naive.
On her way, she spotted a stall selling grilled pork ribs. The ribs had a glossy, jujube-red color and emitted a faint, sweet aroma. A good number of people were already lining up at the stall. Gan Lan... Gan Lan also stepped off her hoverboard and joined the line.
"Huh? Isn’t this Gan Lan?" a tall, thin female student standing in front of her suddenly turned around and asked. "Why are you lining up too? Are you not setting up your stall today?"
Before Gan Lan could answer, the people beside her and further ahead all turned around. Some even gave up their spots in line entirely to come over to her side.
As a result, Gan Lan found herself surrounded. It was like being trapped inside a tall wall, with people in front, behind, left, and right, all looking at her with teasing amusement.
"Yeah, I waited for you to open your stall for ages. Seeing that you still hadn’t started, I came over here to wander around and try some new food on the side. These ribs look pretty tasty!"
Gan Lan tilted her head back to look at the circle of people, her eyes filled with confusion as she asked, "How did you guys recognize me?" She was clearly wearing a mask!
The schoolmates standing beside Gan Lan looked at her. Some couldn’t help but cover their mouths, wanting to laugh, but they held it in and spoke with great difficulty.
"Gan Lan, there’s no need to wonder how we recognized you. Even with the mask on, your height still gave you away. Hahahaha!"
After saying that, the student slapped her thigh and burst into roaring laughter. The other regular customers who recognized Gan Lan also burst out laughing. A few, not wanting to make Gan Lan feel too sad, offered some words of comfort.
"Gan Lan, from now on, you’ll always be the brightest star in the crowd. With just one glance, wherever the crowd suddenly dips down, that person is definitely you. Isn’t that super easy to spot?"
Seemingly amused by the image they had just painted, they quickly covered their mouths, their shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.
Even though Gan Lan knew they were joking, she still wanted to beat them all to death! If she ran into them when she opened her stall later, she would definitely make them taste the wrath of a barbecue master! She would spice them to death!
Gan Lan was already gnashing her teeth in anger internally, but she smiled so widely her eyes turned into little crescents as she said in a soft, gentle voice, "I wanted to try the ribs here before setting up my stall. Have you guys tried them? Are they good?"
"Gan Lan, these ribs are delicious! Why else would we be lining up? I’ll give my spot to you!" a beautiful woman near the front of the line suddenly shouted loudly to Gan Lan.
Before Gan Lan could voice a refusal, a skewer of grilled ribs was handed right in front of her face. "Here you go, Gan Lan, hurry and try it. I followed your method for grilling lamb skewers and made a few adjustments. Please help me critique it!"
Gan Lan looked up at the person who spoke, who was staring back at her with a face full of anticipation. "You’re the stall owner? How many Credit Points is this?"
The stall owner nodded. "No need, no need! How could a pseudo-disciple accept Credit Points from their pseudo-teacher? I just want my pseudo-teacher to give it a critique. Please, Gan Lan."
Gan Lan was speechless. What else could she do? She could only eat it. It would have been even better if there weren’t a crowd of people staring eagerly at her, but she couldn’t squeeze her way out of the circle, crying tears of frustration internally.
So... she carefully took a small bite.