After her classes ended, Gan Lan used her Light Brain to rent a stall on Food Street for twenty Credit Points a day.
The stall’s environment was quite nice. To her left was a senior male student selling... bitter melon bread? To her right, a senior female student was selling small cookies in transparent, sealed boxes. Each box had a different flavor. Some might be normal? Others were strange and bizarre, looking rather questionable.
Gan Lan fell silent. The era of dark cuisine truly lived up to its reputation!
Gan Lan set up her tools and was just about to start a fire when she heard a voice. "Junior, what are you planning to sell? Is it freshly baked flatbread or something similar? A bunch of seniors have already tried that. There’s a lot of that type of food around. It’s actually the weird, novel dishes that attract more people."
Gan Lan turned around and looked up at the senior speaking to her. He was tall, somewhat tanned, and had well-proportioned features. His name tag read: *Third-Year History Department, Wang Bin*.
Gan Lan smiled at him in gratitude. "Thank you for the reminder, Senior. I’m planning to sell grilled meat. I’ll treat you to a taste later, but you can only have one skewer for free!" She grinned and held up a finger.
Wang Bin scratched his head and smiled without saying a word.
Gan Lan did not mind. She turned around and used an igniter to light the charcoal. Products from the future were indeed highly efficient; the charcoal caught fire in less than half a second.
She put on a mask and gloves, set up the grill, and took out ten lamb skewers. She planned to grill a small batch first. Seeing that the heat was just right, she placed the lamb on the grill.
Her hands continuously flipped the skewers. The lamb slightly changed color and began to sizzle. Drops of hot oil dripped down the lines of the meat with a loud SIZZLE. A potent, rich aroma began to permeate the air. It was a mouth-watering scent, and Gan Lan swallowed hard. However, since the meat was not fully cooked yet, she could only endure her cravings.
It was the first time Wang Bin had smelled such an overwhelmingly enticing, indescribable aroma. Following the scent, he looked at the grilled meat his junior was flipping with both hands.
He wondered if this was yet another one of those dishes that smelled incredibly alluring but tasted rock-hard and stinky. How many Credit Points would this scam rake in? Even he couldn’t help but want to willingly hand over his Credit Points to let this junior scam him. The people from the Culinary Department were truly terrifying! They were absolute devils!
However, Wang Bin couldn’t tear his eyes away from the skewers. Staring at the meat, he couldn’t help but ask with a mix of fear and anticipation, "Junior, is this grilled meat of yours normal? Could it be... another one of your Culinary Department’s traditions?"
He had every reason to be afraid, as he had already been tricked by the Culinary Department several times. For example, there was a pink jelly that looked cute and incredibly delicious at first glance. But the moment he took a bite, tears had streamed down his face. It was a spicy, bitter taste that defied description. Then there was a chicken leg whose fragrance wafted for miles. The smell made him drool, but one bite of it had his stomach acid acting up. These were all part of Wang Bin’s tragic history of blood and tears. He firmly believed that every student in the entire school had been scammed by the Culinary Department at some point!
Yet right now, Wang Bin decided to let himself be scammed! At worst... at worst, he would just end up in the infirmary. The smell was simply too enticing, too stimulating! He desperately wanted a bite! Wang Bin blinked and instantly convinced himself.
Gan Lan’s entire focus was on the grill. Hearing the senior’s words, she replied somewhat perfunctorily, "Of course it’s normal. Don’t be scared, Senior." She sprinkled chili powder on two of the lamb skewers, intending to eat them herself.
Taking off her mask, Gan Lan blew on a freshly grilled lamb skewer a couple of times before eagerly shoving it into her mouth. This familiar taste—crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, bursting with a numbingly spicy and savory flavor as the juices filled her mouth—almost brought her to tears.
Wang Bin watched this frail, short junior’s ecstatic expression and figured the Culinary Department was really going all out to earn Credit Points. Her acting was simply too spot-on. He honestly couldn’t tell if the food was genuinely delicious or so terrible that she was about to ascend to the afterlife!
Gan Lan handed a mildly spicy lamb skewer to the senior standing nearby. He looked terribly nervous yet stared longingly at the food, swallowing hard. His hand even trembled slightly as he took the skewer.
Then, Gan Lan began to hawk her food. "Come and take a look, don’t miss out! Freshly grilled lamb skewers for sale! Grand opening special! Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Only ten Credit Points a skewer, and if it doesn’t taste good, it’s free!"
Without even blowing on it, Wang Bin stuffed the lamb skewer straight into his mouth with the look of a martyr marching to his death, yet harboring a sliver of anticipation. He chewed. His eyes widened into saucers.
What kind of taste was this? A little spicy, a little crispy, and a mouth full of savory meat. In short, it was delicious—absolutely delicious!! Hearing his junior hawking her wares, Wang Bin hurriedly swallowed the meat in his mouth and shouted, "Junior, give me five skewers! No, make it ten!"
Gan Lan responded with a cheerful smile and handed her remaining seven skewers to Wang Bin. "I’m short three skewers, so I’ll grill fresh ones to make up the rest. That’ll be one hundred Credit Points in total. Thank you, Senior!"
After transferring one hundred Credit Points to Gan Lan, Wang Bin buried his head in his food and devoured it.
"Hey! Wang Bin, how much did this short junior pay you to act for her?! But seeing how malnourished she looks, I doubt she has any money to give you. What on earth made you go to such desperate lengths?!"
"Wang Bin, I recall your family isn’t short on money. How did you end up stooping to be a shill?"
Gan Lan looked at Wang Bin, whose eyes were slightly red as he devoured the lamb skewers, occasionally muttering, "Hiss... so spicy, so delicious!" Then she looked at the crowd of onlookers drawn in by the aroma of the barbecue.
She suddenly remembered that without a certain spirit of adventure and a true love for food, the alumni generally wouldn’t dare to lightly try the dishes produced by the Culinary Department on Food Street. After all, there were too many tragic histories of blood and tears!
There were many onlookers. A mix of conflict, fear, and nervousness flickered in their eyes, yet they couldn’t bear to tear their gaze away from the skewers. Since they still didn’t quite dare to take that final step and try the lamb, Gan Lan hurriedly called out to the crowd.
"Delicious and not greasy, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside! Freshly grilled lamb skewers! They’re truly delicious! If it doesn’t taste good, it’s free! Right now, it’s only ten Credit Points a skewer! Tasty and affordable! Completely normal and perfectly legitimate! Seniors, step right up, don’t miss out!"
"Junior! Everyone in your Culinary Department says the same thing. Do you cover medical bills? What if I end up in the infirmary after eating this?!"
Hearing this, Gan Lan was startled. Were the students of the Culinary Department really that lethal? They actually sent people to the infirmary with their cooking? Seeing their cautious and guarded expressions was simply too amusing. Gan Lan firmly closed her mouth to suppress a laugh and cleared her throat.
"Senior! Where is your hot-blooded spirit of adventure? I already said I won’t charge you if it tastes bad! But what if you think it’s delicious and just don’t want to pay, so you lie through your teeth and say it’s awful?! Senior, I’m just running a small business here!"
"Junior, Junior, ignore him! Hurry up and grill me another twenty skewers!" Having finished his portion, Wang Bin wiped his mouth, swiped another two hundred Credit Points to Gan Lan, and immediately resumed eating.
Seeing that Wang Bin genuinely didn’t look like he was acting, the onlookers felt a bit reassured. Hesitantly, they began to buy the skewers, one by one.
Gan Lan’s mouth twitched slightly as she watched the customers who had bought the food. They stood there, intoxicated by the aroma of the barbecue, yet didn’t quite dare to take a bite.
She shook her head and clicked her tongue. The people in the Culinary Department were truly pieces of work. Just look at the psychological damage they had inflicted on the other departments! These students had clearly been trained by the Culinary Department to possess incredibly strong self-control. Faced with irresistible grilled lamb skewers, they actually managed to hold back from eating and merely sniffed them! This was an absolute insult to a future barbecue master!
Fortunately, there was still Senior Wang Bin, whose mouth was glistening with oil and who simply couldn’t stop eating. Otherwise, Gan Lan would have genuinely started doubting herself.