The mark on her wrist began to glow with a faint heat; it was time for the broadcast.
Yu Zhile temporarily pushed aside her plans for further testing and started the stream.
“Friends, it’s been a long time. Today’s broadcast will be split into two parts: cooking and a live sales session,” Yu Zhile said, waving a greeting.
From the first-person perspective, the viewers saw only a pair of fair hands waving slightly in the dimly lit room.
[The streamer is finally back! Without you, even my nutritional supplements don’t taste right!]
[A sales session! What is the streamer selling today?]
[Welcome back, streamer.]
Familiar IDs flooded the chat, and a faint smile touched Yu Zhile’s lips. She picked out a few comments to reply to.
“The platform cleared everything up, so the broadcast has resumed. Thank you all for waiting. Today, I plan to sell the mugwort I used for the green rice balls last time. Those interested can keep an eye out for the sales segment after the cooking. I’m going to prepare the meal now.”
With that, she pushed open the door and stepped out.
“Sister, you’re awake? When do we start cooking?” Chen Zhao’s eyes lit up as he ran to her side.
“Right now,” Yu Zhile assigned him a task. “First, soak some green onions and ginger in warm water to make seasoned water. Then, take the pork hanging in the well and mince it.”
She had purchased the meat from the platform, specifically choosing pork front leg, which was ideal for dumpling filling.
Chen Zhao gave her a playful salute. “Mission will be completed with flying colors!”
Yu Zhile laughed; Chen Zhao’s boundless energy was truly enviable. Turning her head, she met Zhou Yuesheng’s gaze, her expression flickering for a moment. “We’re having dumplings tonight. You go knead the dough.”
She handed him a bunch of spinach, instructing him to knead different colored doughs to distinguish the various fillings.
The abalone was still very fresh, its meat contracting rhythmically. Yu Zhile’s movements were fluid as she removed the viscera and prepped the meat, setting it aside. The octopus was handled just as quickly, taking less than three minutes.
Chen Zhao minced the pork into coarse granules and divided it into two piles. He added the abalone meat to one and the octopus pieces to the other, continuing to mince them together.
“That’s enough. Now, chop the chives.” Yu Zhile had him put the two types of filling into large bowls and used chopsticks to pick out the soaked onion and ginger.
By the time she turned back, the chopped chives already covered the meat.
“Add some salt, light soy sauce, and oyster sauce,” Yu Zhile taught Chen Zhao how to season the filling. “Add the onion and ginger water in small amounts, stirring the meat in one direction.”
“Like this, Sister?” Chen Zhao stirred vigorously.
Yu Zhile couldn’t help but laugh. “Save some strength; we still have two more rounds of liquid to add.”
“Understood!” Chen Zhao began stirring at a steady pace along the edge of the bowl.
Zhou Yuesheng had already finished kneading and proofing the dough. He picked up a kitchen knife to clean the fish, glancing at the two people who were moving in perfect synchronization.
The Mei-tong fish (big-headed croaker) were small and soft; he had to be gentle when scaling them. It took him twenty minutes to finish processing the four fish. By then, Yu Zhile and Chen Zhao had finished seasoning the fillings and were starting to roll the dumpling wrappers.
Chen Zhao couldn’t control his strength well. Every time he pressed down, he tore the wrapper, leaving it stuck to the board. Soon, the workspace was covered in his “crime scene” evidence.
“Xiao Zhao, go play outside,” Yu Zhile said, nudging him with her elbow since her hands were covered in flour.
Chen Zhao said confidently, “Sister, give me one more chance! I promise I won’t tear it!”
Before he could finish the sentence, the rolling pin slipped, and the dough was pressed so thin it stuck entirely to the board.
Yu Zhile burst into laughter. “Alright, that’s enough. Go find Xiao Yue and read some books.”
Resigned to his fate, Chen Zhao left the kitchen.
Yu Zhile felt a wave of heat near her neck. Turning her head, she realized Zhou Yuesheng had taken Chen Zhao’s place. He picked up the rolling pin, pinched off a small piece of dough, and with a few deft movements of his hands, a perfectly round wrapper appeared.
The wrappers he rolled were thick in the center and thin at the edges—clean, smooth, and exactly what Yu Zhile required. He tossed the wrapper onto the middle of the board, creating a sharp contrast with the mess Chen Zhao had left behind.
“Excellent,” Yu Zhile said, her eyes curving into a smile that didn’t quite reach her gaze.
Zhou Yuesheng continued rolling the wrappers with speed and stability, each one uniform in size. Soon, only half the dough remained, and Yu Zhile began wrapping the dumplings. Using a bamboo sliver to scoop the meat, her thumb and forefinger pinched the edges together into small pleats. The resulting dumplings were plump and rounded.
She worked quickly, and the small bamboo tray was soon full.
“I’ll do it.” Having finished the wrappers, Zhou Yuesheng took over the wrapping. His skill was impressive; each dumpling looked like a carbon copy of the last.
Yu Zhile arranged the cleaned Mei-tong fish on a plate, sprinkled them with minced onion, ginger, and garlic, added some cooking wine, and placed them in the earthenware pot to steam. She then poured sesame oil into a cold pan, sautéing the white parts of the green onions until golden, then adding the green leaves until they turned yellow before filtering the oil.
The unique, rising aroma of scallion oil spread through the small courtyard, and the live stream chat went wild.
[Oh, that smell! I want to eat it so bad.]
[Streamer, are you selling that?]
[That oil would taste amazing mixed with nutritional supplements! Drop the link! I want to buy!]
With only the two of them in the kitchen, Yu Zhile caught a glimpse of the comments and paused for a few seconds before giving a roundabout answer. “The hot scallion oil is poured over the fish to enhance the fragrance. The leftovers will be used for scallion oil noodles tomorrow.”
The viewers expressed their deep regret.
Yu Zhile then prepared the shellfish steamed eggs. She beat three eggs, removed the foam, and poured them over the blanched shellfish. The savory aroma of the fish clashed with the rich scent of the eggs, triggering another wave of comments.
The dumplings were dropped into boiling water. After adding cold water a few times, they were ready. Simultaneously, the fish and steamed eggs came out of the pots. The former was drizzled with hot scallion oil, and the latter with soy sauce, elevating the flavors to a new level.
As the food was served, there were only two minutes left before the link was scheduled to go live. Yu Zhile walked over to the tray of mugwort, turning the leaves to release their unique herbal scent.
“Mugwort is a type of traditional medicine with a refreshing fragrance. One portion per bag, priced at only 0.9 Cloud Coins. If you like it, please purchase as needed.” This was Yu Zhile’s first time doing a sales broadcast, and she was clearly inexperienced.
As soon as she finished, the link went live. A few seconds later, Xiao Yun announced the good news.
“All 500 portions in the Small Window sold out in five seconds! This breaks the platform’s current record and earns a front-page promotion.”
“The live stream popularity has exceeded 200,000! Congratulations, Host, on taking first place in the Streamer PK Competition!”
Yu Zhile raised an eyebrow, said goodbye to her viewers, and shut down the stream.
The dishes on the table were steaming. The others waited until she was seated before picking up their chopsticks. The octopus had contracted in the hot water, trapping the savory juices within the wrappers.
Chen Zhao couldn’t wait and grabbed a dumpling. Despite hissing from the heat, he didn’t forget to praise her: “Sister, this is delicious! These are the freshest dumplings I’ve ever eaten.” As usual, he had ten compliments for every dish.
The abalone dumplings were springy and flavorful, the Mei-tong fish was tender and smooth, and the steamed eggs were fragrant and silky. Everyone ate to their heart’s content. It had been a busy day, and everyone was exhausted. Once the initial fullness subsided, they all washed up, preparing to rest.
“Have Xiao Yue put this away.” Yu Zhile stopped Zhou Yuesheng and handed the pearl to him. Before he could take it, the pearl slipped from her palm.
Zhou Yuesheng reacted instantly. As he tightened his grip on the pearl, he sensed something was wrong.
“You worked hard today. Get some rest early,” Yu Zhile said with a smile.
Zhou Yuesheng nodded and headed toward the west room, his heart pounding like a drum. He knew the testing wasn’t over, but he couldn’t guess what reaction she was looking for.
“Y75384,” Yu Zhile suddenly called out.
Zhou Yuesheng decided to take a gamble. He turned back naturally and asked, “What is it?”
“I just remembered the plants in the yard need trellises,” Yu Zhile said, the corners of her mouth curling up. “Stay home tomorrow and build some wooden frames.”
“Alright,” Zhou Yuesheng nodded in agreement.
Yu Zhile watched his retreating figure for a moment before returning to her room. Exhaustion quickly pulled her into a deep sleep.
In the middle of the night, Yu Zhile’s bedroom door was quietly pushed open.