Chapter 8
【???】
【Is this for real? There are other unknown star streamers?】
【Really? A newcomer just appeared in the beauty zone. Like the little streamer, everyone’s never seen the things they eat or use. They say they’re from an unknown star!】
【I want to watch, I want to watch.】
【I’m going to check it out too.】
Xu Xiaozhi couldn’t see these messages in the chat, but she keenly noticed that it seemed like many viewers had agreed and suddenly more than half of the audience left.
She tiptoed closer to check on the kitten, who was still sleeping soundly, even softly purring. That put her mind at ease.
Just as she held the kitty in her arms, the number of viewers in the live stream suddenly increased again, now stable at over a thousand, but still within a small range without much fluctuation.
【Scout report ahead!】
【Quick, tell us!】
【It’s actually pretty good, a bit like the big star Le Qianqian.】
【I’m back, have to say, beautiful yes, but soulless!】
Another batch of viewers, attracted by the comments, followed the stream to the beauty zone.
Xu Xiaozhi raised an eyebrow as she watched the fluctuating viewer count, then casually carried the kitty and stepped out.
“Miaomiao, you have to do good socialization training, okay,” she said, holding the kitty’s belly with one hand and supporting its legs with the other so it could stand in her arms.
“You’re the cute pet of the farmhouse owner, Miaomiao, so you have to behave well!” Xu Xiaozhi kissed the kitty’s head and patiently talked to it.
【Do uncivilized animals understand human speech?】
【How could they not? Look how clever Chouba is.】
【Why does Miaomiao have to meet people? Just keep it locked in the room.】
“Miaomiao is timid and gets scared by the slightest movement, before, she could stay locked in the room all the time,” she explained.
“Even if she could still be kept in the room now, with so many guests coming and going, it’s impossible to guarantee a quiet environment. If Miaomiao can get a bit more socialization training, it would be better for her.”
【Wah wah wah, the streamer is so caring, my mom doesn’t even care about my mental state.】
【So raising animals also requires attention to their mental state!】
【I’m so jealous of Miaomiao!】
Xu Xiaozhi walked into the kitchen. The small room was thick with smoke and heat. Grandma Gui and Uncle Wang were energetically stir-frying the base ingredients, filling the whole room with aroma.
【Smells so good!】
【Can you really eat these claw-like animals?】
Xu Xiaozhi placed Miaomiao on the small table. A little escaped crayfish was crawling on the table. Miaomiao’s eyes were full of curiosity, as soon as she was put down, she raised her paw to investigate.
“Grandma Gui, do you need me to do anything?”
In the pot, the base for the thirteen-spice sauce was frying. After heating oil in an empty pan to medium heat, dried chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, chili powder, broad bean paste, thirteen-spice powder, and a little sugar were added.
Once fragrant, the deep-fried crayfish were added and stir-fried for a while longer. Then beer was poured in until it covered the crayfish. The heat was turned up to boil, then reduced to simmer until done.
“Xiaozhi, peel some garlic cloves, the more the better.” Hanging in the corner was a string of garlic by the window, quickly being peeled into snow-white cloves by Uncle Wang’s hands.
Xu Xiaozhi imitated Uncle Wang, first cutting the whole garlic bulb in half with a knife, then squeezing out the cloves.
When most cloves were peeled, Uncle Wang chopped half of them into coarse garlic bits, a quarter into garlic paste, and the rest into small granules.
“Here.” Uncle Wang arranged all the seasonings. Grandma Gui held a big ladle and poured oil into the pot. When it reached medium heat, ginger slices, green onion segments, and coarse garlic bits were added.
When the garlic bits turned slightly golden, the fried crayfish were added and stir-fried again. Beer was poured in to cover the crayfish, then salt, sugar, oyster sauce, and soy sauce were added for flavor. Finally, it was simmered until cooked.
【Oh my god, cooking a dish really requires so many steps.】
【Wow, it actually turned red!】
【The spices the streamer is using are so complicated, it seems like we don’t have these things anymore.】
“Take them out and let them cool so the flavors soak in,” Grandma Gui said as she put down the big ladle. Uncle Wang quickly took over and scooped out the two flavors of crayfish.
Because there were so many, they had to use large stainless steel basins—four big basins in total.
When Xu Xiaozhi carried the crayfish out, the young guys were working together: some were picking up stones in the creek at the entrance, while others were scraping the bluestone slabs in front of the elm tree, exactly where she had marked before.
“Thanks for your hard work! Stop working and come wash your hands for dinner!” She went to the window, calling everyone back. Boss Wang was already eagerly waiting in the dining hall.
Seeing that he was free, Xu Xiaozhi pulled out her phone and started taking pictures around the farmhouse. When the crayfish were served, Boss Wang picked the best spot right in the middle to dig in.
As they talked, Uncle Wang brought out the remaining two basins of spicy crayfish. Two cases of beer were already set by the table, he had bought them from a nearby town’s supermarket while Xu Xiaozhi was catching the crayfish.
Xu Xiaozhi didn’t expect that 1 point could be so useful. The money Uncle Wang spent on food and drinks was all implicitly covered by the points—it was really a great deal.
Grandma Gui’s mushroom soup and side dishes were all set on the table. The dining hall was filled with the aroma of crayfish. The young guys noisily pushed and shoved, eager to wash up and claim the best seats.
“Miaomiao,” Xu Xiaozhi said as she went to get the watermelon. Miaomiao was still on the table, cleverly sparring with the crayfish. Her paw attacks were blocked by the crayfish’s big claw as she circled it, determined to take it on.
“I’ll let Chouba follow you to play in the yard for a while.” Chouba was playful and always followed her around.
Usually, wherever she went, Chouba went too. But once something caught his attention, he’d stubbornly refuse to come back, replying with persistent sounds like a mule.
But Chouba had helped raise Miaomiao and was very responsible toward his little sister. When Miaomiao fell, he even nudged her back up with his nose.
“Boss, boss, come quick!” The young guys eagerly called Xu Xiaozhi back.
“Sorry, sorry, I brought two chilled watermelons for you all—save them for after dinner,” she said.
“Woohoo!” The guys cheered and showed their appreciation.
Xu Xiaozhi blushed slightly under their cheering. She stood up and raised her beer, “Welcome everyone to the first meal at Cute Pet Farmhouse!”
“Woohoo, thank you, boss!” Everyone eagerly dug in.
【Hurry and eat!】
【Is it really delicious?】
The viewers had two main reactions: some were curious and urged the streamer to eat quickly, while others were both scared and curious, wanting to watch others try first.
Xu Xiaozhi put on gloves, peeled off the lobster head to reveal the roe inside, then broke the shell on both sides of the lobster’s abdomen, making it easy to remove the lobster meat.
【So amazing, the lobster meat is red and white. What is the yellow stuff on the head?】
Xu Xiaozhi silently answered in her mind: that’s the essence of hand-held lobster.
She dipped a piece into the shrimp broth and put it in her mouth. The lobster meat, rich with strong garlic aroma, was salty, tender, and smooth. The fried meat was firm and chewy, not soft, with great elasticity.
The texture of the roe and the meat was different—the roe was soft and sweet, with a very fresh and delicious taste. Together, they made the lobster’s flavor rich and tasty.
The chat went silent for a while before someone finally commented.
【Waaah, what hard times I used to live through!】
【I’ve had enough of nutrition drinks. That nonsense about more nutrition meaning worse taste—can someone make a thirteen-spice crayfish flavor?】
【Don’t even think about it, the streamer can’t even find all those spices.】
Xu Xiaozhi tried three flavors of crayfish in a row. The chat was flooded with “delicious” comments. She thought to herself, the viewers sure like to joke around and flood the chat with these words.
The crayfish on the table quickly disappeared like lightning. Everyone had a red little mountain piled in front of them, especially Boss Wang.
“This is so delicious! The cooking skills are really good, even better than the street stalls outside!”
Xu Xiaozhi heard a young guy next to her sucking his fingers and praising the farmhouse crayfish as better than those from street vendors—a highest compliment for the farmhouse.
Seeing that everyone had almost finished, Uncle Wang cut into a watermelon at the next table. With a tap from the knife tip, the chilled watermelon cracked open with a snap.
Inside, the watermelon flesh was bright red, and just from the sound of the knife cutting, you could tell the flesh was crisp.
The round watermelon was cut into 16 pieces. It was the hottest part of summer, and a bite of juicy watermelon instantly cooled everyone down.
【Why can the little streamer eat so many delicious things!】 Viewers felt jealous after tasting the sweet watermelon.
The interstellar war had lasted for many years. Ordinary food was rarely grown and seasoning was almost unknown, so nutrition drinks became a necessity for convenience.
Now, with advanced technology, the nutrition drinks were made with perfect formulas to meet the physical needs of citizens as much as possible.
Therefore, despite all the artificial ingredients available, no one actively bought them to cook.
【Has any seller seen everyone’s craving? I would definitely buy it!】 The viewers expressed what everyone was thinking.
After the meal, Boss Wang told the employees to clean up the tables. Under Grandma Gui’s request, all the lobster shells were collected and placed behind the house to dry. Once dried and crushed, they could be used as feed.
The young men worked quickly. Some washed the dishes, while others started planning the fish pond.
A three-by-three-meter square fish pond was dug out. At the bottom, a waterproof sheet was laid down, then stones collected from the creek were placed on top. The gaps were sealed with glue to prevent leaks.
After the glue dried, moss was stuffed into the gaps. A filter was installed in the corner and carefully selected creek stones were used to hide the equipment. The pond floor was covered with black round pebbles, which helped highlight the fish swimming inside.
Some plants that didn’t need to root were added, then buckets of creek water were poured in. After the water filtered for a few days, small fish could be introduced.
The finished ornamental fish pond sat in the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by plants with creek water flowing, a scene guests would see right upon entering. Xu Xiaozhi was considering which fish species to add.
Turning around, Boss Wang was struggling to squat on the ground holding up his pants, playing with Miaomiao the cat. “Suck, suck, suck, little kitty.” He tried to stroke Miaomiao’s head, but Chouba was growling beside, unwilling to let him touch her.
【This scene is both bizarre and harmonious!】
【This boss looks fierce, but turns out to be a good guy.】
“This farmhouse is great everywhere, but the road to get here is hard to find. We drove around several times before finally finding this place,” Boss Wang said as he and his staff packed up to leave.
“Ah, Boss Wang, I’ll walk you out. I’ll try to prioritize what you mentioned, and I expect we’ll be bothering you often in the future,” Xu Xiaozhi smiled, standing at the door to say goodbye.
“This is the last batch of elm seed buns,” Xu Xiaozhi handed Boss Wang a handbag filled with dozens of steamed buns Grandma Gui made early in the morning.
Elm trees usually bear fruit in May or June, but the old elm in the yard was late, so there was still some leftover.
“Oh!” Boss Wang didn’t even refuse. “Boss Xu, everything is understood without saying. Let’s keep in touch often.”
No sooner had they seen Boss Wang off than the chat exploded with messages.
【Hamster villa! Hamster villa!】
【Want to see! Want to see!】
“All right, all right,” Xu Xiaozhi replied to the chat since no one was around. She picked up a delivery box at the door and walked into the room. “I’m building it now!”