The Infuriating Streamer

Early the next morning, Jiang Feng went to Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant to help open up.

The night before, he had looked up the Good Taste Culinary Competition online. The first one had been held in March that year, a small-scale affair. The first-place prize had been 10,000 yuan, second place 6,000, and third place 3,000. The contestants had mostly been cooking enthusiasts or young chefs from little restaurants. It had not been a large event and had caused no real stir, so it was no wonder Jiang Feng had known nothing about it.

Perhaps because the first competition had gone well, the second Good Taste competition was being held with great fanfare. Not only were the prizes far more generous, but Good Taste had also placed prominent ads for it on its official website. When Jiang Feng searched for it, he found quite a few news reports promoting this year's competition. Compared with the previous one, the process for this competition also looked much more formal.

Registration would begin in January, followed by auditions and preliminary rounds, then the top 32, top 16, top 8, top 4, and finally the championship match. This time, the promotion was not limited to the area around A City either. Good Taste wanted to make it big, setting up six audition regions across the country, with television stations and livestreaming platforms broadcasting the entire event. Looking at it that way, the 100,000-yuan championship prize seemed almost insignificant. If this competition really took off, it would be an excellent opportunity for talented young chefs to make a name for themselves.

No wonder Wu Minqi had been tempted to sign up.

The competition would also begin next March, leaving a little more than four months.

The gap between Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi was not something he could make up in just four months.

Jiang Feng chopped vegetables absentmindedly.

"By the way, Xiaofeng, I gave some thought to what you asked me yesterday. The mushroom flavor in the Mushroom Soup in that dish is too strong. You need to change it. How about using radish soup instead?" Jiang Jiankang, who was also chopping vegetables, suddenly recalled it and said.

"Radish soup?" Radish soup did sound like it would pair better with other ingredients, but that would change the dish's basic ingredients.

Still, Jiang Jiankang had reminded Jiang Feng of something. White radish really was a wonderful ingredient. It was available year-round, soothed the lungs and cleared phlegm, tasted slightly spicy and sweet when eaten raw, and cooled the body and cut through greasiness when simmered into soup. Most importantly, it absorbed flavors and was highly adaptable, able to soften the impact of other ingredients with distinctive, powerful flavors.

Making a pot of radish and mushroom soup as an accompaniment seemed like a good choice.

Even by the time the restaurant opened for lunch, Jiang Feng was still pondering what other ingredients to add to the soup.

Liu Qian came in with a backpack and, as steadily as clockwork, sat in her usual window seat. She ordered Preserved Vegetable Chicken Feet, Shredded Cabbage, and a cup of Hot Milk Tea.

The weather had turned cold, so Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant no longer sold chilled drinks like Sour Plum Drink and Mung Bean Soup. Instead, it sold hot drinks such as soy milk, milk, and milk tea. However, the milk tea had never sold particularly well. Not everyone could get used to unsweetened milk tea brewed entirely by hand, much less when it cost several times as much as milk tea from other shops.

Once all the dishes had arrived, Liu Qian opened her stream as usual, only to be startled by the sudden surge in followers.

Her follower count had jumped from single digits straight past one thousand.

Could I be getting popular?

Liu Qian thought.

After changing the stream title to "Everyday Lunch," Liu Qian waved at the six viewers in her stream and said, "Hello, everyone. I'm Qianqian. Today, I'm having lunch at our club president's family restaurant again. I ordered Preserved Vegetable Chicken Feet, Shredded Cabbage, and Hot Milk Tea. Now I'm going to start eating!"

After saying that, she stopped talking and focused wholeheartedly on her meal.

The camera angle was still the suffocating, nostril-focused angle.

"Annoying Streamer, hand over yesterday's seasoning recipe!"

"Yeah, yeah, Annoying Streamer, hurry up and give us the seasoning recipe!"

"Annoying Streamer, annoying people online."

"Annoying Streamer is loaded. Such a lavish everyday lunch."

More and more viewers entered. They had all watched her stream the day before and followed her, and they clamored for Liu Qian to share the seasoning recipe for yesterday's mini hot pot.

There were also some newcomers. Seeing everyone spamming "Annoying Streamer," they became curious instead of leaving and casually asked, "Why do you call her Annoying Streamer?"

Yan Jiaxiaoyu, who had been spamming "Annoying Streamer" the hardest, immediately replied, "Because she's really annoying!"

Very soon, Liu Qian proved through her actions exactly what an Annoying Streamer was.

She did not look at her phone at all while eating. Or rather, she had no awareness of checking her phone in the first place. During the first few weeks, her stream had usually been completely silent, with the viewer count hovering around thirty or forty. No one spoke, and she had no instinct to interact with the viewers. Over time, she had stopped looking at her phone much.

Jiang Jiankang's chicken feet were soft, tender, and full of flavor. With a light suck, the skin and meat came right off the bones. Liu Qian was a regular customer and also Jiang Feng's club member, so because she could get special treatment, her portions were much larger than everyone else's.

Just as she was happily spitting out bones, Liu Qian happened to glance at her phone when she looked up. Seeing so many comments, she was instantly delighted.

"Annoying Streamer? Why do you all call me Annoying Streamer?" Liu Qian asked with food still in her mouth.

"Because you're really annoying." More than a dozen comments floated past in unison.

Seeing that Liu Qian had finally checked the stream, the viewers asking for the seasoning hurriedly seized the opportunity to demand the recipe.

"No, no, your comments are coming too fast. I can't see them clearly. Could you type a little slower?" Liu Qian had placed her phone quite far away so she could eat more conveniently.

It was the first time they had ever seen a streamer complain that viewers were commenting too much. For a moment, everyone in the stream was somewhat stunned. Yan Jiaxiaoyu was the first to react, relying on her quick fingers to send a comment.

"Why not use two phones, one for streaming and one for reading comments?"

"I can't. I don't have two phones." Liu Qian was not some professional streamer. Why would she buy another phone specifically for streaming?

Everyone began spamming comments for the seasoning recipe again.

Just then, the kitchen had finished its work, and Jiang Feng came out intending to find a chair and sit down for a rest.

"President." Liu Qian hurriedly called to him. "The viewers in my stream want the recipe for the seasoning you added to the mini hot pot yesterday."

Jiang Feng walked over and curiously glanced at Liu Qian's phone. Before he realized it, half his face had entered the frame. He quickly turned his head away and said, "Salt, sesame oil, chopped scallions, soy sauce, and crushed chili. But most people can't get the proportions right, so I suggest you just add a little salt to enhance the flavor."

"Got it! _(ω"∠)_"

"That sounds so professional ∠("∠)_"

"Isn't adding salt a little too perfunctory?"

"Is the streamer's club president working at a restaurant? No wonder he knows so much!"

"No, this restaurant belongs to our president's family. It's really delicious, and it's right next to A University. Everyone can come try it when you have time!" Liu Qian seized the chance to advertise Jiang Feng's family restaurant, then picked up an untouched chicken foot and held it in front of the camera for everyone to see.

Two strands of preserved vegetables still clung to the plump, tender chicken foot. Its rich sauce-colored sheen and abundant collagen were enough to make anyone salivate.

After chatting with the viewers for a little longer, Liu Qian ended the stream because her phone was out of battery.

"Wait, didn't Annoying Streamer just advertise without even saying the restaurant's name?" Yan Jiaxiaoyu suddenly realized.

"Annoying Streamer indeed, living up to her name."

"As expected of Annoying Streamer!"

"Annoying Streamer is so annoying even when she advertises."

A group of people laughed and chatted merrily in the black-screened stream.

Liu Qian paid and prepared to return to her dormitory. Jiang Feng suddenly had an idea and asked:

"Liu Qian, what do you think would make Mushroom Radish Soup taste better?"

"Mushroom Radish Soup?"