Fortunately, the livestream had not only viewers who were there for the spectacle but also fans of Lu Mingming's alternate account, who could help distract some of the attention from her.
Without Lu Yan's command, the bald man rallied the various muscle-bound men he had strategically placed, and they all began to irresponsibly flood the screen with their hidden digital accounts.
"Sea Broccoli: Is the host planning to make Peking Duck today? I've never heard of this dish. I'll learn!"
"Going to Work Tomorrow: Came to check out the host's skills and was surprisingly stunned! Everyone, please remain calm and focus more on the host's cooking."
"Arm Wrestling I Always Win: \Go Host/\Go Host/\Go Host/\Go Host/\Go Host/"
Seeing the screen filled with supportive messages, the cactus ball doubted her sanity, "I don't remember having that many classmates... Why do they all have muscular men avatars?"
A portion of the comments began to normalize, and with the regulars starting to send gifts, the chaotic atmosphere gradually subsided, reducing the confrontational feel of the livestream and steering the chat towards cooking.
Lu Mingming posted a prepared note on the screen.
The main dish today was roast duck. She had most of the various seasonings prepared, only needing to simply mix a bowl of sweet bean sauce.
On the cutting board lay a plucked duck, feet up.
The duck had been fully processed, with a large opening cut from its chest to remove the innards, leaving the plump and tender duck meat.
Lu Mingming forcefully inserted a new glass water cup into the duck's chest cavity. It was just enough to prop the duck up, alleviating the difficulty of not having a roasting rack.
The duck that had "eaten" the glass cup immediately became plump and full, its belly bulging as if it contained a lot of meat.
Those in the chat who didn't understand asked:
"What Are We Eating Today: Why put a water cup in? Can I skip it? Or use something else as a substitute."
Seeing this, Lu Mingming seriously typed a reply:
"If everyone doesn't have a spare glass water cup at home, you can fashion a simple cross from metal strips and place it inside the duck. In short, as long as it can support the roast duck, it's fine. This way, the weight distribution will be more even, making it easier to stuff things inside later."
Next, she prepared to make the sauce for the roast duck.
Lu Mingming had previous experience making roast bear meat during a保育师 (childcare practitioner) competition. With that practice, she leaned towards mixing honey with other seasonings in a 1:1 ratio.
Indeed, honey would make the roast duck's skin golden and crispy, filling it with a sweet aroma, and it would also excellently add a beautiful color to the meat on the duck's surface.
Considering everyone's different taste preferences, Lu Mingming reminded them:
"If viewers prefer other flavors, you can modify my recipe based on the ingredients I use. My recipe leans towards a light sweetness."
The brush Lu Mingming used was a fluffy one from the Chief's home.
According to the Chief, it was made from the hide of a wild boar hunted, with dense yet fine bristles that retained their stiffness.
She gently dipped it into the bowl to get some of the crisping solution, allowing the bristles to absorb a deeper hue.
Lu Mingming brushed the duck's skin and inner bones three times repeatedly with the brush, and the sweet, delightful aroma of honey spread.
The Chief clutched her stomach, trying to prevent the "gurgling" from being too loud.
She patted her chest thankfully, "Fortunately, I didn't decide to hold a large welcome party today. Otherwise, forget one duck, given how they scrambled for potato stew with ribs, I doubt even a yard full of ducks would be enough!"
Aunt Shi, who rarely came out, sat next to the Chief.
Perhaps because most of the people around were therianthropes, and they were very close in age, she and the Chief got along the best.
Regarding her goddaughter, Aunt Shi was not as sharp-tongued as before, no longer stingy with her praise, "She is excellent and deserves to be seen by more people. Do you think I should find someone to create an account and secretly boost Mingming's livestream viewership?"
She subconsciously touched the ring on her finger. Besides the necklace she gave Lu Mingming, Aunt Shi had some other trinkets that weren't worth much.
To support her daughter's standing, it should be acceptable, right?
The Chief nodded in agreement and beckoned for the most honest Wang Tianhai.
"They're calling me over there, I'll go take a look."
Wang Tianhai greeted Lu Mingming.
Lu Mingming, busy with her hands, agreed without paying much attention.
After brushing on the crisping solution, Lu Mingming washed and cut a small amount of fresh fruit, mixed it with a little cumin and oil, and stirred it evenly.
The clean glass bottle inside the duck's belly was then removed, and she used her usual method to stuff the fruit into the roast duck's cavity.
The light apple aroma removed most of the duck meat's gaminess, exuding a sweet fruity fragrance from the inside out.
After completing this step, Lu Mingming used bamboo skewers to seal the duck's bulging and almost splitting belly, and the young boy and the bald man helped lift it onto the roasting rack, planning to roast it over high heat.
Since the young boy never disappointed Lu Mingming in his work, she agreed without hesitation when he volunteered to take on the roast duck task this time.
The roasting rack was slowly rotated manually.
The flames evenly seared the duck's skin, melting into drops of golden oil, and the rich, wafting aroma awakened everyone's appetites.
The camera shifted, and the screen showed Lu Mingming preparing the roast duck sauce.
The roast duck sauce is colloquially known as sweet bean sauce.
All the ingredients were neatly laid out on the table: fresh and crisp cucumber strips, finely julienned green onions, and the indispensable thin, almost cicada-wing-like wrappers.
Just in case, Lu Mingming posted a video of the wrapper-making process in the livestream comment section.
"If viewers can't buy wrappers on the Star Net, you can try making them yourselves; it's simple and easy to do. The link is here [video]."
This move earned a reversal of sentiment in the comments.
"Cactus Flower: I really appreciate this. Some hosts on livestreams don't consider if others can actually buy the ingredients!"
"Summer Sunflower: Help, I just watched and my brain understood, but my hands don't!"
"Loveable Little Rabbit: I came out of curiosity to take a look. I have to say, both the person and the skills are good. Keep it up."
Lu Mingming constantly monitored everyone's messages. Seeing the comments gradually returning to normal, she felt a slight sense of relief.
The sweet bean sauce still required a small amount of starch and honey.
For convenience, Lu Mingming chose to use honey.
She did not forget to instruct: "If you don't have honey, you can use sugar as a substitute."
Flour, honey, and water were mixed in a wooden bowl and then strained, instantly becoming as clear as amber.
The ancient cast-iron pot that appeared in the previous livestream once again took center stage. The viewership instantly surged, with everyone coming to observe this ancient artifact.
"Cactus Flower: Holy crap, it's actually a big iron pot. I thought my boyfriend was just messing around. I didn't watch that livestream..."
"Cactus Ball: Alright, you're fined for having to watch the host's video ten times. But I'm very curious about how this big iron pot is used. Can someone tag a food expert to take a look?"
"Reporter Lao Liu: Cooking with an iron pot will have more 'qi' (spirit/energy of life), but the resulting oil smoke can't be underestimated, right?"
Lu Mingming gave Lao Liu's comment a thumbs-up.
This was because she always positioned herself upwind when cooking, and the night breeze would dissipate the mist-like white smoke.
If all the white smoke were to blow onto her, she would definitely be left with a pungent, greasy smell of smoke. This was the most difficult aspect without technological assistance.
As the sweet bean sauce was stirred with a spatula, white bubbles appeared, and it gradually became thick and sweet, turning a coffee color. It was viscous but not overly stringy, complementing the sweet aroma wafting from the roast duck.
"If everyone likes sweet bean sauce, you can store it in a clean glass bottle in the refrigerator. When you want to use it, scoop it out with a spoon, add water, and stir to dissolve."
After giving the instructions, Lu Mingming poured the excess sweet bean sauce into a glass bottle, thinking it might be useful in the future.
"Can you help me get this?"
Wang Tianhai, who had returned to his post as a temporary assistant, had been staring blankly into space in a strange manner.
He looked as if he had been severely impacted, his soul wandering beyond the heavens, completely oblivious to Lu Mingming's actions.
"Did something happen?"
Lu Mingming asked with confusion.
Seeing Wang Tianhai's retreating back as he went to find Aunt Shi, she wondered if something had happened to Aunt Shi.
"N-nothing."
Despite saying this, Wang Tianhai accepted the bottle with a distracted air.
What was going on?
Did Aunt Shi say something to him just now?
Lu Mingming was puzzled and decided to check on him after the livestream ended.