The livestream had just begun, and the popularity from Lu Mingming's previous clash between her main and alternate accounts had only grown.
"Cactus Ball; I've brought my brothers to support you again. What dish is the streamer preparing this time?"
"Lotus Root Starch Yellow Flower: Are you sure this is the 'little streamer' you mentioned? Look, the number of viewers has reached thirty thousand."
"Jasmine: Holy crap, when did she get so popular?!"
"Lu Mingming's Boyfriend: I can't believe you've betrayed us and joined the new streamer's side. You were so active in Mingming's streams before. You're blocked."
Unaware of the events unfolding on the interstellar network, Lu Mingming, engrossed in matters on Blue Star, found that the livestream forum had already split into two factions: the Lu Mingming faction and the emerging streamer faction. Onlookers were sending messages to both streamers, eagerly anticipating one of them to initiate a PK battle with the other, just for the entertainment.
With such intentions in mind, it was natural for many to urge Lu Mingming's alternate account to take action quickly. Simultaneously, many of Lu Mingming's loyal fans flocked to her alternate stream to gather intelligence.
As soon as the stream went live, the viewership soared to a hundred thousand.
At the same time, a small fraction of people on the interstellar network began posting rumors suggesting the two might be related, providing a perfect reason: a significant overlap in their fan bases, making it plausible they were close friends.
Truth, however, often lies with the minority. A few scattered individuals who proposed the idea that they were the same person were nearly flamed into oblivion, and subsequently ceased to make any further comments.
Under the combined influence of these factors, Lu Mingming's alternate account's livestream abruptly jumped to the top position among new streamers, continuously elevating the standard for the current保育师 (Bǎoyù shī -保育师) competition.
Lu Mingming nervously rubbed the lobe of her ear and exhaled deeply. She approached the holographic camera, allowing the lighting to accentuate her, lending her an ethereal, otherworldly aura.
To save time, Lu Mingming picked up a spoon to help stir, speeding up the sifting of the flour.
The pristine white flour cascaded smoothly through the small sieve holes, like goose feathers drifting from the sky, or willow catkins dancing in the post-rain breeze.
As the spoon moved across the sieve, what remained was perfectly mixed granular cake flour.
A damp, wrung-out thin cotton gauze was finally put to use, placed by Lu Mingming at the bottom of the steamer.
She feared a single layer of gauze might not be enough and added another, thinner layer.
"There's no need to strive for excessively fine flour; finer flour actually takes longer to expand. A regular sieve will do just fine," Lu Mingming instructed verbally, while pouring more cake flour into the sieve and leveling it with a scraper, creating a thin layer of milky white paste.
As she worked, Lu Mingming controlled her strength.
"Osmanthus cake requires a light and airy texture; there's no need to press the dough down step by step."
At this moment, it was finally time for the osmanthus to make its appearance.
On the formed cake base, Lu Mingming sprinkled a layer of osmanthus flowers clockwise, like covering it with a pale yellow blanket made of osmanthus, emitting a fresh and elegant fragrance that completely captivated everyone's sense of smell.
"Cactus Ball: Never mind how much it costs, but once Blue Star tourism opens up and these little yellow flowers are available for sale, I'll be the first in line. I'll buy at least three pounds!"
"Bird Head Whale: You better follow through on your words with your actions."
"Don't Like Lard: I wish they could be sold soon. By the way, are these little flowers actually edible?"
"Lu Mingming replied, "They truly are."
Lu Mingming carefully picked up a small osmanthus flower with clean tweezers and brought it close to the camera for a magnified shot.
Though small, the flower could not hide its pervasive fragrance.
These unknown little flowers were instantly adored by interstellar people, becoming a hot trend for a long time to come.
The unbaked osmanthus cake took on a triangular shape, its surface scored by Lu Mingming with a small knife into several evenly divided sections.
The remaining time was dedicated to steaming the osmanthus cake.
"I'll soon demonstrate how to use a steamer to the audience. If you find it convenient, you can use other high-tech gadgets at home. This streamer doesn't have any other kitchenware to substitute," Lu Mingming said.
In reality, she could have easily purchased advanced technological products on the interstellar network. However, doing so would conflict with the natural development path she had set for Blue Star and diminish the sense of immersion.
After careful consideration, using ancient kitchenware would instead enhance Blue Star's unique characteristics.
"They're here."
Cactus Ball exclaimed in the comment section.
"Using new ancient kitchenware again!! @Professor of Ancient Kitchenware Research @Professor of Traditional Cuisine, hurry and take a look!!"