Following guidance from the ship's crew, Lu Mingming managed to find the kitchen with some difficulty.
Yesterday, Lu Yan had guided her, but today even her smart device was unreliable. It took Lu Mingming a considerable amount of time, but upon arriving at the kitchen, she felt it was all worth it.
The chefs in the kitchen were busy. At a glance, nearly ten chefs stood in each row, working diligently.
It made sense, considering the luxurious liner had ten restaurants. Moreover, most of the crew were robust men with the characteristic "chicken breast" build, requiring a significant amount of ingredients and preparation.
Lu Mingming politely knocked. "Hello, may I come in? I'd like to make something."
The chefs all turned to look at Lu Mingming as they heard her. They whispered amongst themselves:
"Isn't that the person...?"
"Yes, yes, it's that streamer. Should we call the boss?"
"No, Lu Guoguo is a handful. You want to see a fight? I don't."
"Hello, you all…?"
Lu Mingming waved and greeted them again.
Someone noticed their earlier hesitation and nudged a more talkative person forward with their elbow.
"Yes, you can. If you want to make something, you can use the empty spot at row d, eighth position."
"Thank you, I was worried I would be disturbing you."
Lu Mingming walked into the kitchen under everyone's gaze, unfazed. She had experienced far stranger and more intense stares than these.
Lu Mingming picked up a basket of ingredients and looked around.
One wall of the kitchen was lined with a walk-in freezer, reaching almost to the ceiling. It contained everything from produce to meats. The vegetables were fresh and crisp, still glistening with water, and the meats were already prepared semi-finished products.
"Let me think, what should I make today… Children might like desserts. Is there anything that both adults and children would enjoy?"
Countless dessert images flashed through Lu Mingming's mind, and she paused at a round, plump impression.
"How about trying cream puffs?"
The crispy pastry shell of a cream puff, filled with rich cream.
One bite, and the creamy, silky smooth filling exploded in her mouth, making Lu Mingming involuntarily swallow.
She was also craving it, remembering that texture fondly.
She decided to make cream puffs.
Lu Mingming began by selecting ingredients: some flour, eggs, and the necessary cream and cake flour. These were all common ingredients for making desserts.
To avoid causing Lu Yan any digestive discomfort, Lu Mingming stood by the freezer, choosing fresh goat milk to personally make the raw ingredients.
As she casually glanced around, she noticed several bottles of cream made from goat milk.
A chef nearby, watching Lu Mingming's every move and secretly learning her techniques, smiled upon seeing her select goat milk ingredients. "We learned about feeding young cubs with goat milk and some explanations about goat milk from your live stream last time. It was the first time we knew that goat milk was most suitable for feeding young cubs. So we specially made these. We thought we wouldn't get to use them, but we didn't expect to have the honor of you using them today."
Lu Mingming was surprised that these items originated from her. She was immediately flattered, "I am deeply touched that you all have learned these things. After all, everyone is doing this for the good of the cubs."
With the ingredients prepared, Lu Mingming, as usual, opened the star network to start her live stream.
Seeing the empty new account, she paused.
"I almost forgot this isn't my old account anymore."
Lu Mingming sighed.
She had been streaming for about half a year, and it had become a part of her muscle memory. Lu Mingming felt a bit uncomfortable doing nothing and not chatting with her viewers.
"Oh well, I'll just treat it as starting a new account."
Lu Mingming gritted her teeth and tried to open the new account and establish a new streamer identity.
She adjusted the camera to only show the cutting board, turned off the holographic mode and microphone, and her slender, fair hands waved back and forth under the camera to confirm everything was okay.
"Then, I can start streaming!"
Lu Mingming smiled with satisfaction and cheered herself on.
Having returned to this work, Lu Mingming's heart pounded rapidly, filled with the joy of reuniting with an old friend.
She set the title to
Since she couldn't speak, Lu Mingming posted all the ingredients required for the cream puffs in the description.
When she first started, very few people tuned in. A handful of middle-aged individuals who were not accustomed to the star network's holographic mode found a comfortable room to stay. They used their children's avatars or photos of flowers and trees, just like Lu Mingming's family's social media accounts on Blue Star.
Lu Mingming felt warm inside. She waved her hand at the camera as a greeting, and her introduction popped up on the screen.
[An Ordinary Little Expert: Welcome, everyone, to my immersive cooking experience~ I hope you enjoy watching.]
Seeing the streamer's message, the viewers replied one by one:
[Nothing's More Beautiful Than Sunset: Am I not hearing sound? I'm sorry, I just learned to use the star network and I'm not very familiar with it.]
[I Love My Daughter: No, the streamer doesn't seem to have her voice on. Let's just watch slowly!]
[Calm and Peaceful: What are cream puffs? After the parenting competition ended recently, a large number of new products have emerged.]
[AAA Leopard Master Building Materials Factory: Why isn't the streamer talking? I've watched so many noisy livestreams, and I'm not used to someone not talking.]
Lu Mingming glanced at the sparse, fleeting comments, suppressed the slight sense of disappointment, and quickly typed on the screen: [Because it's not convenient to talk where the streamer is working, so I can only stream like this. I apologize profusely.]
After sending this message, viewers quickly expressed their understanding in the comments. Their attitude was friendly and accommodating.
Having received an answer, Lu Mingming devoted her full attention to making the cream puffs.
Milk, sugar, and butter were poured into a pot and heated over low heat. This step was for adjusting the sweetness of the cream puffs and the crispness of the shells.
All the solid ingredients gradually melted into diluted amber sugar water, mixing together to form a thin layer. The air was filled with a rich aroma of milk mixed with sweetness.
The chefs sniffed slightly, their noses filled with this sweet fragrance.
"So fragrant, what is Streamer Mingming making?"
"I don't know, let's go take a look!"
"I want to learn too!!"
"Is it okay if we disturb you?"
The chefs, some hesitant, others bold, gathered around to watch.
"Hello, sorry to bother you. What are you making? You don't have to answer if it's family inheritance."
Lu Mingming didn't mind at all. She even smiled and explained proactively, "I'm making cream puffs, and I'm currently making the pastry shells."
While she spoke, her hands worked without slowing down. She quickly poured in the cake flour and stirred it with the amber sugar water in the pot until evenly mixed. This was a laborious task. If too much flour was added, it could lead to some parts remaining dry powder, so Lu Mingming carefully used modern technology to assist.
"Buzz—"
As the machine stirred continuously, the mixture in the transparent bowl gradually became a warm yellow soft dough resembling corn, continuously tumbling. When the machine stopped, the warm dough dispersed again into a sticky batter.
When not interacting with her viewers, Lu Mingming was fully focused on making the cream puffs, her movements extremely quick.
Fresh egg liquid was added to the batter in small, repeated amounts, mixed into a cohesive mass. After absorbing the egg liquid, it diluted the original slightly sweet creaminess but gained greater malleability, forming an inverted triangle shape with just a slight lift.
"Amazing…" someone from the group of chefs exclaimed.
Lu Mingming beamed, "If you want to learn, you can follow my live stream later. I've opened a new account, and the requirement is not to casually reveal my identity."
The chefs nodded in agreement. Being able to learn new things from watching a master cook was something that would cost money for classes elsewhere!
Lu Mingming selected a clean piping bag and divided all the batter from the pot into it. With a gentle squeeze of her fingers, she pushed it into full, conical shapes.
She cut open the tip of the plastic. Under the live stream camera, on the light blue cutting board, one by one, pale yellow three-dimensional cream flowers were piped.
"Are these new cookies? They look a lot like shortbread," a chef asked curiously.
"No."
Lu Mingming shook her head and denied it, then placed the baking tray into the oven and set the temperature. "Now, we just have to wait for them to bake slowly."
In a corner, a thin young man in a chef's uniform silently sent a message: "Guoguo, hurry! Someone is trying to steal your Lu Gege."