Live Streaming Food Stall… But in Dog-Blooded Novels – CH13

Chapter 13

Professor Murong stood there, holding a half-eaten bowl of tomato broth wontons.

Professor Wang, likewise, held a half-eaten bowl of garlic wontons.

The two of them glared at each other, neither willing to back down.

—Come on! Let’s see who suffers more!

“Tomato broth wontons are obviously better. Garlic? Too crude.”

Professor Murong spoke dismissively, but his eyes were locked onto the shimmering, fragrant garlic wontons, filled with barely concealed longing.

“What do you know?! Tomato is too bland! Shrimp wontons this fresh should be eaten with garlic—that’s the best way!”

Professor Wang raised his bowl high, as if to show off his prize, yet his gaze couldn’t help but drift toward the steaming tomato broth wontons. He gulped quietly.

…What now? The other flavor looks so good too.

For two professors who had been rivals for most of their lives, their thoughts were now unexpectedly in sync.

A crowd of students had gathered nearby, pretending not to watch but listening intently, their ears perked up. Some had even taken out their phones to record videos.

Both professors were well-known figures. Many of these students had attended their lectures before, but never did they expect to see these two legendary academics… arguing over wontons.

Well, to be fair, the two had never gotten along. Their constant bickering was practically a tradition.

The professors glanced at each other.

After a tense half-minute, Professor Wang finally spoke, struggling with the words: “…Do you want to try the garlic wontons?”

Professor Murong snorted. “I suppose I could. Do you want some tomato broth wontons?”

They locked eyes like two bulls preparing to charge. The atmosphere was electric.

Then, as if guided by an unspoken agreement, they each extended a hand.

And just like that, their wonton bowls were swapped.

Each professor clutched the dish they had long coveted—and immediately dove in, devouring the wontons without hesitation.

As he tasted the rich, tangy, and fragrant tomato broth wontons, Professor Wang thought to himself: Murong Qinghe may be arrogant, but… he’s not all that bad.

As he savored the spicy, smooth garlic wontons, Professor Murong mused: Wang Jianhua may be an idiot, but… he does have some taste.

Onlookers: “???”

Wait, is the sun rising in the west today?

Just earlier, these two had been screaming at each other in their offices, spitting insults at each other’s doors, and even throwing eggs at each other’s windows. And now, under the divine influence of wontons, they had reached a truce?

Unbelievable.

Thinking back, these two had been competing for over thirty years—first over scholarships as undergraduates, then over published papers as PhD students, and later over teaching positions, research funding, and practically everything else.

Even when Professor Wang started growing a potted plant in his office, Professor Murong had to get the exact same species—only he made sure his grew better, just so he could show it off to the whole university.

That’s how petty and competitive they were.

And yet here they were, squatting under a streetlamp, shoulders touching, blissfully indulging in their wontons.

At that moment, the lifelong rival sitting next to them… didn’t seem quite as insufferable anymore.

Professor Murong happily finished half his bowl of garlic wontons, wiped his mouth, and then—true to his nature—smugly declared, “Still, my tomato broth wontons were better. I got the worse deal.”

Professor Wang: “???”

Watching Murong shamelessly switch sides the moment he finished eating, Wang was so furious he nearly exploded.

“You old scoundrel! Spit out my garlic wontons right now!”

If he ever gave this old fox an inch again, he’d be nothing but a fool!

The two men glared daggers at each other.

After a long, tense silence, they both huffed, turned on their heels, and stomped off in opposite directions.

The onlookers: “…”

Yep. Eternal rivals will always be eternal rivals. (Face-palm)

Professors Wang and Murong’s Wonton Showdown Goes Viral

The intense showdown between Professor Wang and Professor Murong at the street food stall was secretly recorded by some students and posted on Douyin. Within three hours, the video had amassed over 100,000 likes.

The video’s creator was particularly clever, adding grand, cinematic music at the beginning, accompanied by a professional voiceover in the style of a CCTV news report:

—“What you are witnessing now is Professor Wang Jianhua: SCI journal editorial board member, academician of both national academies, leader of a national key laboratory, and one of the most influential AI scholars of the year.”

—“And alongside him is Professor Murong Qinghe: also an academician of both national academies, a pioneer in convolutional neural networks, recipient of the Cologne Research Award, chief scientist at the Capital Think Tank, and founder of the business incubator Cosponsor.”

—“Let’s take a look at their latest heated debate—an intellectual duel of the highest caliber, a breathtaking clash of strength and beauty!”

Then, the video abruptly cut to a comical shot of the two professors glaring at each other, eyes burning with intensity… as they stared at the wontons in each other’s hands.

After a brief negotiation, they snatched the other’s bowl and devoured the wontons with reckless abandon.

The majestic background music suddenly shifted into a more humorous tune.

The comment section exploded with question marks.

[???]

[HAHAHAHA wait, weren’t these two professors nominated for the Nobel Prize this year???]

[So my advisor pushes us to the limit in the lab, but outside, he’s out here doing this? (tired smile)]

[Okay, this is why I’m not applying to Beijing University. Totally not because my scores aren’t high enough.]

[If you’re not applying, then I’m not applying either. Solidarity, bro.]

One comment summed up everyone’s thoughts: [Are those wontons really that good? They look amazing!]

Just how delicious did these wontons have to be for two national treasures of academia to throw aside all dignity and publicly bicker over them?

Thanks to the viral video featuring the two professors, this particular bowl of wontons quietly gained immense popularity on Douyin (Chinese Tiktok).

But Jian Yunlan remained completely unaware of all this.

And even if he knew, his focus would still be on running his food stall. As long as he could keep setting up his stand and seeing the happy smiles of his customers, he’d be willing to trade even a jackpot lottery win for it!

*

The Last Day at Beijing University’s Gate

Today was the final day Jian Yunlan would be setting up his wonton stall outside the university gate.

He had already decided—today, he was going to make something different.

—Cantonese-style Fried Wontons!

In his past life, Jian Yunlan grew up in Sichuan, but he had spent four years of university in South Guangdong.

Despite the grueling coursework back then, nothing beat stopping by a local breakfast shop in the morning for a serving of crispy fried wontons dipped in sweet chili sauce. It was an indescribable delight.

Fried wontons didn’t require particularly complex ingredients—just like the past few days, he used ground pork, shrimp paste, and eggs. To enhance the texture, he also bought some winter bamboo shoots and chives.

When he returned to the villa, he saw the housekeeper carrying a jar filled with a thick, semi-translucent white substance.

“Housekeeper, what are you holding?” Jian Yunlan asked curiously, stopping him.

“I’m not sure,” the housekeeper replied with a professional smile. “Auntie Wang brought it back from her hometown a few days ago. She said you might want it. If not, I was planning to throw it away.”

The housekeeper wasn’t entirely sure what it was and was about to store it away in the warehouse.

Jian Yunlan opened the jar, dipped a finger in, and took a sniff.

The ‘white paste’ was incredibly smooth, almost like soap, and had a rich, savory aroma with a hint of Sichuan pepper.

It was high-quality lard.

Jian Yunlan’s face lit up with joy as he hugged the jar. “This is lard! And really good-quality lard!”

It was clearly homemade, rendered in a rural household. So pure, so fragrant, so white—you’d never find anything like this in stores.

Just then, Auntie Wang emerged from cleaning up. Jian Yunlan rushed over and grabbed her hands.

“Auntie Wang, thank you! You’re such a wonderful person, I love you! Housekeeper, give Auntie Wang a bonus—charge it to my personal credit card.”

Auntie Wang: “…?”

Being told “I love you” by such a handsome young man made Auntie Wang’s face flush slightly.

Ah, how embarrassing.

Meanwhile, Jian Yunlan had already dashed into the kitchen like a gust of wind, humming a tune as he prepared for the day’s food stall.

As usual, he minced meat, mixed the filling, rolled out the wrappers, sliced ingredients, and wrapped the wontons.

Just one spoonful of Auntie Wang’s lard was enough to elevate the fried wontons to perfection. No more, no less—just enough to bring out the dish’s full potential.

Unlike traditional wontons, fried wontons had a distinct shape. Jian Yunlan carefully folded the wrappers in half and pinched the edges from left to right, forming tiny goldfish-like wontons.

This shape wasn’t just visually appealing—it also allowed the dipping sauce to coat them more evenly.

For dipping sauces, he prepared the classic garlic-infused sweet chili sauce. Anticipating that not everyone would like sweet chili, he also prepared mayonnaise and vinegar, giving customers options.

Since fried wontons could be a bit greasy, Jian Yunlan decided to balance them with homemade lime sparkling tea. Each portion of fried wontons would come with a complimentary cup.

Everything was ready, and it was almost time to go. Jian Yunlan loaded up his ingredients, cooking equipment, and drink dispenser onto his tricycle.

Time to open for business! 

*

Ning Sheng was fine.

The doctor gave him a thorough examination and concluded that his low blood sugar was caused by irregular meals and lack of rest—he needed to eat on time.

And so, he was discharged from the hospital.

After leaving, Ning Sheng went to visit his mother.

His mother and grandmother had been moving into Haiping Community for the past two days. At first, Ning Sheng was puzzled about where they got the money to live there. But after Ning Menglian explained—

Ning Sheng: “…”

It seemed like something Boss Jian would do.

Since Ning Menglian still had work and Ning Sheng had classes tomorrow, he returned to the dormitory.

When he arrived, it was only 5:30 PM. Li Mingxi was already fully equipped—wearing sneakers, carrying a small stool, a mini fan, and mosquito repellent—getting ready to head out.

After a few cool days due to rain, today was inexplicably hot again, as if summer had suddenly returned. The air felt stifling, and mosquitoes buzzed around.

To ensure he could get a serving of wontons, he had to wait in line for two hours. Preparation was key.

“Ning Shen! Are you feeling better?” Seeing Ning Sheng nod, Li Mingxi grinned and asked, “Want to go line up for wontons together?”

Ning Sheng gave him a deep look.

Li Mingxi’s heart skipped a beat. Had he been too abrupt?

After all, Ning Sheng was Ning Sheng—he wasn’t the type to indulge in food cravings.

No matter how delicious the wontons were, Ning Sheng wouldn’t waste two hours standing in line for them, right?

Then, Ning Sheng picked up his bag from his seat, turned around, and walked out.

Li Mingxi felt a little awkward.

A few seconds later, Ning Sheng turned back and asked, “Why aren’t you moving? Did you forget something?”

Li Mingxi: “…Oh! Oh! Oh!”

So Ning Sheng was going to line up for wontons too?!

This was the power of wontons!

As soon as they stepped out of the dormitory, Ning Sheng scanned his surroundings. A dozen or so students wearing glasses were leaving the dorm in groups of twos and threes, seemingly heading to the library. They were in the same algorithm group as Li Mingxi, all wearing checkered shirts and nodding in greeting as they passed by.

Seeing them, Ning Sheng suddenly frowned. “This isn’t good.”

Li Mingxi: “?!”

Ning Sheng patted him on the shoulder and whispered, “Too many people! We won’t make it in time! Run!”

Li Mingxi: “???”

The two of them took off running.

The students pretending to go to the library saw them run and instantly dropped their act, bolting after them.

How did he see through our disguise?!

As they ran, students shouted:

“Wontons! They’re ours!!!”

“No one’s taking them from us!!!”