Live Streaming Food Stall… But in Dog-Blooded Novels – CH4

Chapter 4

The next morning.

Jian Yunlan had set an alarm and got up right on time at seven. He rode his tricycle to the market to stock up on ingredients.

“Young Master, why do you insist on going to the market yourself? We could just buy out the entire place and let you pick whatever you like,” the butler sincerely suggested.

Jian Yunlan: “……”

“No need.”

The butler still didn’t understand!

One of the greatest joys of being a street food vendor was personally selecting the freshest, most delicious ingredients with a keen eye, then cooking them into dishes that left customers craving for more.

Jian Yunlan had decided that the filling for his wontons would change every two days. Tonight, he would stick with pork.

However, instead of pork and corn, today he planned to choose the finest pork and season it simply with scallions to highlight the meat’s natural, exquisite flavor.

The quality of the pork was crucial.

After entering the market and making a round, Jian Yunlan finally stopped at a stall.

“How much for the pork per jin (half a kilogram)?”

The pork shoulder displayed on the stall was perfectly marbled, with distinct layers of red and white. The fat was about two to three fingers wide, bright and clean in color, with a translucent, marrow-filled bone. Jian Yunlan pressed on the meat slightly—it was extremely elastic and bounced back immediately.

As expected of an ingredient rated “Good” by his God of Cooking System.

Yesterday, he had been short on time and could only find Normal-grade pork in the entire market. But with his maxed-out culinary skills, even Normal-grade pork had been transformed into something almost too exquisite to afford.

Now, he was eager to see what kind of surprise Good-grade pork could bring him.

“Fifteen yuan per jin. This is top-quality, farm-raised pork,” the vendor said, rubbing his hands together with an honest smile. Even though Jian Yunlan’s attire was luxurious, the vendor didn’t hike up the price.

Jian Yunlan nodded in satisfaction.

“Alright, I’ll take all of it.”

The vendor was startled—buying this much?!

This was enough to feed a normal family for more than ten days!

After loading the purchased pork onto his tricycle, Jian Yunlan wandered around the market again, buying scallions, ginger, and garlic.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a middle-aged woman calling out:

“Come take a look! Homemade chili sauce, fragrant and delicious—perfect for any dish!”

Chili sauce?

Jian Yunlan paused in his tracks.

Looking toward the voice, he saw that the chili sauce in the woman’s hands was shimmering with a faint, light-purple glow!

An “Excellent”-grade ingredient, as rated by the God of Cooking System!

Without hesitation, he turned his tricycle and stopped in front of the woman.

“How much for a jar of chili sauce?”

The woman was dressed simply, with strands of gray in her hair, but she carried a calm and gentle presence. Her gaze was strong, standing out in contrast to the noisy market around her.

“Twenty yuan per jar,” she said, a hint of hope in her voice. “If you buy more, I can offer you a discount.”

People in Z City had mild palates, preferring salty and sweet flavors. Her chili sauce hadn’t been selling well.

She had been in the market for three days and had only sold two jars.

Her son was studying at Beijing University and had even taken on part-time jobs to support himself. Their family’s finances were tight, and every bit of income mattered.

Seeing Jian Yunlan deep in thought, the woman mustered up the courage to add:

“It’s all homemade…”

Jian Yunlan: “I’ll buy all of it.”

“…Are you selling again tomorrow and the day after? For the rest of this week, however many jars of chili sauce you make, I’ll buy them all.”

Without hesitation, he transferred the money.

The woman: “!!!”

She was stunned.

He bought all of it?! What kind of generosity was this?!

This was an absolute lifesaver. Overjoyed, the woman smiled brightly as she helped Jian Yunlan load the jars onto his tricycle.

“Boss, if you’re buying again tomorrow and the day after, why don’t you leave me your address? I can deliver it to your home, so you won’t have to make the trip.”

Jian Yunlan nodded. “Sounds good. Let’s exchange WeChat.”

Soon, the woman sent a friend request. Her profile picture was a photo of her and her son. Her username: Ning Menglian.

Jian Yunlan accepted the request and edited her contact name:

[(High-Quality Chili Sauce) Ms. Ning]

*

Multiverse Livestream Chatroom

Jian Yunlan’s stream exploded with waves of question marks.

[???]

[??????]

[…Wait, bro.]

[Are you kidding me?! He just ran into Ning’s mom this easily? And even added her on WeChat?! …And all he wants is to buy chili sauce?!]

[Her profile picture LITERALLY has a photo of her and Ning Sheng together—this is practically a direct hint! And he didn’t even click on it! (Facepalm, helpless laughter)]

Ning Sheng grew up in a single-parent household, raised solely by Ning Menglian. Life was tough for the mother and son, but they supported each other, making their days progressively better.

It was no exaggeration to say that Ning Menglian was the most important person in Ning Sheng’s life.

In Paranoid Possession, one of the key turning points that led to the complete breakdown between the main couple and an irreparable plot was Ning Menglian’s unexpected death. At the time of the accident, Ning Sheng was imprisoned in Gu Xingzhou’s villa and couldn’t make it in time to see his mother one last time.

Since the Paranoid Possession world opened, numerous challengers had attempted to find Ning Menglian and save her from the accident, hoping to repair the storyline. However, because Paranoid Possession was a classic melodramatic novel that revolved solely around the two leads, most of the content about Ning Menglian was only vaguely mentioned in Ning Sheng’s memories. As a result, no one had ever succeeded.

Some challengers tried putting up missing person posters at the accident site, others went door-to-door in nearby residential areas asking around, and some even inquired at the domestic service company where Ning Menglian worked—but all efforts ended in failure.

Who would have thought that, at the very beginning of the story, she would actually be selling chili sauce at the market?!

And who could have imagined that Jian Yunlan, the first challenger lucky enough to meet Ning Menglian, would seriously only be interested in buying her chili sauce…

This left the other challengers completely speechless!

*

After returning to the villa, it was still early, so Jian Yunlan took a nap.

At 3 PM, he got up to prepare the ingredients.

The star ingredient of the day was still the Good-grade pork. Jian Yunlan personally minced the meat until it was smooth and free of any chunks, then seasoned it and added an egg white to enhance its tenderness.

As for the soup base, today he made a pork bone broth. He started by blanching pork leg bones in cold water, then pan-seared them in hot oil until slightly golden. After that, he added hot water, star anise, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks.

After three hours of slow simmering, the broth turned into a rich, creamy white liquid, and its tantalizing aroma drifted from the clay pot.

In addition to the soup base, he also made a spicy red oil seasoning using the chili sauce he had bought from Auntie Ning. Customers could choose between the two styles of serving.

With everything ready, at 6:30 PM, Jian Yunlan set off on his tricycle, heading out from the villa on time.

*

At 6:50 PM, Li Mingxi, Li Yun, and Tan Tingting were already waiting at the south gate.

Besides them, five or six other college students were also gathered at the spot where Jian Yunlan had set up his stall yesterday.

Li Yun and Tan Tingting were visibly excited, whispering to each other:

“How many portions are you getting today?”

“Three of each flavor. You?”

“I’m getting at least five, haha. Hopefully, there’s no purchase limit.”

Li Mingxi, on the other hand, didn’t understand their enthusiasm at all.

He was only here to accompany his sister, Li Yun. Once he helped her buy the wontons, he planned to head straight back to the computer lab.

His code still wasn’t running.

For programmers like him, if the code wasn’t running, nothing tasted good. Even the most extravagant feast would be bland and unappetizing to him—let alone a roadside food stall.

Since his sister was a foodie, Li Mingxi had accompanied her on food hunts all over the city, visiting every so-called “must-try” spot. They had even queued for three whole hours at a century-old restaurant once, only to find that their wontons were just mediocre—slightly more tender than usual, but otherwise no different from a standard takeout order.

Wontons? No matter how good they were, they couldn’t be that amazing.

Bored while waiting, Li Mingxi took out a small notebook and started jotting down code ideas.

Then—

“Hey, he’s here! He’s here!”

Li Yun suddenly called out in excitement.

Sure enough, right at 7 PM, Jian Yunlan’s tricycle appeared in the crowd.

The waiting students eagerly rushed forward:

“Boss, you’re finally here!”

“I queued forever yesterday, and just when it was my turn, you were sold out… I went home and cried all night!”

“Do you have two flavors again today? I’ll take one of each!”

Seeing that customers were already waiting for him, Jian Yunlan felt genuinely touched.

He had only set up his stall for one day, and he already had returning customers!

Parking his tricycle, he reheated the pork bone broth and brought another pot of water to a boil for cooking the wontons.

The rich, savory scent of slow-simmered pork bone soup began to fill the air, blending with the fragrance of scallions, ginger, and star anise—bringing a warm comfort to the cool autumn evening.

It smelled absolutely divine.

In just the blink of an eye, besides the seven or eight college students who had been waiting, another five or six passersby were drawn over by the aroma and started lining up in front of the stall.

Jian Yunlan announced:

“Today, it’s also limited to 100 servings, with two flavors available.”

“The first is bone broth wontons, and the second is spicy red oil wontons.”

“Starting today, each person can buy a maximum of two servings. I appreciate your understanding.”

The God of Cooking System had a strict limit—only 100 servings could be sold per day. Seeing customers wait in line for so long only to leave empty-handed broke Jian Yunlan’s heart. That’s why he decided to set a purchase limit today—so that at least more people could get a taste.

—It’s been limited for real!

Li Yun thought to herself in relief. Good thing she had brought her brother along!

Since he had no interest in wontons, she could have whatever he bought. That meant she could eat four servings!

Eagerly, she spoke up:

“Boss! One of each flavor, please!”

“Alright.”

Jian Yunlan swiftly scooped twenty wontons into the boiling pot.

Tan Tingting also ordered one of each.

Very soon, the line reached Li Mingxi.

The surrounding chatter about bone broth and red oil was constant, with people craning their necks to discuss the wontons. It was starting to get on his nerves.

It’s just wontons—what’s the big deal?

“Boss, I’ll take one bone broth.” Li Mingxi didn’t even lift his head as he continued writing formulas in his notebook. “How much?”

Jian Yunlan replied, “Thirty.”

“How much?!” Li Mingxi almost thought he misheard. “Thirty bucks for a single serving of wontons? Why not just—” Rob people?

This was outrageous! Even that century-old restaurant Li Yun had dragged him to only charged fifteen per serving.

Sure, the broth smelled good, and the wontons looked delicate, but for such a tiny portion—how could it possibly be worth thirty?

Li Mingxi started suspecting there was some kind of scam going on.

Li Yun kept signaling at him, subtly hinting that he should just buy it—she’d pay.

Only then did Li Mingxi reluctantly hand over the money.

“Alright, the wontons need to cook for five minutes. Please wait.” Jian Yunlan blinked at him.

Li Mingxi stood to the side, still focused on his notebook.

He was stuck on a problem.

His latest major assignment was to develop a version control system—one that could track file history, restore previous versions, and merge changes. It was one of the toughest projects of the year.

The merge function was what had him completely stuck. How could he automatically generate a merged file from two parent files?

He had tried several different data structures, but none of them worked perfectly.

Just as he was deep in thought, a calm, clear voice interrupted him.

“Sir, your wontons are ready.”

Jian Yunlan handed him the packed wontons, then casually glanced at his notebook. Offhandedly, he said:

“Shouldn’t this system use a traversable graph instead of a binary tree?”

Li Mingxi: “?”

His first instinct was to say—ridiculous.

But then, he looked at his notes again…

He lowered his head and started sketching out a concept diagram.

Step by step, he worked through it.

Beads of sweat began forming on his forehead.

That one casual remark from Jian Yunlan was like a pair of hands, suddenly parting the fog that had been clouding his mind for days.

In an instant, he saw the problem—and just as suddenly, he knew how to fix it.

Three days.

He had been stuck on this for three whole days!

And yet, a street food vendor had solved it in one sentence.

A genius?!

“Boss… Who exactly are you?” Li Mingxi couldn’t help but ask.

That sharp clarity, that incredible depth of knowledge—

This stall owner is no ordinary person!

Jian Yunlan smiled slightly. “I’m just an ordinary street food vendor.”

In his past life, he had graduated from a prestigious university and spent years writing code on the front lines of a big tech company.

But that was all in the past.

Now, he was a food stall owner—and he was genuinely happy every day.

Watching Jian Yunlan skillfully drop wontons into the pot, scoop them up, and drizzle sauce over them, Li Mingxi suddenly felt a deep sense of existential dread.

Is this… the ultimate fate of a programmer?

He recalled a joke that had been circulating online:

“At 35, you’re sent off to the flexible employment sector. Your main job? Running a street food stall. Your side gigs? Java, Python, system design, integrated testing…”

Li Mingxi: “…”

He shook his head, trying to push those thoughts away.

Just then, his stomach let out a loud growl.

—Now that his long-standing problem was finally solved, he realized he was actually hungry.

And right at that moment, a rich, savory aroma drifted to his nose.

Li Mingxi looked down and saw that the scent was coming from the bowl in his hands.

The slow-simmered pork bone broth had a faint, milky-white hue, its marrow essence fully dissolved into the liquid. A thin layer of glistening golden oil floated on the surface.

Inside the creamy broth, delicate, plump wontons bobbed up and down. The sprinkling of fresh scallions added a pop of color, making the dish look even more enticing.

Because he had been preoccupied with coding, he hadn’t eaten a proper meal in three days, surviving only on a few bites of stale bread. Now that his mental block was lifted, his long-suppressed hunger surged forth.

He stared at the bowl of bone broth wontons.

…They looked so delicious.

Swallowing hard, he instinctively scooped up a spoonful of broth and took a sip.

The silky, rich soup flowed across his tongue, slightly hot but just right for the chilly autumn night. The long-simmered flavors had reached their peak—the deep umami of bone marrow, the slight sweetness of meat juices, the fragrance of rendered fat.

The thin layer of oil on top only amplified the broth’s irresistible aroma.

So fresh. So incredibly fresh!

Li Mingxi felt an unexpected sting in his eyes.

This was a taste unlike any other—a taste that brought back memories.

He suddenly recalled his childhood in the countryside, when his grandmother would slowly simmer a pot of pork bone soup overnight. That same warm, healing flavor had once filled his bowl and comforted his soul.

What about the wontons?

Unable to wait any longer, Li Mingxi scooped one up and popped it into his mouth.

“Holy sh—!”

The wonton skin was thin yet firm, stretching slightly before bursting open. The juicy pork filling released a surge of rich, scalding broth—so hot it nearly burned his tongue.

But more than that, it was unbelievably flavorful.

In just one bite, he could tell—this was premium pork.

Not just lean meat, but perfectly marbled, with just the right amount of fat to create that luxurious, melt-in-your-mouth texture. The warm, fragrant oils blended with the umami-packed broth, creating a deep, layered taste.

And yet, it wasn’t greasy at all.

The meat was springy and tender, a balanced mix of lean and fatty, giving just the right amount of bite. With every chew, he tasted the richness of the broth, the fragrant oils, the fresh sweetness of pork, and the crisp freshness of scallions.

Absolutely addictive.

Having gone hungry for three days, this small bowl of wontons erased all his exhaustion and completely satisfied his taste buds.

Before he knew it, the entire bowl was empty.

Not a single drop of soup remained.

—Not until he heard his sister’s voice.

“Bro!”

Li Yun had already finished both of her servings. She had just walked over, hoping to snag the portion Li Mingxi had bought.

But what she saw instead was her brother scraping the last bit of broth from the bottom of his bowl.

His bowl was spotless.

Not a single wonton.

Not even a piece of scallion.

“I thought you said you weren’t interested in wontons?!” Li Yun’s voice trembled.

Her wontons.

The wontons that were supposed to be hers—gone. Just like that.

Their sibling bond, forged from the same womb, had crumbled… in the face of this bowl of wontons.