Six o'clock in the evening.
"Hello everyone, I'm the host, Gu Yumian," Gu Yumian smiled at the camera and briefly introduced herself. "Here are my babies, Xuetuan and Tangyuan. We're currently on Mount Muluoda in the capital, and we'll have dinner soon."
Gu Yumian enabled Xiao Tangyuan's privacy settings. This automatically avoids the camera from all viewing angles, preventing viewers from seeing the baby panda's entire body and face, thus minimizing privacy concerns. Today, as before, Xiao Tangyuan's first-person perspective was used.
The little snow leopard still occupied Gu Yumian's shoulder as usual, and its long tail lazily swept across the young man's collarbone.
The baby panda was just being carried to the top of the mountain by Gu Yumian. Its round and furry little head kept burrowing into Gu Yumian's palm, hoping that Gu Yumian would smooth its fur. It would only move away miserably when threatened by the little snow leopard.
The hovercraft could only reach the foot of the mountain. Gu Yumian had to mediate the snow leopard's unilateral conflict with Tangyuan. Fortunately, a small robot helped carry the ingredients and cooking utensils for the picnic, otherwise it would have been quite a chore.
But after reaching halfway up the mountain, I found that all the hard work was worth it.
The environment here is really great - the vast sky is displayed before their eyes without any obstruction, there is a lake next to the cabin they rented, and the refreshing mountain breeze in the evening takes away the summer heat.
After the tents and cooking utensils were properly placed, Gu Yumian finally had time to take a look at the comments.
Boy B: It's finally airing! I've been waiting so long... Wow, is it outdoors? The scenery is quite beautiful.
[Student studying hard for postgraduate entrance exams: My mom forced me to watch this. What the hell is this livestream? (Also, my mom is gathering her group of older women to come and give the streamer some flowers and likes! I feel like my worldview is about to collapse.)
[Youyunduo: Welcome to Capital Star! Sending you fireworks and wishing you smooth sailing! This is the first time I've heard of the terms picnic and camping.]
[Gugujiji: I was recommended by the hypnosis video before, and I’m really looking forward to it. I hope I can also sleep well by watching the live broadcast tonight. ORZ]
[Meow: Mine, Mine, Mine, what shall we eat tonight? ]
As a new broadcaster, Gu Yumian's livestream was officially livestreaming on the Capital Planet for the first time. Within five minutes of going live, the number of viewers in Gu Yumian's livestream room increased far beyond the average. Of course, given that the Capital Planet is such a large planet, and this was Gu Yumian's first livestream there, his current data didn't rank highly on the recommended list.
Some of the viewers here came over from Taku, and the previously popular "hypnosis" video, which was spontaneously promoted by a thousand public judges to their relatives and friends, also attracted a lot of viewers.
"We're having clay-braised chicken, cream of mushroom soup, and some sparkling wine tonight," Gu Yumian said, holding the little snow leopard's paw and scratching the panda cub's chin as he answered the comments. "Yuanyuan will mainly drink milk, but she can also try a little bit of the vegetables, okay?"
[Boy B: Wow, I've never heard of these dishes...]
Little Tangyuan whimpered happily and tried to move his round head closer, but the little snow leopard rudely pushed him away.
Gu Yumian smiled helplessly, shook his head, and began to prepare the ingredients.
"Clay-braised chicken is a dish from my mother's hometown. Few people know about it these days," Gu Yumian explained. "It's a traditional folk dish, but I think it's also suitable for picnics."
After all, it was a picnic, and the cooking utensils weren't as complete as at home. Gu Yumian set up a portable stove and alcohol stove right by the lake, connected the small stools he brought with him to form a small platform for preparing the ingredients, and sat cross-legged on the picnic blanket to prepare the food.
He soaked the roughly disassembled synthetic whole chicken in white vinegar water to make the meat smoother and tenderer, then cut it in two horizontal sections in the middle to remove the internal organs.
The pork belly puree had been prepared long ago. After Gu Yumian put some minced ginger and oil into the pan and stir-fried it until fragrant, he quickly scooped it up and mixed it with chopped ginger, minced shiitake mushrooms, sesame oil and the pork belly puree. He added a very small amount of salt, mixed well, and filled the puree into the cross-cut gaps.
"It's very simple to prepare... You can actually add minced garlic and red pepper, but my two babies can't handle the spicy and pungent taste of it." Gu Yumian picked up the little snow leopard who was pacing over to inspect the progress of dinner with his chin raised, tucked it into the collar of his sweatshirt, leaving only the head sticking out, and continued:
"If you like it, you can try other ingredient combinations when you make it yourself. You might find something surprising."
[Meow: Honestly, I actually tried to make a dish that Mian Mian had made before... The ingredients and steps were exactly the same, so why did I end up with something so weird?! I'm so ashamed.]
[Cloud Clip: Wow, it smells nice before it even starts simmering! I can imagine what it tastes like! Slurp, slurp.]
The baby panda leaned on Gu Yumian's knees and fell asleep. From time to time, he moved his nose to smell the fragrance of the ingredients Gu Yumian was cooking, and then touched his white and fluffy belly blankly.
Gu Yumian couldn't help but laugh. He wrapped the tender chicken in two layers of lotus leaves and tied them with thick thread. He should have used porcelain clay to wrap the lotus leaves, but Gu Yumian could only find a fine clay that was similar in texture.
He donned disposable gloves and poured white wine into the mud, mixing it thoroughly. He then wrapped the lotus leaf chicken in the mud and placed it in an alcohol stove, simmering it gently. On ancient Earth, this would have taken six or seven hours, but thanks to interstellar technology, setting up the alcohol stove only required twenty minutes to complete the process.
"While we're waiting, let's also cook the cream of mushroom soup. I use light cream with very little lactose to avoid lactose intolerance issues, so the final taste won't be overly sweet."
Gu Yumian lit another alcohol stove, added broth to the pot and simmered it for a while, then added slices of ginger and two slices of butter. When the broth began to bubble, he poured in the sliced mushrooms and reduced the heat to a simmer.
"Take out the ginger slices after cooking for a while. There's no need to keep them." Gu Yumian said as he poured the soup and half of the mushrooms into a blender, added flour and light cream, and stirred with a pinch of salt.
The thick, milky texture of the soup was already visible, and the salty, sweet aroma of cream and mushrooms could be smelled. The little snow leopard stepped over to the pot and sniffed, its eyes narrowing slightly. Gu Yumian guessed it was expressing its satisfaction.
"After stirring until it's almost like this, pour it back into the pot and cook," Gu Yumian said as he took the little snow leopard back into his arms. "You can put the remaining half of the mushrooms in and cook them together. Now we just need to wait."
[A Handful of Moonlight: I can smell it, it's kind of wonderful. I'm so looking forward to that chicken and this soup! ! I really want to actually eat them, but I just said I wanted to lose weight.]
[Little Claw: Host, can you hear me swallowing?!]
But some viewers have been fussing over the idea of the clay-braised chicken since the beginning – wrapping food in clay and then roasting it, and then asking them to eat the clay? That seems a bit creepy.
[Monkey King and Cat: Sorry, I'm not Ky, I sincerely want to ask the host, are we going to...eat dirt later?]
"Eating dirt?" Gu Yumian repeated the word helplessly. He didn't expect them to think that way. "What are you little viewers thinking about every day?"
He held the panda baby in his arms. The little snow leopard popped its head out from the collar of its sweatshirt, resting its head on Gu Yumian's chin, dozing lazily. Gu Yumian touched little Tangyuan's ear and joked with it: "Where's Yuanyuan? ... Yuanyuan, do you want to eat dirt?"
The baby panda didn't understand at all, but knew that Gu Yumian was asking it a question, so it immediately made whimpering sounds to express its unconditional agreement with everything Gu Yumian said, as if to indicate that it really wanted to eat dirt.
Gu Yumian found the little Tangyuan adorable and funny, and couldn't help but laugh. He held the little guy in his arms and tapped his forehead: "You."
The laughter was low, ringing just beside my ear. The young man's voice, mingled with the evening breeze, sounded gentle and intimate, a hint of helplessness and indulgence towards his own naive child. The mountain breeze of a midsummer evening was cool, and the audience shared the perspective of the panda cub, feeling as if they too were being held in Gu Yumian's arms and gently coaxed.
Patient, gentle, indulgent, coaxing.
The faint scent of sea salt mixed with bamboo leaves lingered in my nose, and my body warmth permeated my skin through his shirt. The young man's embrace became a haven, impervious to the elements. More than any external sensation, the inner sense of contentment and relaxation was the most immersive.
audience:"……"
audience:"……?"
audience:"!!!"
After a few seconds of reaction time, many new viewers who had never spoken before were blown away!
[Ballpoint Pen and Bunny: Ahhhhh I'm exploding! I'm going to be blown into fireworks by this anchor's voice!!! I'm sorry, I swore to hate humans forever QAQ I betrayed the organization!!]
[Crown Bird Aui: awsl!! I was already drooling just by smelling the delicious food, and now my saliva is overflowing even more. woooooo.]
[Early to bed, early to rise: Who the hell can stand this? I'd be fine if I could just stay with this man every day! !]
The little snow leopard was dozing off, but he woke up immediately and became very jealous.
Its gray-blue eyes were cold, and the little snow leopard, looking down from above, reached out its sharp claws to push against the baby panda's head. Fortunately, Gu Yumian spotted it in time and quickly hugged the little snow leopard, coaxing it and kissing its ears. A family conflict that was about to ignite was finally nipped in the bud.
While we were chatting and laughing, the alcohol stove with a timer made a ding-dong sound, indicating that the clay-braised chicken and cream of mushroom soup were ready.
The rich aroma of cream of mushroom soup has slowly spread in the air as it cooks. The rich and delicious taste makes people involuntarily imagine the temperature, taste and texture when they put it in their mouths.
Gu Yumian sprinkled a small layer of chopped parsley on the surface of the milky and thick soup, took two spoons, and fed a small sip to the little snow leopard and the baby panda.
The light cream and mushrooms are stirred and boiled until they become thick and milky white. The taste is mellow and rich in the mouth, and the pervasive milky flavor does not make people feel greasy. The sweetness of the cream and the salty and fresh taste of the broth and mushrooms are perfectly combined together. The warm feeling flows from the esophagus to the stomach in one bite. The feeling is simply indescribable!
Although it is summer now, the evenings on the top of the mountain are not hot. Instead, it is a bit cool due to the convergence of sunlight, the moisture from the lake and the wind.
At this time, having a bowl of warm cream of mushroom soup before the meal can not only soothe the thirsty spleen and stomach, but also lay a good foundation for further experiencing the delicious food. After a few mouthfuls of delicious soup, the anticipation for the evening picnic in the mountains suddenly increased a lot.
The little snow leopard narrowed its eyes and raised its chin modestly, while the baby panda was more direct, stroking its fluffy white belly and making happy whimpering sounds.
Vivian: This creamy soup is amazing!!! It's absolutely amazing! Even though it's a thick soup, I never get tired of it!
[Youyunduo: Fresh and rich, mellow but not greasy, this is really delicious.]
[Meow: I second that! I'm really looking forward to the clay-crusted chicken soon!]
The special effects of several big gifts exploded at the same time, and the speed at which the number of viewers increased gradually accelerated.
"You can't give Yuanyuan the clay-braised chicken, for fear she won't be able to digest it," Gu Yumian said as he poured a basin of milk for the little glutinous rice balls. "If you all want to try the clay-braised chicken, I'll switch to Tuantuan's perspective now."
Gu Yumian took the clay-braised chicken out of the alcohol stove and, wearing heat-insulating gloves, peeled away the lumps of fine dirt on the surface, revealing the lotus leaves wrapped around the chicken. He untied the thick string that bound the lotus leaves, and the leaves unraveled one by one...
Rich fragrance!
The chicken, roasted over a gentle fire in mud mixed with white wine, is crispy and golden on the outside. Its color alone is enticing, enhanced by the lotus leaf wrapping and the aroma of the wine. The rich aroma, however, is surprisingly not cloying or overpowering, and the mere smell is enough to whet your appetite. A gentle poke with chopsticks reveals the chicken, which is perfectly crispy and tender, falling off the bone.
Gu Yumian was afraid of getting angry, so he took a piece and let it cool down before feeding it to the little snow leopard.
The roasted chicken is crispy and golden on the outside, while the inside is tender and juicy. The incredibly tender meat, with its delicate aroma of lotus leaves and fine wine, melts in your mouth, leaving you wanting more. A closer look reveals the flavorful ginger and pork belly wrapped inside, complementing the roasted chicken perfectly.
Three seconds later.
The little snow leopard narrowed its eyes in contentment, licked the corner of its mouth, and after a moment, stretched out its paw to pry away Gu Yumian's chopsticks, clearly urging him to hurry up and take another bite. The baby panda couldn't resist and clung to Gu Yumian's wrist, but Gu Yumian was afraid it wouldn't be able to digest it, so he didn't dare give it any.
After the barrage was quiet for a while, it went completely crazy!
[White Cat Floating on Green Water: !!! !!! Aaaaaahh ...
【Early to bed, early to rise: If you can’t eat enough, have another bite, hurry up!!】
Vivian: Delicious! Really delicious! I've eaten at every food stall in downtown and I've never tasted anything like this. It's just a random thing wrapped in mud and grilled outdoors. How did you do that?!
[A wisp of wind: It has a taste of childhood. The host really put in a lot of thought. Thank you. Roses bloom in September. I only have you in my heart. A firework is for you.]
One gift firework after another exploded.
Mount Muloda is a semi-developed mountain, allowing visitors to choose their own spots for picnics and camping. Gu Yumian's location was perfectly chosen; quiet and deserted, yet I could hear the laughter and chatter of other tourists, ensuring I wasn't alone.
Gu Yumian also prepared a low-proof sparkling fruit wine, chilled, which went perfectly with the roasted clay-braised chicken. The bubbles danced on the tip of the tongue, blending with the sweet fragrance of wild fruits, tinging the edges of this midsummer with a sweet tinge.
They all sat on the picnic blanket. Gu Yumian took care of the baby panda, feeding it bowls of milk, and fed the little snow leopard roast chicken and sparkling fruit wine. He also tasted a few chopsticks himself. All the noisy sounds gradually died down.
The barrage of comments that had been piling up layer upon layer gradually quieted down, and I immersed myself in the summer in the mountains bit by bit.
Now is the most beautiful time of the evening in the entire mountain.
The golden red sunset spreads out layer by layer on the lake in front of me, and when I look up, I see the vast sky. The mountain breeze blows past my ears, and I can smell the unique scent of evening and forest, mixed with cooking smoke.
The alcohol stove went out, but the bonfire that Gu Yumian had lit was still burning. In the forest where the night was gradually deepening and weary birds were returning to their nests, the flickering light of the bonfire was reflected on the quiet lake, like a scene often described in fairy tales.
After a satisfying meal and a few drinks, the panda cub burped, rubbing its belly, while the snow leopard cub dozed off in Gu Yumian's arms. Gu Yumian poked the bonfire with a branch, sending sparks flying.
"This is a good time to tell a story," Gu Yumian said softly, "Well, what should I tell you? A long time ago..."
The sound of cicadas began to chirp, and the setting sun faded away, replaced by a sky full of stars.
Midsummer nights are always particularly memorable.
It was Friday evening.
Many people have just finished a full week of work and are wearily sprawled on the couch, watching TV or scrolling through the same old WeChat Moments. All those family trips and weekend camping trips planned days ago have been pushed to the back burner by fatigue and laziness. So many times have I promised to get out and about, but I haven't been able to make it happen once.
Without stars and fireworks, without fireflies, it is a boring summer.
The cover of Gu Yumian's livestream was simple, still automatically captured by the system. At dusk, beside a mountain lake, a bonfire flickered, and creamy soup and clay-cooked chicken sizzled on an alcohol stove.
The fair and handsome young man is facing the camera sideways, with a little snow leopard lying lazily on his shoulder and another fluffy animal in his arms. He seems to be talking about something interesting, his butterfly-like eyelids drooping and a small dimple on the corner of his lips.
——Free and romantic.
7:30 in the evening.
The number of viewers in Gu Yumian’s live broadcast room has ushered in a new round of rapid growth.
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