Chapter 31 Crab Xiaolongbao.

Chapter 31: Crab Xiaolongbao.

Cooking—this was Yu Xin's idea.

Before starting his livestream, he had thoroughly researched all the popular broadcast types on the Flying Fish Platform.

Livestream content was incredibly diverse; you could find almost anything imaginable, provided it wasn't illegal. Whatever you could conceive, you could almost certainly find it there.

However, he discovered a significant void in the livestreaming landscape: food livestreams.

Compared to Yu Xin's previous life, food livestreaming methods in the Interstellar Age were remarkably limited. It was primarily restaurant reviews and eating shows. Content related to cooking was virtually nonexistent, and the few existing examples mostly relied on creating bizarre "dark cuisine" to grab attention.

This was understandable. In the Interstellar Age, apart from professional chefs, almost no one cooked, nor did they show any interest in it. After all, household robots could handle everything. Cooking was tiring, produced a lot of smoke and grease, and the results weren’t necessarily tasty—why bother wasting time?

Yet, based on the audience’s reaction to his cooking during *Wilderness Adventure*, Yu Xin knew that people in the Interstellar Age were just as passionate about food, if not more so, than those in his own era.

Regardless of the time, the pursuit of delicious food is an instinct deeply ingrained in human nature, easily awakened.

He had originally considered doing food livestreams, but his living conditions were too rudimentary, only suitable for preparing simple meals for himself. In the short term, he lacked the means to find a new place with a proper kitchen.

Just then, Cheng Zikun extended an olive branch, inviting him to become a gaming streamer, and he seized the opportunity.

This cooking livestream was a gamble. Yu Xin wasn't entirely confident of its success, but he never shied away from a bold wager.

He picked up an apron, tied it on, washed his hands, and calmly announced, "The first dish today is Crab Xiaolongbao."

"Did I hear that right? He said he’s going to cook??"

"The streamer sounds quite young. Does he really know how to cook?"

"What’s Crab Xiaolongbao? Mmm, it sounds delicious (slurp)."

"Oh no, he’s really given up. Does this guy remember he’s a gaming streamer??"

"Hahaha, what’s with the cooking? I suggest the streamer quickly grovel and apologize to Brother Dog to avoid a humiliating defeat later."

"Coming up with something we’ve never even heard of and thinking you can win? Don’t be ridiculous."

The comments were a chaotic mix, with Last Road's Mad Dog’s fans leaping about with taunts. Yu Xin ignored them all, focusing intently on preparing the ingredients for the Crab Xiaolongbao.

Centuries had passed since the Interstellar Age began, and many familiar dishes from Earth had faded from public consciousness, becoming extremely niche. Some had even been lost entirely, existing only in historical texts.

The Crab Xiaolongbao Yu Xin chose to make today was one such nearly lost delicacy. It could only be glimpsed in documentaries or a handful of specialized antique-themed restaurants.

"For today’s Crab Xiaolongbao, we’ll need Hairy Crabs," Yu Xin explained, bringing out a basket of Hairy Crabs and setting them aside. The crabs—five in total—had been steamed in advance, each plump and rich with red roe.

Humans have a long history of eating crabs. In Yu Xin’s time, during the Qing Dynasty, a scholar named Li Yu once remarked, "The crab is fresh and plump, sweet and rich, white as jade, and golden as amber. It has reached the pinnacle of color, aroma, and taste, and nothing else surpasses it." These crabs certainly lived up to that praise.

First, extract the crab roe and crab meat. Yu Xin used a set of eight specialized crab tools, specifically requested from Cheng Zikun, to meticulously remove every strand of meat from the crabs. His movements were nimble, and the crab meat was cleaned thoroughly, arranged neatly on a plate alongside the roe—a sight that would satisfy even the most fastidious observer.

These crabs were quite large, and completely extracting the meat was time-consuming. Yu Xin worked patiently, and surprisingly, the audience didn’t find it boring.

"I can’t believe I’m watching a gaming streamer cook and actually enjoying it…"

"What’s that tool in the streamer’s hand? I’ve never seen it before. It looks really interesting."

"I looked it up—it’s called a 'crab eight-piece set.' Apparently, ancient people used them for eating crabs."

"These crabs look so plump. I want to eat crab now qaq."

Once the crab meat and roe were prepared and set aside, the next step was to make crab oil. He heated pork lard, added the discarded crab shells, and fried them until the lard turned golden. Then, he strained the crab oil.

At this stage, the aroma began to emerge. Cheng Zikun, waiting nearby, kept sniffing the air: "It smells amazing!"

When he first heard Yu Xin was going to livestream cooking, his initial reaction was disapproval. Yu Xin’s cooking skills were indeed good, but almost no one had ever made cooking their livestream content. Who knew if the audience would accept it?

But now, the viewer count, which had increased rather than decreased since the stream started, confirmed that Yu Xin’s decision was correct.

Not just the audience—even he was captivated watching Yu Xin cook. His movements were clean and efficient, without any wasted effort, almost rhythmic and very pleasing to watch.

He poured the crab oil into the pan, added the crab roe, and stir-fried carefully until the oil was fully absorbed by the roe, turning it from golden to orange-red. Then, he added the crab meat and crab paste. The aroma was even stronger now, and Cheng Zikun had already swallowed several times.

Besides crab, pork was also needed. He selected high-quality pork, three parts fat and seven parts lean, finely minced it, seasoned it, and mixed it with the crab oil.

The key to Crab Xiaolongbao’s juicy filling was a secret weapon—aspic.

The aspic had been prepared by Yu Xin the day before and was now ready. A milky-white, jiggly block was placed gently on the cutting board and diced by Yu Xin.

"What’s this? Another thing I’ve never seen…"

"It looks a bit like jelly, but can jelly be used in cooking??"

Yu Xin glanced up and saw the comments. He casually explained, "This is aspic, made from pork skin. It’s the key to making Crab Xiaolongbao. You’ll see why later."

He mixed the aspic into the meat filling, took out the rested dough, rolled it into wrappers, and began making the Xiaolongbao.

The wrappers were rolled very thin, each filled generously with meat. This ensured the steamed buns would have thin skins and ample filling.

Yu Xin worked quickly. Before the audience could fully process it, one Xiaolongbao was already assembled. The finished buns were plump and white, each about the size of a child’s palm, with delicate pleats, round and adorable. Yu Xin even dabbed a bit of the reserved crab roe on top.

"Didn’t expect the streamer to have such skills. This is impressive."

"The buns are so cute! But they’re so small—I feel like I could eat one in a single bite."

"So cool!! Is the streamer actually a descendant of a culinary family behind that gaming pro reputation?"

"Why are the streamer’s hands so skilled compared to mine qaq"

The five Hairy Crabs yielded three steamers of buns, each containing six. He placed them in the steamer to cook.

While the buns were steaming, Yu Xin also planned to make crispy pork belly.

He had some pork left over from making the aspic the day before. He selected a large piece of skin-on pork belly, about five centimeters thick. It had been pre-boiled with spices to remove any gaminess. Without cutting it completely, he scored the surface into small sections, evenly coated it with spices, wrapped it in foil, brushed the skin with white vinegar, sprinkled coarse salt on top, and placed it in the oven to roast.

The Crab Xiaolongbao were almost done. Yu Xin took them out of the steamer and lifted the lid.

The camera focused on the steamer. As the steam cleared, the Xiaolongbao were revealed—six neatly arranged buns, each crystal clear and delicate. The skins were extremely thin, almost translucent, allowing a glimpse of the amber broth inside.

"Help, I’m drooling. I need this now."

"Ahhhh, let me have one! Just one!!"

"Is not being able to eat what you see some new form of torture? I’m going to complain. Did I do the right thing, folks? [dog face]"

"Who needs gaming livestreams?? I’d be happy if the streamer cooked for us every day!"

"Came over from Last Road's Mad Dog’s stream. What’s the appeal of a beautiful streamer? Good food is what wins over a great guy like me!"

As for Cheng Zikun, who was there in person, he had been watching eagerly ever since Yu Xin took the steamer out.

"Crab meat is cooling by nature, so it should be dipped in ginger vinegar sauce," Yu Xin picked one up under the camera lens. The Xiaolongbao wobbled precariously between his chopsticks, its abundant broth threatening to drip down. Countless viewers watched eagerly, almost wishing they could burn a hole through the screen.

"When eating soup dumplings, you must be careful—there’s a lot of broth inside," Yu Xin warned earnestly. "Otherwise, you might..."

At the same time, Cheng Zikun couldn’t wait any longer. He picked one up, mimicking Yu Xin by dipping it in ginger vinegar sauce, and shoved the whole thing into his mouth—

Then: "Hiss, it's so hot!!"

"...Otherwise, you might get burned like this," Yu Xin chuckled lightly.

Cheng Zikun hissed from the heat but couldn’t bring himself to spit out the Xiaolongbao. The small bun was just the right size to fit in his mouth. As his teeth broke through the skin, scalding yet incredibly rich broth flooded his mouth, the rich taste of crab rushing to his brain, making him euphoric with delight.

With the bun still in his mouth, he mumbled, "So, so delicious!"

As the second son of the Cheng Group, Cheng Zikun had tasted all kinds of delicacies, yet he found himself utterly captivated by this seemingly ordinary Xiaolongbao. He held it in his mouth, reluctant to swallow.

"The proper way to eat them is to bite a small opening first, drink the broth, and then eat the bun," Yu Xin demonstrated, taking a satisfied bite. "Mmm, so fresh."

Cheng Zikun followed his example, biting a small opening to sip the broth. "Mmm... this broth perfectly blends the freshness of crab with the richness of pork. One sip explodes across my taste buds."

"The bun is delicious too, especially with this ginger vinegar sauce. It really brings out the crab’s flavor. The wrapper is soaked in broth—mmm, I feel like I could eat forty more!"

Cheng Zikun couldn’t stop praising it, so overwhelmed with happiness he almost forgot his own name.

"Wuwu, someone please shut him up! I can’t take it anymore!"

"LMAO, after the host eats: 'Mmm, very fresh.' After Cheng Shao eats: 'blah blah blah...' Is he your mouthpiece or what?"

"Okay, so how can I get to eat such delicious Crab Xiaolongbao? (crying)"

"My friend dragged me here. Is the gaming category always like this??"

"I was dragged here too. Right from the start, it was shocking! Who understands?!"

"Darn, this is clearly the rising star of the food zone! Why come to the gaming zone to tempt me?!"

The popularity of Yu Xin’s livestream soared at an astonishing rate.

Netizens didn’t expect to be so engrossed in watching someone cook that they couldn’t bring themselves to leave. And why does the food he makes look so enticing?!

Most viewers had initially planned to just watch for fun, jumping between the two streams at first. But gradually, they found themselves unable to tear themselves away from Yu Xin’s stream, even inviting friends to join in.

"If I’m gonna die of hunger in this livestream, I’m dragging my buddies down with me!"

As more and more people flocked to Yu Xin’s stream, the chat messages nearly doubled those in Last Road's Mad Dog’s stream. After the Crab Xiaolongbao was steamed, the stream shot to the platform’s homepage, featuring an animated thumbnail of the moment the steamer was opened, attracting even more viewers.

The chat went wild, as if zombies had taken over, with viewers lamenting how hungry they were, joking about being so hungry they could eat a person.

"Oh, can’t take it anymore?" Yu Xin remarked after seeing the comments. "But there’s more to come."

"I almost forgot the host also roasted pork belly! (crying)"

"Devil!! The host is a devil!!"

The crispy pork belly was almost ready. Yu Xin moved the camera to the oven, where the pork belly was on its second round of roasting. Under the high heat, the skin sizzled and glistened with oil.

When the time was up, Yu Xin put on thick gloves, took out the pork belly, and moved it to the table. The rich aroma filled the whole room.

The pork belly was perfectly roasted—golden, crispy, and seasoned with spices. Yu Xin sliced the large piece into smaller portions. True to its name, the skin crackled as he cut it, and juices ran down the blade.

The pork belly was of excellent quality, with alternating layers of fat and lean meat roasted to a slight crisp. Yu Xin sprinkled white sesame seeds on top, making it even more appetizing.

Cheng Zikun, whose appetite wasn't quite satisfied by the Xiaolongbao, was immediately enticed by the crispy pork belly. He grabbed a piece with his fingers and popped it into his mouth.

"So crispy and flavorful!" After one bite, his eyes lit up. "It’s bursting with the aroma of fat and meat. The skin is crispy, the lean meat has good texture, and the fat melts in your mouth—absolutely perfect!"

He couldn’t stop eating, savoring the simple joy of devouring meat.

After a few bites, starting to feel greasy, he paired it with the sauce and lettuce prepared by Yu Xin, along with a bit of garlic, instantly cutting through the richness.

"This method is relatively simple. I’ll post the recipe later so everyone can try it at home," Yu Xin said, taking a bite himself and nodding in satisfaction.

"Streamer, you’re the best!! I couldn’t make the Crab Xiaolongbao, but I can definitely try this!"

"Recorded the whole process. Going to have my robot study it carefully. So excited!"

Just Xiaolongbao and roasted meat didn’t make a full meal. Yu Xin brought out a pot of simmered seafood congee and made a classic side dish—smashed cucumber. Cheng Zikun eagerly helped serve the dishes, and the two sat down to enjoy the meal, ignoring the viewers’ complaints.

The seafood congee had been simmering gently on low heat. When Yu Xin lifted the lid of the clay pot, the congee was still bubbling gently. He sprinkled chopped scallions and served a bowl for each of them.

The congee had been cooked to perfection, with each grain of rice softened completely and a thin layer forming on the surface. Ingredients like fish slices, fresh shrimp, scallops, and shredded shiitake mushrooms had melded into the thick congee, creating a rich, savory, and slightly sweet flavor. It was soft, warm, and incredibly satisfying.

Paired with Yu Xin’s smashed cucumber—crisp and refreshing—each bite of roasted meat, followed by cucumber and a sip of congee, deeply impressed Cheng Zikun: "Xin-ge, I never expected your main dishes to be this delicious too. You’re amazing!"

Sticking with Xin-ge was definitely the right choice!

At that moment, Cheng Zikun was the envy of all viewers. Wuwu, they wished they could fly to the streamer’s side and taste his cooking!

"Let’s be honest, I really want to inhabit Cheng Shao's body—not for his wealth, but just to taste the streamer’s cooking!"

"Let me go first! I promise to leave a Xiaolongbao for everyone else, wuwuwu!"

"Just a passerby who clicked on the homepage, but from today on, I’m the streamer’s loyal fan!"

"Me too! I never expected the food zone to have such a unique streamer. I’m definitely sticking around!"

"Are there any perks for being a loyal fan? I’m not greedy—just one meal from the streamer, please?"

"I’ve switched sides! Who needs Last Road's Mad Dog? From now on, I’m the streamer’s dog!!"

If not for this comment, viewers might have forgotten that the streamer was still in a PK with Last Road's Mad Dog. They were so absorbed in the stream that no one cared about Last Road's Mad Dog anymore.

Meanwhile, in the other livestream room.

Last Road's Mad Dog, who had been confident at first, grew visibly gloomier, barely able to maintain his composure.

When he first heard that Yu Xin planned to cook on stream, he almost laughed out loud, thinking Yu Xin had given up.

But to his surprise, as the stream went on, the comments in his own room dwindled. Even though Qing Xiaoyao performed several sexy dances, she couldn’t revive the cooling atmosphere.

He forced a smile and tried to liven things up, but it was useless. Viewers were flocking to Yu Xin’s stream without looking back.

Dammit, it’s just cooking! What’s so interesting? What’s wrong with these viewers?

Fortunately, even though Yu Xin’s viewership was shockingly high, the donations on his and Qing Xiaoyao’s stream still outnumbered Yu Xin’s. After all, Yu Xin was a new streamer, and most of the viewers he attracted weren’t yet willing to spend money.

Relying on the donation amount, Last Road's Mad Dog barely maintained a slight lead. Gritting his teeth, he dug into his own pocket to donate more, widening the gap.

"You have to spend money to make money," he thought. The money he invested could be earned back, but if he lost to a newcomer despite all his efforts, he’d have no face left on Feiyu Platform, and his fanbase would likely shrink significantly.

Luckily, the stream is almost over. As long as Yu Xin can't receive a large amount of donations in a short time, he will still win.

Yu Xin's viewers also noticed this problem.

"What should we do? Time is running out. The streamer and Desperate Mad Dog are still behind. If this continues, the streamer might lose!"

"Huh? How could this be? It feels like the popularity here is already very high. Even many non-gamers are tuning in."

"There's no helping it. The other side just has more donations. Don’t forget, Desperate Mad Dog even brought in Qing Xiaoyao!"

"It's over, it's over. If he loses, does he really have to call Desperate Mad Dog 'daddy'? No way!!"

"Sigh, it’s really difficult now. The number of viewers has almost peaked... I’m afraid there’s no turning back."

"It’s okay. The streamer has already done an amazing job getting this far. If it weren’t for Desperate Mad Dog’s underhanded move of bringing in Qing Xiaoyao, the streamer would definitely win!"

"But just thinking about having to call Desperate Mad Dog 'daddy' makes me sick to my stomach for the streamer..."

"Wait, wait—look at the donor leaderboard!"

"What’s wrong, what’s wrong? Holy crap!"

Just as the viewers were growing anxious for Yu Xin, a small account with no profile picture and a username that was just a string of random characters suddenly began climbing the donor leaderboard at an astonishing speed.

This leaderboard is ranked by donation amount. Those at the top are usually whales, and this small account jumped several ranks in just a few seconds.

Before the viewers could even process what was happening, a series of flashy special effects suddenly filled the live stream.

To avoid disrupting the viewing experience, Yu Xin had disabled special effects for small donations. Only large donations could trigger these effects.

The effect that now occupied the entire screen, lasting a full five seconds, was the "Supreme Starship"—the highest-level donation on the Flying Fish Platform, costing a whopping 100,000 Star Coins!

Before the audience could recover from their shock, another identical special effect began.

This mysterious account had donated more than one Supreme Starship!!

The chat went wild:

"Holy crap!! Where did this whale come from? I’ve hardly ever seen a Supreme Starship, and they just dropped two at once!!"

"Is this what the world of the rich is like? Spending 200,000 Star Coins just for a five-second special effect..."

"Wait, it’s not just 200,000! There’s more!! Oh my god!!"

"Third!! Fourth!! Fifth!!"

One special effect ended only for another to begin, with no sign of stopping.

Along with the flashing effects, the viewers were also blinded by the extravagance.

"How… how many is that now? Can someone please count…"

"I was counting until the seventeenth… now I’m blind… don’t ask me…"

"Mom, I don’t understand money anymore… how much is that?!"

"Wahhh, I’m so jealous of the rich! How come I’ve never seen that much money, and rich people just throw it around so easily?! This isn't fair!!"

"There are so many rich people in this world! Why can’t I be one of them?!"

"If I started earning money from the Yuanmou Man era in ancient Earth… by now, I could probably spend this much without blinking too…"

"Watching this stream, first I’m dying of craving, then I’m green with envy. I'm clearly not worthy, ahhh!"

After what felt like an eternity, the overwhelming special effects in the live stream finally came to an end.

The account with the string of random characters had now skyrocketed to become the top donor in Yu Xin’s live stream, far surpassing the previous number one.

Such a massive display naturally caught the attention of Yu Xin and Cheng Zikun early on. Cheng Zikun was utterly shocked. Although his family was wealthy, they never allowed him to spend so recklessly. This was the first time he had ever been stunned by someone else’s extravagance.

Who is this suddenly appearing account?! Even he felt a twinge of resentment toward the rich!

Yu Xin strained to read the awkward string of characters: "Thank you to this friend with the username 'knzjbsuzbau573' for the Supreme Starships!"

He narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of pleasure in his voice.

"What should I say? Thank you, boss?"

Iris Base.

Inside the base building, Bai Yizhou was handling some daily tasks when his personal terminal suddenly received a series of notifications.

He opened them and saw that the account General Ji had handed over for him to manage had many spending alerts, all for significant amounts. Although compared to General Ji’s seemingly endless account balance, it was just a drop in the bucket…

But wasn’t General Ji right here in the base? Why did he suddenly spend so much money?

To ensure everything was safe, he opened the details to take a look.

Huh? The destination of these transactions was actually a live streaming platform?

General Ji donated to a streamer?

But since when did he ever watch live streams??

Skeptical, he clicked to check each one. All the transactions were going to the same account.

Wait, it can’t be!

Could it be that General Ji has finally developed feelings, like an old house catching fire, and has been fooled by one of those streamers who play emotional games to scam money out of top donors?!

Bai Yizhou’s mind immediately flashed to all those social news stories about innocent young and middle-aged men falling victim to pig-butchering scams and losing their money... I’m doing this for General Ji’s sake, he mentally reassured himself as he looked up the streamer General Ji had donated to.

Flying Fish Platform…

Entering the live stream, Bai Yizhou felt slightly relieved. He had been afraid that clicking in would reveal a streamer with a fake high-pitched voice cooing at the camera.

But something seemed odd. The setting of this live stream was strange—it was actually in a kitchen.

And not only was the streamer not showing their face on camera, but the camera was also focused on a few dishes the entire time.

Since when did General Ji become so interested in food?!

Meanwhile, in General Ji’s room.

The room was dimly lit. Ji Yixing leaned back comfortably on the sofa, a projection of Yu Xin’s live stream displayed before his eyes.

At that moment, it happened to be the scene where Yu Xin read his username and thanked him. General Ji keenly caught the pleasure in the young man’s voice, which made him curve his lips into a slight smile.

Although you can't see his face on the livestream, that's okay—he can just imagine how Yu Xin looks when he smiles.

While thinking this, Ji Yixing tapped lightly with his slender fingers, and without blinking, sent out several more Supreme Starships.

On the other side, before Yu Xin could even thank him, he noticed that his top supporter's garbled username had been changed to—

"Looking forward to meeting you."

-----------------------

Author's note: "The Streamer and His Top Supporter's Untold Story" (tongue-in-cheek)

To those saying the identity will be revealed—yes, it will happen, but not until later.

Call me extra productive today!!