Chapter 52
Soon, the other members of the production team began to bring out the rest of the dishes. They were setting up tables in Xia Anran’s courtyard today. Last night, the entire team had pitched in to tidy up her yard, and now nearly twenty large tables had been set up.
Xia Anran sighed countless times, grateful that her yard was large and the village wasn’t too crowded. Otherwise, it would have been impossible.
“Food’s coming!”
Master Guo poked his head out and shouted, his face flushed and looking incredibly happy. He had been planning the menu since yesterday, deciding on a total of twelve dishes, and was now cooking with great enthusiasm.
Ren Yi came out with the largest platter, Braised Lamb with Yellow Sauce, and placed it in the center of the table. The aroma of the lamb instantly filled the entire livestream.
[Ahhh, I can’t take it anymore! Feed me, feed me!]
[Anran, Anran, what is this one? It smells so good!]
[My drool has already formed a puddle on the floor.]
[I feel like this kind of soupy dish is even more delicious.]
[It must be so good to drink!!! I want to eat it so bad, sob.]
[It looks like the meat of some kind of animal again.]
[What’s wrong with meat?! As long as it’s delicious!]
[If you Beastmen don’t want to watch, then leave! The network is lagging anyway.]
[No! I’m going to watch!]
Cold dishes and hot dishes were served one after another. Everyone was incredibly busy. Xia Anran took the viewers around, table by table, filming the dishes for them to see.
Before long, the villagers began to arrive. Uncle Li and Auntie Li were the first to come. The old couple came in carrying two live, wriggling fish. Seeing them, Ji Minghui quickly went to take the items from his grandparents’ hands.
Xia Anran also went to greet them. “Uncle, Auntie, why did you bring something?”
“You’re treating us to a meal. How could we come empty-handed?” Auntie Li said with a chuckle. “Your uncle just caught these two fish from the reservoir yesterday. I brought you the two biggest ones. They’re very fresh.”
Xia Anran was a little troubled by the two fish, but she couldn’t refuse their kindness. She could only take them into the kitchen first. They were leaving Yanshan Village tomorrow. How were they going to take these two fish with them?
She poured the fish into a water tank. They were very lively, thrashing about in the water.
Seeing her come in, Master Guo, in the midst of his busy work, still came over for a look. “Oh, where did these big carp come from? So fat and fresh!”
“From Uncle and Auntie Li next door,” Xia Anran said helplessly. “I was just getting a headache over how to take them with us tomorrow.” Although the fish were fresh and plump, there were only two of them. It wasn’t enough to divide among more than twenty tables.
“What’s there to have a headache about?” Master Guo said with a wave of his hand. “I’ll handle these two fish later. It’s enough to make some fish fillet soup.”
Xia Anran’s eyes lit up. “That’s a great idea! I love fish fillet soup, especially with a little pepper!”
“Done! It’s arranged!”
When she went out again, many villagers had already arrived and were seated, chatting. A pile of gifts was stacked under the grape trellis in the yard. There were chickens, ducks, and even a leg of lamb, as well as some fruits and nutritional supplements.
“…”
The comments section burst into laughter at her pained expression.
[Wow, so many gifts! Everyone is so nice~]
[The villagers are so friendly! It’s so nice!]
[I’ve learned that you should bring a gift when you go to someone’s house for a meal. I’ll bring one next time I go to Anran’s house!]
[Stop dreaming and wake up.]
[Wow wow wow, what is that? It can live in water!]
[A fish? Is it also a type of animal?]
[How magical, can things really live in water?]
[They swim so fast! What a magical animal!]
[No hands, no feet, but kind of cute.]
[Hahaha, the animals on Earth are all so cute.]
[Wait, did Master Guo say he was going to ‘handle’ them???]
[Is it the kind of ‘handling’ I’m thinking of?]
[As expected, another dish on the table. Poor little fish, you smell so good!]
[Fish fillet soup, slurp, slurp.]
“A fish?” Director Li shot up, squinting to get a better look at the carp swimming freely in the water.
“Can life really exist in water?” The researchers beside him were also very excited.
In the interstellar era, no life could survive in water. The main reason was that the water couldn’t dissolve oxygen and contained almost no other elements. This high-purity water, paradoxically, could not support life. When he was young, Director Li had specialized in this field, studying why life couldn’t exist in water and, if it could dissolve oxygen, what kind of creatures could survive in it. At that time, he had been stuck at the first step. Assuming water had oxygen and could theoretically support life, what species could breathe in it? He had thought for a long time without coming up with an answer. Later, the conclusion of this project was that water theoretically had no oxygen, so no life could exist, and even if it did, no creature could breathe in it. But he had always insisted that life must be able to exist in water; they just hadn’t found the right conditions yet. But this project had been purely hypothetical and didn’t have much research significance, so it had been shelved.
The appearance of fish had given him an answer. An answer he had been seeking for many years. So, he eagerly opened the comments section.
[United Star System Science Academy Director Li Sheng]: Host Anran, I’d like to ask how fish survive in water. Can they breathe in it?
“That old man Li Sheng, if nothing else, is good at getting to the point,” Director Hukeni said, withdrawing the hand that had already opened the comments. He snorted awkwardly, for a rare change, praising him. His assistant didn’t dare to speak. The moment the fish had appeared, Director Hukeni had also nearly jumped up. The whole interstellar community knew that the two directors were at odds and would fight whenever they met. But few knew that they were some of the only scientists in the entire interstellar community who supported the hypothesis that life could exist in water.
Seeing the comment, Xia Anran immediately replied, “Director Li, fish can indeed breathe in water, mainly through an organ called gills. I’m not very clear on the specific principles.” She made a mental note of this to organize and tell him later.
Director Li and Director Hukeni were both a little disappointed, but they cheered up when she said she would definitely find an opportunity to do a special science talk in the future.
…
In the Beastman race, Jeqi and Ruoya were also very interested in the carp. Or rather, as Beastmen, they were interested in all the animals on Earth.
“They even blow bubbles!” Jeqi said, propping his chin on his hand as he watched the two fish swim around. The animals that had appeared in the stream before had all been somewhat similar to them in certain parts, but the fish was completely different. No limbs, a long body, and able to survive in water. Ruoya was also very fond of these two little creatures with big eyes. When she heard Xia Anran explain that they could survive in water because of their gills, she became even more interested. What kind of magical organ allowed them to survive in water? Earth was truly a magical place!
…
After this little interlude, Master Guo’s dishes were almost all ready. Little Yan and Sister Wang ran in to serve them. Even Director Huang was drafted to help. Ji Minghui also came in to help. Ren Yi, having awakened his psychic power, was now very strong. And with his years of training, his sense of balance was excellent. He could carry two bowls of soup at once without any problem.
Master Guo wiped the sweat from his forehead and said with a simple and honest smile, “This is the first time in all my years that I’ve cooked for such a large crowd. I don’t know how it will taste.”
Xia Anran, who had already snuck many bites, said there was no need to worry. It was as delicious as ever.
After a busy period, the group finally sat down to eat with the villagers. In the end, Master Guo also boiled some dumplings. It was a custom in their region to have “dumplings for departure, noodles for arrival,” so he had specially made them with two kinds of fillings: a classic pork and scallion, and another very classic “three delicacies” filling.
Everyone praised the food. Several aunties gathered around to ask Master Guo how he made the dumpling fillings. He wasn’t secretive and was very happy to share with everyone. He almost became a friend to all the women, teaching them several of his private recipes. They even specially made some extra dumplings, which were raffled off to the viewers before the end of the stream.
“This is minced garlic, vinegar, and chili oil. The winners of the dumplings, don’t forget to dip them and eat,” Xia Anran said, winking at the camera. This time, the entire team had been mobilized, starting from last night. They had prepared a full five or six hundred dumplings, which was the most they had ever been able to raffle off.
[Ancestors, bless me to win the dumplings!]
[Nodding frantically, we know! We’ve already eaten!]
[I like the minced garlic!]
[Chili oil, chili oil, hehe, I love the three delicacies dumplings.]
[My heart is still with the fish fillet soup. So fresh, so fresh.]
[Master Guo, don’t just teach the aunties, teach me!]
[The spicy chicken is the best!]
[Nonsense, the braised pork ribs are number one!]
[Sob, the animals are so delicious. I now understand why our ancestors liked to eat animals.]
[If it were me, I’d raise animals to eat too!]
[The fried shrimp is also delicious!]
[A sad and happy day. It’s so hard not to be able to eat. I must win the dumplings!!!]
Xia Anran finished the lottery and packed the dumplings into the delivery boxes. “Alright, all done!” she said, clapping her hands. The villagers had helped clean up before they left, so it didn’t take the production team much effort to tidy up the yard.
“Do you want to stay at your grandmother’s house tonight? We’re leaving tomorrow,” Director Huang said, strolling over to Ji Minghui, who was wiping the table, with his thermos in hand. He took a sip of water and asked casually.
“I’ll go over to chat with my grandparents later. Our tickets for tomorrow are very early, so I won’t be staying at home,” he answered honestly.
Director Huang nodded and strolled away with his thermos again.
Xia Anran sat under the grape trellis, enjoying the breeze, preparing to enjoy her last night at home. The system suddenly jumped out again.
[You have mail!]
It startled her so much she nearly dropped her phone. She opened it and saw it was from Ye Yuxing.
[United Star System Science Academy, Ye Yuxing]: Hello, Host Anran. This is some of the data that our Academy of Sciences has compiled that may be suitable for Earth’s technological development. We look forward to Earth’s reply. We will continue to make adjustments based on feedback.
Xia Anran shot up like a carp. This was good stuff! After telling the top leader, she sent a message to Professor Gong.
Xia Anran: Professor Gong, guess what good news I have for you!!!
It was already past nine, but he replied in seconds.
Professor Gong: You’re coming back to the capital?
Professor Gong: [Anticipation.jpg]
The professors at the academy were all hoping she would return. When she was around, she always brought them countless surprises.
Xia Anran: Not exactly.
Xia Anran: [Research-Data.zip]
Professor Gong: ???
Professor Gong: What is this!
She copied and pasted the message from Ye Yuxing. He sent several excited stickers, then quickly received the file and went offline.
Xia Anran laughed. As expected, it was the same Professor Gong she knew, completely devoted to research. It seemed it wouldn’t be long before their Hua nation’s technology would reach a new level.
She hadn’t expected the good news to come even faster than she had imagined.
A few days later, the Hua Nation Academy of Sciences released a statement. They had newly developed a genetic retrieval technology. The specific principles were not made public, but it could already collect a gene and then directly locate carriers of similar genes through retrieval.
Xia Anran was shocked when she saw the news. This technology was too ridiculous. How could they locate a position directly from a gene?
The system, which was binge-watching a drama on the side, saw her shocked expression and immediately started to mock her.
[You uncultured swine! I’ve told you a million times, you’re uncultured!]
[You’re so surprised by such a small piece of technology?]
“Isn’t this ridiculous?” she asked, looking at the news. She scrolled through the comments below, which were also a stream of question marks. As expected, everyone felt the same way.
[It’s like how you can locate your position through an electronic signal. You can think of it as genes also emitting signals, so of course they can be retrieved.]
She only half-understood. She watched the netizens’ rainbow farts and memes for a while with great amusement. Suddenly, a thought popped into her head. “With this technology, can’t all those abducted children and women be found?!”
[Theoretically, it’s definitely possible.]
As expected, what she could think of, the country could also think of. Before long, the government released a link. All citizens searching for their relatives could go to the capital to have their genes collected. The government would find their missing relatives in the shortest possible time.
In a single day, several thousand people rushed to the capital, crowding the collection center. Although they were all a little skeptical about this incredible-sounding new technology, as long as there was a glimmer of hope, they would not give it up.
After the first batch of people had their genes collected, in just two days, many received a call from the government.
“Hello, Mr. Liu. We have processed the information you previously provided for your family search. Your daughter has been found. Please come to the gene collection center as soon as possible to cooperate with our work. Thank you.”