Chapter 276: Sold Out Instantly
Chapter 276: Chapter 276: Sold Out Instantly
Xie An’an wrinkled her nose.
"It’s stinky."
Xie Yu was about to encourage his daughter.
Just then, Nan Zhi said gently,
"If you don’t like the smell, An’an, you can give it to your dad."
"No!"
Xie An’an refused flatly and firmly declared that she would definitely steam the cake!
With Xie An’an setting an example, Qing Xi and Qi Zhang, who had been about to complain, silently swallowed their words.
The same went for Nan Yi.
Actually, Nan Zhi’s method for making Five-Spice Cake was a little different from the traditional recipe.
Generally, the five medicinal herbs are ground directly into a powder and then added.
But this also makes the smell of the herbs themselves very strong.
The other four herbs were fine, only giving off a faint, earthy, fruity scent, but the amomum fruit had a strong camphor-like aroma. If not handled carefully, this camphor smell would overpower all the other ingredients.
Nan Zhi was very skilled at making medicinal cuisine.
Her medicinal dishes had been wildly popular in another world not just because they were effective, but also because they were genuinely delicious.
She had a unique processing technique that could remove as much of the herbs’ unusual odors as possible without affecting their medicinal properties.
And now, she was explaining these methods without reservation, not at all afraid that someone would steal her secret.
[Why does this recipe feel different from the ones you find online?]
[This must be a secret family recipe, right? Is she really just revealing it so casually?]
[Even if she shows it, no one will be able to learn it. Didn’t you see Nan Zhi is doing all these steps herself?]
[Online viewers might not be able to learn it, but what about her competitors?]
[Hmm... that’s a good point.]
...
The audience was worried, but Nan Zhi felt no such burden.
’How could it be so easy to replicate her herb processing technique?’
The slightest deviation would lead to a world of difference.
Even the smallest error in timing or heat would cause the medicinal effects to be completely lost.
When she collaborated with the food factory to recreate this Five-Spice Cake, the biggest challenge was how to perfectly replicate her technique for mass production.
For this, Nan Zhi had burned the midnight oil, finally coming up with a special plan for the factory.
That method was also slightly different from what Nan Zhi was doing now.
Therefore, it was impossible for competitors to succeed by simply copying her.
If an individual wanted to learn it for themselves, Nan Zhi didn’t mind at all.
She had no intention of hoarding her secrets; on the contrary, she maintained an open attitude toward any culinary exchange.
This attitude had once been her invincible weapon.
Nan Zhi personally took over the herb processing. When she brought the dried powder back to the Cubs, their expressions of disgust and resistance were gone.
"Wow, it smells nice!"
"I really can’t smell the stinky part anymore! It’s magic!"
"Auntie Zhizhi, tell me how! Come on, tell me!"
...
Facing the Cubs’ siege, Nan Zhi was completely unruffled.
"Who wants to be the first to do the next step?"
The Cubs decisively cast their rampant curiosity aside, scrambling to raise their hands.
"Me! Me!"
A knowing smile appeared on Nan Zhi’s face.
In fact, the process of making pastries was a lot of fun.
All they had to do was weigh the ingredients, sift the powder, and finally mix it all together with sugar water.
The flour sifter created a snowstorm, and before they knew it, the Cubs’ clean little faces were smudged like calico cats. But instead of getting angry, they giggled endlessly, filling the room with the echo of their clear, joyful laughter.
Nan Zhi, feeling a bit helpless, first put the Five-Spice Cake she had prepared into the steamer. Then, she gestured to Xiao Qi, who was watching intently from the side.
Xiao Qi, who was diligently "stealing" her techniques:
"Huh? Oh... oh, right!"
He nodded repeatedly.
He then told his colleague next to him that they could post the link for the first product, the Five-Spice Cake.
The Five-Spice Cake, with its medicinal cuisine label, was a rather unique product. Its flavor might not appeal to most people, so putting it first was also a way to hopefully lengthen its sales window.
Xiao Qi didn’t expect sales to be very good, so he casually chatted with his sales colleague:
"Should we order a couple of them ourselves to pad the sales numbers? To get things off to a good start?"
"Hey, that’s a good idea!"
"Teacher Nan’s technique is just beautiful. Look at that precise form! My own master has lived decades longer than her, but his skills can’t compare. It’s truly a gift!"
"I don’t really get the technical side, but Teacher Nan’s Five-Spice Cake is seriously delicious. When the audience sees us taste it later, it’s bound to stimulate their desire to buy!"
"That’s what I was thinking too!"
After their hushed conversation, the two of them confidently went to check the link that had just gone live three minutes ago.
"Huh? Why does it say zero?"
"Don’t tell me I forgot to list the stock? No, that can’t be right, I definitely entered it."
The commotion caused by Xiao Qi and his colleague attracted the attention of others.
Even Nan Zhi, who had started preparing the next pastry, glanced over at them with a questioning look.
Xiao Qi mouthed back:
’There’s a problem!’
He pulled out his phone, preparing to ask the platform’s support team.
But when he asked, he found out...
It wasn’t a glitch. Their entire stock had already sold out!
"What?"
Xiao Qi was completely stunned.
His wildest fantasy for this live stream had been selling a few thousand units, max.
And now, the link for the Five-Spice Cake alone had sold over ten thousand units!
And it had been cleared out in under three minutes!
Not only that, but people in the live stream chat were already complaining:
[Didn’t everyone say they didn’t like the medicinal taste? How is it sold out in the time it took me to reply to a message?]
[Host, add more stock! How is 10,000 units supposed to be enough for anyone?]
[I actually thought you were all serious about not buying! I fell for your lies! Spit my Five-Spice Cake back out!]
[Oh, great, so you’re all playing mind games, huh? You’ve pissed me off... so now I’m gonna go beg the online store’s customer service!]
[Duh, even if it doesn’t taste good, you have to buy it just to see what it’s like!]
[What if it’s different from the one Nan Zhi made?]
[It’s got to be at least somewhat similar!]
...
That’s right. This was the truth behind the sold-out link, and it was what the vast majority of the audience was thinking.
The audience for "Cubs" was simply too broad; it was, without a doubt, a national variety show.
Its viewers ranged from 80-year-old grandmothers to 5-year-old children, and a huge portion of them were the middle-aged men and women with the strongest purchasing power.
They had been watching since the first episode when Nan Zhi opened her fried rice stall, and their cravings had long been unbearable.
But not everyone could be impulsive enough to travel to another city just for a meal.
Now, they had a chance to eat the Five-Spice Cake with a flavor profile personally improved by Nan Zhi. Even if it was mass-produced on a factory line, the taste would surely be at least 50% similar, right? That was good enough!
—That’s what many people were thinking.
And so, the spectacular scene of the Five-Spice Cake being completely sold out came to be!
However, today’s sales live stream had only just begun. There were many more pastries waiting.
Soon, Xiao Qi and the others would realize that the truly jaw-dropping situation was yet to come.
The entire food factory was about to enter its springtime...