Xiao Ming’s words were followed by a row of hearts in the chat. Some of the viewers also sent some more messages, promising that they would definitely take him up on the offer and that they were happy he was trying to help them so much.

Qian Huang would have loved to read all of them and really had trouble suppressing his laughter. Unfortunately, it would really feel conceited if he brought this up in the live stream. Thus, he could only give Xiao Ming a very general summary of the chat’s content: "It seems like everyone is satisfied with that suggestion."

Xiao Ming smiled, not guessing at all that Qian Huang was underselling what was going on in the chat.

The viewers couldn’t help but hurl some abuse at Qian Huang, cursing him for not conveying their words the right way. They suddenly understood how Nin Sha was feeling all the time. Why had they laughed at him before?

Si Jin who usually never paid attention to what the others were saying also didn’t feel comfortable with this. He had been among the ones who said that he would give it a try and send updates so naturally felt that Qian Huang not reading his message out loud was this guy trying to sabotage him. Thus, he took to the chat to express his resentment.

Nin Sha: [Xiao Ming, I am afraid you need a new assistant. Actually, I’m quite qualified for this job.]

This message managed to bring the other viewers back from the bout of unhappiness that they had felt for a short time when their encouragement for Xiao Ming had been sold short. It was naturally followed by yet another row of laughter.

Little Butterfly: [Nin Sha, it seems you believe you can do every job in the world as long as it gets you to taste Xiao Ming’s dishes. If it’s like this, I’m also a very qualified assistant! I have thirty years of experience in the job even though I’m only twenty-three. Believe me, it’s all the truth! (*≧▽≦)ﾉｼ))]

Flying Bicycle: [I’ve only recently joined after the press conference for 'Golden Spoon' but I already noticed that this Nin Sha is quite shameless. He’s always advertising himself. Has it always been like this? (ಠ.ಠ)]

Food Enthusiast: [If there were daily live streams, it would be a daily occurrence 눈_눈]

Some of the others couldn’t help but chime in, telling the new ones all about the things Nin Sha usually did.

Si Jin stared at the screen, waiting for Qian Huang to read out his message but he was once again disappointed. Feeling vexed, he started to press a few buttons to send over gifts. He’d like to see just how long Qian Huang could stay silent!

Meanwhile, Xiao Ming was continuing with the preparation of the dishes. "Alright, everyone, we have finished our soup so far. Now, we’re going to get to today’s special dish. We will likely need to hurry with this a bit since we need to make sure that the yams will be out of the steamer in a few minutes but it should be enough time.

"Now, Qian Huang actually didn’t include the ingredients for this in yesterday’s Weibo post because this was an addition I made on a whim today. Sorry about that!" He gave an awkward smile, really looking apologetic toward the viewers. "Let me explain: When Li Shui and I went to the market today to get our groceries, auntie Zhang who is providing us with most of our fresh ingredients gifted us some cucumbers. She’s proud to see some people from her city be in the same show as Mister Yu.

"You have to know, she’s as much of a fan as I am. I think she is even a little envious that I get to meet him. She would definitely like to do so herself. Anyway, I was wondering what to do with this and remembered that a cucumber salad might be a little interesting for today’s topic." He picked up the cucumber and turned it in his hands.

"So far, we’ve talked about cutting the vegetables to get them into pretty shapes that will not only make the dishes taste better but also make them look more aesthetically pleasing. Now, the cucumber salad is a little different. I’m sure all of you have had some already and you probably remember that they are normally not even-sized. Instead, it actually looks a bit like it was never cut at all."

He gave a smile that seemed a little sneaky and then waved the cucumber at them. "Now, this is exactly why I want to do this dish today. It’s to show you that while knowing a few cutting techniques and how to do the different shapes is important, there are also other ways to prepare a dish and that sometimes irregular forms can also be used to make quite the pleasing dish.

"Now, for this, you first have to put the cucumber on a cutting board." While he said so, he immediately followed his words with actions, and then grabbed the cleaver again. "You’re going to need a cleaver or another knife with a big blade for this, a meat tenderizer might also work. With this, you’re going to either press on the cucumber or just smash it." He smiled and then used the cleaver to press on the cucumber, making it crack open.

"This is actually done so the cucumber pieces can absorb the sauce better later on. If your cucumbers are already in small parts now, you can just continue on. If it isn’t, then you can cut it into smaller pieces." He picked up some pieces to show the difference and then cut up one of the pieces that wasn’t as small before putting the rest back. "Alright, I’m satisfied with that. Now, we are going to season this and then let it rest at the side for a moment while I take the yams out of the steamer."

He did as he had said, adding salt and chili and then put the bowl to the side, and went to take the steamer off the stove. Taking out the steamed yams, he turned back to the camera. "Alright, now that the yams is steamed, it is time to make it into a puree and then we only need to add the sauce before it can be eaten. I’m once again going to speed this up a bit."

He started to make the dices into a puree and then couldn’t help but give the audience another look through the camera. "Now, you might think that you shouldn’t have cut it at all if you’re going to make it into a puree anyway but this is also something that is very important: Sometimes, the shapes will still be present in the final dish but at other times, they are just needed for the preparation.

"Of course, it might look like your effort is wasted but trust me, this just makes it into a better dish. You can give it a try with a complete yams if you don’t believe me." He smiled a little mischievously, making some of the viewers squeal in the chat. Then, he turned away and picked up some bowls.

"Alright, the puree is already finished as is the radish salad. And the soup should also be done in a hot minute. The only thing that is left is the last bit of preparation for the cucumber salad. This one needs a bit of time in the fridge after we’ve added the last ingredients so we are going to start with everything else first."

He started to put the bowls with the other three dishes at the corner of the counter, and after a moment, Qian Huang was already sitting in position while Li Shui was clamoring to get out from behind the camera.

"Hey! You’re cheating!" He rushed over to Qian Huang’s side and hurriedly took up his seat, starting to ladle some of the soup into his bowl.

Qian Huang who had just wanted to do the same was left with his hand awkwardly raised into the air. How come he had come first but still wasn’t the first one to get something to eat?

His expression of WTF made the viewers sent another row of laughter and even Xiao Ming couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Your reflex of running up there was quite good but you are still no match for Li Shui." He unhurriedly finished the rest of the cucumber salad, put it in the fridge, and then even started to tidy up the counter. Only then did he go over to sit with the other two and also took some of the food.