Following Cheng Shiqin’s unintentional reminder, Lu Mingming resolutely decided to postpone the making of matcha pudding to a later date.
Lu Mingming was already planning to contact Jasmine to purchase a vacant plot of land on Xingfu Planet to establish a tea plantation.
Tea trees had always existed for a long time, not to the point of extinction, but finding tea tree seeds was incredibly difficult, no less challenging than Lu Mingming winning first place in the main planet competition.
She put this matter aside for later consideration.
Perhaps one day, Lu Mingming could bring an unprecedented surprise to the interstellar world.
Without the raw materials for matcha pudding, Lu Mingming opted for her second plan: pudding-infused goat milk.
Pudding-infused goat milk involved adding pudding as a base ingredient to warm goat milk. Lu Mingming had originally intended to make a trio of goat milk specialties, but unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to prepare the pearls and grass jelly, so she had to abandon that idea.
Goat milk was most suitable for young cubs to supplement their nutrition and grow strong bodies, while also being less likely to irritate their stomachs compared to cow's milk.
Lu Mingming first poured the goat milk powder into a pot and boiled it. The pudding was also made with goat milk, resulting in a smooth, tender, and Q-bouncy texture. Compared to double-skin milk, it was slightly sweeter and a beloved treat for people of all ages on Earth.
After boiling a pot of goat milk, Lu Mingming set the prepared pudding aside to cool.
This time, the amount she made by herself was sufficient for the cubs, and the chefs were not needed.
The chefs, having some free time, made another batch of stir-fried eggplant with minced peppers and meat, all intending to take it home for their families. Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Lu Mingming also told them to leave.
The chefs left early, happily clutching their lunchboxes.
"This intern保育师 (baoyù shī - childcare worker) cooks well and is kind-hearted. We really hope she's a long-term boss!"
Once the chefs had left, Lu Mingming began preparing the jelly she had promised the cubs.
Considering the different flavors that young children enjoyed, Lu Mingming selected peaches, oranges, and apples. She washed, peeled, and diced the fruits, setting them aside.
Cheng Shiqin, having just washed the strawberries for candied strawberries, was completely restless and leaned over, his eyes wide with curiosity. "What are you making now?"
Lu Mingming replied, "It’s a small snack for the Class A cubs tomorrow, called jelly."
"You know so many strange and unusual things! This is another one I've never heard of."
With a strawberry stuffed in his cheek, making him look like a squirrel, Cheng Shiqin found Lu Mingming's inventive ideas to be both unexpected and logical.
Lu Mingming smiled without saying much.
Making jelly was actually very simple. It involved boiling water again, but this time, a small amount of rock sugar was added and mixed in.
The most crucial ingredient for jelly was white agar powder. Since there was no food similar to agar in the interstellar era, Lu Mingming spent considerable effort finding a similar gelling agent, which she added and stirred into the mixture, then boiled.
The jelly base in the pot gradually took on a clear, transparent texture, allowing one to vaguely see the bottom of the pot.
Lu Mingming gently poked the surface with chopsticks. Once she confirmed it had slightly solidified, she knew it was largely successful.
"It's so magical, almost like your double-skin milk."
In the blink of an eye, Cheng Shiqin, watching the process, ate another strawberry.
Cheng Shiqin was very clever and hit upon the key point. Lu Mingming readily admitted, "There are some similarities."
Besides the rock sugar to enhance the sweetness of the jelly, the flavor depended on real fruit pieces.
The freshly diced fruit pieces, prepared earlier, emitted a refreshing sweet aroma. The combination of oranges and peaches was particularly reminiscent of summer and spring, as if being in a warm season during winter.
Lu Mingming divided the diced fruit pieces into three separate pots, ensuring each pot of jelly would have a different flavor. The remaining ingredients were made into a mixed-flavor jelly.
To preserve the original flavor of the fruit, Lu Mingming took a portion of the fruit and blended it into a fine juice in a juicer. She then poured this juice into the pots for jelly preparation and cooked it over low heat.
Finally, all that remained was to pour the mixture into molds and wait for it to set in the refrigerator.
This way, the jelly could be stored in the refrigerator for two days, tasting better and more flavorful. It was small and portable, taking up little space.
By the time Lu Mingming finished her work, Cheng Shiqin had finally made his move.
However, the brown sugar he had boiled was too soft, and the syrup in the pot had too much stretch. As the string of strawberries was dipped and coated, countless delicate, crystalline sugar threads were pulled from the tip of the strawberry all the way down to the skewer.
Cheng Shiqin lacked Lu Mingming's practiced skill. After struggling for a long time, he managed to fling a basin of finely chopped brown sugar threads onto his apron, getting sticky syrup all over it.
Lu Mingming patiently guided him, and only on the third attempt did he manage a勉强 (miǎnqiǎng - barely) success.
After his initial success, Cheng Shiqin gained confidence. He dared to chat with Lu Mingming while rotating the strawberry skewers.
"Do you have a particularly naughty cub in your class named Hui Lan?"
Lu Mingming blinked. "Yes, his reputation precedes him, doesn't it?"
"He's Count Gude Fen's son, and Gude Fen is the arch-nemesis of the Alliance heir. Everyone in the official circles knows..."
"What?"
Lu Mingming hadn't heard Cheng Shiqin's mumble clearly and immediately asked curiously.
Cheng Shiqin changed the subject. "I heard he has an older brother of the same species, who is very different from him and is in Class C."
With this reminder, Lu Mingming suddenly recalled the child she had seen on the transport.
"Does he have some freckles on his face and red eyes?"
Cheng Shiqin nodded.
"He's often bullied by Hui Lan, is timid, and is called Hui Hong. I heard he's an illegitimate child who returned from elsewhere, which is why he's not favored."
Cheng Shiqin shrugged, readily divulging noble secrets without any hesitation in front of Lu Mingming.
Lu Mingming pondered this.
She noted it down but had no intention of rashly approaching Hui Hong. Firstly, she feared that a sudden action might hurt the child's self-esteem, and she would address it at the right time.
Secondly, rather than helping that little cub temporarily escape his plight, it would be better to educate Hui Lan in her class more effectively over these three days.
The help of others was not permanent. Only by changing the fundamental issues and helping oneself could one go further.
Lu Mingming wisely kept everything she heard to herself and listened intently as the other person spoke.
Cheng Shiqin, having opened the floodgates, recounted a host of gossip that could easily land him in prison for libel by the authorities.
This included, but was not limited to, "The Alliance heir has no female companion, leading to suspicions of health problems," "The old scholar who developed the Star Net has incredibly shiny silver hair, praised by others for being fashionable," and "Merchant fleets have repeatedly encountered pirates recently but were not harmed."
The most explosive piece of news was, "Count Gude Fen is the illegitimate son of the current Alliance leader."
Upon reaching this topic, both of them instinctively zipped their lips shut, refraining from further discussion.
By the time Cheng Shiqin finished making the candied strawberries, it was precisely time for the little ones to have lunch.
A pleasant classical melody echoed through the academy, waking the children from their dormitory rest. The cubs were once again led one-on-one by attendants to the cafeteria for their meal.
The chefs, after their lunch, returned to assist Lu Mingming and Cheng Shiqin, placing fourteen clay pots of minced meat and eggplant into the small cafeteria.
The portions were small and evenly distributed, resulting in a large number of dishes.
However, Lu Mingming didn't expect that the first cub to arrive at the cafeteria would be someone familiar – heavy dark circles under his eyes, and overly long bangs obscuring most of his face.
Compared to the large, fluffy gray ears hanging on either side of his face, the cub's entire skin was as pale and weak as if recovering from a serious illness.
Most noticeable were the scattered light freckles on his face.
It was Hui Hong, whom Lu Mingming had just discussed with Cheng Shiqin.
The cub was wearing a pudding outfit and, without an attendant, hurriedly ran into the cafeteria clutching the cheapest plastic lunchbox from the Star Net, a stark contrast to Hui Lan.
He had intended to quickly finish his lunch, but an unfamiliar aroma caught his attention.
Hui Hong looked around, his nose twitching slightly, trying to identify the source of the scent.
Upon seeing the seven pots in front of Lu Mingming, Hui Hong silently swallowed, looking pitiable and adorable.
Lu Mingming watched the cub hesitate there for a long time. Finally, blushing, he held his plastic lunchbox and toddled over to Lu Mingming.
Lu Mingming looked down at him gently, a smile gracing her lips, conveying kindness. "Does little one need sister's help?"
The cub looked up, his large rabbit ears perking up at the sides, revealing the pink flesh inside his ears. His voice, just as Lu Mingming had imagined, was extremely soft and sweet, as if he were easily bullied.
"Excuse me, may I have a scoop of the stir-fried eggplant with minced peppers? Just a little bit."