Food: Senior year internship, you take over the university cafeteria

Chapter 56 Impossible! Newbie Bonus

What's even more amazing is that when a fisherman casts his line, Yuanbao squats down next to him, his eyes fixed on the float, seemingly more focused than the fisherman himself.

"Yuanbao: This generation of humans isn't up to par; I'll have to personally oversee the construction."

"Even cats are better at fishing than me" series

"Is it trying to find out which fish tastes the best?"

The number of viewers in the live stream instantly exceeded 10,000.

The appearance of Yuanbao was like a lucky charm. When it patrolled to fishing spot number three, the third-year student from the sports academy suddenly lifted the rod!

"Got it!" came a low shout.

The fishing rod bent into a breathtaking arc, the reel creaking. A shimmering silver carp burst from the water, vigorously thrashing its tail in the air, splashing water everywhere.

"A great start! The first fish is ashore!" Zhang Tao excitedly grabbed the microphone. "Number three fishing spot, Li Wei from the Sports Academy, one carp, estimated to weigh two and a half pounds!"

The crowd cheered.

Li Wei proudly placed the fish into the fish basket, but when he turned around, he was stunned to see a little fish squatting beside his fish basket, its claws trying to pry open the net.

"Yuanbao! This is a racing fish! You can't eat it!" Li Wei said, both amused and exasperated.

Yuanbao meowed and brushed its tail against his calf, giving off a disdainful "stingy" vibe.

The first fish was sent to the cooking area.

Wang Sheng took the still-throwing carp, his eyes instantly changing—to a state of complete, almost devout focus. He held the fish's body with his left hand, and with a flash of his knife in his right, scales flew like snowflakes. Scaling, gill removal…

The entire process of opening the abdomen and removing the internal organs takes no more than twenty seconds, flowing smoothly and without any hesitation.

"Zoom in! Close-up!" Su Hang shouted to his assistant.

The high-definition camera captured every detail: the precise angle at which the blade glided along the fishbone, the deftness of the fingers prying out the gills, and the trail of blood spreading as the water rinsed the fish's belly. It didn't look like handling food; it looked like performing a delicate surgical procedure.

The carp was washed and placed on the cutting board. Wang Sheng switched to a thin-bladed knife and made cross-shaped cuts on both sides of the fish, each cut being of uniform depth and evenly spaced, just enough to cut to the fish bone without breaking it.

"This knife skill—I couldn't achieve such evenness evenness even after five years of culinary training," Chen Mo muttered to himself.

Marinate and steam. While waiting, Wang Sheng began to prepare the sauce—heat rapeseed oil to 60% of its maximum temperature, add scallion segments, ginger slices, and whole peppercorns and fry until fragrant. Once the aroma is released, remove the solids, turn the heat to low, and slowly stir-fry Pixian chili bean paste until the oil turns red.

Next comes the crucial step: making your own blended soy sauce.

Wang Sheng took out a small earthenware jar containing his secret soy sauce, which he had prepared three days in advance. It was a mixture of ordinary light soy sauce, broth made from shiitake mushrooms, kelp, and dried anchovies, with a small amount of rock sugar and spices added. After being left to settle for a long time, the sauce had a deep color and an astonishingly complex flavor profile.

A spoonful of compound soy sauce is added to the pot, and the moment it blends with the chili oil, a unique and complex aroma explodes!

The fragrance seemed tangible, drifting on the autumn breeze. The students closest to the source all took a deep breath in unison, their throats bobbing.

"Holy crap ————————"

"I'm hungry, I'm suddenly hungry."

Just then, the steamer began to release steam. Wang Sheng lifted the lid, and white steam rose into the air. The steamed carp lay on the plate, its flesh slightly split open due to the high temperature, revealing its snow-white texture.

Pour the scalding hot sauce over it.

"Sizzle—"

The sizzling sound of hot oil hitting the fish, mixed with the pungent aroma of Sichuan peppercorns and chili peppers, is like a fireworks display for the senses. Finally, sprinkle with toasted white sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, and chopped green onions, and your mouthwatering fish is complete.

Wang Sheng handed the plate to Li Wei: "While it's hot."

Li Wei picked up a piece of fish belly meat with his chopsticks—the tenderest part, coated in a bright red sauce. The moment he put it in his mouth, his eyes widened.

The initial spiciness hits first, but it's not harsh or pungent; it's a rich, layered spiciness. Next comes the freshness—the natural sweetness of the fish combined with the umami of the complex soy sauce, exploding on the tongue. The most exquisite part is the texture of the perfectly steamed fish, which separates easily with a gentle touch of chopsticks and melts in your mouth, while the skin retains a slight chewiness, creating a beautiful contrast.

"Ugh—" Li Wei couldn't speak, he could only nod frantically and pick up another big piece.

The sound of students swallowing hard could be heard everywhere as they watched.

The chat room in Suhang's live stream was flooded with comments.

"It's making me hungry! I'm eating instant noodles!"

"This fish is cooked so well—I can smell the aroma even through the screen!"

"Wang Sheng's culinary skills are enough to qualify him as a head chef at a five-star hotel, right?"

"Principal! How about opening the school to visitors? I'll buy a ticket!"

The popularity score on Wang Sheng's system panel jumped wildly: +100, +200, +500...

Just then, a scream came from the fishing area.

"It moved! Mine moved too!"

Everyone turned to look—it was Su Weiwei!

She frantically grabbed the cheap fishing rod, the line taut and the rod bent into an exaggerated arc.

Clearly, it wasn't a small fish that was caught.

"Hold on! Don't pull too hard!" a fellow angler quickly advised. "Loosen the drag! Play it slowly!"

Su Weiwei's face flushed red, her hands trembled, yet she gripped the fishing rod tightly. The fish thrashed and struggled underwater with astonishing force.

"It's a big one!" Zhang Tao rushed to the shore. "It's probably a grass carp! Weiwei, hang in there!"

The struggle lasted a full three minutes. When a grass carp weighing nearly four pounds was finally scooped up by the net, the entire audience erupted in gasps.

"The newbie buff is this strong?!"

"This girl is using earthworms! Grass carp eat earthworms?"

"Metaphysics, this is absolutely metaphysics."

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"Look at that guy over there with all that professional equipment..."

Su Weiwei carried the heavy fish, her hands still trembling, but her eyes crinkled into crescent moons with laughter. She ran towards the cooking area: "Senior Wang! This one! I want to eat it—uh, what should I cook this one?"

Wang Sheng looked at the plump grass carp and thought for a moment: "Grass carp has thick flesh, suitable for slicing and making boiled fish. Want some?"

Without hesitation!

Wang Sheng used his popularity to exchange for the creation of boiled fish.

"Eat!" Su Weiwei nodded vigorously.

For the second fish, Wang Sheng changed his knife skills.

The grass carp was headed and tail removed, and the knife was used to slice off two fillets along the spine. Then came a stunning moment—Wang Sheng placed the fish skin-side down on the cutting board, made a diagonal cut, and with a rapid, subtle tremor of his wrist, sliced ​​off a piece as thin as a cicada's wing.

The almost transparent fish slices then floated down.

One piece, then another.

The fish fillets have a translucent texture under the light, revealing the fine texture of the meat. They are all of uniform thickness and are neatly arranged on the plate like unfolded feather fans.

"This knife skill—it takes at least ten years of practice to achieve." An elderly professor in the crowd pushed up his glasses. "This kid is a genius."

The preparation of boiled fish is even more fiery. A large pot of oil is heated, then fermented bean paste and hot pot base are stir-fried until fragrant. Water is added and brought to a boil. Fish slices are then gently slid into the pot one by one, blanched until just turning white, and then removed. The final step is to pour hot oil over the fish slices, which are then covered with dried chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns—

"boom!"

The flames briefly flared up before Wang Sheng swiftly extinguished them. The chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns exploded in the boiling oil, releasing an ultimate aroma—a domineering, direct, and instantly awakening impact on all taste buds.

Su Weiwei almost burst into tears when she took her first bite.

"Spicy—so spicy—but so delicious!" she exclaimed, inhaling as she stuffed the fish into her mouth. "The fish is so tender! It's like eating a cloud!"

This description caused another wave of comments to explode.

"Eating clouds? That's an amazing description."

"Judging from Vivi's expression, this fish must taste delicious!"

"I hereby declare that Wang Sheng is my newest male god."

"Sister, I really love this!"

"You said the same thing in the last video!"

The competition has reached a fever pitch.

Perhaps spurred on by Su Weiwei's "newbie aura," the other anglers began to exert their efforts.

Fishing spot number five caught a large crucian carp, fishing spot number eight caught two small carp, and fishing spot number twelve even caught a turtle—according to the rules, turtles are not counted in the score, but it caused a burst of laughter.