Hanhan chomped down on the little tuft of weeds in a flash—gone in just a few bites. He didn't even spare the roots...
Naturally, this was seized upon as yet another piece of ironclad "evidence" that the streamer was abusing a national treasure!
But Li Ran wasn't carrying that blame for nothing. Though the curses poured in, his Depression Points surged right along with them.
In just a few short minutes, the total had climbed by nearly a thousand again. And his personal account? It gained close to five thousand yuan out of thin air...
This time, Li Ran was quite patient. He waited for Hanhan to finish eating and drinking his fill before urging him to get back to work.
Li Ran carried the basket and the larger branches, while Hanhan was in charge of the bundled sticks.
But after hauling two bundles, Hanhan's chronic laziness flared up again. He lay on a crooked peach tree, panting with his big black eyes wide open, wearing an expression of pure innocence.
Li Ran had his tricks ready. "Do you want more of that delicious snack from earlier?"
Hanhan's eyes lit up and he nodded eagerly.
"Then get back to work, quickly! Finish it up and I'll give you a bonus for lunch!"
Hanhan let out a joyful cheer and threw himself back into the task with renewed vigor, rolling logs once again...
"Damn, this streamer is amazing. He can actually communicate with a panda?"
"Newbie up there? This is his domesticated panda, not a wild one!"
"Domesticated panda? Excuse me? You've gotta be kidding!"
"See for yourself. Don't believe it? Whatever!"
"This streamer's got some skills, but man, what a jerk."
"Agreed. Abusing a national treasure—that's a black mark that'll never wash off!"
"How could anyone bear to mistreat such a cute giant panda?"
"Heh. Young lady, you're still too naive…"
Li Ran glanced at the chat and felt utterly speechless.
He genuinely hadn't intended to abuse a national treasure.
Feeding Hanhan cabbage porridge? That was just because it was a shame to waste leftovers.
Making Hanhan do chores? That was honestly just a "you eat, you contribute" kind of deal.
As for the grass-eating thing—Hanhan wanted that all on his own…
Really, these netizens were way too quick to pin blame.
Still, with the steady stream of Depression Points coming in, Li Ran didn't bother arguing with them...
Man and panda ran several trips before they finally moved all the wood bundles back home.
They'd been at it all morning—by now, it was nearly eleven o'clock.
From the old, soot-blackened chimney, wisps of smoke began to rise.
"Grandma, look! I picked two bags of mushrooms!" Li Ran bragged the moment he stepped inside.
But the old woman was startled by the giant panda who followed him in.
"Oh heavens! Where'd you get such a big dog?!"
"Grandma, that's not a dog—it's a giant panda!"
"A what? A bear?!"
"Well… calling it a bear wouldn't be wrong. Anyway, this is Hanhan, and he's going to live with us from now on."
"Does it bite?"
"Nope! Hanhan, go bow to Grandma."
[+20 Depression Points from Hanhan, +100 yuan]
Hanhan couldn't resist the command. He slowly walked over, brought his paws together, and gave a New Year's bow.
Grandma's tension slowly eased. She reached out and patted the panda's round, fluffy head.
"Good boy. Hanhan's a sweetie. I'll get you some cured meat in a bit."
Only then did Li Ran notice that a piece of cured pork and several sections of sausage had already been boiled and laid out on the chopping board.
Next to them were a few large green peppers, two red ones, and an onion.
The sausages and cured meat had been made for the New Year. Normally, they'd only cut into them for big celebrations.
Today, Grandma had specially prepared a feast to welcome Li Ran home.
He couldn't help but swallow hard.
At that moment, his Depression Points were steadily ticking upward again. He opened his phone and saw that the stream chat was clamoring for the panda to be shown on camera.
He didn't mind obliging—he sent one drone into the kitchen to film. The other two remained outside, soaking up solar power while acting as security monitors...
Li Ran thought viewers would keep talking about the panda. But once the kitchen shot came into focus, most people shifted their attention somewhere else entirely—
"Wow, this kitchen is so old-school. The stove, the dish cupboard, the chopping board, the water jar... I haven't seen stuff like this in decades!"
"Looks just like my grandparents' place when I was a kid. So nostalgic."
"This is the true flavor of home life..."
"What's the big feast today? Is Grandma cooking herself?"
Li Ran was in a great mood and began explaining cheerfully.
"Grandma's cooking skills are top-notch. Get ready for a feast for the eyes!"
"Today's menu features two classic dishes from western Sichuan: stir-fried mushrooms with sausage, and green pepper stir-fried cured pork. These are real homestyle recipes—none of that fancy restaurant fluff. So pay close attention!"
When he first started talking, Grandma jumped, thinking her grandson had suddenly gone crazy and was talking to thin air.
Li Ran had to explain the whole concept of drones and livestreams in great detail before she finally sort of understood...
"To keep the meat from going bad, we use lots of salt when making cured pork and sausages," he explained.
"So before cooking, we boil the meat briefly to remove most of the salt. After that, we slice it thin and stir-fry it with veggies. The flavor comes out just right…"
As he explained, he also helped Grandma prep the ingredients.
The drone hovered nearby, capturing everything clearly and steadily.
"Fresh mushrooms need to be soaked in salt water, then drained and torn into small pieces."
"The green and sweet peppers are washed, deseeded, and chopped into chunks."
"The onion gets diced, the ginger and garlic smashed and minced, and the dried chili peppers cut into segments."
"Finally, the sausages and cured pork are thinly sliced and placed on separate plates..."
After he finished prepping, Li Ran sat dutifully by the stove to tend the fire.
Once the iron wok was hot, Grandma scooped a spoonful of smooth, white lard from a ceramic jar.
The lard melted quickly. She tossed in the ginger, garlic, and dried chili peppers.
Zzzzzhhh! Instantly, a burst of fragrant aroma filled the air.
The high-def camera caught the exact moment the oil sizzled and smoke rose.
As Grandma began to add meat and vegetables to the wok and expertly stir-fry them, the livestream chat erupted once again—
"Oh my god, the colors—this looks so appetizing!"
"I swear I can smell it through the screen."
"Just watching this is making me hungry. I want some!"
"Good thing I was smart and ordered takeout in advance…"
"As everyone knows, this is a food streamer!"
"I'm new here. Don't lie to me—how does a rookie food streamer have so many viewers?"
"Must be bots…"
The new viewers quickly figured it out—
Because not long after, the camera showed Grandma holding out a piece of cured pork… right to the panda's face.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。