NOVGO.NET Chapter 25: Clay Pot
Behind the stove, two chefs wearing only white tank tops were working methodically.
One was heavyset, the other thin. Although the two chefs were only in tank tops with a huge industrial fan WHIRRING behind them, their white tank tops were already soaked with sweat. Beads of sweat constantly trickled down their faces and dripped onto the floor.
From time to time, they used the white towels around their necks to wipe away sweat. The once-white towels had long since yellowed from use.
The entire cooking station was composed of three high-intensity stoves, and each stove had a total of 10 burners.
This meant the station could be used to make 30 TSK TSK Pots simultaneously.
At this moment, all 30 burners were occupied by clay pots.
However, some of the clay pots had no ingredients in them; they were completely empty.
The viewers in the stream saw this and immediately grew curious.
"Wait, why are there several empty clay pots being heated over an open flame?"
"Isn’t that too dangerous? Won’t they just crack?"
"Those two chefs are moving so fast. Just two people managing 30 pots!"
"Why are there metal wires on the clay pots? What are they for?"
"Streamer, get a little closer! The shot is too blurry from here!"
...
Seeing the requests from his audience, Li Xiao moved a little closer.
He adjusted his phone’s focus, and the video feed sharpened instantly.
The thin chef was in the back, responsible for continuously placing different ingredients into small stainless steel bowls.
Meanwhile, the heavyset chef was in charge of adding these ingredients to the clay pots in a specific order.
Since the burners were extremely hot, the heavyset chef wore a pair of heat-resistant gloves to avoid getting burned.
After observing their process for a moment, Li Xiao quickly figured out their system.
"Even though there are only two chefs here responsible for 30 pots, their process is systematic, which is why they look so orderly."
"The three different high-intensity stoves are each responsible for a different step in the process."
"The stove on the left has the lowest heat. Its main purpose is to preheat the clay pots, ensuring they are hot enough for the subsequent cooking steps."
"The stove directly facing us is just for stir-frying, so its flame is very high and the heat is the most intense."
"And the stove on the right has a medium-intensity flame, responsible for cooking the ingredients all the way through."
"As for why there are metal wires on the pots, and why they don’t break even when heated empty, the reason is also quite simple."
Li Xiao shifted the camera slightly, bringing a stainless steel barrel into view. This huge barrel was filled with water.
Soaking in the water were identical clay pots.
Just then, a batch of clay pots finished preheating.
The heavyset chef quickly reached out and moved the 10 pots to the burners on the front stove.
Then, he quickly took 10 more pots, still dripping with water, from the stainless steel barrel and placed them on the left stove.
The water droplets evaporated instantly with a SIZZLE.
Li Xiao explained:
"The reason these clay pots don’t break even when they’re empty is because they are soaked in water beforehand."
"Clay pots are made of ceramic, which is naturally porous and has many tiny air pockets."
"If you don’t soak them in water first, the heat from the flame will spread rapidly through these fine pores."
"Overheating can cause the heat to transfer too quickly, which in turn leads to the pot cracking."
"Soaking the clay pots in water beforehand allows these pores to absorb enough moisture."
"When heated, the entire pot warms up slowly, which prevents it from cracking due to drastic, localized temperature changes."
"As for the purpose of those metal wires, they’re there to secure the pot."
"Even with pre-soaking, there’s still a chance the pot could shatter. The ring of wire on the outside acts as a fail-safe."
"With this ring of wire, even if a pot shatters, the fragments won’t injure anyone."
Stream Chat:
"Thanks for the explanation, Streamer! Sent you a sunglasses gift."
"This will save me a lot of money on new clay pots!"
"Holy cow, I finally know why my clay pots always crack after a few uses. I always thought it was bad quality, but it turns out it was because I never soaked them in water first!"
"The person above isn’t being entirely accurate. Poor quality is also a factor. There are heat-resistant clay pots now that you can use for a long time without soaking!"
"I have a clay pot at home that’s over ten years old, and I have to soak it before every use. I don’t know why, but soup cooked in that pot tastes especially delicious!"
...
Li Xiao took a moment to glance at the stream and was very pleased.
It had only been about 10 minutes since he started streaming, and the number of viewers had already surpassed 500.
Seeing the small gifts flashing continuously across the screen, Li Xiao quickly spoke up to stop them.
"First off, thank you all for the gifts, but you really don’t need to send the streamer anything."
"You could buy a great breakfast with that money. I’d be happier if you all saved it for a good meal."
"The title of the stream isn’t a joke. I’m from a wealthy family, so I don’t need the money at all. Streaming and making videos are just hobbies. My main goal is to introduce everyone to more and better food."
"Just having you all here supporting the stream, giving some free likes, is enough to make me happy. It lets me know you’re enjoying the content."
"Your free support is my biggest motivation to keep exploring new restaurants."
"Also, I want to reiterate that in order to maintain my neutrality, I will not accept promotional fees from any restaurant."
"If anyone—be it a viewer, a restaurant owner, or a staff member—can provide concrete evidence that I’ve accepted a promotional fee or have been paid off by any establishment..."
"...I will personally reward the whistleblower 300,000!"
Li Xiao had said something like this on stream before.
But back then, he had fewer than 100 viewers, so it didn’t cause much of a stir, and not many people knew about it.
Now, there were several hundred people in the stream.
Hearing Li Xiao’s promise, many viewers instantly got excited.
"Alright, alright, so that’s how you’re gonna play it! I love it!"
"Daring to put up 300,000 to prove his point... this streamer might actually be the real deal!"
"I’ve already screen-recorded that!"
"This can’t be a trick, right? If you really find proof, you really get 300,000?"
"I’m a fourth-year law student, and this kind of public, verbal promise is legally binding. As long as everyone screenshots the streamer’s promise just now, it can be used as evidence!"
As the viewers’ discussion grew more frenzied, the stream saw another surge in viewers, with the count breaking past 600 people.
With a grand wave of his hand, Li Xiao sent out another five password-protected red packets.
"Feel free to record it, feel free to share it, and I welcome everyone to hold me accountable."
"Alright, enough chatter. Let’s get back to the camera and continue watching how these TSK TSK Pots are made."