In this era, humanity flourished. The Federation reigned supreme with a population of roughly four hundred billion. Everyone shared a single Star Network, and with so many people surfing the web, the Federation's livestreaming industry was exceptionally prosperous.
With a newfound strength, she switched her screen to the Star Network's livestreaming section and navigated to the Food category—a corner of the web the body's previous owner had never once visited.
Countless livestream channels popped up. She picked a few from the rankings to check out; their popularity was sky-high. The most-watched channel had several hundred million viewers! Hundreds of millions of actual, living people!
Moreover, she discovered that livestreams in this era even had a virtual tasting feature. (During a broadcast, a streamer could activate a fully immersive virtual kitchen, allowing viewers to smell the food. They could also offer a paid virtual tasting service, where fans paid a certain fee to sample the streamer's dishes.)
Jiang Qiuqiu couldn't see the specific number of virtual tastings, but just looking at the dense barrage of comments, the record-breaking number of viewers, and the crowd of people practically crying out to be fed—
'That's a river of interstellar coins just waiting to flow in!'
Jiang Qiuqiu decided on the spot: she would use her nimble hands and exquisite skills to support herself in this new era! She was going to become a streamer!
From the moment she decided to start streaming, Jiang Qiuqiu was rubbing her hands together in anticipation.
'Streaming... first, equipment. Let's check the interstellar Taotao website...'
Then she discovered that even the worst food livestreaming setup cost nearly five figures. This was far beyond what the current Jiang Qiuqiu could afford.
But there was more than one way forward. If she couldn't afford to buy, she could rent one on the Star Network.
After shopping around, Jiang Qiuqiu rented a low-end food livestreaming setup for 300 Star Coins a month.
Now that she had the equipment, she decided to first research the various types of produce available in the interstellar era so she could plan a menu.
The moment she searched for the vegetable category, Jiang Qiuqiu's soft, cherubic face went completely blank.
"!!!"
'Not only was the variety scarce, but the prices were also absurdly high.'
'Every single vegetable is sold by the piece; just making one dish would bankrupt me on the spot! It's over. Is my streaming career going to die before it even starts, all because I'm poor?!'
Her small, round eyes wide, she glanced at the other types of ingredients. 'Expensive. Everything is so expensive. Anything that grows from the ground is expensive!'
'Wait! I think I found an anomaly! The meat and eggs here are actually really cheap.'
'Could it be because farming is more difficult than raising livestock?'
'Whatever. Since meat is cheaper—'
'—then the first dish for my stream will be fried meat cutlets.'
Every product on Taotao Fresh came with clear pictures and videos.
Jiang Qiuqiu carefully examined the pictures, marbling, and mouthfeel descriptions for these meats, then purchased a few types that seemed to have a texture most similar to pork.
It couldn't be helped. In a different era, the names of these meats had all changed. Jiang Qiuqiu wasn't sure if her old cooking methods would work on these new ingredients, or if she could make them taste just as delicious.
But it didn't matter. She had faith in her own skills.
After tinkering in the kitchen for over an hour, Jiang Qiuqiu tentatively decided on the first item for her stream's menu: Fried Gugu Meat Cutlets. Now all the preparations were complete; she just had to wait for the livestreaming equipment to arrive.
Waiting was always agonizing. Jiang Qiuqiu forced herself to calm down and continued browsing information on the Star Network, trying to fill the gaps in her knowledge about this world.
Fortunately, interstellar delivery was ridiculously fast. That very evening, Jiang Qiuqiu received her low-end livestreaming equipment and ingredients.
The time was the year 5355 of the Federation calendar. A food streamer named Jiang Jiujiu had just burst onto the scene on the Federation's livestreaming network!