Because they arrived late and there were so many people, Junior Ms.Qian and Aunt Rong discussed and decided to simply make everyone a hot pot to eat.
The helpers in the kitchen, along with Ms.Fang, washed and chopped the cabbage brought from the city. Junior Ms.Qian and Aunt Rong chopped the bones and boiled them in a large pot, adding various spices to it.
Initially, Manbao and the others were sitting outside chatting, but they couldn’t resist the aroma and found their way to the large kitchen. Just in ti, Zhou Lijun and a few brothers dragged back the branches they had cut, and upon slling the aroma, said, "I’ll go help my aunt. You guys keep dragging things up the mountain yourself."
Zhou Liwei couldn’t help but complain, "Second sister, is your cooking skill really ’helping,’ or just creating more chaos? It’s not even as good as mine."
"Shut up, I can’t cook, but do you think I can’t wash vegetables?"
"Where are there any vegetables left to wash now?"
Zhou Lijun had already run off, leaving them behind. Zhou Lichong patted his shoulder and said, "Let’s go; stop thinking about slacking off."
Actually, there were still quite a few vegetables to wash in the kitchen.
Junior Ms.Qian brought a lot of soaked bamboo shoots and dried vegetables with them from Qili Village to the capital.
There were still quite a few left, besides the cabbages stored recently, Junior Ms.Qian also stored cucumbers sent from Bai Family Village.
The cucumbers, though a bit soft, looked almost fresh when cut, and even slled more aromatic without going bad.
Even Old Madam Liu was amazed; obviously, they were stored in jars using the sa thod, but Junior Ms.Qian’s cucumbers were fresher, more tender, and less prone to going bad compared to Aunt Rong’s.
For a hot pot, more vegetables are needed.
Therefore, they took out the dried vegetables, soaked and cleaned them, washed and sliced the cucumbers, soaked so dried yam slices, and washed and sliced the lotus roots bought earlier...
If not for the ti constraint, Junior Ms.Qian also wanted to make so tofu or sprout so bean sprouts.
While talking about this, she couldn’t help but say to Lijun, who was sitting on a small stool washing vegetables, "I’ve asked around; there’s no stone mill in the village. If our family wants to make tofu in the future, we’ll have to prepare a stone mill."
Manbao replied, "Just buy one."
Junior Ms.Qian was conflicted, "But it’s too wasteful for just our family to use it. This isn’t our village, where I make tofu every day for the shop or sell it outside; this is rely for our own consumption."
Bai Shan thought for a mont and said, "We could build a shed next to our house, lay the ground solidly, and let the people in the village use it too. It’d be lively, and Brother and Sister-in-law would better integrate into the community."
Bai Shan imdiately told Lijun, "Buy one."
Lijun was washing the soaked dried vegetables, lifting them to drain, while saying, "Auntie, you don’t have the final say on this. I have to ask Grandpa. He’s checking my accounts twice a day now."
Though she’s still handling the money and account books, Old Zhou asks every morning who spent money from her, and every evening about the total expenditure that day...
Beside them, Yin Huo curiously picked mud off the lotus roots and couldn’t help asking, "Is the stone mill very expensive?"
Manbao nodded, "It’s very expensive. A good stone material in our Luojiang County costs about 800 coins. I don’t know how much it would be here."
Zhou Lijun also nodded, "Previously, when my aunt wanted to add one to the shop for my aunt, Grandpa also thought it was expensive."
Yin Huo was a bit confused; 800 coins, is it really expensive?
Bai Erlang saw him peeling mud off the lotus roots and was about to cut the head to wash, quickly stopped him, saying, "Hey, hey, wash it before cutting the head, or dirty water will seep inside."
Ms.Fang had just finished chopping the cabbage, turned around to see them making such a ss out of washing a few vegetables, and couldn’t help but wave them off, "You guys are no help—just causing more trouble. Get out, and I’ll have to clean the kitchen afterwards."
All the maids and won, who had been silently busy cleaning, didn’t dare speak up, but they thought the sa.
Manbao handed the washed cucumbers to Bai Shan, watched him slice them with a ’whack, whack,’ and told Ms.Fang, "We washed them really clean."
Ms.Fang looked at the cucumbers Bai Shan sliced—almost two fingers wide—and said nothing. Sothing sliced like this would need to be recut later.
Bai Shan tried controlling the thickness, but it was always Daji who did this before. He mostly just tended to the fire, but...
He said matter-of-factly, "Fourth sister-in-law, thick cucumber slices are more enjoyable."
Ms.Fang replied, "How long would they need to be cooked before done?"
Bai Shan said, "You can eat them raw too."
Yin Huo looked at those cucumber slices, confused, whispering, "I think cooked ones taste better."
Manbao simply stated, "I don’t like cucumbers; I like lotus roots."
Old Zhou ca in carrying a big winter lon from outside, put it down on the ground, and said to everyone in the room, "The Chief sent this; wash and cut it too. I’ve invited the Chief to join us for dinner."
Even though they got to know each other, they were still outsiders, so they must maintain good relations with the villagers and Chief.
There were too many villagers, so best to start with the Chief.
Ms.Fang represented everyone in agreeing, then once her father-in-law walked out, she imdiately and firmly chased all the young ones out from the kitchen.
Manbao imdiately washed her hands clean and went out with everyone, then sighed, "Guess it’ll take two or three more quarters of an hour before we can eat. So hungry."
Bai Shan sighed too, "Thankfully, we had an extra breakfast this morning, or we’d be even more hungry."
Bai Erlang nodded along with Manbao, deeply agreeing.
Yin Huo: ...
Since they couldn’t help in the kitchen, nor were needed for chopping wood up the mountain, they decided to set up the tables.
With so many people, they couldn’t possibly all eat at one table.
The adults at one table, these youngsters at another.
Even Daji and the others had two tables set up in the side rooms.
Once Junior Ms.Qian made the soup base, Ms.Fang and others had the vegetables and at all sliced.
Everything was brought to the table, and they began eating while talking.
Yin Huo, having grown up never eating such hot pot, because of his illness, always ate fine als, and whenever his family catered to him, it ant a milder diet.
He knew this himself, that’s why his grandmother often called the small kitchen to cook large pieces of at for herself. Because of this, he didn’t like eating with his family.
When he ate, everyone else would eat another al; what’s the point? Better to eat on his own; they have their own freedom, and he has his.
Manbao sat in her chair, noticed Changshou and Xu An still standing by, and waved, "You go eat with Daji; we’ll look after Yin Huo."
Changshou and Xu An looked at Yin Huo.
Yin Huo ca back to his senses, nodding slightly, "Go ahead."
Changshou pulled Xu An, bowed out.\p>
Bai Shan also took care of Yin Huo, first serving him a bowl of soup to warm his stomach. Bai Erlang, seeing the two being so attentive yet ignoring him, pouted.
He placed his bowl between Bai Shan and Zhou Man, and the two looked at him, puzzled, "What are you doing?"
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