Time Travel: A Fisherwoman Goes to the Sea to Raise a Baby

Chapter 484 Hot Pot Feast 2

Old Lu smacked his lips contentedly, wiping away the red oil that clung to them.

Still savoring the taste, she said with a hint of longing, "If I could have a few slices of tender mutton cooked in the hot chili oil, the mutton would be so succulent, one bite... tsk, even the gods wouldn't trade it for this."

Xu Yiyi lifted Wu Yuan onto her lap and said, "I've already asked Uncle Qingshan to help me with the mutton matter. I've asked his caravan to keep an eye out for a stable route from the north or west to buy mutton regularly."

As she spoke, she scooped up a spoonful of banana puree and fed it to Wu Yuan.

"If it works out, not only can hot pot include mutton, but we might also be able to add a signature dish of roasted mutton or mutton soup. It's just that the journey is long, so we need to see if the cost is justified."

Upon hearing this, Lao Lu's eyes lit up immediately, and he nodded repeatedly.

“Sure, sure. Have Qingshan ask around in Lingnan Road. I went there many years ago and I remember there were a lot of sheep for sale there. We’re not too far from here, so we should be able to save some costs.”

Xu Yiyi pondered for a moment, and just as she finished feeding Wu Yuan, Qingshan arrived.

"Hey! Speak of the devil and he appears."

When Lao Lu saw it was him, he was taken aback.

He then laughed and dusted off his hands: "Shouldn't you be heading back to the prefectural city on the passenger ship right now? Why are you still wandering around in town?"

Upon hearing this, Aoyama snorted in annoyance.

Feigning anger: "I do want to leave! But you've made such a big fuss..."

His facial expression became somewhat exaggerated. He paused for a moment and continued, "That brat Anyang, along with Sihai and four other young men from the front hall, are shouting at the top of their lungs at the dock, saying something like... Wufu Restaurant is launching a grand hot pot banquet tonight, with six kinds of soup bases, unheard of before. If you go late, there won't be any seats left. Good heavens, all those people at the dock who just finished unloading their cargo and those waiting for their ships are itching to try it. How am I supposed to leave? Wouldn't I be losing out big time if I went back?"

As he spoke, he vigorously washed his nose; the lingering aroma of hot pot still filled the air.

His gaze involuntarily drifted to the copper pot, which had just been extinguished and still retained oil stains and aroma, and his Adam's apple bobbed noticeably.

"You guys are so unfair! You had a food tasting and hot pot meal, and you didn't even invite me! Look, it's all gone! Just smelling this... tsk, it's making my mouth water!"

His angry yet greedy expression made everyone in the courtyard laugh.

"How about I order you a hot pot now, so you can have something to eat?" Xu Yiyi suggested.

Qingshan thought about it for a moment, but still shook his head and refused.

"Later, later. It's not very interesting for me to eat alone after you've all eaten. I'll call the boatmen from the caravan over later tonight, it'll be more lively."

Xu Yi nodded, picked up Wu Yuan, and walked to the front gate, where she hung up the sign that had already been written.

The others in the backyard were busy preparing ingredients for the hot pot feast that evening when they suddenly heard Lao Lu chuckle.

Everyone looked over.

Old Lu casually picked up a bowl from the table that hadn't been cleared away yet, still covered in some congealed oil.

He casually weighed it in his hand, but missed, so he swung his arm and threw the bowl toward the wall next door.

Everyone's eyes followed the bowl's movement. It drew an arc in the air, crashed onto the wall with a thud, bounced back with remarkable agility, rolled back into their own yard, and finally shattered into pieces.

"Hey! Boss Hong saw how curious you were, so he specially invited you to try it." Old Lu shouted in that direction.

Everyone chuckled.

……

Let's return to the timeline just now, at Ruyi Residence.

Hong Gang returned to the restaurant after finishing his business outside.

As he strolled into the backyard, a rich fragrance suddenly wafted into his nostrils.

His heart skipped a beat, and a strong sense of unease welled up inside him.

Hong Gang immediately turned his head and sternly looked at the cook who was slacking off next to him: "What are they cooking next door? What does this taste like?"

The cook was startled and woke up groggily.

Seeing Hong Gang's angry expression, he stammered, "Master... I don't really know either! As you instructed, I started paying attention when I smelled it, and I only heard bits and pieces of them saying something about... hot pot? Anyway, it's something cooked in a special pot... I don't know the specifics..."

"Hot Pot?"

Hong Gang's brows furrowed instantly. "Could it be mutton hot pot?"

But hardly anyone here eats mutton!

"It shouldn't be. I even heard Lao Lu say it was a pity there was no mutton," the cook quickly explained.

"Tsk!"

Hong Gang glanced at him impatiently, "What a waste! You can't even smell this and you don't know to climb up and peek a few times?"

As he spoke, Hong Gang pointed to the top of the wall.

The cook shook his head in fear.

He's not stupid; if he went up to spy, he'd probably get beaten up.

If I don't go, at most I'll get a few scoldings from him.

Seeing his cowardly appearance, Hong Gang could no longer restrain himself. Completely disregarding his dignity, he ordered his servant to bring him a stool and then stack a wooden box on top of it.

Only then did he carefully step onto it, tiptoeing and leaning over the wall, trying to figure out what tricks the neighbors were up to this time.

He had only peeked out his head when he hadn't had a chance to see clearly yet.

"Ouch!!!"

The bowl that Lao Lu casually tossed hit him squarely on the protruding corner of his forehead.

Although the force was reduced by the wall, the sudden attack startled him, causing him to slip and sway several times.

Ultimately, he lost his balance and fell, landing solidly on the bluestone slab.

There was a loud bang.

Then the wailing could no longer be suppressed.

"My head...ouch...my back..."

Xu Yiyi had just returned from hanging up the "Hot Pot Banquet" promotional sign in the front lobby when she heard screams coming from the other side of the wall as soon as she lifted the curtain.

"What's going on? What's that noise from next door?"

Old Lu smiled smugly, "What else could it be? The squealing of the pig next door!"

He said this bluntly and put the table back.

Qingshan explained to her, "Hong Gang next door tried to spy on us but was chased away by Lao Lu and suffered a bit of a hardship."

Xu Yiyi pursed her lips and looked at the wall.

When Xu Anyang returned with the young man who had gone out to solicit customers, they happened to run into Hong Gang being carried out by his servant.

"Why is Hong Gang so unlucky? Is it because his restaurant is cursed? Why does he keep getting into trouble?" Xu Anyang asked in confusion.

Old Lu chuckled.

Aoyama laughed and joked, "It's not that the restaurant is dominating him, it's that Old Lu is dominating him!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Anyang quickly went over to inquire.

After learning why Hong Gang had become like this, I couldn't help but sigh.

"If only we hadn't climbed the wall that day, we wouldn't have let that old man learn it." He shook his head helplessly.

Xu Yiyi suddenly spoke up, "Lao Lu, later you can get some mud and put these broken seashells on the wall."

With a whoosh, Xu Yiyi emptied the contents of the sack.

These were indeed things Ah Yue picked up when she was out of her mind, good or bad, she just kept picking them up at home and in restaurants.

After returning to the prefectural city, these things were left for Xu Yiyi to deal with, but she was too busy with business and had long forgotten about them.

If Hong Gang hadn't climbed the wall, she wouldn't have remembered.

……

Old Lu sighed softly, chatting with the cook and his assistant next door as he continued building the wall.

Of course, it was just him talking; no one in the next room paid any attention to him.

When Hong Gang was carried back, it wasn't even lunchtime yet, but Wufu Restaurant already had customers.

These were merchants brought in by Xu Anyang and his group at the dock.

These kids went to great lengths to promote it.

"Boss? I heard you have hot pots here? It's cold out, give us a hot pot to warm us up."

The merchant rubbed his hands together and took a deep breath.

Actually, the temperature isn't too low right now.

The sun was still hanging low over the sea, but the sea breeze had blown away its warmth.

The wind rolls along the sea surface, bringing seawater with it, which rushes up with a whoosh and chills you to the bone.

My clothes were being blown about by the wind, and the cold seeped in bit by bit.

It wasn't frozen solid; the sea breeze had literally blown it into a numb state.

Seeing their ashen faces, Sihai quickly brought over some ginger and jujube tea to warm them up.

The little guy trotted over, picked up the pot and placed it on the table, then said in his childish voice to the guests, "Uncles, have some hot drinks to warm yourselves up."

The merchants' stiff expressions softened as they watched the tiny child, barely taller than the table, earnestly bring them hot tea. They smiled, accepted the tea, and thanked him repeatedly.

After drinking a bowl of hot, sweet ginger and jujube tea, I felt much warmer.

One of the merchants wiped his mouth, looked around, and asked with some doubt, "Little one, where are your parents? Didn't you say there was some kind of hot pot feast here? We heard it coming from afar at the port, and it seemed to mention a pot? Was it a mutton hot pot?"

They were all merchants from Chang'an, and the best thing for them in winter was that pot.

The original plan was to depart directly after the cargo ship was resupplyed.

But hearing the kids shouting from afar on the dock, I couldn't resist getting off the boat for a treat.

Sihai shook his head vigorously, like a rattle-drum.

"It's not mutton hot pot."

Then, he began to introduce the different types of hot pot bases with practiced ease, “We have six kinds in total: a spicy and numbing broth; a clear broth made from pork bones and old hen; a congee broth with thick rice porridge that makes the food especially smooth and tender; a refreshing and appetizing sour broth; a delicious and nutritious mushroom broth…”

The child counted on his chubby fingers until he reached this point, then paused, a hint of regret on his face: "There's also the sweet and nourishing coconut chicken hot pot, but my older sister said the coconuts have to be transported from a very far place, and the ship hasn't arrived yet, so there's no coconut hot pot today."

The merchants were stunned.

I immediately lost interest when I heard it wasn't mutton hot pot.

I just didn't expect such a little one to be so knowledgeable and articulate.

This restaurant can come up with so many different kinds of dishes.

They looked at each other and whispered a few words to each other.

"I want to try this spicy hot pot base..."

……

"I don't eat spicy food, I want clear broth."

The five people split into two groups, and just as they were about to sit separately, Sihai repeatedly introduced that there was a hot pot with two broths.

The five people were immediately intrigued and wanted to know what this divided hot pot was.

"Mandarin ducks! As the name suggests..."

The child shook his head. "Mandarin duck pots always come in pairs, so this pot has a curved copper plate in the middle that divides it in two, so each side has a different flavor. If guests want to eat spicy and non-spicy dishes at the same time, or if a group of people at the table have different tastes, this pot is the most convenient! Put the spicy broth on one side and the clear broth or mushroom broth on the other side. You can cook whichever you want, and the flavors won't mix at all!"

The five people were stunned by what Sihai said and urged him to bring the pot over quickly.

"Please order first, and I'll have the kitchen prepare the pots."

As he spoke, Sihai eagerly carried the message to the backyard.

On the second floor, Xu Anyang and Xu Yiyi watched as Sihai eloquently and calmly took orders from the guests.

Suddenly, Xu Anyang let out a long sigh.

"If Sanchuan saw this, he'd be furious. You only told this kid about the hot pot base we were going to serve once, and even the pot was only delivered today, yet he remembered it all perfectly."

But Sanchuan made him memorize the Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River, and he still couldn't memorize it even after eight days..."

Hearing Xu Anyang's surprised tone, Xu Yiyi smiled warmly.

"Sihai is very smart, but his mind is not on studying. Otherwise, do you think Mr. Xiang has been asking me to send him to a private school, but I haven't? It's because he is still young, his temperament is unsettled, and he is mischievous. If I send him to school early, I'm afraid it will make Mr. Xiang sick."

As they were talking, Sihai took the order form from the customer.

"Would you like some wine? My eldest sister brewed this rice wine herself. Today is the first day of the hot pot feast, so we're giving away a pot for free."

The group was about to refuse after hearing the first sentence.

Upon hearing that the drinks were free, they immediately became interested.

"Hey! Sister Yi, didn't you say you'd be giving away drinks for free? We're only offering tea, aren't we? If this keeps up, we're going to go broke..."

He was about to rush downstairs when Xu Yiyi gently stopped him.

"Let him do what he wants."

Xu Yiyi's voice was calm, with a hint of barely perceptible amusement in her eyes, "You won't lose out."

She looked at the chubby little boy downstairs who was spinning around like a top among the guests' tables, her eyes gentle: "We just steamed some rice wine last month, and the cellar is full. Sending it to them will not only show our generosity, but also make the guests happy."

On such a cold day, wouldn't it be wonderful to sit around a steaming pot, sipping some warm wine? If the guests are happy, they might order more food and come back more often.

Upon hearing this, Xu Anyang stood back next to Xu Yiyi.

"You know, Sihai is really too bold. He made a decision on his own without even consulting you."

He couldn't help but sigh.

If it were him, he would never dare to do that.

Xu Yiyi shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Let him be. As long as he doesn't do anything reckless, I'd like to let him try."

After chatting for a few more minutes, Xu Anyang returned to the backyard and gave instructions to the waiter about the matter.

Qingshan listened and opened his eyes.

He thought to himself that Sihai had a knack for business.