CHAPTER 222: CHAPTER 222: THE DEBUT OF HOT POT

"What a little glutton." Lin Jing’er said as she took the candy from Mu and Gu Nian’s hands, "Let me feed him. This kid eats so much he drools all over the place, and soon your clothes will be dirty!"

Gu Nian didn’t insist, and instead, while playing with Mu, kept an eye on Erhu and Lin Shui’s situation over there.

She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but judging from their movements, it seemed that Lin Shui initially refused, but eventually agreed after Erhu’s persuasion.

Suddenly, Lin Jing’er let out a scream, and Gu Nian looked over to see that her shoes had been soaked by a stream of water. Mu shivered comfortably, but it made Lin Jing’er furious.

"This little rascal, I just let him pee not long ago, and he’s at it again!"

Angry, Lin Jing’er patted him on the bottom, and Mu immediately cried in grievance, stretching out his arms to Lin Daniu for a hug.

Lin Daniu finally stopped chopping wood, walked over, and awkwardly comforted the child.

"Niannian, I’m going to change my shoes."

"Oh, okay." Gu Nian nodded as she watched Lin Jing’er turn and walk away.

Soon, Erhu sorted things out with Lin Shui and led the girl over to Lin Ershui’s house.

Compared to the main house, theirs was much simpler, and it wasn’t difficult to notify everyone.

Especially Lin Ershui, who, upon hearing that they were going to slaughter a pig and a sheep, grabbed a kitchen knife and went along with them, while Mrs. Zhu hurriedly tidied up and followed them.

By mid-afternoon, the Lin family’s kitchen was filled with rich aromas. If you smelled closely, it was slightly overwhelming, but there was no denying that the scent was truly enticing.

In the kitchen, Erhu looked at the packets of spices placed on the stove and curiously asked, "Little sis, what are all these? Why have I never seen them before? We won’t get poisoned if we eat this, right?"

"Pfft!" Gu Nian couldn’t help but laugh, "Don’t worry, these were all bought from the town and some were given by Young Master Nan. You haven’t seen them because you haven’t been exposed to such things. These are spices only wealthy people can afford."

Erhu couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.

The aroma made him hungry, and he wondered what it would taste like when he finally ate it.

Mrs. Jiang and her two sisters-in-law sliced all the prepared meat into thin pieces, dealt with the pork liver and blood separately, and also soaked dried mushrooms and wood ear fungus stored at home, as well as several types of meatballs, along with radish and cabbage.

Gu Nian was simmering a hot pot base in one pot and boiling a bone broth in another, while Lin Jing’er led the younger siblings outside to skewer barbecue with bamboo sticks that other idle people had whittled.

Even though the selection of ingredients was a bit simple, the aroma from the simmering hot pot base was more than enough.

Lin Daniu, along with Lin Xiangdong, built a temporary stove in the yard using leftover clay bricks from house construction. Since they’ve been cooking often lately, there was an extra iron pot at home, just right to place on top.

Once the broth Gu Nian was working on was ready, she had Erhu pour it all into the big pot outside.

"Alright, it’s time to eat!"

With Gu Nian’s announcement, everyone was dumbfounded as they looked at the table covered with raw meats and vegetables, unsure how to start.

However, the aroma from the rich red broth in the pot was quite tempting, even if they were a bit hesitant to eat it.