Xiao Yunying went into the kitchen and took out various vegetables from the supermarket to wash. She planned to make spicy hot pot tonight.

The autumn rain was damp and cold. She originally wanted to make hot pot, but she only had a large iron pot at home. She didn't have a suitable pot or charcoal, so she couldn't cook and eat at the same time. She could only change it to a hot pot made from one pot.

First, boil a pot of water. Cut a cross on the top of four large tomatoes, blanch them in hot water to remove the skin, and then dice them. Pour peanut oil into a pot, add the diced tomatoes, and stir-fry until the tomatoes become pulpy and release their juices. Add an appropriate amount of tomato sauce and stir-fry a few times.

Add an appropriate amount of water to a pot, then pour in two cartons of milk. Once it boils, you'll have a simple homemade version of a rich and flavorful tomato broth.

Xiao Yunying was always thinking about losing weight, so she only took beef slices and shrimp balls as meat dishes, and mostly vegetables. She blanched the vegetables in hot water before putting them into the boiling broth, so that the impurities from the raw food would not affect the taste of the broth.

Finally, add the wide rice noodles and regular noodles. Once the pot boils and the noodles are cooked, add an appropriate amount of salt and chicken bouillon. Taste it, and if it's to your liking, sprinkle with some chopped green onions and cilantro. The simple and delicious spicy hot pot with tomato broth is ready.

It was still raining outside, and there were no large containers at home, so Xiao Yunying decided to go all out. She took out a double-handled induction cooker pot from the supermarket, put all the spicy hot pot in it, and put the lid on.

He shouted loudly towards her room, "Luo Chen, Luo Yang, come and get the bowls and chopsticks, and hold the umbrella for me while you're at it."

The two brothers came over with an umbrella, one carrying a bowl and chopsticks, and the other holding the umbrella for Xiao Yunying, tacitly ignoring the oddly shaped pot she was carrying.

Xiao Yunying was surprised. These two children were really calm. Weren't they curious at all?

It's better if they don't ask; it saves them trouble.

He carried the pot directly into his house. It was raining quite heavily outside, so he didn't let the two little ones come in and out. He went to the kitchen and brought over a basin of water for them to wash their hands.

The moment the transparent pot lid was opened, a sweet and sour aroma that stimulated the taste buds wafted out, and Luo Li drooled in utter embarrassment.

Luo Chen was too embarrassed to look at his gluttonous younger brother, who was even worse than Xin'er: "Wipe your mouth."

Luo Li casually wiped her face with her sleeve: "My stepmother's cooking smells so good, but are we only eating vegetables and not rice tonight?"

Luo Yang suddenly understood why her stepmother's expression had worsened when she comforted her earlier, saying she was smarter than Ali...

It was his fault for choosing the wrong person; he has no reason to blame his stepmother for being unhappy.

"There are noodles inside."

Xiao Yunying used a long-handled spoon to scoop a little of each ingredient for the children, then distributed the spoons to them:

"You can drink the soup. Try each ingredient and serve yourself whatever you want. Just one thing: don't just pick and choose meat. A balanced diet of meat and vegetables is essential for growing tall and staying healthy, especially for Luo Li. Do you understand?"

Luo Li, who was called out, pouted and said, "I know."

He felt aggrieved; why was he only mentioned and not his brother and sister?

After picking up a piece of meat and putting it in her mouth, Luo Li's little unhappiness vanished instantly. She ate while asking questions.

"What's this?"

"Seaweed strips".

What is seaweed?

"A type of edible seaweed."

What about this one?

Frozen tofu.

Luo Li thought for a moment: "Should we freeze the tofu?"

"Smart, frozen tofu turns out like this after it thaws."

"There's soup inside, it's delicious! What about this?"

"This is a lotus root. It grows under the lotus flower. You can't talk while eating lotus root."

"Why?"

"Because eating lotus root makes you ugly, you can't talk while eating lotus root, because the more you talk, the uglier you become."

Having already taken a bite of the lotus root slice, Luo Li, who was about to ask why it had holes, shut up. Although he didn't understand why eating lotus root would make him ugly, he didn't want to become ugly.

Xiao Yunying took a sip of soup. It was so nice; it quieted down.

The two older men lowered their heads, trying to suppress their laughter, their spoons trembling slightly.

My younger brother is really simple-minded. Can't he tell that his stepmother wants him to eat quietly and not ask questions?

The children's bellies were round from eating so much spicy hot pot, and they even finished the soup in the pot. Xiao Yunying was really worried that they had overeaten: "No more sitting, get up and walk around."

Since arriving in this world, Xiao Yunying washed the dishes after a meal for the first time, and she couldn't resist using dish soap.

I rinsed off the foam, dried myself with kitchen paper, and put it in the cupboard before returning to my room.