The next morning, she indeed woke up late, and Zhao Qingyun didn't get up either. It had been cold lately, and he hadn't gone for a morning run for a while.

But he woke up early and didn't get up to wash or brush his teeth; instead, he held her and closed his eyes to rest.

After Xu Lai got up, the two brushed their teeth and washed their faces together, and then went to the street to buy groceries.

She plans to buy 1.5 pounds of beef, some vegetables, meatballs, and other things today to make a hot pot of skewers for dinner.

She remembered seeing others eat this before and wanting her mother to do it too. Her mother did make it, but without using bamboo skewers.

Xu Lai even asked her, "Why don't you put them on skewers? It's not satisfying to eat them like that."

Her mother replied, "I don't have time to do that. Since we're going to take it out to eat anyway, isn't it better to just eat it like this?"

Xu Lai paused for a moment, then said, "If you do it this way, won't it just become a hot pot? Guess why people call it 'skewer hot pot'?"

Her mother wouldn't budge either, saying, "Eat it or don't, it's up to you."

...

Xu Lai snapped out of her daze. The butcher weighed the beef for her, and Zhao Qingyun paid. Xu Lai glanced at him, and he said in a gentler tone, "Let me pay this time."

She picked out some more vegetables, and the two of them went to have breakfast. Grandma Yunxiu was no longer cooking noodles at the front. She was old, the weather was cold, and there were too many people eating noodles, so she simply couldn't keep up.

When they arrived, the shop was already full. At this time of year in summer, there are hardly any people in the shop. Everyone gets up early to buy groceries, grabs a bowl of noodles, and then heads home before the sun comes out.

Xu Lai ordered a bowl of mixed rice noodles, while Zhao Qingyun ordered minced meat rice noodles. Grandma Yunxiu, who was sitting nearby, came over when she saw them.

"Xiao Lai, it's been a while since I've seen you around," said Grandma Yunxiu.

Xu Lai turned around and said, "Grandma Yunxiu, before I go to the market, Grandma usually makes breakfast first, so I haven't come to eat here."

Grandma Yunxiu sat down and said, "I was just kidding. How could I let you come here to eat so often? My noodle shop's skills are just so-so."

She looked at Zhao Qingyun and said, "Why do I feel like this young man looks familiar?"

Xu Lai couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, Grandma, let me introduce you. This is my boyfriend, Zhao Qingyun."

Zhao Qingyun greeted her, "Hello, Grandma Yunxiu."

Grandma Yunxiu had an "I knew it" look on her face. "I remember now, not long after you came back, you brought him here for breakfast, didn't you?"

Xu Lai nodded: "I didn't expect your memory to be better than that of many young people."

While they were talking, the rice noodles were ready. Zhao Qingyun told them to sit and chat while he went to get the rice noodles.

Grandma Yunxiu didn't bother them any longer. She only said a few words before leaving.

Xu Lai ate half of her food and then couldn't eat anymore. Zhao Qingyun ate his own portion and then finished off Xu Lai's, before wiping his mouth with a tissue.

As the two walked out of the store, Xu Lai saw that he was trying to catch his breath and couldn't help but say, "If you can't eat, don't force yourself. I told you it's okay to waste a little."

Zhao Qingyun started the car and said, "This is Yunxiu's shop after all. If she sees that we haven't finished eating, she will definitely wonder if the food is not good. I'll just eat a few more bites. It's fine."

Xu Lai admitted that he was very considerate, treated people well, and even handled interpersonal relationships exceptionally well.

When she got home, she took her things out of the car and put them all in the kitchen.

Grandma seized the opportunity when Xu Lai was busy and quietly tugged at Zhao Qingyun's sleeve, "Qingyun, come with me for a moment."

Grandma said mysteriously, "Xiao Lai's birthday is in another week. I'm telling you so we can prepare."

Zhao Qingyun nodded: "I understand, Grandma. Thank you for telling me."

He had already ordered the gift, and he could pick it up in two days.

In the afternoon, Xu Lai prepared the ingredients two hours in advance, slicing the beef, marinating it, and setting it aside for later use.

She took out some dried gongcai (a type of dried vegetable), soaked a handful of it, and then scooped out a small bowl of pickled peppers from the jar. These were pickled in the summer, and she had specially selected small red chilies.

She also dug up a handful of pickled cowpeas, diced them, wrapped them in beef, and skewered them with soaked skewers. She did the same with dried bamboo shoots and small red chilies.

Then comes the chicken feet. Blanch the chicken feet until they change color, then put them in ice water, remove the bones, and skewer them with skewers.

She also prepared quail eggs, tofu, kelp, corn, and frozen meatballs from the supermarket, which she washed and then skewered.

Zhao Qingyun helped with the work from the side, which touched her quite a bit, since there aren't many young people who can help in the kitchen these days.

Once things were mostly done here, her family instructed Zhao Qingyun to light the stove. It was actually quite simple; she just had to transfer the coal from one stove to another.

As the two were busy with their own things, a voice suddenly came from the village, "Coal for sale! Coal for sale!"

Upon hearing the sound, Xu Lai knew that the coal truck had arrived. The coal at home was running out. She had gone to the market to buy coal a few times before, but for such large quantities, she still had to have someone come to her door to sell it.

She put down what she was holding and ran outside. The car was parked in front of her third uncle's house. She walked over and said, "Boss, can you drive to my house later?"

The boss nodded: "Okay, okay, wait until I finish selling this side."

Xu Lai went back to wait first, and while she was at it, she tidied up the place where the coal was currently stored. A year had passed, and the place was covered in dust.

A short while later, the tractor started rumbling. Xu Lai went out to see what was happening and found that the boss had already driven the vehicle over.

Xu Lai said, "Give me 200 coal bars."

The boss replied, "Okay."

He carried it down, and Zhao Qingyun took a cart to load it. When the cart was full, he pushed it back, while his grandparents unloaded it. Then he took another cart to load it.

In no time, the coal was transported away. During this time, some people even came to the boss and asked him to drive it to their homes.

Xu Lai paid the money and, together with Zhao Qingyun, hauled the last truckload of coal back.

After a while, the fire on the stove was finally lit. She poured the chicken soup into the divided pot, but there wasn't enough soup, so she added a little boiling water and hot pot base to one side.

Once the pot boils, first scoop the chicken for Grandpa, Grandma, and Grandma Jiang, then add the skewers, cook until done, and it's ready to eat.

Xu Lai's favorite flavor was the pickled pepper beef; it was sour and spicy, and very appetizing.

The beef was also delicious, not tough at all, and with the dried bamboo shoots, it was crunchy and satisfying.

Zhao Qingyun also took a skewer of beef. He had never eaten pickled peppers before, as those peppers were very spicy and he would not try them easily.

The light was a bit dim, and he couldn't see clearly. He thought it was green beans, and when he took a bite, the spiciness went straight to the top of his head.

Zhao Qingyun wanted to drink some water to calm down, but his own glass was filled with wine. He picked up Xu Lai's drink and drank it all in one gulp.

Xu Lai was completely bewildered by him. "What's wrong?"