Chapter 72 Hot Pot

Later, Sun Xiaoyu felt very full, her stomach was a little bloated, but she still had the urge to continue eating.

To be honest, a small hot pot dish has plenty of ingredients, enough for two or three people. She ordered too much and doesn't know what to do with it.

So she looked at the students who were looking very hungry and said, "Classmates, I have some more dishes here. Would you like to try some?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the other students all said in unison, "Yes, thank you, Xiaoyu!"

"Xiaoyu loves you, would you like to try my fried noodles?"

After taking a bite, one of the students exclaimed an exaggerated "Wow!" and his brow relaxed.

After lunch, several classmates asked Sun Xiaoyu about ordering food. They said that when it's cold, you have to eat hot pot to really enjoy it.

Sun Xiaoyu scratched her head. "I just picked this one randomly. I'll recommend the shop name to you."

Suddenly, a classmate said, "This restaurant looks familiar. I think my parents took me there before."

He hadn't thought much of it at first, but after trying the hot pot today, he was instantly amazed. Especially the meatballs—they were incredibly chewy and authentic, definitely not some high-tech product!

Sun Xiaoyu suddenly remembered that this classmate didn't like strong-flavored foods like hot pot, so why did she suddenly change her taste?

On the other side, Zhao Jianhao and a classmate shared a small hot pot, worried that one person wouldn't be able to finish it.

The mini hot pot has both meat and vegetables, and the simple soup is perfect for mixing with rice!

Many other classmates ordered rice bowls, obviously influenced by Zhao Jianhao that day. Seeing how much he enjoyed his meal, they felt a little guilty.

Wu Qi ate shiitake mushroom and chicken and steamed egg custard today, both of which are her favorite dishes, and she should have been happy, but seeing Zhao Jianhao eating hot pot made her a little upset.

Why does Zhao Jianhao eat better than her?

Zhao Jianhao had no idea what Wu Qi was thinking. He focused on eating, and the ingredients in the hot pot were soaking in the broth, making them very flavorful, fragrant, and spicy. It was a very satisfying meal.

They ordered from the same restaurant, so why can Zhao Jianhao eat hot pot while she has to eat a boxed lunch? That's not fair!

Grandma Wu thought her granddaughter would be satisfied today, but when she got home, she cried out, "I want to eat hot pot!"

Wait, why are you craving hot pot again? Didn't you say you wanted boxed lunches a few days ago?

Grandma Wu was completely bewildered and had a real headache.

I had no choice but to ask the owner in the food ordering group, "Boss, you have mini hot pot today, why didn't you tell me!"

Tang Yiyi saw the message and replied, "I posted a picture of the menu last night, which included mini hot pots."

Grandma Wu didn't believe it, but after looking through the previous messages, she found that it was true.

After that, Grandma Wu Qi stopped talking in the group chat.

Tang Yiyi didn't know what to say about this.

My phone beeped twice; a parent in the group had ordered lunch for tomorrow.

"Boss, I'd like to order a mini hot pot for tomorrow."

"I want to order a mini hot pot too!"

"..."

So many parents ordered hot pot? Tang Yiyi was puzzled.

It was Jianhao's grandpa who said in the group chat, "Boss, my Jianhao ate the mini hot pot today so well!"

Soon, a parent said, "Grandpa Jianhao, I want to thank you and Jianhao. Jianhao treated my child to hot pot for lunch."

"Yes, Jianhao is a good boy. He's happy to share food with his classmates. I think he's a really good kid!"

With just a few words, Tang Yiyi understood what was going on. It seemed that Jianhao had unintentionally promoted the hot pot restaurant.

Surprisingly, business was better in the evening than at noon.

The streetlights came on, and the restaurant was full of customers who had all ordered hot pot. They sat together, chatting and eating.

The cheerful laughter that emanated from the scene even moved passersby, who turned to look.

After dinner, Tang Yiyi closed the food delivery platform and started calculating the bill.

Nearly eighty servings of the mini hot pot were sold, with more than half of them being dine-in customers, and each serving brought in an average of about thirty-six yuan.

That means the revenue from just the hot pot alone was more than two thousand yuan.

While Tang Yiyi was dumbfounded, she also felt that this little bit of hard work was nothing!

"Sister Yi, are we still selling mini hot pots tomorrow?" Song Man suddenly asked.

"Buy it," Tang Yiyi paused, "but we'll raise the price a bit."

There aren't many stoves in the kitchen, so making a small hot pot takes much longer than making a rice bowl.

If we don't charge a bit more, we can't keep up with the demand. Besides, mini hot pot restaurants can only be sold within a certain distance; once the weather gets warmer, business won't be as good.

Grandma Wu Qi ordered food for dinner that evening, "Boss, I'd like to order a mini hot pot for tomorrow."

Tang Yiyi posted the prices of various ingredients for the mini hot pot in the group chat.

"Boss, why has the price of hot pot gone up?" Grandma Wu asked a few minutes later.

Tang Yiyi explained, "Making a small hot pot takes too much time and is very tiring."

No sooner had the explanation been given than some parents expressed their dissatisfaction, saying, "Boss, raising prices so suddenly isn't right. This is betraying us customers!"

One small hot pot is enough to make several servings of rice bowls.

Tang Yiyi gritted her teeth and pretended not to see it.

The next day, only a dozen or so customers ordered hot pot. It wasn't a large order, just enough to reach the minimum order amount.

After class, Wu Qi and two classmates went out for hot pot. It was better to eat at the restaurant.

When I arrived at the restaurant, I glanced at the small menu.

Why did the price go up? Every single one has gone up by 50 cents.

"Xiaoqi, are we really going to eat here?" the girl with pigtails asked Wu Qi.

"How about we go eat at Hai Shang Lao? It's not far from here," another girl suggested.

Wu Qi felt resentful thinking about how much Zhao Jianhao had enjoyed his meal yesterday.

"Let's eat at a restaurant, it's on me!"

This small restaurant is definitely not more expensive than Hai Shang Lao (a type of seafood restaurant), and she can treat us.

Wu Qi ordered the side dishes and main course first, and then asked her classmates to order. Finally, she said to Song Man, "Sister, we're in a hurry, please order the mini hot pot quickly."

Actually, she had plenty of time; she had a two-and-a-half-hour lunch break. She just wanted to eat hot pot as soon as possible.

Once the hot pot broth is ready, adding the ingredients and cooking will be quick and easy.

"The hot pot is ready, be careful it's hot."

Tang Yiyi carefully brought over the pot base and couldn't help but remind him to plug in the hot pot.

Then several plates of ingredients were brought over.

The hot pot base they ordered featured a tempting red oil broth with lamb rolls floating on top. The thick broth fully coated the ingredients, making it look very appetizing.

Steam rose from the pot, making it look too hot to eat. Wu Qi couldn't resist picking up her chopsticks. Seeing her two classmates staring in disbelief, she said, "Hurry up and eat!"

After saying that, he picked up his chopsticks.

A bite of lamb roll, soaked in chili oil, loses all its gamey smell. It's also incredibly chewy, filling your mouth with the rich flavor of lamb – truly satisfying.

At first, Wu Qi didn't like eating lamb rolls, thinking they were even more gamey than plain lamb. But after being cooked in a hot pot, the texture and flavor became much richer.

"Not bad, Hao Chi!"

Seeing the two classmates shoveling food into their mouths despite it being too hot, I noticed they were eating it with gusto.

Wu Qi picked up the plate, put the ingredients into the hot pot, and stirred them with a ladle to make them even more flavorful.

The three of them sat around, barely exchanging a few words, yet they managed to finish several plates of food.

Just then, Wu Qi's grandmother called, "Xiao Qi, have you had lunch yet?"

"I ate, Grandma," Wu Qi couldn't help but burp, "I ate with my classmates."

"What did you eat?" Grandma Wu asked, always concerned about everything concerning her granddaughter.

"Mini hot pot".

"Could it be the shop at your school?" Grandma Wu asked quickly.

"This restaurant won't do. They suddenly raised prices, and the hygiene conditions aren't up to standard. Students shouldn't eat there!"

The room suddenly fell silent. Wu Qi felt a little embarrassed and could only whisper, "Grandma, please stop talking."

Tang Yiyi heard the sound in the kitchen and thought it sounded familiar.

"Alright, now that you've already had hot pot, don't eat it next time!" Grandma Wu said earnestly.

"No, Grandma, the hot pot is too delicious!" Wu Qi thought to herself.

Before we ate, a high school student came into the restaurant. He was wearing glasses and carrying a thick book.

Q: Can I take the mini hot pot to go?

"Yes, you can," Tang Yiyi said gently, seeing that the little girl was very well-behaved.

The little girl added, "Do you have a non-spicy broth? I can't handle spicy food."

"It has a tomato broth, but it's not spicy."

"Then I'll take this one."

Tang Yiyi responded and hurried to the kitchen to prepare hot pot.

Not long after, it was packed and served to the customer.

The little girl suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Why is there a side dish? I didn't order it."

"This is for you, little sister. You ordered a lot of ingredients."

"Thank you, sister!"

The little girl felt that the boss's smile was so warm, and after studying for a whole morning, her mood was greatly improved.

As Tang Yiyi was about to return to the kitchen, her little sister asked, "Has your older sister graduated from university yet?"

"Yes, little sister, you should study hard too."

"Could I ask which university you attended, sister?"

"Huai'an University," Tang Yiyi said, her chest puffing out involuntarily.

"Wow, Huaiyin University, a prestigious university, my dream school! I want to learn more from you, sister!" The little girl's eyes crinkled with admiration.

After the little sister left, Tang Yiyi felt inexplicably melancholy.

That evening, the long-silent classmate group suddenly became lively again.

"Friday is Huai'an University's 100th anniversary celebration. I heard that the university leaders have invited many outstanding graduates back to the campus to share their experiences..."

"Cheng Tao, don't overthink it. When it comes to sharing experiences with younger students, it's definitely not someone like us office workers!"

"..."

For some reason, people in the group started talking about the senior students.

"Senior Ji Ze, do you guys still remember him? Back then, he was a prominent figure at our Huainan University. I'm sure everyone knows him. He'll definitely be invited to the centennial celebration. As for whether he'll actually attend, we don't know."

"Is that Ji Ze, the senior who started a game company with his friends in his junior year? Don't even mention it, he was the ideal type for quite a few girls in our class back then!"

"..."

Tang Yiyi watched the drama unfold indifferently, since it had nothing to do with her anyway.

"Dear Tang Yiyi, what do you want to say?" someone suddenly asked in the group.

Upon hearing the name Tang Yiyi, everyone thought that she must have been very talented in college, and wondered how she was doing now.

Tang Yiyi decided to tell the truth, "School anniversary? I'm busy and don't have time."

After saying that, she turned off her phone.

Unexpectedly, after buying the ingredients and returning to the restaurant the next day, I received an email.

Dear Tang Yiyi, we cordially invite you, as an outstanding graduate of the Class of 2017, to attend Huaiyin University's centennial celebration.

The signatory was Huainan University.