At night, Zhao Shiyun fetched some water and brought it back to the room to wipe Lin Yan's body. Lin Yan couldn't squat down now, so Zhao Shiyun wet the cloth, wrung it out a little, and wiped off the stickiness on Lin Yan's body. Although winter was approaching, he still sweated from working in the kitchen during the day.

Lin Yan folded a thick quilt at the corner of the bed and put it in the yard to dry today. Judging from the weather, it might get cold at any time, so it's better to be prepared at any time.

Sure enough, after nightfall, a cold wind blew and Lin Yan shivered with cold. He opened his eyes and looked out the window. The sky was still dark. He estimated that it was around midnight. He sat up, pulled the quilt from the corner of the bed, covered them both with the blanket, and continued to sleep.

At 3:00 AM, Zhao Shiyun was awakened by the crowing of a rooster. He blinked his sleepy eyes and realized he was covered with a thick quilt. He reached out and felt the quilt. Sure enough, the weather had turned cold. He quietly got out of bed, covered Lin Yan with the quilt, and took out a thick coat from the suitcase. Fortunately, Lin Yan had hung out his winter clothes a few days ago, otherwise there would definitely be a smell.

It was time to work. After washing up, Zhao Shiyun started grinding beans.

The quilt was too warm, and Lin Yanzhi slept until 2:15 am before waking up. He shivered, pulled the quilt tightly around him, and really didn't want to get up.

After hesitating for a quarter of an hour, Lin Yan reluctantly got up. The thick coat that his mother had made for him had already been made. Lin Yan took it out and put it on. It was warm and comfortable.

Lin Yan plans to continue making tofu skin today. He doesn't know if tofu skin can be preserved for a long time like bean curd sheets. He will set some aside today to see how long it can be preserved. Otherwise, if he just concentrates on making it and fails to preserve it, it will be a waste of time.

So Lin Yan only made a pot of tofu skin for soy milk in the morning. He picked up a small half bowl and put it in the cupboard. Now that the weather is cold, there is no need to lift it into the well.

He picked up a bowl of the remaining tofu, cut it into sections, blanched it in water, and placed it in a basket to drain. Lin Yan prepared to make cold bean curd.

Cucumbers are out of season, otherwise they could be mixed with tofu skin and served cold. It's cold out now, so I only made this salad for experimentation; otherwise, Lin Yan wouldn't have planned to do it at all.

I picked some coriander from the field, washed it in the kitchen, cut it into sections, then minced the ginger and garlic and cut the dried chilies into sections.

Put the tofu skin into a bowl, add minced ginger and garlic, cilantro, and dried chili peppers. Then pour in soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, salt, and chili sauce and stir well with chopsticks.

Lin Yan took a bite and found it quite delicious, spicy and sour, appetizing and refreshing. It would probably be even better in the summer, with the addition of shredded cucumber, making it crisp and delicious.

At noon, they had cold-mixed bean curd sheets, which the three of them devoured with porridge. With half a basket of bean curd sheets left, Lin Yan wanted to have a hot pot for dinner, eating them hot. He wanted to try every way possible to see which was best.

If the bean curd skin cannot be preserved for a long time, it can be sold in a tofu shop like tofu, or used as a new dish in the shop.

When eating hot pot, radishes are indispensable. November is the peak season for radishes. Lin Yan went to the vegetable garden and picked two, and also picked a cabbage. Looking at the various mature vegetables in the vegetable garden, there were pumpkins, radishes, cabbages, lentils, garlic sprouts, and zucchini, Lin Yan wanted to eat winter bamboo shoots. He asked Brother Shi Yun to dig two and stir-fry them with bacon.

How can you have hot pot without meat? Unfortunately, it was difficult for Lin Yan to go to town to buy meat, and he didn't know if Zhao Shiyun would go to buy it when he got off work. Lin Yan mentioned it to Li Yuemei, and Li Yuemei walked towards the backyard, saying as she walked, "Hey, just kill a chicken and have a chicken hot pot. It will nourish you."

Lin Yan was stunned. This mother-in-law was really decisive. After a while, Li Yuemei brought back a chicken and slaughtered it in the yard. She also chopped it into small pieces. Lin Yan took the chopped chicken, put it in the pot to blanch it, and skimmed off the foam.

The hot pot was covered with a layer of chopped radish, which Lin Yan had cut not too thickly to prevent it from being cooked. Then the chicken was scooped in, followed by the sliced ​​tofu and bean curd sheets. Finally, the chicken broth was spooned into the hot pot one spoonful at a time.

There was no more room in the yard, so Lin Yan carried the hot pot to the main room. He placed the washed cabbage on a plate and added more when he was ready to eat. He hadn't put all the tofu skin in, and the hot pot wasn't big enough to hold all the food.

At three quarters past the hour of You, Lin Yan began to wash rice and steam it. The fire in the stove was burning. Lin Yan went to the utility room to find the charcoal left over from last winter and threw it into the stove. He would use the charcoal to cook a hot pot later.

Not long after, Zhao Shiyun and Yu Ge'er came back. Lin Yan patted the charcoal ash on his hands and asked, "Have you two been coming back together recently?"

"I asked my brother to wait for me. It's getting dark so fast lately, and I'm a little scared." Although it wasn't dark when Yu Ge'er came back, it was inevitable that something would delay him for a while, and in that short time, it might be dark. It was like this in winter, it got dark earlier than in summer.

"I should wait for you. Otherwise, I would always be worried about you being a little brother. Although the journey is not far, it is always better to have a companion. Brother Shiyun, you can wait for Brother Yu to come back together later."

"Okay, that's what I planned too." Zhao Shiyun looked at the hot pot in the main hall and asked, "Why did you think of eating hot pot today?"

"I made some extra tofu skin and ate it cold with my parents at noon today. I was thinking of trying hot ones for dinner." Lin Yan explained, "Oh, I lit some charcoal. Can you help me put it in the hot pot?"

"Okay." Zhao Shiyun took the fire chopsticks from Lin Yan's hand, found a brazier, put the charcoal into the brazier, and then brought it to the main room and put it in carefully one piece at a time.

Soon, the chicken soup began to steam, and Lin Yan began to prepare the seasoning. He added chopped green onions, soy sauce, tsaoko powder, and chili sauce, mixed them together, and then poured a spoonful of chicken soup over it. Chicken soup was already rich in oil, so there was no need to add extra oil.

The meal was ready, and Yu Geer brought it to the main room and began to serve everyone. The hot pot also began to simmer, and the aroma began to rise.

"Dinner's ready!" Lin Yan sat down, picked up a chicken wing, dipped it in the sauce, and slowly began to nibble on it. Halfway through, he saw that the tofu skin was cooked, so he picked up another piece of tofu skin and dipped it in the sauce. "Hmm, this is also good when hot." Zhao Shiyun also picked up a piece of chicken, put it in his mouth, chewed it, and nodded. "Hmm, the chicken is stewed very well, and it tastes really good." Yu Ge'er couldn't wait to pick up a chopstick of tofu skin, eating until his mouth was full, and mumbled, "Delicious."

Li Yuemei smiled and picked up a piece of bean curd skin for Yu Ge'er with chopsticks, saying, "If you like it, eat more. I think it tastes better than the cold one."

Lin Yan nodded. He thought each dish had its own unique flavor and was delicious regardless. The family gathered around the hot pot, eating the steaming food. Zhao Shiyun sweated so much that he took off his thick coat and hung it on a chair. They ate the chicken and tofu skin, then the radish and tofu that had soaked up the chicken broth. Everyone was very satisfied with the hot pot.