Lu Xi didn't speak, but he understood perfectly. He didn't want the outside world or those lofty ideals to be empty and meaningless; the life he was living right now was the only real thing.

He talked about learning a trade and opening a restaurant, but whether it would work out was another matter. The restaurant business also needed someone to take care of it. Dou Dou's belly was getting bigger and bigger; he heard from Brother An Rong that she would give birth in a little over three months.

Once Dou Dou Jie gives birth, she'll have to go through postpartum confinement, and An Rong Ge will have to take care of her and the baby. At that time, there will be no one to manage the shop's business. Of course, there's also Huang Rong, but how much can a girl like her manage? Whether she can manage it well is also a question.

After careful consideration, Lu Xi became even more determined. He couldn't leave the tavern; it needed him.

Huang Rong was speechless as she watched him lost in thought. This kid always had wild ideas, and right now his mind was probably in turmoil. He seemed to have no concrete plans for his life; his thoughts came and went like the wind.

As Huang Rong spoke of him, she was also reflecting on herself. Selling herself to bury her father meant she would never have freedom and would have to stay by Dou Dou's side for the rest of her life. She was very willing to have such a good person as Dou Dou as her family.

She spent a month in the tavern, meeting all sorts of people and hearing news and secrets from the outside world. It could be said that her body was in the tavern, but her heart was in the world of martial arts.

She has a lively personality. Back in her hometown, she loved to go to crowded places, observe all kinds of people and objects, and feel the human presence.

The tavern was a lively place, but the weather was cold and people were reluctant to go out, so there were fewer people. Huang Rong was not satisfied with this situation.

She offered to revise the menu to increase popularity.

"You mean add a hot pot?" Yuan Doudou asked.

Huang Rong was full of confidence. Hot pot is a local specialty that is popular all year round, but it is most popular in winter.

Outside, it was freezing cold. People walked in the snow, their hands and feet numb and their backs chilled. But when they came in and ate a pot of steaming hot tofu balls and drank a cup of hot wine, their limbs were instantly enveloped in warmth, and a feeling of comfort rose straight to their heads.

Since becoming pregnant, Yuan Doudou's limbs have gradually deteriorated, and even her brain has become rigid. The business in the shop is entirely up to An Rong, who buys and sells whatever she wants. Apart from initially participating in the discussion of recipes and writing down a few cold dish preparation methods that she remembered, she no longer participates in any subsequent matters.

She wasn't a natural cook; she just has a better understanding of food than most people, being a foodie.

The hot pot that Huang Rong mentioned is the hot pot she is familiar with.

Haoqing also serves hot pot, but it's quite expensive and not something ordinary people can afford. If they were to serve hot pot at their tavern, they would first have to control the price, making sure it didn't exceed thirty coins.

Vegetarian hot pot is around 15 coins, while meat hot pot is 25 coins.

"Huang Rong, you've got a knack for business," Yuan Doudou praised with a smile.

Huang Rong was very outgoing and couldn't resist praise. As soon as she finished praising someone, her face turned red.

With a direction in mind, things became much simpler. An Rong was in charge of preparing the side dishes for the hot pot. The vegetarian hot pot contained tofu, bean curd sheets, cabbage, and quail eggs.

Hot pot with meat, sliced ​​pork, duck intestines, pig's blood, cabbage, and glass noodles.

The hot pot restaurant was open for three days, and business was better than usual, but the response was lukewarm and did not meet Yuan Doudou's expectations.

Yuan Doudou envisioned a modern version of mala tang (a type of spicy hot pot), where side dishes are prepared and customers can choose from five out of eight vegetarian options or three out of six meat options, depending on their needs, with varying prices.

Huang Rong had never heard of this dish or this way of eating before, and her admiration for Dou Dou Jie grew even stronger.

The introduction of Mala Tang (a type of spicy hot pot) has led to a surge in popularity for DouDou Tavern. Before evening, the restaurant is packed with people, and every table is filled with people eating Mala Tang.

As the name suggests, Mala Tang is spicy, hot, and numbing. Even people with a cold constitution can break out in a sweat after eating it.

In the evening, people who come to drink prefer to order a hot pot, choose some of their favorite side dishes, and eat while drinking. If the soup in the pot boils dry, they can add more soup for free. Three or four people can share a pot and easily eat for an hour.

The tavern was doing well, and Lu Xi was busier than ever before. He had to clean several times more vegetables every day than before. He didn't have time to overthink things and was glad that he hadn't left.

But he didn't know that An Rong had secretly gone to Hao Qing Lai and inquired about the situation from the manager there.

The manager made it clear that this year's apprentices were recruited back in August and will graduate next September. As for the next round of apprentice recruitment, it depends on the head chef's mood. If he doesn't want to recruit, even the boss can't do anything about it.

He told Yuan Doudou this, but not Lu Xi.

After closing time in the evening, An Rong accompanied Yuan Dou Dou into the house. An Ji, a tiny little thing, was already fast asleep in bed, fast asleep.

"Your belly is much bigger now, so try to stay in bed as much as possible during the day and don't tire yourself out," An Rong said while massaging her.

Yuan Doudou laughed and said, "Sister Juan next door said that when you're further along in your pregnancy, you should move around more every day so that it will be easier to give birth."

She smiled on the outside, but was terrified inside. Coming here, she realized what it meant to reap what you sow. A moment of passion had brought her a harsh slap from heaven, sending her a baby.

No matter how much you don't want it, the reality is that you can't refuse it.

Well, things have come to this point, so she can only face it calmly. Yuan Doudou is prepared to die for it.

The original owner was able to give birth to Anji safely, and she believed that she could also give birth to her second child smoothly, hoping it would be a lovely daughter.

"What should we do about Lu Xi's matter?" An Rong asked in a consultative tone.

Yuan Doudou has been thinking these past two days that Lu Xi is still young, so it wouldn't hurt to wait a year before becoming an apprentice. If they try to find connections now, given the chef's personality, even if they are forced to accept Lu Xi, he won't teach him anything sincerely, and might even make things difficult for Anji.

Lu Xi has returned to normal during this period, doing her job with all her heart and even more enthusiastically receiving guests than before, fully immersed in her work.

"Let's wait a bit," Yuan Doudou sighed softly.

Sometimes, there is a big gap between ideas and practice. She thought of finding an old acquaintance, Li Cai, to put in a good word for her with the chef, but after inquiring, she found out that Li Cai and the chef had always had a bad relationship, so asking him to put in a good word for her would not work.

She also found out that the owner of Haoqinglai was from Kyoto and his surname was Lu. She was secretly pleased. Kyoto is a big city and there aren't many people with the surname Lu. He must be related to Lu Chaoyang in some way. She asked Lu Chaoyang and found out that the owner was indeed a member of his clan. However, ten years ago, he left the Lu family in anger because of a disagreement with the elders of the clan. Lu Chaoyang was a junior and did not get along with him, so he had no right to reason with him.

In short, things didn't go well.

Before going to sleep, Yuan Doudou was still scheming in her mind, thinking that Hao Qinglai might not be the only way out.

In Ping'an Town, besides Haoqinglai, the second largest restaurant is Zuixianlou.