At seven o'clock in the afternoon, the sky was dark and gloomy, without a trace of light.

After a busy day with Zhao Xiaoxiu and her father, Meng and her son, along with their daughter Xiwa, finally finished their work at this time, placing all the processed meat in the empty shop.

As soon as Meng Er, the ruthless iron-handed man, entered the hall, he couldn't stand for even a second longer and immediately collapsed onto the sofa.

After squatting all day, Meng Er's stiff and swollen body finally relaxed, and he let out a long, comfortable sigh.

"I'm numb, I'm so tired..." Knowing that he couldn't compete with the Meng brothers, Xiwa decisively gave up lying on the sofa and curled up in that familiar corner of the hall, spreading his arms and legs, looking up at the ceiling, looking completely exhausted.

Even the usually energetic and energetic Monkey Sister was silent.

Clutching a rainproof tarpaulin for packaging, it stared blankly ahead, its fur all matted down from being constantly soaked in the rain, making it look a size smaller than usual.

Granny Meng brought in a freshly cut mutated cabbage. The wildly swirling leaves flew past Sister Monkey, but they couldn't elicit any reaction from her.

Grandma Meng looked at the listless group of people in the room and said to Zhao Gang, who had a baby hanging in his arms, "Xiao Xiu, tonight Grandma will show you her skills. We'll make a bone broth hot pot."

The little guy, who was already exhausted, suddenly lifted his head from his father's arms, and his eyes lit up instantly.

Grandma Meng shook her head with amusement, her heart softening completely.

"Mom, make some chili dipping sauce!" Meng shouted.

"Okay, take a rest. I'll call you when it's ready." Granny Meng replied as she went into Zhao Xiaoxiu's kitchen.

Because Zhao Gang had been working long hours at the road construction team recently, Grandma Meng had become extremely familiar with the kitchen in order to take care of Zhao Xiaoxiu's meals.

Washing vegetables in a basin, moving firewood to start a fire and heat the pot, it's just like being in your own kitchen.

Little Baby was already exhausted, but wanting a share of dinner, she took a deep breath, quickly got up, and rushed into the kitchen with a big smile: "Auntie, let me help you start the fire."

Seeing that someone was cooking, Zhao Gang was happy to relax. He picked up the exhausted cub and went upstairs to give it a bath, wash its hair, and change into clean clothes.

After cleaning up, Grandma Meng's hot pot was ready.

Xiwa lit a glowing red charcoal fire in the winter stove, dragged the coffee table in the middle of the hall, placed two bricks on the table, and then put the charcoal stove on it.

Grandma Meng carried out the cooked pork bone broth and placed it on the charcoal stove. The boiling broth bubbled and steamed, releasing a cloud of white vapor.

A wind picked up outside, so Meng Da closed the door. Meng Er and Granny Meng brought out sliced ​​meat and just the right amount of leafy greens, each in a large bowl.

Upon seeing Zhao Xiaoxiu and her father come downstairs, the group quickly invited them to sit down.

"Oh right, there's also dipping sauce." Granny Meng slapped her thigh and hurried back to the kitchen, bringing out the small half-basin of chili dipping sauce and dividing it into small bowls for everyone.

Before even starting to eat, Zhao Xiaoxiu couldn't help but swallow her saliva just looking at the spicy dipping sauce.

Once everyone was present, Granny Meng looked at them expectantly. "Give it a try. I haven't made this in over ten years. I don't know if the ingredients have changed and if it will still taste right."

"Dad, I want to eat a piece of meat first!" Zhao Xiaoxiu said happily, pointing to the thinly sliced, evenly cut mutated animal meat in the bowl.

Zhao Gang nodded, picked up a slice of meat and put it into the boiling bone broth to blanch it until it curled up and turned white. He then immediately took it out and put it into the dipping sauce bowl in front of his cub.

Zhao Xiaoxiu refused to be fed and picked up her chopsticks to eat by herself.

The freshly cooked meat slices were still piping hot; I blew on them a couple of times and immediately popped them into my mouth.

Meng Da and the others weren't in a hurry to eat, so they just watched her.

The little guy took a big gulp and swallowed a whole slice of meat, stuffing his mouth full of meat. His cheeks bulged out, and as he chewed, his eyes narrowed. He even leaned back slightly, looking incredibly satisfied.

After swallowing a bite of the sweet and spicy meat, Zhao Xiaoxiu immediately gave a thumbs up, "Grandma Meng, it's so delicious! I want to eat it again!"

Granny Meng's eyes crinkled with laughter. "Really? Then I'll give it a try."

Everyone picked up their chopsticks and started cooking the mutated animal meat, one piece for each person.

The meat was imported, and everyone's expression was exactly the same as Zhao Xiaoxiu's just now—satisfied and happy.

The little boy started crying again, sobbing and pleading about how miserable he used to be. At the same time, he picked up a bunch of meat slices with his chopsticks and put them into the soup pot to cook. He would then coat three or four slices of meat with a dipping sauce made of soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and chili powder, stuff his mouth full, and swallow it down with gusto.

Monkey Sister wasn't good with chopsticks, and she was so anxious that she scratched her head and cheeks. Her clever eyes darted around, and she spotted the freshly cooked meat slices in Meng Er's bowl. She quickly reached out and stuffed the meat slices, which were covered in chili water, into her mouth. She jumped and danced happily.

But tragedy struck the next second: tears welled up in the monkey's big eyes, it opened its mouth wide in spiciness, and frantically fanned itself with its paws.

"Hahaha!" Meng Er burst into laughter without any restraint.

This was her beloved monkey, and Xiwa, being very perceptive, immediately put down her chopsticks, wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand, ran to the kitchen, fetched a ladle of cold water, and handed it to Monkey Sister.

Monkey Sister glanced gratefully at Little Baby, picked up the water ladle and gulped down the water, rinsing her mouth with the cool water until she felt better.

Even so, it still refused to give up this hot pot meal.

Zhao Gang didn't eat anything, only drank sweet syrup, and focused on blanching meat and cabbage for his cub.

Then, the little one turned around and put all the meat and vegetables she had cooked in her own bowl into the monkey's bowl. Every now and then, she would pick them up and feed them a bite, and then eat a bite herself. The monkey and the baby were both extremely happy.

When Sister Monkey got excited, she started singing and dancing, filling the room with her loud "squeak squeak squeak" songs. She picked up a piece of rainproof cloth from somewhere, wrapped it around herself, and circled around everyone.

It's happy when it's happy, unlike humans who have to restrain themselves.

A large bowl full of meat and a large bowl of vegetable leaves were eaten completely.

That hungry little brat, Xiwa, sucked every last drop of juice from the bones before he was willing to let go.

After finishing their meal, they happily tidied up the pots and pans to wash, sighing as they did so, "This life is as blissful as that of an immortal."

After cleaning up the kitchen, everyone was tired and exhausted from a busy day, and went home.

Monkey Sister had already fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room. Zhao Xiaoxiu patted her twice but couldn't wake her up, so she just let her be.

The father and daughter slept soundly until 6:30 in the morning, and then got up together.

Zhao Xiaoxiu was doing her morning exercise, while Zhao Gang was making breakfast. He cooked a packet of instant noodles in bone broth with pickled cabbage. The aroma was so enticing that Sister Monkey jumped down from upstairs, wanting a bite right away.

Two tentacles fiercely emerged and tried to pull it away, but failed.

However, when Zhao Xiaoxiu ate it, she secretly poured a small half bowl for it, so that it could taste the flavor of pickled cabbage noodles and have no regrets in its monkey life.

Zhao Xiaoxiu had just put down her bowl when Mo Shigui arrived.

They seemed to have already found a buyer, and the processed meat was all taken away, heading towards the hunting party and the temporary camp where the military was stationed.