The hot pot base starts to simmer before lunch and is not taken out of the pot until almost dark. All the nutrients in the bones are dissolved in the soup.
Even though it doesn't look very good in a clay pot, the delicious and fragrant fish and mutton soup, and the rich and spicy flavor of the black bean sauce, dogwood oil and pepper oil in the beef bone soup are enough to make your mouth water.
The cabbage stacked layer by layer to resemble peony flowers, after a slight rinse, is sweet and crisp.
The dried and cooked enoki mushrooms are soaked in the hot pot soup and are silky and refreshing.
The meatballs, chopped vigorously by several men, were all cut in half except for the beef balls. It was not difficult to pick them up with chopsticks. They tasted better than the spicy skewers and had a bit more meaty flavor from the meatballs themselves.
Not to mention the lamb and fish slices that are as thin as cicada wings. After being dipped in the soup a few times, they are only covered with the juice made from sesame oil, green onions and fermented vinegar. There is no fishy smell at all. The lamb is tender and fragrant, and the fish slices melt in your mouth.
The most popular one is the beef balls. The beef balls are so elastic that the meat seems to bounce off the teeth when you bite them. After biting them carefully, the hot and rich gravy bursts out, and your mouth is filled with fragrance after taking a sip.
Northwest Chinese food mostly consists of noodles and hard-wheat steamed buns. Wheat flour is used less frequently, while sorghum flour and barley flour are mostly used. Because there are too many people, they don’t make noodles, but only steam a lot of sorghum steamed buns and barley flower rolls.
The texture of these two kinds of noodles is a little rough, but Sun Laohuo cuts them all into slices, coats them with egg batter, and fries both sides until they are crispy and golden brown, making them into fried steamed buns, which taste especially delicious when eaten with hot pot.
The three families were busy with business and had no time to pay attention to food. They just made do with whatever they had depending on the situation.
This New Year's Eve hot pot dinner was so sumptuous that everyone felt like they didn't have enough food. They wanted to eat everything, their hands were almost full, and they still couldn't eat enough.
So no one immediately noticed Miao Wan's embarrassment.
The moment she sat there stiffly, the three words "destroy" kept flashing in her mind.
She just prayed that even if she had to urinate frequently, at least she wouldn't wet the bed.
Is this too much to ask?
Except for the time when she had no memories, Miao Wan had never experienced such an embarrassing thing.
If people knew that she was such a grown-up, yet she was eating at someone else's house...
Really, even changing planets can't stop the speed at which the castle is being dug out.
Miao Wan picked up the chopsticks and numbly stuffed the mutton into her mouth. Various options flashed through her mind, such as pretending to faint to interrupt the family reunion, calmly bringing a child over to shift the blame, or pretending nothing happened and refusing to admit it.
She secretly touched it with her hand and breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she was wearing thick clothes and was not soaked.
Maybe the kang was too hot and she couldn't feel it, eh...
Sun was picking up some food for Am, but she really didn't want to pay attention to Am because of her brother.
But seeing that she was still staring at the main hall absent-mindedly in the face of so many delicious foods, Sun couldn't help but feel a little soft-hearted.
Am really didn't care about her and her elder sister, and treated her younger brother like the apple of her eye. Although it was because of this that her younger brother became what he is today, mother's love is real.
Feeling resistant, Sun couldn't help feeling uncomfortable when picking up dishes. She happened to look up and saw Miao Wan's wrinkled face, with a subtle and unpredictable expression.
She was about to ask when her heart suddenly moved and she remembered the embarrassing thing that happened before she gave birth.
She felt like laughing, but also understood very well.
At that time, she had urinated in her room, and when her husband found her, she cried for half the night.
If other people found out about this, Miao Wan would probably cry until next year.
Sun got up and went to her room to get a small quilt made of braised egg and helped Miao Wan out. "Wan, your butt hurts from sitting on the kang like this, right? Use the small quilt made of braised egg to cushion it first. If the kang is still too hard, I'll get you another one."
Miao Wan grabbed a piece of mutton and looked at Sun with tears in her eyes, "Thank you, Third Sister-in-law!"
From today on, Third Sister-in-law, you are my savior!
If there are any traces later, it means that the third sister-in-law urinated on the boiled egg and didn't notice it. What does it have to do with her, a mother who hasn't given birth yet.
Hey, braised egg, when you grow up, your aunt will definitely give you a big red envelope!
Sun suppressed a laugh and patted Miao Wan's head: "Are you crying because of the spiciness? Mutton causes internal heat. You can't drink herbal tea right now, and don't eat too much."
Miao Wan nodded vigorously. After the awkwardness was resolved, she finally had the heart to eat the New Year's Eve dinner.
Although she didn't dare to eat too much, she was happy to eat as she chewed her food slowly.
Even Mrs. Sun was convinced. Awan was really generous.
The weather in the northwest is cold, and every household stores strong liquor. Women can also drink some. The Zhang family also stored a lot, so it is definitely not missing from the New Year’s Eve dinner.
The women brought their children to eat. Apart from drinking a cup of wine at the beginning, at most they would use chopsticks to dip in the wine to tease the children. No one drank too much, so they finished eating very quickly.
After the children finished eating, they ran around the house. The women looked after the children and took them back to the house to sleep. Only then did the men finish drinking.
I still have to rest for several days, so there will be plenty of opportunities to drink. I really don’t dare to drink too much on New Year’s Eve.
After midnight, incense and offerings must be burned so that the ancestors can also taste the New Year's Eve dinner.
This kind of thing does not require the participation of female relatives. Geng and Aunt Geng had already taken Miao Wan and Qiao Rui back.
The sacrificial matters were taken care of by Qiao Shengwen and his son and Uncle Geng Changshou, but the offerings needed for the sacrifices had to be prepared by Mrs. Geng and Aunt Geng.
They first warmed up the kang in the east room and let Miao Wan and Qiao Rui sleep there first.
Before going to bed, Miao Wan secretly changed her underwear. She hid from Qiao Rui and pretended that her original underwear had fallen into the copper basin. While Geng and Aunt Geng were busy, she quickly rubbed it out.
Only after lying down on the kang did Miao Wan finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Good, no one noticed, so rounding it off means she didn't leak urine.
As for the third sister-in-law? Well, I have to admit it even if you say it.
Miao·Shameless·Wan put her worries aside and chatted with Qiao Rui happily for a while. She almost fell asleep with Qiao Rui who was sleeping soundly in the quilt.
I was sleeping soundly when I suddenly woke up, not knowing whether it was because I had to pee or because there was some movement around me.
Qiao Ruichen, who had wrapped Qiao Rui like a dumpling and was about to walk out, was startled.
His face was a little stiff: "Did I wake you up?"
Miao Wan shook her head blankly, her little voice so hoarse that it made people feel weak. "No, I need to get up to go to the bathroom. What are you doing?"
Qiao Ruichen coughed lightly twice, "You can just stay in the room to get up at night, I'll go to the toilet later. Yaozu went back with Sun Ada to worship the ancestors today, and mother is tired too. I'll sleep with you, so I'll send Xiaorui back to the main room first."
Or rather, he embraced Sun Yaozu and Sun Laohuo and had a 'friendly' conversation, and then the father and son returned home with tears in their eyes.
During the Chinese New Year, he still wanted to sleep with his wife.
Miao Wan said "oh". It was so cold and the snow was so slippery outside that she didn't dare go out. She could only relieve herself in the house. She was used to it.
When Qiao Ruichen came back, she forced herself to mumble, "Thank you for your hard work, husband. I have to get up at night..."
Never pee on the kang again!
Qiao Ruichen nodded and said, "Madam, I want to tell you——" something.
Before he could finish his words, he lowered his head and saw that his wife had fallen asleep again with the pillow in her arms, her mouth slightly open, looking like a child.
Qiao Ruichen paused and couldn't help laughing softly. The first year in the Northwest was much better than he had imagined. It was all because of the new bride he married.
He leaned over and gently kissed Miao Wan on the forehead.
Early the next morning, Miao Wan was dug up by Geng.
"There must be a lot of people at the Zhang family today. Let's go over early and wish them a happy new year. When we get back, we can close the door and not go out again. This will save us from having to exchange pleasantries with people. It would be bad if you catch a cold with your big belly. Be good and sleep when you get back."
"On the first day of the Lunar New Year, we happily wish you a happy new year~" As soon as she went out, Miao Wan shivered in the fresh and cool air. She rubbed her hands, and the folk songs she had heard in her childhood popped into her mind.
The snow has stopped, but it's still colder outside than when it was snowing.
But this is really a blessed snow.
The Northwest is a vast and sparsely populated area, and the people are poor. Although the New Year is festive everywhere, there are still traces of past chaos caused by bandits. The houses and streets are mottled and dilapidated, and the heavy snow has covered everything.
It seemed that there was only thick snow as lovely as cotton candy and the red of lanterns and couplets in the world, which were festive and bright, making people feel open-minded.
Although the two houses were very close, Miao Wan was no longer sleepy after getting up from the warm kang and jumping back and forth.
Qiao Shengwen called her and Qiao Ruichen to the main room.
"Have you told Awan?" Qiao Shengwen asked his son in a gentle voice.
Qiao Ruichen shook his head, "Not yet."
Miao Wan was a little confused: What did you say?
Qiao Ruichen took out a land deed and said, "The shop that Sun Ada liked has already been bought by Bayin. We just need to give him the goods to pay him back."
"Eh? When did he buy it?" Miao Wan took the deed and was very surprised.
Sun Ada had been eyeing this shop for less than ten days, and he decided to buy that big shop around the New Year. How come he got the title deed back so quickly?
Qiao Shengwen smiled and said, "Dad had someone tell Bayin to take over the shop first. The longer the night, the more trouble there is. Dad was afraid that someone would make trouble, so he had to prepare for it."
Miao Wan flattered him without thinking, "Dad, you're so thoughtful! This way, we don't have to think about whether to buy a shop or not. If the Zhang family is really worried, we can let Sun Ada take charge of the shop first. The Zhang family is still in Wa City, so we can benefit from both ends. It's just in time for the Lantern Festival..."
"Awan, this is what I want to discuss with you." Qiao Ruichen interrupted Miao Wan's excited plan in a gentle voice, with a hint of guilt in his eyes.
"Although the shop is already in our hands, it's not time to open it yet. I need some time. It's best for us not to make a big fuss about new things first. It's better for us to proceed step by step in Wa City first."
He did find some things when he visited the garrison at night, but they were all unimportant petty gains that couldn't even get away with Chen Sixu.
This General Dingbei was indeed cautious enough. He had to find a way to gain Chen Sixu's trust before he could obtain evidence of his treason.
Originally, he intended to surrender to General Dingbei through Bayin and Agula. The matter that Bayin took over the day before yesterday was a better opportunity.
If he took the initiative to come to the door, he might arouse the vigilance of the cautious Chen Sixu.
If he took a more roundabout approach and followed Qin Mao's path, and was noticed by Chen Sixu and actively recruited, the situation would be different.
The Saint's spies brought news that Concubine Jin cooperated with the Saint, pretending to surrender to the Queen Mother and become a minion of Concubine Chen, opposing the Regent's daughter, Concubine Xian, at least to destroy the three-way balance of power.
It makes sense that the Qiao family is willing to join the Chen family.
The most important thing is that Chen Sixu is vigilant and surrenders to Qin Mao...it is only a profitable business.
It was just that Qiao Ruichen was unable to express this request.
Miao Wan felt a little regretful, but she did not forget that there was a sword hanging over everyone's head. With a sword hanging over their heads, it would be difficult to make money happily.
She puffed out her cheeks and cursed General Dingbei in her heart.
Seeing his daughter-in-law unhappy, Qiao Shengwen hurried to appease her, "Awan, I've actually asked your Ada. This part of the northwest is different from the capital. There aren't any lantern festivals or other lively gatherings. Most people spend a lot of their year-round savings at the end of the year. It's still a long time before the harvest, so they definitely won't be willing to waste money on the Lantern Festival."
Not only that, "Merchants usually start their journey to the northwest almost immediately after welcoming the God of Wealth. In previous years, it was even earlier. The next batch of merchants coming to the northwest won't arrive until the end of the first lunar month, which is the quietest time of the year."
In fact, if they didn't have to collect a batch of goods before the New Year and worship their ancestors and welcome the God of Wealth after the New Year, those merchants would not stay until after the fifth day of the New Year.
After hearing what her father-in-law said, Miao Wan suddenly understood.
Yes, she also considered it from the perspective of later generations. In the northwest of later generations, the Lantern Festival was more lively than the Chinese New Year. Celebrations were organized in various places, including stilt walking, dragon dances, and bonfire festivals.
During this period, since she came to the northwest, she actually didn't go out very often. She could only go out when the weather was good and the road conditions were good.
But she also remembered how chaotic it was outside. Except for a few streets with stone slabs and many houses made of blue bricks and tiles, other places were mostly earthen houses.
The road was all mud, full of potholes, and there was a lot of mule and donkey dung, so it was dusty every day.
In this situation, walking on stilts would result in falling to death, so no one is in the mood to bother.
It was only because her family earned some money in the past few months that she forgot how big the gap between the rich and the poor was here.
Even now, the three families have more than one thousand taels of silver in their hands, but it is still a drop in the bucket. They can use up all the money they have to buy a shop.
Both her family and the Sun family still lived in low mud houses, and they didn't even have a decent toilet or bathroom.
Suddenly, there was a subtle change in her heart. Originally, she just wanted to get rid of the grave and raise her child well.
Later, her father-in-law and Qiao Ruichen came back, and she began to think about making money to improve her life so that her baby would be born into a wealthy family.
But now, the pig farm might be opened at any time, and she seemed closer to her previous life, yet also further away.
She doesn't want to just make money, she wants to make... the brilliant fireworks and colorful trees in her memory reappear on this land!
Miao Wan's face flashed with reluctance as if she had lost hundreds of millions, and her whole chubby face seemed to be glowing softly.
She arched her brows and said, "Dad, husband, I understand what you mean. I'll listen to you. When you say we can open the shop again, it's a good time to accumulate our wealth and make a fortune. I can afford to wait. Is there anything else you need me to do?"
Qiao Ruichen and Qiao Shengwen looked at each other, neither of them understanding why Miao Wan suddenly changed her expression as if she had been injected with chicken blood.
What's the matter? Is the poverty in Northwest China so bad that it makes you excited?
Qiao Ruichen said cautiously, "I need a valuable prescription to give to the garrison here..."
"How about aromatic oil? This thing is very profitable. I know several ways to make the simplest aromatic oil." Miao Wan said generously without his hesitant explanation.
"Is it enough? I still remember my mother making facial cream with lard and sheep fat, as well as skin care cream with aromatic oils, and rouge. Although I don't remember how to make it, I should be able to try it out."
In fact, she knew how to do it without trying, but firstly, she was clumsy, and secondly, if she remembered everything Ruan had done, it would be a bit too shocking.
"Let me think about it, there should be more..."
"That's enough, the aromatic oil is enough." Qiao Ruichen quickly stopped Miao Wan from speaking, and his eyes looked at Miao Wan even deeper.
His wife had given so much to the Qiao family, but he felt he had no way to repay her and always felt he owed her a lot.
Qiao Shengwen felt a little sorry for Miao Wan. "Awan, you didn't get to enjoy the good life after marrying into the Qiao family, but I got you into trouble. Now I have to ask you to take out the recipe from your mother's family. The Qiao family really treats you badly."
Miao Wan smiled, her face displaying two deep dimples. "A family should share weal and woe. I'm also hoping that my father-in-law can be rehabilitated soon, and that my husband... can let me earn money honestly soon. I also want Ada and Mu to be able to witness the grand spectacle of the Lantern Festival."
Qiao Ruichen's heart suddenly shook. He stared at Miao Wan for a long moment and said solemnly, "I promise that even if the Qiao family is rehabilitated, I will stay with you in the northwest and fulfill your wish."
Miao Wan was a little puzzled. You were going to stay and become a general, so what does it have to do with me... Wait, didn't he plan to stay?
Is it too late to regret now?
She could leave a recipe for getting rich to the people in her hometown, but the capital city is also very attractive!
The author has something to say:
The cub will be out in the next chapter!!!
The richest man is definitely from the whole of Dayue, not just the northwest.
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