Grandma Yu was speechless. Wasn't it a bit much to eat hot pot so late at night?
And they even ate it as a late-night snack on New Year's Eve?
Grandma Yu felt it was a bit unreasonable, especially since they had just finished a large New Year's Eve dinner with exactly 10 dishes.
Besides, it's New Year's Eve, a big holiday, it would be too much trouble to eat hot pot instead of dumplings.
Even if we need to prepare, it must take quite a long time, right?
Gu Zixiao seemed to sense the speechlessness in Grandma Yu's eyes, and he calmly said, "I had already anticipated that we would have a late-night snack, so I prepared in advance. Besides, it's just hot pot, how hard can it be to slice meat?"
Grandma Yu: ...
Okay, you're pretty good, kid. Fine, I won't say anything more.
She guessed that Gu Zixiao must have planned this all along, but it was still strange that he was able to guess that Lan Yao wanted to eat hot pot that night.
Could this be considered an indication of something being anticipated because of an excessive level of understanding?
Regardless, Grandma Yu was satisfied with his attitude.
At least, he cared about Lan Yao, knew what she was thinking, and accompanied her in doing things, which is commendable.
Lan Yao clapped her hands happily: "Great! We can have hot pot tonight!"
Grandma Yu looked helpless and patted her tummy. "You ate a whole table of food earlier? Don't you feel full now?"
She wasn't worried about wasting food by eating too much; she just felt that it might be bad for Lan Yao's health to eat such a good meal in the middle of the night.
Lan Yao said there was absolutely no problem; this was nothing at all.
Since Lan Yao had already said that, what else could Grandma Yu say? However, after thinking about it, she still asked Gu Zixiao to prepare some hawthorn soup to drink, which would help Lan Yao digest.
Gu Zixiao was already prepared, and nodded to Grandma Yu: "Grandma Yu, don't worry. Since I knew we were going to have hot pot for supper, I definitely prepared everything. I'm not stupid, I would never do anything to hurt Lan Yao."
Grandma Yu rolled her eyes: "You'd love to do something to hurt Lan Yao, but the question is, can you beat her?"
Grandma Yu knew exactly how powerful Lan Yao was. Gu Zixiao was nothing compared to Lan Yao and couldn't beat her at all.
She had previously heard Xiao Li talk about how incredibly powerful Gu Zixiao was, how he was the war god of their military region, and how no one could beat him. But when he came to Lan Yao, well...
Gu Zixiao: ...
Grandma Yu was heartbroken.
You're incredibly accurate every time you prick someone.
Too lazy to pay attention to Grandma Yu anymore, Gu Zixiao went to the kitchen and put the things she had prepared on the table one by one. Soon the pot started bubbling.
Lan Yao had taught him how to make hot pot broth long ago.
However, in Beijing, people are used to rinsing the pot with plain water and then dipping it in sesame sauce for a more satisfying meal.
Lan Yao also prefers to eat it with prepared sesame sauce.
If only there were hot pot base, Lan Yao would prefer a spicy hot pot to a clear broth hot pot.
She's someone who can't live without spicy food. But she can't handle anything too spicy; medium spice is just about manageable.
However, compared to people in Sichuan who can handle spicy food, she's practically a pushover.
Lan Yao had already prepared the dipping sauce and was waiting for the pot to boil before putting the sliced beef and mutton in. The beef and mutton were sliced very thinly, so they didn't need to be cooked for too long. They could be taken out after the meat had just changed color slightly.
Then she placed the meat on a pre-prepared plate to drain, and then put the drained meat into a bowl of sesame sauce. She then put the meat slices, coated with plenty of sesame sauce, into her mouth. The rich flavor of the sesame sauce and the aroma of the meat filled her mouth, and the moment she ate it was simply too satisfying.
Seeing Lan Yao eat like this, Gu Zixiao and Grandma Yu, who weren't very hungry to begin with, suddenly felt hungry. So they all picked up their chopsticks and started scooping meat from the copper pot, dipping it in sesame sauce.
One bite, and the slices of meat coated in sesame sauce are dropped into the water. It's incredibly satisfying.
After the three of them ate for a while, Lan Yao said, "Anyway, the night is long and we still have to stay up to welcome the New Year. Why don't we eat and chat at the same time?"
After saying that, she looked at Grandma Yu and said, "Grandma Yu, if you are tired, you can go back to sleep early. You don't need to stay up with us to welcome the New Year."
Grandma Yu shook her head and chuckled, "I haven't been this happy in many years. I wouldn't be happy if you didn't let me stay up with you all to celebrate the New Year."
Lan Yao laughed upon hearing this, "Alright, since Grandma Yu insists, we'll keep her company. Actually, I haven't been this happy in a long time."
Gu Zixiao: "Me too."
Gu Zixiao hadn't been this happy in a long time. This was something he had never dared to imagine before.
After they finished speaking, the three of them looked at each other with smiles in their eyes.
Lan Yao: "Today is New Year's Eve, why don't we tell ghost stories on New Year's Eve? I happen to know one."
Grandma Yu couldn't help but laugh: "You're the first person to tell ghost stories on New Year's Eve."
Lan Yao shrugged: "There's nothing I can do, I just like it."
Gu Zixiao: "If you like it, just say so. Who cares what others think? I like to hear it anyway."
Grandma Yu glared at him, what did he mean by sowing discord?
Do you think she wouldn't like it?
That kid is really cunning.
Lan Yao seemed oblivious to the undercurrents between them. After taking another bite of the fish ball Gu Zixiao had made, she slowly said, "I heard it from someone else. The background is during the Republic of China era, and it happened to be New Year's Eve. The weather was bad that day, with dark clouds covering the sky. By evening, a heavy snowstorm began. A merchant surnamed Wang was returning from business that day. He was halfway there when his carriage was forced to stop on the road due to the blizzard."
The snow was falling heavier and heavier. The businessman surnamed Wang felt he shouldn't linger there any longer, because the place where he parked was in the middle of nowhere.
So he stood there for a while and thought about it. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue to lead the carriage aimlessly, hoping to find a house to stay in for the night and wait for the snow to stop before continuing.
I don't know how long I waited, but then I saw a glimmer of light amidst the heavy snow.
Gu Zixiao: "...A ghost appeared?"
Lan Yao: "...How is that possible?"
Grandma Yu: "...Why did you interrupt? Lan Yao hasn't finished speaking yet. The atmosphere was just right."
“That’s right,” Lan Yao echoed.
Grandma Yu: "What a shameless young man! He's so easily swayed. Lan Yao, we can't have someone like that."
Gu Zixiao: ...
Yes, how could you do this? He knows he was wrong, isn't that enough? He just couldn't resist playing the supporting role. I never expected it to turn out like this.
And Grandma Yu, aren't your thoughts too superficial? I've always known you don't like me being with Lan Yao. But you don't have to do this, do you? Always trying to drive a wedge between Lan Yao and me? Isn't that a bit unfair of you?
Grandma Yu raised an eyebrow at Gu Zixiao, her eyes seeming to say, "You still have a lot to do."
Do you think you can so easily trick her into giving you Lan Yao? Are you kidding me?
As Lan Yao's only acknowledged elder, she naturally had to help Lan Yao broaden her horizons.
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