Chapter 79 Inviting Guests for Hot Pot, Yilu's Family
After selling their goods, Ray took Neil home with some meat, salt, and other odds and ends.
On the way, I met some women and children from the same village and gave them a ride back.
Most of the villagers were quite kind. Although Lai didn't ask for travel expenses, they didn't shortchange her either. Those with money gave Neil copper coins, while those without left her food of equal value.
They chatted about this village and that village along the way, and soon arrived at the village.
It was still early, just past noon. The two of them had bought bread in town for lunch, and neither of them was very hungry.
After tidying up his tools for selling vegetables, Lai began processing the meat he had bought.
I bought some high-quality pork belly this time, and we still have a lot of dried vegetables at home. Lai plans to make pork belly stew with dried vegetables tonight.
Fresh meat is hard to slice, but I'm hosting a dinner party tomorrow, so meat is absolutely essential.
After cutting the meat into appropriate sizes, Lai took it outside to freeze. He planned to bring it back a few hours later, once it was mostly frozen, to process and slice it, which would be much easier.
He still had a little more than half of the beef he bought last time, and he brought it all inside to thaw and slice.
It's always better to be prepared beforehand than to be caught off guard and scrambling at the last minute.
"Brother, is it alright to store the wine in the storage room?"
"Take it in."
"OK."
Neil carried two bottles of fruit wine and two bottles of ale in a basket and went inside.
The shelves were filled with all kinds of food and seasonings, and smoked meat, sausages, peppers, garlic and other items were hanging from two ropes tied between the two walls.
Two simple wooden baskets next to the shelf were piled with potatoes, sweet potatoes, taro, pumpkins, and a few old cucumbers.
A whole jar of salted bird eggs, more than half a jar of pickled vegetables, and a small jar of something my brother called "sauerkraut".
The small room was piled high with food, and several mousetraps were placed in the corner. Fearing someone might break in at night to steal things, the windows were eventually boarded up.
Neil felt his brother hadn't been careful enough; they should have locked the storage room door as well.
He moved some items on the shelf, placing a few bottles of wine on the inner side of the wooden board.
"Brother, we should lock the door to the storage room too, so that even if someone gets into the house, nothing will be stolen."
"Okay, I'll do as you say. Go and see if you can find any spare door locks."
"good!"
Dinner time came quickly.
Considering Guge's dental issues, Lai stewed the braised pork until it was very tender, almost melting in the mouth. Everyone enjoyed the meal immensely.
After dinner, Lai soaked the mung beans and started slicing the meat, while Neil sat at the table reading by the lamplight.
He would steal glances at Lai every now and then. He was already very content to be able to live like this with his brother after losing his parents.
He just wished this time could last a little longer, much longer.
The next day at dinner time, Temuji avoided crowded places and arrived at Laiyi's house on time.
The big yellow dog, seeing such strange humans for the first time, barked incessantly at Temuji. Neil went outside and scolded the incessantly barking dog, then led the somewhat uneasy Temuji into the house.
"Hello, Ray. Hello, Neil."
Timur gave Neil a bag of candy and Ray a small dagger that looked like a modern multi-functional military knife.
"Why did you bring food? Didn't we agree that I'd treat you today?"
"It's very impolite to come to eat without bringing a gift."
"Come and sit down."
Lei helped Temugi to his seat, where various slices of meat and vegetables were already laid out on the table.
Lai drew the curtains tightly, locked the doors and windows, and turned on the glass light, instantly brightening the room.
After placing the glowing red charcoal into the chimney of the pot, Lai added hot water and bone broth to the two pots respectively.
The pot with hot water also contained hot pot base, and the other one contained scallion segments and ginger slices.
Before long, the aroma of the hot pot broth began to spread, constantly stimulating the taste buds of the three people.
Temuqi's eyes held a look of inquiry.
As the water began to boil, Lai used serving chopsticks to add slices of meat to both pots.
"I was worried you wouldn't eat spicy food, so I prepared two soup bases. The clear broth tastes great too."
"good."
It was Temuji's first time eating hot pot, and he was very curious. He copied what Lai and Neil did and made his own dipping sauce.
Once the meat slices were cooked, Lai taught Temuji how to eat hot pot.
Thin slices of meat cooked in a spicy broth, dipped in crushed peanuts and other seasonings, burst with spiciness and aroma with every bite. Temuqi was immediately captivated by this delicious way of eating.
"How about it?"
"tasty!"
Seeing that Temuqi was enjoying his meal, Lai, the host, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Eat to your heart's content, I've prepared plenty of fatty beef and sliced meat."
"Uh-huh."
Temuqi's mouth never stopped; he was constantly simmering and eating various vegetables.
In the culture of dwarfs, when someone invites you to dinner, finishing all the food prepared by the host is a way of praising and acknowledging them.
Before long, the three of them were eating with great enthusiasm, their bodies and heads covered in sweat.
People mostly eat spicy hot pot; they only eat a little bit of clear broth while waiting for the food in the spicy hot pot to cook.
"Want some?"
Lai got up and went to the storeroom to retrieve fruit wine and ale. Timur's eyes lit up the moment he saw the wine.
"The wine I bought yesterday is a bit cold."
"It's alright, Ray, you're so thoughtful."
Temuji, being a descendant of dwarfs, found alcohol an indispensable part of his daily life.
Lei poured him a full glass of barley wine, and Temuji was very satisfied.
"Oh, Ray, how did you come up with this way of eating it?"
While eating, Temuqi couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Especially this spicy hot pot with added base sauce, it's crispy and numbing, it's the first time I've ever tasted anything like this."
Lai smiled mysteriously, not revealing the secret to the deliciousness of the spicy hot pot, but instead introducing some legends and origins about hot pot.
"Actually, the sliced meat and vegetables after being cooked in the broth are even more delicious when dipped in sesame sauce, it's just a pity..."
As he spoke, Lei shook his head regretfully, a gesture that successfully drew Temuji's attention.
"What a pity?"
"nothing."
Foodies' pursuit of delicious food is beyond the imagination of ordinary people, and Temuji began to question Lai further.
Although he had been eating rather haphazardly since arriving in the small mountain village because he wasn't very good at cooking, this hot pot meal, however, awakened his hidden foodie side.
"What exactly happened?"
“Sigh.” Lei sighed. “I don’t have a good way to grind sesame seeds into sesame paste. If I use it as a dipping sauce, the flavor will be on another level.”
"Don't worry about it, I'll help you solve a problem."
Temuqi took the blame upon himself.
For him, this was not a big problem and could be easily solved.
"Thank you so much!"
Temuji agreed to help Laiyi resolve a problem that was neither too big nor too small, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
The dinner was a pleasant one for both the host and guests.
All the meat slices that Lai had prepared in advance were consumed by the three of them in one fell swoop, and there were hardly any vegetables left.
The two large plates of noodles he had prepared came in very handy. Without those two plates of noodles, Temujin might not have been able to eat his fill.
Noodles cooked in hot pot broth are both chewy and delicious. They're the perfect finishing touch to a main dish.
After dinner, Lai drove Temuqi home, and when he saw him off, he made sure to pack a few jars of hot pot base for him to take back with him.
"Take these cans of hot pot base home. When you don't feel like cooking, just put one of these in the pot, add some sliced meat and potatoes, and cook it all together. By the way, adding noodles is a good option too."
Temuji indicated that he understood.
"Lay, thank you so much!"
"It's okay, I made a lot of base ingredients. By the way, you drank quite a bit tonight, are you sure you can go home alone?"
"I'm a little worried," Lei asked.
Two large bottles of ale were mostly consumed by Temuji, and Lai was worried he might pass out on the way. A perfectly good gathering could easily turn into a tragedy because of alcohol.
“Ray, although I only have half dwarf blood, my alcohol tolerance is not something I boast about. Don’t worry, I don’t take this little bit of alcohol seriously.”
Temugi did not show any signs of being drunk.
He walked steadily, spoke without slurring, and even the blush on his cheeks was due to the heat in the room and the fact that it was the first time he had eaten something so spicy.
"Okay, remember to be careful on the road."
Lai watched Temuji disappear into the vast night before returning to his house.
By this time, Neil had tidied up most of the mess on the table.
This hardworking, cunning little devil.
Ray had already told Neil that he didn't need to clean up, but he still took the initiative to clean the table very thoroughly.
"Thank you, Neil."
"No, no, brother, this is what I should do. You already work hard enough to earn money to support both of us. I'm just helping you with the housework as much as I can. I really didn't do anything else important."
Neil sometimes even felt that Ray was a little too distant from him. Unlike other parents, he didn't tell his children what to do or what to do.
Instead, he would take on most of the housework by himself, giving Neil more time to study.
Neil felt a deep sense of gratitude and respect for Ray.
"Alright, leave the rest of the work to me. You can tidy up and go upstairs to sleep."
It was quite late when they finished eating, so Lai canceled his usual reading and storytelling activities for the day.
——
There are still things to eat in winter.
Gru knew the principle that one cannot eat one's own reserves. Although he had several hundred pounds of grain at home, he had a large family and had to find a way to get more food.
So, besides chopping firewood, taking his children to search for food all over the mountains and fields became his daily routine.
If he's lucky, he can catch a fat, strong long-toothed beast in just a few days.
When he was unlucky, not only did he fail to catch any prey, but all the traps he painstakingly set were also destroyed, leaving him only with some wild fruit left on the trees to take home.
He doesn't find this kind of life difficult; on the contrary, he is very satisfied with his current life.
He could have a full meal every day, clean drinking water, and a stable place to live. For him, this was his ideal life.
Are we going out again today?
Kai asked Yiru.
Last night, the small mountain village experienced its first heavy snowfall of the winter, with thick snow covering the entire mountainside.
Goblins don't have the habit of wearing shoes. The straw sandals they wear were bought for them by Ray when he took them to pick fruit, out of concern that the hard stones on the ground might hurt their feet.
With such heavy snow, they dared not walk around outside for long periods of time.
The snow and ice on the ground can easily cause frostbite and cuts.
Yilu remained silent and began to ponder.
"No, we're not going out today. But we must clear the snow around the house."
Kay nodded to indicate that she understood.
Iru and the children put on animal skins, wrapped their feet in rags and animal skins, and began to clear the snow around the house.
A path was quickly cleared out of the yard.
But Iru knew that this was still far from enough.
The heavy snowfall will reduce their prey, meaning they will have less and less meat to eat. This also means that goblins who haven't stockpiled enough food will face increasingly difficult times.
It's very likely they'll soon be eyeing their family's food supplies.
"well……"
Iru sighed deeply.
Never believe a goblin; they can weave the most beautiful lies in the world to achieve their goals.
As a goblin, Iru knew this all too well.
"Stop, children. We only need to clean the path to the river. If we clean too much, the other goblins will think we're too well-fed and have plenty of food at home. They'll think we have extra energy to do unnecessary work and they'll be watching us."
Perhaps we should go hungry for a few meals, so as not to appear to be living too well.
Iru pondered to himself.
"Yes, Father."
Kay never refused any of her father's instructions.
At first, he didn't understand his father's request, but through his father's explanation, he quickly understood his intention. He and his two brothers immediately stopped what they were doing.
There is still much for him to learn while following Yiru.
Iru has promised him that next year or the year after, when they have enough food and time, he will help him build his own little wooden house not far from his home.
There weren't any suitable goblins nearby to be his mate. However, he wasn't in a hurry.
He is still young, and a goblin's lifespan is very long. He has plenty of time to choose a suitable partner for himself.
Time flies, and life is long.
He will learn from his father to become a competent patriarch and will also shoulder his own responsibilities within the family.
He knew that his father, Iru, was not just an ordinary goblin; he had many ideas and concepts that other goblins could not conceive of, but simply lacked the right opportunity to put them into practice.
Given the right opportunity and platform, Yiru will surely lead them to a different future. He wants to help his father, becoming his staunch supporter and right-hand man.
"Kay, don't stand still, or you'll fall into an ice hole!"
"knew!"
Kaiyi pulled her two younger siblings away from the riverbank, and only then did Yiru feel at ease to continue working.
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2023-09-17 22:38:15 and 2023-09-20 23:50:14!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Langya Xuanji (62 bottles); Naihuang Xiaozhubao (30 bottles); Qingge (7 bottles); Suoyi (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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