The snow fell less and less, and gradually stopped.
Qiu Dafu returned along the same route and found that where the carriage had been, apart from the wheel tracks and hoofprints, there was no trace of the horse or the carriage. He began to search around.
"The carriage has come down the hillside!" Zheng Hong's words caught Qiu Dafu's attention.
Just as he was about to head towards the valley, he saw Chu Tian's subordinates striding towards him, seemingly searching for Chu Tian's whereabouts.
Qiu Dafu's expression suddenly changed. If this person had accomplices, the two of them alone would definitely not be able to withstand him.
Upon seeing this man, Zheng Hong immediately became extremely vigilant. His arrival meant that his officials and subordinates had failed.
He was worried about his subordinates' situation and wanted to arrest them, but he was powerless to do so at the moment.
He was completely exhausted. Having barely escaped with his life, he chose to run away to avoid any further accidents.
Qiu Dafu had witnessed this man's skills at the Guanyin Temple that day. He was thinking about how to fight this man when Zheng Hong grabbed his arm.
"Qiu Dafu, what are you standing there for? Run! Ah!"
As Zheng Hong was speaking, he accidentally slipped.
He tumbled down the hillside again, taking Qiu Dafu down with him.
Down the hillside, Zheng Hong was completely disoriented from the rolling. When he finally reached the bottom, he clutched his stomach and vomited. "I'm sorry, I dragged you into this."
Qiu Dafu steadied himself and looked up, but the person was nowhere to be seen.
Zheng Hong breathed a sigh of relief, then, thinking of the carriage, suggested, "Let's follow the tracks and search; we'll surely find it."
Qiu Dafu nodded, and the two walked side by side, beginning their search for the carriage by following the tracks in the snow...
Qiu Yan's side, because Ye Shi gave birth to twins without any major complications, and because her younger siblings were still in Baiyang, she went to Baiyang again.
Finding that her second uncle had not yet returned and that her younger siblings were all in school, Qiu Yan didn't think much of it and went straight to Xingyue Tower.
At Xingyue Tower, Qiu Dayu was beaming as he worked on his abacus, his eyes gleaming with golden light. Upon seeing Qiu Yan arrive, he stepped forward to report on their recent profits.
Qiu Yan took the ledger, glanced at it briefly, and then went to the kitchen after the mealtime.
With a moment of respite, Chef Chen wiped the sweat from his brow and greeted Qiu Yan with a smile as she entered the kitchen.
Qiu Yan nodded in agreement and asked directly:
"Chef Chen, do you know how to make hot pot?"
Hot pot is the perfect accompaniment to winter, and Qiu Yan felt hungry just thinking about it.
Chef Chen shook his head. "What is hot pot?"
Qiu Yan explained simply, and Chef Chen understood. "So it's an antique soup. I know how to make it, but whether it will taste good is another matter."
Although Chef Chen is an excellent cook, he doesn't make many hot pot dishes.
Based on his knowledge, he simply added salt, scallions, garlic, and other ingredients to the soup.
Then, the pork, beef, lamb, rabbit and other meats were sliced into thin slices and marinated with wine, soy sauce, pepper and other seasonings. After the broth was cooked and the sauce was prepared, Chef Chen called Qiu Yan to taste it.
"Why don't you try it? How does it taste?"
Qiu Yan discovered that the biggest difference in how ancient people ate hot pot was that they marinated the food beforehand.
She took a bite, and it tasted alright, but it wasn't as delicious as the modern version.
"It's good, but the flavor is a bit too mild."
After Qiu Yan finished speaking, she began to make the soup base.
It was her first time making this, and she wanted to practice first, so she made pork rib soup base.
Blanch the pork ribs to remove the scum, drain, and simmer over low heat until the bones are tender and the meat is soft.
...Add scallions, ginger, garlic, star anise, cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorns, dried chili peppers... and cloves to the pot and simmer over low heat.
As soon as the aroma wafted out, Qiu Dayu followed it and came over.
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