On the square table, there was a Tai Chi pot, which was made by Xue Huan herself. This pot was naturally not a magic weapon, but just a small practice work.
There is a Tai Chi line in the middle of the pot, dividing the pot into two parts. One half is the spicy red oil soup base, and the other half is the three-fresh mushroom soup base. A circle of plates, bowls, cups and dishes are placed around the table, filled with various processed fresh ingredients.
Because the square table was not big, Xue Huan placed a few more shelves next to it, and each layer of the shelf was filled with food.
That’s right, what she treated Ye Diao’s family to today was hot pot, a national delicacy.
If the peppers were to be auctioned, the interests of the Ye family, the partner, would naturally be damaged, so she planned to take out the hot pot recipe as compensation.
Of course, in a cooperative way.
Let’s not talk about business for now, let’s eat first.
Xue Huan used serving chopsticks to put the ingredients into the pot while replying, "This is called hot pot. This side is spicy, and this side is clear soup. Whether you like spicy food or not, both tastes can be catered for, so this is also called a duo pot."
While she was speaking, Ye Diao and his family had already sat down at the table.
Ye Diao, a true CEO of the ancient times, sensed a business opportunity the moment he heard her words. "Hot pot... that's a great idea. Xiaoxian, are you planning to open a hot pot restaurant?"
Xue Huan: "Let's talk while we eat."
She asked the three people about their tastes and prepared a sauce dish for each of them.
In fact, hot pot was not new in ancient times. The method of eating meat and vegetables together had even appeared very early on. It even had a special name - Gudong Soup, which was named after the "gulp" sound made when food was put into boiling water.
Hot pot has existed since the Warring States Period. People at that time used clay pots as pots. By the Song Dynasty, eating hot pot had become very common among the people. In the cookbook "Shan Jia Qing Gong" by Lin Hong of the Southern Song Dynasty, there is an introduction to eating hot pot with friends.
It was also given a very beautiful name - Boxia Gong.
It is said that during the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a man named Lin Hong who loved traveling around. One time, he visited Wuyi Mountain and visited a friend of his. He encountered heavy snow and caught a rabbit. His friend told him that he could slice the rabbit meat into thin slices, cook it in a pot and eat it with sauce.
Lin Hong did as he was told, repeatedly tossing the thin slices of rabbit meat in the hot broth. When the meat was cooked through, its color resembled clouds. He named this delicacy "Boxia Gong" (Boxia Gong) and composed a poem: "Waves surge like snow on the clear river, and the wind turns the sunset glow."
From then on, this dish became popular among the people.
Later, hot pot was introduced to Mongolia, and the well-known shabu-shabu mutton was born.
These can be regarded as the embryonic form of hot pot, but it was not until later generations that hot pot became a system. The flavors are also diverse. According to the flavor, there are spicy, light, seafood, etc. According to the ingredients, there are seafood hot pot, fish hot pot, beef hot pot, chicken hot pot, mutton hot pot, etc.
There are so many of them.
In short, there is nothing that cannot be enjoyed in hot pot.
Today Xue Huan prepared a lot of ingredients. The meat included chicken, duck, fish, beef, mutton, pork, etc. The vegetables included coriander, cabbage, leek, wild rice stem, cucumber, spinach, lettuce, etc. There were also various mushrooms, meatballs, tofu, egg dumplings, shrimp balls, fried dough sticks, etc. There were no less than forty or fifty kinds of food in total.
This is clearly visible, and if you finish eating, you can replenish it from the kitchen at any time.
The meatballs Xue Huan had put in the pot earlier had already floated up. She picked one up for Ye Mao with her serving chopsticks and said, "The meatballs are hollow. When you eat them, make a small bite to avoid getting burned by the soup inside. I won't be taking care of Brother Ye and Sister-in-law. You can do whatever you want."
Ye Diao had already understood what was going on, so he rolled up his sleeves and frantically put his favorite dishes into the pot, while also not forgetting to scoop out the cooked ones into his own bowl.
Qin likes to eat vegetables, so she put a piece of spinach into the three-fresh pot.
Spinach is easy to cook. Just toss it in the bubbling soup and you can eat it. Dip it in the seasoning dish and it will be tender and crispy and taste great.
The soup base was prepared by Xue Huan herself. Whether it is the spicy hot pot or the three-fresh hot pot, the taste is amazing.
For a moment, the people at the table stopped talking and just focused on eating.
As the host, Xue Huan still had to take care of the guests. She picked up the pot of chilled fruit wine on the low table next to her and poured a glass for each person.
"If it's spicy, drink some fruit wine."
Ye Diao is a man, not fond of fruit wine, preferring stronger wine. "Xiaoxian, is there no wine?"
Qin glared at him: "Why drink? If you get drunk, will we mother and daughter have to carry you back home?"
Ye Diao immediately became dispirited and didn't dare to mention drinking anymore. He just ate the meat obediently.
After eating until she was about 50% full, Xue Huan slowed down her pace and started talking: "Brother Ye, I asked you to come here this time because I want to discuss something with you."
"Xiaoxian, you say."
As Xue Huan added shrimp paste to the pot, she said, "I've heard that the Second Prince already knows about the chili peppers and wants to know their origin from me. He's written a letter to Governor Zhang, asking him to take care of this matter."
Then she told her that Governor Zhang and his daughter wanted to invite her to their house to appreciate the flowers and were planning to marry her.
As for how she got the news, there was no need to tell them.
Ye Diao frowned when he heard this and ate several slices of mutton to calm his nerves.
"Xiaoxian, to be honest, ever since we started working together, there have always been many people trying to find out about La Jiao. However, those people are nothing compared to my Ye family. But the Second Prince is different. If he really sets his sights on La Jiao, it will be a big trouble."
Xue Huan smiled and said, "I have a way to completely thwart the plans of those people, including the Second Prince."
Ye Diao's eyes lit up. "Oh? What method?"
"Let's auction the peppers. Whoever bids the highest will win. I just don't know if you agree. After all, once the peppers are auctioned, Yingxianlou won't be the only one selling spicy vegetables."
Ye Diao pondered for a moment, then quickly made his decision. "Of course, I have no reason to disagree. After all, possessing a treasure is a crime. If only my family holds the peppers, it will be too conspicuous. We've already caught the Second Prince's attention. Who knows what will happen in the future? Who knows? Maybe the higher-ups will even ask our Ye family to offer the peppers as tribute."
Xue Huan nodded. "I thought so too, so we should take this opportunity to sell the peppers. If the Second Prince doesn't want them, then we can bid for them. If he's willing to spend the money, then it wouldn't be a big deal to let him buy them back."
Ye Diao: "Yes, and even if others buy the peppers, they don't know the recipe and can't make the same dish as our Yingxianlou."
Now that they had reached a consensus, Xue Huan took out a plan for the chili auction that she had written in advance.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
