Hot pot is where you choose your favorite ingredients and then cook them in the broth.
Mala Tang is a dish where you choose your favorite ingredients, and then the restaurant staff will cook them for you and serve them in a bowl.
If it weren't so difficult to make iron pots, Yue Jiuyue would really like to open a hot pot restaurant; it would be so much easier!
However, this was the era of cold weapons, and the control of iron was very strict. Yue Jiuyue didn't want to get into trouble, so she had to settle for second best. Besides, even if it was troublesome, she wouldn't have to do it herself, so it didn't matter.
With someone else doing the work, Yue Jiuyue stopped paying attention. She would try different flavors later, and if they were good, she could open a mala tang (spicy hot pot) shop in town and ask Da Niu to manage it.
In this way, even if it's just for her son's sake, Liu will be even more devoted.
Da Niu and Er Hu were the ones who would take the others with them whenever something happened. This was mainly because they were the first people Yue Jiuyue bought, and they trusted them more than the Zhou family members who bought them later. Gradually, they got used to calling on the two brothers whenever something happened.
However, they can't keep moving around wherever they're needed. Besides, Da Niu is old enough to be married, and Liu Shi isn't as open-minded as Yue Jiu Yue. If they're not married by the time they reach marriageable age, it's a major concern for parents in the era of arranged marriages.
Although it was just a whim, Yue Jiuyue still used her almost rusty brain a little and finally picked out Da Niu as the most suitable candidate.
After eating Liu's new flavor of spicy hot pot for two days in a row, Yue Jiuyue felt that she didn't want to eat it again for a while, so she continued to buy food from the mall occasionally as usual.
Of course, she also told Liu about opening a mala tang (spicy hot pot) shop and having Da Niu look after the shop. Liu was really enthusiastic.
Da Niu has been working with Lin Chaonan and the others for the past year or two, and he's quite familiar with the shop's operations, so he can easily get started.
The shops were simply renovated. Da Niu worked on them for a few days and the shops opened. However, it was too hot, and Yue Jiuyue was too lazy to go out and check on the opening.
She's been getting lazier and lazier lately. All she thinks about every day is what to eat. Anyway, she's a landlady now, a hands-off manager. Yue Jiuyue doesn't have to worry about anything at home or outside. She can just sit at home and wait to collect money.
Therefore, Yue Jiuyue lived a more carefree life and became even less willing to get involved in affairs.
"mother……"
That day, after dinner, Lin Chaobei suddenly came to Yue Jiuyue's courtyard in a very awkward manner. His awkward expression made Yue Jiuyue wonder if he had been possessed by a female ghost.
"Straighten your tongue and stand up straight."
Yue Jiuyue touched her arm, which was covered in millet grains.
Lin Chaobei immediately stood up straight, coughed lightly, and said:
"Mother, I have something to tell you."
"What's up?"
What could make a living person seem like a completely different person?
"Yes, yes, Mother, what do you think of Butcher Wang's eldest granddaughter?"
Lin Chaobei would laugh like a fool whenever he mentioned people.
"Um?"
Upon hearing this, Yue Jiuyue understood that the boy wanted to get married.
"I haven't seen it much, I don't know, what's wrong?"
Although she guessed Lin Chaobei's thoughts, she didn't really know much about Wang the butcher's family. She only thought that Wang the butcher was a straightforward person, after all, she had bought meat from his stall a few times.
"Um, Mother, I was thinking, I was thinking..."
Lin Chaobei suddenly felt as if his mouth was cursed, and he couldn't say what he wanted to say.
Yue Jiuyue couldn't help but chuckle. Did this person's IQ drop completely when they fell in love? They even forgot how to speak. The power of love was just too much!
"Want to hire a matchmaker to propose marriage?"
Yue Jiuyue automatically finished the sentence for him.
"Mmm!"
Lin Chaobei's face flushed with excitement.
He spent almost all of this time in the shop, and his complexion has improved a lot; you can even see his face turning red again.
"Is it because you've taken a liking to her on your own, or..."
Mutual affection?
If the two families are mutually attracted, then things are simple; they can sit down and discuss the engagement and wedding process directly.
But if it's just Lin Chaobei's unrequited love, then anything is possible.
"Yes, it was me..."
Lin Chaobei's words were clearly insincere.
However, a girl's reputation is of utmost importance, and Lin Chaobei is not wrong to say that.
He doesn't even tell the truth to his own mother. Yue Jiuyue felt that she didn't need this son anymore. He was the kind of son who would forget his mother after getting married.
"Alright, let's pick a good day and send a matchmaker to sound them out?"
Lin Chaobei: ...
It's not like we're getting engaged or married; do we need to choose an auspicious date?
But he didn't quite understand the matter, so he stammered an "um" and then returned to Lin Chaonan's courtyard with a mix of shyness, excitement, and trepidation.
"So, you've explained things to Mom?"
Lin Chaonan looked at the absent-minded Lin Chaobei and found it somewhat amusing.
Back then, no one knew who suspected him of having an improper relationship with Butcher Wang's eldest granddaughter. Now, look who that person was!
"Yes, Mother said we should find an auspicious day and ask a matchmaker to come and sound out their intentions."
The blush on Lin Chaobei's face hadn't faded yet; he looked shy and bashful, like a newlywed bride, which made Lin Chaonan want to tease him even more.
"Oh, we need to pick a good day...and have a matchmaker come over to sound them out!"
That sentence was spoken as if it were a theatrical performance, which angered Lin Chaobei so much that he pounced on it.
"Lin Chaonan! Don't forget, this day will come for you too!"
Lin Chaonan did not refute. He was certain that he would get married and have children one day, but he was not sure if he would be like Lin Chaobei, looking shy and in love.
The most important thing now is to prevent Lin Chaobei from suppressing him, otherwise, how can he save face as the third brother?
If someone dares to bully their superiors, they must be taught a lesson and made to behave as a good younger brother from now on.
Yue Jiuyue was unaware of the brothers' commotion; she was reminiscing about the original owner of the body and Lin Chaodong's wedding.
Whether it was the original owner and her husband, or Lin Chaodong and Liu Shi, they all had arranged marriages. It meant that the two people liked each other, the date was set, a little grain was given as a betrothal gift, and the wedding was held when the farming season was over. The woman simply packed a small bundle and went to the man's house with him. The family had a meal together, kowtowed and served tea to the elders, and that was considered the marriage.
Back then, the family wasn't well-off, so everything was kept simple. But now? What should she do? She was completely clueless!
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