Xia Jin ran to them and said, "Are you hungry? Do you want to go eat first?" Xia Jin thought that since they were so frugal, they would definitely think that the food on the train was expensive and might not be willing to spend money on lunch.
Grandpa Xia said, "No, we've already eaten on the train. Let's go home first. Business is more important."
Xia Jin: "...Then let's go back and rest for a while. We've been on the bus for such a long time. Let's go there tomorrow."
"Why not be tired? I just sit there and do nothing."
"Yeah, Xiaojin, we're not tired."
"Let me help you vent your anger first."
Xia Jin: "Let's go tomorrow. It will be almost dark when we get back to the county. Besides, Zhou Tian and his family will be at home tomorrow."
Grandpa Xia: "Then I'll listen to you. Let's go home first."
Xia Jin took them out to take the bus to the public bus station. Originally, they wanted to walk there because they didn't want to spend too much money. However, Xia Jin pretended to be pitiful and said that he couldn't walk anymore, so Grandpa Xia and the others gave up the idea.
It was almost six o'clock when they arrived in Lian County. Xia Jin first took them back to the small courtyard he rented for them, put their things away, and then prepared to take them out for dinner.
Father Xia and the others entered the small courtyard Xia Jin rented for them, looked around and said, "Xiao Jin, don't you live here? Actually, we can just sleep on the floor at your house. You don't have to rent a new house for us."
"It's okay, Dad. You guys can just stay here. It's not expensive. Besides, my yard is small. You guys won't have room even if you sleep on the floor. But this place is pretty close to my house. If you need anything, just come find me."
The Xia family had all lived through hard times, and looking at this house they felt that the living conditions were indeed good. They still lived in an adobe house, and in the countryside only those with better conditions would build large tiled houses.
Grandpa Xia wanted Xia Jin to return the house and find a smaller one for them to live in to save money. Xia Jin had no choice but to tell a good-natured lie, saying, "I've already signed the contract with the owner of Grandpa's house. If I return it, not only will I not get the rent back, but I'll also have to pay them extra money."
"Besides, it's hard to rent a house here. If I want to find another one, it won't be as convenient. This place is much better because it's close to my home and the public security is good. If I need anything, you can get there in time."
When Grandpa Xia heard that he would have to pay more money if he returned the house, he immediately gave up the idea. Since his granddaughter had already rented the house, he had no choice but to stay. There were nine people, two people in a room, and one person lived alone in the outer room.
In the end, Uncle Xia and Aunt Xia lived in one room, Father Xia and Grandpa Xia lived in one room, Aunt Xia and her daughter lived in one room, two cousins lived in one room, and the cousin lived in one room by himself. After everything was arranged, they put their own things in their own rooms.
Xia Jin watched them from the side and said after they had discussed it, "Let's go, I'll take you to dinner."
When Aunt Xia heard about the meal, she said she wanted to cook it herself. However, she saw that there was nothing here except the pot, and the steamed buns they brought were almost eaten. It was their first day and they didn’t know where to buy vegetables, so they had no choice but to follow Xia Jin.
Xia Jin originally wanted to take them out to a restaurant, but thinking of their personalities, they would definitely refuse to order this or that, and would definitely stop her if she wanted to order, so no one would enjoy the meal.
After much deliberation, I finally decided to take them to eat hotpot. One reason was that it was my own restaurant and I could secretly ask the waiter to serve the food. The other reason was that I wanted them to try something they had never eaten before.
Xia Jin brought everyone to the department store. It was the right time for everyone to go out for a walk after dinner. There were many restaurants in the department store, so there were people coming and going outside.
The Xia family came here for the first time and were very afraid of getting lost. After all, they hadn't figured out the directions yet. What would they do if they got lost? So they followed Xia Jin closely.
When Xia Jin and her friends arrived at the restaurant, although the peak period had passed, there were still quite a few people there. After all, it was common to spend two or three hours eating hot pot.
As soon as Xia Jin entered the room, the waiter saw him and came up to him and called out, "Boss, come and have dinner."
Xia Jin nodded and pointed to the Xia family in the back and said, "This is our dad's family. Please arrange two tables for us. Serve one portion of meat and vegetables each. For the base of the pot, make one red oil and one bone soup."
"Okay, follow me here."
Grandpa Xia and the others originally thought that Xia Jin was going to take them out to a restaurant. They were very resistant at first and stood at the door of the store, a little at a loss. Later, when they heard someone inside calling Xia Jin "Boss", they hesitantly stepped into the house.
After Xia Jin finished speaking to the waiter, he turned around and said, "Grandpa, Dad, I asked them to open two tables. It's inconvenient for us to have one table with so many people."
Grandpa Xia said that they would do whatever Xia Jin arranged. It was okay if they didn't sit together. When they visited relatives during the Chinese New Year, they had several tables set up for them.
Grandpa Xia went in first, and the people behind him followed in after seeing Grandpa Xia go in. They followed the waiter to the two tables at the back and sat down separately, the younger ones at one table and the adults at another. Originally, Xia Jin should have gone to the table with his cousins, but there were too many people at that table, so Xia Jin had to sit at the table with Xia's father and his friends.
It's a good opportunity for Father and Grandpa Xia to see her more often. After all, she doesn't want other people to be around her all day long. Xia Jin can see her, and it's not easy for several people to see each other from such a distance.
Aunt Xia asked Xia Jin curiously, "Xiao Jin, why is the table like this? And what is hot pot? We have never heard of it."
"Mom, that's where the pot is placed in the middle. Didn't you see it when you came in? Some people have a pot on their table. Put the food in the pot to boil it."
Xia Jin smiled and said, "Hot pot is to put meat and vegetables together in a pot and simmer them before eating. You choose the vegetables yourself, simmer them yourself, and even make your own dipping sauce. The condiments are over there, you can go and take a look and adjust according to your taste."
Aunt Xia heard Xia Jin say this and said, "It's really interesting. He doesn't like to eat prepared dishes, but prefers to cook them himself."
"The taste is different. You can't make it taste like this by cooking. Grandpa, do you want to make the dipping sauce? We'll do it together."
"Okay, I've never eaten any of them. You can teach me how to make them."
"good."
Everyone followed Xia Jin to the seasoning area to prepare the dipping sauce. Xia Jin introduced to them one by one what these were. Everyone has different tastes, so this kind of thing needs to be prepared by oneself.
By the time they each returned with their bowls of ingredients, the pot had also arrived and was boiling, the butter still not melting. They waited for the food to be served while they waited for the pot to boil.
The dishes came and the pot was boiling. They had never seen many of the dishes before, so Xia Jin demonstrated and explained them one by one. After they learned everything, they started eating. Xia Jin saw that everyone was sweating profusely while eating, but he still put his chopsticks into the spicy pot.
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