After listening to her daughter and second uncle's words, Song Qiu'e felt a pang of sadness, even though they made a lot of sense.
Seeing that her mother's complexion wasn't very good, Xu Lai went over and, with a smile, took her hand and said in a coquettish tone, "Mom, it's been raining all day, and the humidity is too high. How about we have hot pot for lunch to get rid of the dampness?"
Sure enough, as soon as she heard her daughter ask her to cook something delicious again, she forgot her sadness and couldn't help but reach out and tap her daughter's forehead with her finger, scolding her, "You silly girl, all you ever think about is food!"
It's been raining every day, and the air humidity is extremely high. The house is damp everywhere, and the clothes never seem to dry.
Xu Lai had already turned on the dehumidifier she had taken out, and she also used the dryer every time she did laundry.
The hot pot smelled quite strong. Although everyone was not hungry at this time because of the stockpiles they had at home and the government's regular delivery of basic necessities, Xu Lai's family still decided to go into the space to eat hot pot in order to avoid attracting attention.
Song Qiu'e went to the kitchen and brought out a medium-sized hot pot. Xu Lai waved her hand and brought everyone into the space.
During the day, although there was no fireball-like sun in the sky above the space, and its structure was unknown, sunlight still streamed down from above outside the warehouse.
So, during this period of heavy rain, Xu Lai, along with her father and second uncle, made some simple modifications to the cooking area.
A stainless steel wood-burning stove was placed on the open ground next to the well, and a seven- or eight-meter-long sunshade was installed next to the stove.
There was also a table and five chairs under the awning.
People can cook and eat under the shade so they won't be exposed to the sun.
Several solar panels were also installed on the awning. Xu Haiguo connected a socket to the power generation equipment and pulled it down, which was just enough to power the electric hot pot.
Besides the pot, you also need hot pot base, meat, side dishes and dipping sauce to eat hot pot.
Xu Lai and Song Qiu'e went to the warehouse and took out some of the beef, mutton, chicken, meatballs, shrimp paste, cuttlefish paste, crispy sausages, frozen tofu, etc. that were frozen in the freezer.
Then I went to the refrigerator and took out some enoki mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, and baby bok choy.
Then I took some potatoes, lotus roots, dried kelp, and dried bean curd from the box where the vegetables were kept.
Get a packet of beef tallow hot pot base, along with garlic, scallions, ginger, and sesame paste.
Fortunately, the whole family likes spicy food, so all we need to prepare is a medium-spicy hot pot.
The whole family worked together to make this hot pot.
Xu Jiangming and Xu Haiguo were responsible for cutting the frozen beef, mutton, and chicken into pieces.
Song Qiu'e was preparing the pot base, soaking dried kelp and dried bean curd sticks on the stove.
Xu Lai and her younger brother Xu Chao began cleaning various mushrooms and vegetables, as well as cutting the cleaned potatoes and lotus roots into chunks and plating the semi-finished products such as meatballs.
There is strength in numbers!
Half an hour later, the hot pot broth was ready. The family of five sat around the table under the awning and began to put in meat and side dishes to cook the hot pot.
Xu Jiangming and his nephew have excellent knife skills, slicing beef and mutton so thinly that they only need to be blanched in the soup for a dozen seconds before eating.
Xu Lai picked up a piece of blanched beef with her chopsticks, dipped it in the dipping sauce dish in front of her, and then put the beef, now coated in sauce, into her mouth.
The tender beef, coated in a spicy and savory sauce, is incredibly satisfying with every bite.
After lunch, Xu Jiangming and Xu Haiguo took a walk around the vegetable garden, farmland, and pasture in the space. The cabbages, chives, lettuce, and other vegetables transplanted in the vegetable garden were ready to be picked and stir-fried.
The pasture grass can now be harvested.
Xu Jiangming and his nephew simply took baskets and sickles, cut two baskets of hay, and went to feed the sheep, rabbits, chickens, ducks, geese, and other poultry and livestock.
The grass is especially tender at this time of year, and not only lambs and chickens, ducks and geese the size of rabbits love to eat it, but even chicks, ducklings and goslings that have just molted will rush over to grab a bite.
After feeding the poultry and livestock, Xu Lai led her family out of the space.
Unexpectedly, not long after they came out, the uncle and aunt who lived in room 502 downstairs came over to freeload again.
"Second brother, sister-in-law, could you spare some meat and other vegetables for us? We're really starting to feel sick of eating rice, noodles, radishes, and potatoes every day!"
Xu Lai looked at her shameless uncle and aunt standing outside the security door through the door and couldn't help but sneer a few times.
She really wanted to yell at the two of them: "Be grateful that the government can still feed you now. In a few months, even if you're stuck with dirt, we'll see if you can handle it."
Song Qiu'e was already in a bad mood today, and now this family of ingrates was trying to freeload off her, which made her even angrier.
"If we have meat, wouldn't we keep it for ourselves? You'd better get out of here, you're not welcome in my house!"
She walked a few steps to the entrance, angrily retorted, and then slammed the second door shut.
Standing outside the door, Xu Zhen and Huang Cuicui, who had been given the cold shoulder, were so angry at Song Qiu'e's actions that their faces turned pale.
"Hmph, what's so great about you? Sooner or later, I'll make sure your whole family falls into our hands. Just you wait and see!"
Feeling humiliated, Xu Zhen stared at the tightly closed door, his hands clenched in anger, his squinty eyes filled with malice.
The family spent most of the afternoon exercising.
Xu Lai practiced boxing with a sandbag, while Song Qiu'e continued jogging on the treadmill.
Xu Haiguo and his son Xu Chaoze practiced grappling techniques with Xu Jiangming.
"The main characteristics of grappling techniques include using skillful force to seize the opponent's limbs, control joints and acupoints, in order to quickly subdue the enemy!"
This grappling technique was something Xu Jiangming learned in the army decades ago.
After teaching his nephew and grandson a few moves, he began to explain the characteristics of this grappling technique to them.
Xu Lai, who was punching the sandbag countless times while wearing boxing gloves, was also attracted by his second uncle's grappling techniques.
She took off her boxing gloves, wiped the sweat from her face with a towel, and walked towards her second great-uncle.
"There are five key principles to practicing grappling techniques!"
Xu Jiangming was dressed in loose clothes and black cloth shoes from Beijing. He stood with his hands behind his back and his back straight.
The moment the topic of grappling techniques came up, his thick eyebrows and wrinkled eyes instantly sharpened.
"First, we must be bold and courageous in fighting the enemy!"
"Secondly, one must be physically strong, meaning that those who practice grappling techniques must be in good physical condition and have great strength!"
"Thirdly, accuracy is crucial, meaning that the technique and force must be perfectly aligned, and the strike must be decisive!"
"Fourth, speed is essential. Speed can expose the enemy's weaknesses, allowing you to employ varied tactics, fully utilize your strengths, and capture the enemy in a flash!"
Fifth, be ruthless; when facing the enemy, you must show no mercy!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com