Maocai, a specialty of Chengdu, is known as "the poor man's hot pot." Customers select their own ingredients, place them in a bamboo or metal strainer, and then cook them in a large pot filled with rich, fragrant red oil. After cooking quickly over high heat, the food is poured out of the strainer and served to the customer in a bowl. Some restaurants also provide a dry dipping sauce with chili powder and other seasonings.
Compared to traditional hot pot, where a separate pot is used for each table of diners, the pot for maocai is much larger and communal. A large pot of chili oil and seasonings is used to supply customers for the entire lunch break, so the cost is naturally much lower. Moreover, compared to hot pot, maocai mainly uses vegetables and pseudo-meat ingredients, making it even cheaper.
After queuing for two minutes in the restaurant's hot pot section, Lu Zhe handed the chef the dish he had chosen.
The chef's job was simple: put the dish into a strainer the size of a clay pot, place it in a large pot of red oil, secure it with a numbered clip, and glance at the clock next to him.
"Handsome, you're number 14. We'll call you later," the chef said in a thick local accent.
Lu Zhe nodded, turned around, and saw Xue Xiaodie and Tang Qi behind him. The two girls each carried a plate of dishes, which they had just selected.
"You really want to eat maocai?" Lu Zhe couldn't help but ask, "Miss Tang, do you remember how swollen your lips were after eating hot pot last time?"
Tang Qi glanced at Xue Xiaodie, then said stiffly, "It's okay, I've already mastered it!"
"What a joke!" Lu Zhe felt an urge to complain, but after thinking about it, he decided against it. The young lady had already chosen her dishes and brought them here; was he really going to force her to cancel them and eat something else?
A few minutes later, the three of them received their respective portions of maocai. The maocai was served in a large bowl, containing cooked ingredients such as potato slices, konjac, cauliflower, tofu, sausage, and shiitake mushrooms, along with a hot broth covered in a layer of spicy red oil.
Then, the three of them took a small bowl, filled it with rice, and then carried the rice and hot pot on a tray, finding an empty seat in a corner of the restaurant.
As for the seating arrangement, Lu Zhe was naturally on one side, while the two girls sat on the other side of the table opposite him. Thus, Lu Zhe could clearly see their expressions.
Tang Qi picked up her chopsticks, took a piece of tofu, hesitated for two seconds, placed it on the edge of the bowl to let the red soup flow down as much as possible, and then put it in her mouth. Immediately afterward, she scooped up a mouthful of rice.
Lu Zhe nodded in approval.
He could tell that the dishes Miss Tang had chosen this time were not easy to absorb flavor, such as tofu and konjac. Even after being tossed around in chili oil, they didn't absorb much spiciness, and were much milder than chrysanthemum greens and enoki mushrooms.
Xue Xiaodie, sitting next to Tang Qi, seemed to be using a similar strategy. She ate a slice of potato, then immediately ate a mouthful of rice, trying to use the rice to mask the spiciness. But it seemed that this method wasn't very effective.
After eating for a while longer, almost simultaneously, Xue Xiaodie and Tang Qi's complexions became increasingly rosy...
Lu Zhe couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Die, can't you eat spicy food either?"
The girl was fanning her face with her palms, her mouth open in an "O" shape, inhaling deeply. Upon hearing this, she suddenly stopped fanning herself.
Xue Xiaodie forced a smile and said, "It's alright, it's just that I haven't had spicy food for a while, so I'm a little bit not used to it."
Lu Zhe: "Where did you grow up when you were a child?"
Xue Xiaodie: "Lin'an."
Lu Zhe had never been to Lin'an. In his mind, it was a new first-tier city in the Yangtze River Delta region, with many beautiful sights such as West Lake, and a place known for its outstanding people and beautiful scenery since ancient times. But the key problem was...
"People in Lin'an probably don't eat spicy food much, right?" Lu Zhe asked.
Xue Xiaodie nodded: "We also have hot pot restaurants where I live, but... they're not this spicy."
Lu Zhe said helplessly, "One is from Guangdong Province, and the other is from Dongjiang Province. Why are you eating maocai in Chengdu? Are you two trying to commit suicide together?"
Tang Qi and Xue Xiaodie remained silent, but stared at him simultaneously.
Under the silent gaze of the two girls, Lu Zhe felt a strange, heavy sense of guilt. It seemed their choice of maocai (a type of Sichuan hot pot) was because of him?
For the next few minutes, the atmosphere at the table remained silent.
Lu Zhe quickly finished his portion of spicy hot pot, along with all the rice. The two girls opposite him, however, continued to eat slowly—given their tolerance for spiciness, they simply couldn't eat fast.
So he stood up and said, "Take your time eating, I'll go buy you some drinks. What would you like to drink?"
Tang Qi answered without hesitation: "Cola!"
Xue Xiaodie thought for a moment and said, "I'd like iced tea."
Lu Zhe nodded, turned around and walked out of the restaurant.
Only Xue Xiaodie and Tang Qi remained at the table.
At this moment, Xue Xiaodie put down her chopsticks, turned her head slightly, and looked at her rival beside her. Even by the most discerning eye, she had to admit that this Miss Tang's competitiveness was not to be underestimated. That charming and adorable temperament, coupled with her status as a rich heiress, was incredibly alluring to men.
Of course, many men prefer more mature girls, but as for Lu Zhe... Xue Xiaodie felt that the guy's tastes didn't seem narrow at all.
Xue Xiaodie remembered that even during the days when they were 'once' in love and together, she had discovered Lu Zhe's portable hard drive. The contents of that drive truly opened her eyes. Among those 2D or 3D hard drive goddesses, there were both stunningly beautiful mature women with amazing busts and innocent girls with flat chests and pigtails.
Of course, after discovering this, she and Lu Zhe broke down the information barrier between them, opening up new avenues and adding fresh gameplay to their joint practice, empowering the entire practice cycle, and achieving high returns by adopting a composite approach in the vertical field, greatly optimizing the experience for both of them...
In short, Xue Xiaodie was very clear that although Lu Zhe lacked practical experience at this time, he was rich in XP system and theoretical experience, and would not act recklessly under the constraints of moral principles.
The problem is, with such a rich, twin-tailed loli hanging around, even if you have the highest moral standards, what if you can't control yourself one day?
Just as Xue Xiaodie was pondering to herself, Tang Qi also put down her chopsticks and turned to look at her.
The two girls' eyes met.
Tang Qi hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "Have you known Lu Zhe for a long time?"
Xue Xiaodie's expression remained unchanged, but she was secretly delighted. Clearly, in terms of interpersonal relationships and the depth of her cunning, this Miss Tang was probably no match for her.
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