Spicy Hot Pot

Song Chunxia was so worried that she even used salt for cooking.

When her sister and her family were about to leave in the afternoon, Song Chunxia found her sister.

"Your brother-in-law agreed and wanted to hear your opinion. What you said makes sense. He and I need to make preparations in advance so that no matter which of us leaves the post, we won't be panicked."

Song Shixia felt extremely relieved. As long as her sister and her husband could listen to advice, they would have to take fewer detours than others in the future.

She took out the list she had prepared long ago and handed it to her sister.

"You are close to the city, so go to the herbal medicine store or Chinese medicine hospital early tomorrow morning and buy all these things."

Song Chunxia recognized the simple characters, which seemed to be the names of medicinal herbs.

"Why are they all medicinal herbs? Are you asking us to treat patients?"

Song Shixia patiently explained: "These herbs can also be used as seasonings for cooking. After all, it's my own secret recipe. If you're worried about wasting money, just buy less and weigh a few ounces."

Song Chunxia wondered if food would taste good if a few herbs were added to it. However, seeing her sister's confident look, she felt more confident.

Song Shixia added: "Tomorrow, just buy some dishes. You don't have to buy too much. Any dish will do. Prepare the side dishes and wait for me to teach you personally."

Song Chunxia understood: "Can I really cook for others with my skills?"

Song Shixia knew that her sister had misunderstood.

"Sister, I'm not asking you two to work as chefs in a hotel. I'm asking you to open a snack stand. Don't underestimate street vendors. They can make a lot of money in a day."

"Oh, I understand. I'll prepare everything you want tomorrow morning."

The eldest sister and her family left, and Song's mother found Song Shixia.

"Did something happen at your sister's house?"

Song Shixia pretended not to understand: "No, how did you know that, Mom?"

Song's mother was worried: "Don't be stingy with me. Your sister is such a thrifty person. She must be worried about something when she put salt in the food today as if it was free."

She thought for a moment and said, "My sister is dissatisfied with her low salary and asked me if I could find a side job to earn money. I am helping her with some advice."

Song's mother really believed it: "You said she can earn 55 yuan a month from this job, how come it is not enough for her to spend?"

"Mom, my sister needs money for everything she does in town. Besides, Maodan is going to junior high school and will get married in a few years. My sister and brother-in-law have to work hard to save some money for Maodan to get married."

"Then there's your brother-in-law. He and your sister make about 120 yuan a month."

"Since the current policy allows individual business, just let her give it a try." If she confessed that her sister and brother-in-law were in danger of losing their jobs, her parents would probably be unable to sleep. She decided to wait until her sister's family got through the difficult times before letting her explain to her parents in person.

Song Shixia took a kettle and poured some spiritual spring water on the ginseng in the flowerpot in the bedroom. Fearing that the ginseng would deteriorate, she dug new soil and planted the ginseng in the flowerpot. Unexpectedly, it seemed that the ginseng could continue to grow without any sign of withering.

She picked two ginseng roots and planted them in the ground. If the ginseng grew, it could become a family heirloom after a few years of planting.

There is only one day off for the Mid-Autumn Festival, but Ji Weiqing has no classes on Friday and Monday, so with Saturday and Sunday, there are four days off.

The next morning, it was time to say goodbye.

Song Dongdong followed her sister with a pouty mouth and red eyes. Although she was only 1.7 meters tall, she was still a head shorter than her.

Song Shixia touched his head and comforted him with a smile.

"You are so old, why are you still crying?"

"I don't care. You must come back to see me during the New Year. You can't leave your brother behind when you go to the city."

Song Shixia smiled and said, "How about I write to you every month? But in order to check your learning results, you have to send me your test scores. This will determine whether your gifts and red envelopes will be big when I come back for the New Year."

The sentimental atmosphere of farewell was forcibly dragged into study. Song Dongdong opened his mouth and then held his head high.

"Who are you looking down on? Wait till you give me a big red envelope!"

When he raised his head and chest, he was half a head taller than his sister.

Song Shixia smiled and said, "I'll wait. Don't bend your back or hunch your back. Can you see anyone who plays football with a hunchback?"

Song Dongdong argued back, saying it was just a once in a while thing.

Father Song remained silent. He talked with Ji Weiqing in the yard for a long time last night, and no one knew what they talked about.

No matter how Song Shixia asked Ji Weiqing before going to bed at night, she couldn't get the secret out of him. He just said that her parents loved her very much.

Song's mother stuffed bacon into the car and wanted to put a live chicken in it, but Song Qiu Sheng had to persuade her to give up.

Finally she compromised: "I will continue to raise it and wait for you to come back for the New Year and then kill it."

Song Shixia suddenly appeared.

"No, Dongdong needs to use his brain when he is in school, so I'll keep the old hen to make soup for him."

Song's father suddenly replied: "If you can't get into high school, go to the city to work. You don't study hard and just play all day long."

Song Dongdong felt aggrieved. How could he play all day?

Song Shixia turned around and warned him: "Do you understand? If you don't get into high school next year, you will have to work."

Song Dongdong nodded vigorously: "I will study hard, don't worry, sister."

Before getting in the car, Song Dongdong took advantage of her brother-in-law already sitting in the car and pulled her sister's clothes to lower her voice.

"Sister, I don't know why you've changed so much, but I like you better now. You should smile more and stop glaring at people all day. If you've been wronged in the city, come back home and live there. I'll let you enjoy life when I make money."

Song Shixia smiled faintly: "Maybe people become mature and stable after marriage, after all, they go from being children to being the head of a family." Even if the person outside the shell is exactly the same, the sensitive child will always notice the change. However, Song Dongdong thought that it was because she realized her wish to be a city dweller that her temper improved and she became gentle and smiling.

The car left the village, leaving behind a lot of topics for discussion.

No one in the team gossiped. Those who had helped find the original body were personally thanked by the Song couple. It was not good to gossip behind their backs after accepting their compensation.

But in other brigades there were always a few gossipy women who sat at the entrance of the village and chatted every day, and they would talk about two young girls in the same village who married divorced men.

"If you ask me, the man Xiao Xia married looks more reliable and cultured."

"Come on, you're attracted to the fact that he drives a car, not that he's trustworthy. You haven't even spoken to him."

"Go away, the car was borrowed by Song Qiu Sheng, it has nothing to do with him."

"It doesn't matter. If someone can drive a car, it means they have a car. How can someone who doesn't have a car drive a car?"

"What are you two arguing about? Maybe it's the driver."

Someone lowered his voice and said, "It really wasn't the driver. I went to their team to ask and they said it was a university teacher."

"Isn't that the same person Chen Jiao married? Why do all these university professors like to remarry and marry young girls?"

"The old lady of the Huo family said that university teachers earn more than 100 yuan a month. If I were a young girl, I would be willing to marry one."

"So many! No wonder. You said Song Qiusheng didn't make a dime working and went out to do business. Could it be that the Song family is going to be very successful this time?"

"Maybe there is a chance. This time he fought alone without anyone holding him back. It was all thanks to the mother and son surnamed Huang from your team who brought disaster to the young people from other teams."

He was the villager who was bought by Song Qiusheng's competitor. After he made a fortune, he took his mother to live with him. It was because of his filial piety that Song Qiusheng and others found something wrong. The other party would flatter the boss and always follow him as a younger brother. The young people who returned to the village after failing in starting a business hated him.

This gossip was stopped when the captain's wife stepped in, and it was not until a month later that Song Shixia heard about it.

Song Chunxia called her husband to go to the Chinese medicine hospital to buy medicine early in the morning. She mentioned at home that her sister would be passing by today, so the old lady picked up a basket and went to buy vegetables.

In the old lady's eyes, Song Qiu Sheng and Song Shi Xia both have great potential. Although Song Dong Dong cannot be seen yet, he has been smart since he was young. This family of brothers and sisters may really be able to make great success in the future.

She didn't ask for too much, and she just wanted to help Maodan and his father so that they wouldn't end up doing so badly and dragging each other down.

Arriving at her sister's house, Song Shixia went straight to the kitchen without any extra chatter.

"Sister, you and your brother-in-law come, let's learn together."

Time is limited, so after this meal we have to continue driving.

Song Shixia mixed all the ingredients together.

"I will teach you two ways to make it. You must remember the proportions of the ingredients. Keep them in mind and don't write them down."

The old lady stood at the kitchen door.

"Xiao Xia, can I listen to you? My useless son can't cook as well as I do."

Song Shixia nodded: "Auntie, then you can come in and watch together."

She picked out the herbs and ingredients: "It's autumn now, this spicy hot pot is perfect for autumn and winter. There is also my special brine, which can be used to salt vegetables all year round. I guarantee you will know it after you try it."

The old lady had never heard of malatang, but she knew brine, and when she found out it was something she could make, she felt more confident.

Song Shixia moved quickly, teaching as he went along, and measured the ingredients and seasonings down to the exact weight.

"If you can't grasp the taste at first, just get a small scale and weigh it yourself. Then adjust it according to the customers' tastes. By then, it will be your own unique secret."

Song Chunxia and the old lady were facing a formidable enemy and remembered every step carefully. Sun Guoqiang was not good at cooking, so he quickly took out a notebook to record the data.

He explained: "Once we have practiced it a few more times, we will burn this paper."

Song Shixia didn't object.

A pot of brine was boiling, and the spicy hot pot on the stove next to it was also emitting a fragrant aroma.

Song Shixia has never made malatang at home, mainly because she finds it troublesome to prepare the ingredients.

The old lady sniffed and said, "Oh my goodness, this smell makes me dizzy."

Not only were the people in the kitchen drooling, Song Qiu Sheng who was sitting in the living room also felt uncomfortable.

The topic of conversation between him and his brother-in-law changed from the international situation to what was being cooked in the kitchen.

"This must be another delicious dish made by my sister. It smells like hot pot."

"You are so lucky to eat her cooking every day. My sister's egg fried rice tastes better than mine. She never cooked this well at home before."

Song Qiusheng was surprised by his sister's cooking skills after leaving home for a few years. His sister used to cook at home, but her food was just average at best and occasionally good. He didn't expect her to improve her cooking skills by cooking at home.

Ji Weiqing recalled the bowl of egg noodles he had on the day he received his marriage certificate. It was the most delicious dinner he had ever had.

After the spicy hot pot base is cooked, the couple needs to do the remaining steps themselves.

"Are you familiar with how to prepare the dishes? Put the pickled mustard greens first and cook them slowly, and leave the vegetables for later and cook them after blanching."

Song Shixia also talked about a lot of tips, such as putting skewers on all the dishes. Although it costs money to buy the skewers, it saves customers time and makes it easier to calculate the price.

Song Chunxia was surprised and said, "I think it's good to have a stick. It sounds very convenient."

Because the family was having a meal together today, Song Shixia did not ask her sister to prepare bamboo sticks.

The old lady wanted to save money, but Song Shixia mentioned that she could string skewers at home, and the couple could try setting up a stall after get off work. Anyway, it could be considered a part-time job after get off work, and if the feedback was good, she could consider quitting her job and becoming a self-employed person.

After listening to their sister's instructions and plans, the couple finally felt relieved.

Who has stolen my time? Every night before I go to sleep, I am recommending the plot in my mind. The plot in my mind has reached the college entrance examination, but the actual progress of the three-a-day is too slow.

By the way, the ointment that Xiao Keai recommended to me is pretty good, it's called diclofenac diethylamine emulsion. Considering the time I have to spend typing recently, this ointment is quite effective and my hands don't get sore from holding the phone.

I will not sleep tonight to write tomorrow's update. I must, must, must update tomorrow, and I also have to save manuscripts for the new book. I don't believe that I can't get my time back.