The man retorted, "What else is it but cooking? Aren't you hungry?!"
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.
The man in the lead said, "Let's go take a look!"
"My lord, you mustn't! The Yan Kingdom is suffering from a severe drought, and the people are enduring great hardship. At this critical juncture, the appearance of strange phenomena must be a serious problem."
The man turned his head and looked at him with a deep gaze: "Or you can take the master's seat?"
The man's face turned pale, and he immediately knelt down, saying, "This subordinate wouldn't dare!"
"Shut up if you don't dare!" With that, the man left first.
Another person paused as he passed by: "Xiao Wu, this is Yan State, by the young master's side. If you don't recognize who your master is, you can go back. The young master doesn't keep troublesome people around him."
Xiao Wu watched the two figures leave, his eyes dark and unreadable. Thinking that he would be punished when he returned, he finally followed them.
Inside the dilapidated temple, Ning Yao's dinner preparations were nearing completion, with only the dishes remaining.
The dishes were actually quite simple. The vegetables were sourced from the imperial kitchen, and the meats included pork belly, spicy beef, marinated chicken, and black fish slices, all of which Ning Yao prepared in advance.
The food in the imperial kitchen looks good but doesn't taste good.
With everything ready, Ning Yao called Ning Jin and Ning Lang over to help move the stove and pot to another room.
As soon as it was set up, a crowd gathered around.
Looking at the bright red pot, and smelling a slightly pungent odor.
"What's this, Yao Yao? So many chili peppers? Are we having chili peppers today?" Ning Wenyi asked, puzzled.
Ning Yao smiled speechlessly: "Dad, this is called hot pot. Its biggest feature is that you can cook and eat at the same time, so the food won't get cold by the end. It's also numbing and spicy, making it perfect for eating when the weather is cold. After eating it, you'll feel warm all over and get rid of the cold."
"Although it's already spring, it's still a bit chilly in the mornings and evenings. Plus, everyone's been traveling a long way, so I made this to give everyone a change of pace."
"Hot pot?" Shen Wei raised an eyebrow. "I've heard that in the Xia Kingdom, people use pots instead of bowls in winter. There's charcoal burning under the pot, so they cook and eat at the same time. However, they only use charcoal to keep the cooked food warm, not to cook raw food directly. Your method is quite similar to what they buy."
Ning Yao wasn't surprised: "I've heard that in Xia Kingdom, half the year is winter, and spring, summer, and autumn are very short. Under those circumstances, this is indeed a good solution."
"Yaoyao, after all this talk, there's nothing in this pot except chili peppers. What are we going to eat?"
As soon as Madam Ning finished speaking, Zhilan came in carrying in the side dishes.
"Madam, the dishes are all here! Just put them in the pot to cook, and they'll be ready to eat when they're done."
After Zhilan came in, she was followed by Zhimei, Dongyue, and Ninglang, each carrying a plate.
Ning Yao stepped forward and put the marinated chicken and pork belly into the pot first: "Chicken takes longer to cook, so put it in first. You can also cook the pork belly first. Cook the spicy beef and black fish slices later when you want to eat them."
While Ning Yao was serving the dishes, Zhi Lan and the others brought in the remaining dishes, as well as bowls and chopsticks.
"Dinner's ready! Everyone come over!"
Ning Yao quickly added several more vegetables that could withstand long cooking times, such as potatoes and bamboo shoots.
Not knowing how to eat it, everyone obediently sat around the pot, waiting for Ning Yao to teach them.
Ning Yao felt speechless yet wanted to laugh, and finally shook her head, handing each person a set of bowls and chopsticks.
"There will be one table for men and one table for women. Zhilan, please help cook for Father and the others!"
"Yes, Miss, I understand!"
Ning Jin frowned as she watched Hua Yan sit down next to Dong Yue with perfect naturalness. She wanted to say something, but held back.
After they met in Nanjiang City, Ning Yao talked to him about Hua Yan's problem.
Although it wasn't explicitly stated, the identity of the woman with the beautiful face was confirmed.
This puzzled him greatly. Had he misjudged the situation at the South Garden in the capital?
That shouldn't be the case, right?
Is his vision blurry? Is Lele's vision blurry too?
But since the third sister said so, it must be true.
Ning Lang blinked and looked at Zhi Lan, then at Ning Yao: "Third Miss, it's alright for me to do it."
Ning Yao didn't even turn her head: "Okay, Zhilan, you teach him."
Zhilan nodded and handed him the minced garlic and scallions: "This is the dipping sauce. Put a little in everyone's bowl, and add half a spoonful of the boiling hot pot broth, like this."
Zhilan used his bowl to demonstrate for everyone, and then said, "That's it, do you understand?"
Ning Lang nodded: "I understand, I understand."
"If anyone doesn't want the minced garlic and scallions, that's fine. You can add whatever you like."
Ning Wenyi couldn't wait any longer: "Understood, Ning Lang, give me some, just like in your bowl, a little of everything."
Everyone followed suit and ordered the same thing.
"Is Zhilan ready to eat?"
"The chicken might be a little lacking, but the other dishes should be edible."
"Alright, let me try it first."
Ning Wenyi picked up a slice of pork belly and a slice of bamboo shoot with his chopsticks, put them in a bowl, coated them with minced garlic and chopped green onions, and then put them in his mouth.
The aroma of the meat, mixed with the spiciness of chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, and the unique dipping sauce, created a powerful sensation in his mouth.
The excitement on the tip of my tongue ignited a burning sensation throughout my body.
"Hmm, hurry up and eat, why are you all staring at me?"
"Wow, it's so spicy, but the flavor is absolutely amazing! My dear in-laws, you have to try it!"
While eating, Ning Wenyi also put a piece of food on Shen Wei's plate.
Shen Wei was stunned for a moment, looking at the bowl of bright red liquid, and swallowed hard.
Seeing that he didn't move, Ning Wenyi assumed that he was disgusted with him: "When you're traveling, you shouldn't be so particular, okay?"
Shen Wei blushed and said, "Am I that kind of person? I just thought it might be a bit too spicy. I can't handle spicy food."
Ning Wenyi stuffed a mouthful of bamboo shoot into his mouth, swallowed it, and then said, "I don't usually eat this, but once you taste the spiciness, you'll want to eat it again, trust me."
Finally, he turned to Ning Yao and said, "Girl, you're amazing! You even came up with such an ingenious way to eat it!"
Ning Yao winked at him playfully.
At the men's table, apart from Shen Wei and his son who couldn't handle spicy food, everyone else was eating heartily.
On the other hand, all the women at the table couldn't handle spicy food.
Madam Ning, in particular, seemed to have opened the door to a new world. She felt that eating only vegetables was not enough, and she also specially served herself a bowl of soup.
Ning Yao quickly said, "Hey Mom, drink less of this soup. Focus on eating the meat and vegetables. Why are you drinking this?"
Madam Ning wiped her mouth: "This is delicious, but it's not filling. Your father and the others definitely won't have enough to eat."
Ning Yao slapped her thigh: "I almost forgot, there's still staple food! Wait for me to get it."
"Then you should go quickly."
Ning Yao originally planned to bring out the rice as well when the dishes were served, since there was rice readily available in the secret realm.
If Madam Ning hadn't brought it up, she would have completely forgotten.
She carried the rice back into the room, and after she went in, a furtive figure appeared.
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