Disaster Apocalypse: Farming, Family, and My Hidden Secret Space-Chapter 231. The hotpot is here

Although the process was somewhat thrilling, the decision to come to Qinggu Mountain was definitely right. Otherwise, their entire family might have frozen to death on that extremely cold day.

Or: "..."

Elder Brother Qi couldn’t help but shiver and huddled closer to the fire.

"Be careful," Aunt Qi quickly pulled the quilt over her eldest son’s feet. The family only had a few quilts in total, and if they burned, there wouldn’t be any left. They fought tooth and nail to keep them, because even if they found a cave, they’d have a hard time without anything to keep warm.

"Alas!" Aunt Qi sighed gloomily.

It’s not like she doesn’t know her eldest daughter’s temperament, but why does she have the determination to scheme? If they could have maintained the relationship on the surface, the eldest daughter wouldn’t neglect them either. At the very least, like taking care of the two sisters-in-law, they could have brought them along, and they wouldn’t be living in constant fear.

Thinking about how her son met the sisters-in-law from her eldest daughter’s husband’s family, Aunt Qi regretted deeply, but now it’s too late to think of anything.

Several mountains away from where the Qi family resided, Qi Xiu’s two sisters’ families happened to meet by luck, and after settling down, they also wanted to find the eldest sister’s family. Unfortunately, they had the same outcome, as they couldn’t go far and gained nothing.

As for the much-remembered Qi Xiu, she was eating the hotpot her daughter made at home, sweating profusely.

Even though it’s spicy and slick, her chopsticks kept picking food into her mouth without stopping, completely oblivious that so many relatives on the mountains miles away were thinking about them.

"Mom, have some milk," Hua Jin was now not at all apprehensive. Mainly because her brothers were so considerate; although every time they discovered something curious, their eyes would shine with a peculiar light, they never asked. Little Four, now eight or nine years old, already understood things, knew that household matters shouldn’t be spoken outside, and most importantly, he was a foodie who never questioned where the food came from as long as there was something to eat.

Seeing such considerate brothers, naturally, Hua Jin was even less concerned and brought out more good things. Given today’s cold weather, it was naturally necessary to replenish the family’s energy well, especially with dairy products and meat, all of which were good for the body.

After handing a cup of milk to her mother, watching her eat with her face turned red from the spice, Hua Jin truthfully felt a little distressed. But thinking that after the spicy food, the body would feel comfortable, she did not stop her mother.

The family surrounded the hotpot, eating in high spirits, especially the men of the house, wishing they could gulp down the hotpot broth as well. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

After eating, everyone felt warm all over, and even their usually cold feet felt comfortable. When soaking their feet, it wasn’t painful anymore.

"If only we could eat hotpot every day," Little Four said with longing.

Elder and Second Brother Hua nodded in agreement. What the little brother said was exactly what they were thinking. In this kind of weather, eating hotpot was simply a delight, truly enjoyable.

"You wish," Hua Jin hadn’t spoken yet when the old lady Hua spat at her grandsons.

Hua Jin laughed, "Every few days is possible, but not every day; eating too much can cause internal heat."

"Every few days is fine, sister, don’t forget." Originally just an emotional statement, Little Four enthusiastically latched onto the opportunity, nodding vigorously, grinning broadly.

"With so much broth left, tomorrow I’ll make some noodles and throw them in. The taste won’t be bad," Hua Chengtian said reminiscently.

"Better not. This stuff warms the body, how about tomorrow you deliver half of it to your sister’s place," the old lady Hua thought and said.

Even though it’s been eaten, who would despise it at this moment!

Although Hua Chengtian felt a bit reluctant, delivering to his sister’s homes wasn’t heart-wrenching, so he promptly nodded.

"Better not, let’s keep this for ourselves to eat. Tomorrow, I’ll make freshly seasoned broth for Auntie’s family," Hua Jin disagreed. The two aunts were great to them; there’s no reason to send used broth to others, even though the taste wasn’t much different, and she knew the aunt’s family wouldn’t mind. But she wasn’t short of hotpot supplies; she had stocked up quite a bit before, and it could be reset daily. Although seasoning takes effort, Hua Jin was quite willing to do it.

"Why bother with freshly seasoning? Your aunt’s family would be delighted just receiving the broth from the pot," the old lady Hua immediately vetoed it. Though she also wanted to send fresh broth to her daughter’s family, she wasn’t willing to spoil them either, and more importantly, she didn’t want to indulge her two daughters’ families.

Both daughters’ families were doing fairly well, too. In exchange, they would also send some freshly hunted game every couple of days; just thinking of them was already good enough, without needing to send fresh items.

"Grandma, but it’s already been eaten," Hua Jin still felt it wasn’t quite right.

"What’s the big deal? Look at how much oil is still in there. Add some vegetables and meat, and it’s simply delicious. It’s settled," the old lady Hua decided firmly.

Grandma said so, so Hua Jin could only nod. But she still used her chopsticks to pick out the remaining vegetable scraps in the pot, preparing to process them slightly.

Instead of adding hotpot base, she fried more chili, pepper, and salt in oil, knowing that having been eaten, the taste would be much milder. Moreover, it was going to be divided between two houses.

Seeing her granddaughter add so many good things into the pot again, the old lady Hua almost couldn’t bear it anymore.

After this bit of processing, who could tell it’s been eaten?

After taking it off the coal stove and placing it outside the cave entrance, it froze into a solid block almost instantly, hard and solid. Hua Chengtian split it directly on an oil cloth.

The next day, Hua Yunao and Yun Xiang were sent to deliver things right after breakfast.

Even though she wanted to avoid making her two daughters reliant, she still packed some vegetables for them to take along.

No meat, though; just the other day, the grandsons had delivered a wild chicken to one family, and they also had quite a bit of smoked rabbit and cured meat, truly not lacking in meat.

When the brothers reached the aunt’s cave, Hua Aunt and the second aunt were heartbroken and quickly pulled them inside the cave.

"Didn’t we say not to come deliver things in such cold weather? Look how cold you are..." Aunt Hua pulled Hua Yunao over to sit by the brazier.

At the other cave entrance, Hua Second Aunt did the same, and the sisters spoke almost identically, quickly pulling the children inside to sit by the brazier and offering hot water.

The cousins and siblings gathered around, very happy with the arrival of the two brothers. Their arrival meant good food again at home, and most importantly, they weren’t as bored in the cave. The cousins’ arrival could teach them reading and writing, and although they could also visit the cousins, the outside was too cold, and they often didn’t want to go out.

"Ao Brother, what good food did Grandma let you bring over this time?" Zeng Yi and several brothers from the Zeng family couldn’t help but look at the bamboo basket Hua Yunao brought, sniffing around. They always felt a strong, fragrant aroma emanating from the basket.

The same scene occurred at the Liu family, with a few sons, including the youngest Liu Hui, gathering around the cousin.

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