I was a stepmother in ancient times, and I led my whole family to wealth.

Chapter 48 Eating hot pot

She's terrible at science, barely passes humanities, can manage to greet people in foreign languages, and sings off-key.

I was barely managing to do a job I could manage, and before I even started, I was sent here. So frustrating!

Besides, aren't all transmigrators special agents or all-powerful figures? What is she? An extra existence; she's just here to make up the numbers.

In ancient times, what do you think a woman could do?

If she were a man, with her spatial abilities and such, she could easily become a famous chef, or even take the imperial examinations, you tell me...

Forget it, forget it, I'll stop talking about it. I'll just take it one step at a time, observe the situation, speak one step at a time, observe the situation, retreat one step at a time, and have some fun.

Seeing her in a daze, Lu Yunqing assumed she was worried about the chili peppers: "If you want to eat spicy food, you can use dogwood. The chefs here sometimes put dogwood in their dishes."

"No, that stuff doesn't taste good. Let's wait until we come across it again," Dongfang Jin said decisively.

Minced garlic, minced scallions, unground sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, a little maltose, and a touch of vinegar—the freshly prepared dipping sauce is ready.

Dongfang Jin asked Cuiying to distribute the bowls so they could eat together. Hot pot is more lively with more people.

After much persuasion, none of them were willing, saying it was against the rules, including A-Dong and A-Ping.

Just as Dongfang Jin was still hesitating about where to eat, Lu Yunqing told her and the child to eat with him.

Finally, it was Master Xu who came over and suggested dividing the pot of soup into two portions. With the magistrate's approval, everyone busied themselves with the task.

To be fair, Magistrate Lu Yunqing is a really good one. Dongfang Jin is also aware of this class system in ancient times, so she doesn't force it or want to change anyone.

She started eating without a care in the world, picking up a slice of mutton with her chopsticks and putting it in the soup pot. Once the mutton changed color, she took it out, dipped it in the sauce, and then put it in her mouth. Delicious! Just the right taste. The only regret was the lack of chili oil, but unfortunately, she couldn't take it out.

Watching her fluid movements, the others followed suit, and soon, gasps of surprise rang out one after another.

Ah Dong: "Delicious...smelly..."

Aping: "Delicious...tender..."

Master Xu: "Not bad, not bad..."

The people over there: "It's so delicious..."

"A delicacy..."

"too delicious……"

"I never knew there was such a way to eat mutton..."

"..."

Lu Yunqing: "I never thought sesame paste could be eaten like this. Paired with these slices of mutton, it's truly a masterpiece."

While eating, Dongfang Jin put food into the bowls of the two children, adding some vegetables as she went.

"How about it? Is this a good idea to open a shop here?"

As soon as she said that, everyone stopped moving in unison, as if a pause button had been pressed.

After a while, everyone's minds started to wander, especially towards the cook.

Lu Yunqing nodded: "That's feasible."

After the magistrate finished speaking, these people's little schemes were completely extinguished. So that's how it is; they were just being delusional.

Ah Dong observed the expressions on everyone's faces and, seeing that none of them showed any greed, nodded: "It's so delicious! At this rate, even half a sheep won't be enough to eat!"

Dongfang Jin glanced at him: "Eat the vegetables. You can put whatever vegetables you want in this soup."

As he spoke, he picked up a piece of lamb chop and put it in his bowl. He took a bite and thought, "Hmm, it's quite tender and mushy, better than modern lamb."

After finishing one piece, he gave each of the two children an extra piece.

Seeing her actions, Lu Yunqing also picked up a piece of lamb chop and put it in her mouth. Hmm, it was indeed quite good.

"Can we use the pot you drew for this hot pot, and just use charcoal?"

Dongfang Jin buried her head in her food and said, "Yes, the best kind is smokeless charcoal."

Master Xu already knew about the business opportunities Dongfang Jin had suggested to the magistrate, and thinking of those smokeless golden charcoal threads, he said, "This...this cost is a bit too high."

Dongfang Jin shook his head: "Not high. We can give them a few pieces of charcoal for free at the beginning, and they can buy more when they run out."

The same goes for vegetables; they are washed, chopped, and plated, sold by the plate, and customers can add more if they want.

Lamb, chicken, duck, and pork belly can all be used for hot pot, but none taste as good as lamb.

These mushrooms and radishes can also be cooked in hot pot.

You can also make some noodles to keep on hand. After you've finished the meat and vegetables, you can cook another pot of noodles in the broth—that would be perfect.

I thought to myself, it would be even better if there were bean products, vermicelli, and seafood.

She also missed tripe, but unfortunately, cattle cannot be slaughtered here.

After Lu Yunqing finished eating a piece of wood ear fungus, she thought it was pretty good, crunchy and delicious: "Can this wood ear fungus only be eaten in hot pot?"

"No, you can stir-fry it, make a sauce, or make a cold dish."

Master Xu picked up a piece of white radish and ate it: "Hmm, this radish tastes better than pickled vegetables."

Dongfang Jin smiled and said, "Hehe, white radish and mutton are the best combination. It's good to eat more radish in autumn and winter, as it nourishes the lungs."

Especially on snowy days, a pot of mutton and radish soup like this inside is so warming.

Lu Yunqing looked at Dongfang Jin with curiosity. She always talked about things they didn't understand, and they really wanted to find out more.

"Oh, what do you mean? Why do we eat radishes in winter?"

Dongfang Jin ate happily and became more talkative: "As the saying goes, eat radish in winter and ginger in summer, and you won't need a doctor's prescription. Just listen to that, it sounds like good stuff."

Master Xu laughed heartily upon hearing this, and this time he no longer observed the custom of not speaking while eating: "Hehe, well said. This white radish can be said to be one of the indispensable pickled vegetables for every household in the local area during winter."

In the dead of winter, all we eat is cabbage and pickled vegetables, so this radish soup is really good.

Dongfang Jin served meat to the two children, but seeing them eat without even looking up made her feel a little uncomfortable.

Fortunately, she had secretly used water from her spatial storage to mix with their porridge these past few days; otherwise, their stomachs wouldn't have been able to handle so much meat.

Suppressing his emotions, he replied to Master Xu, "These white radishes can be made into pickles, or they can be sliced ​​and dried."

In winter, soak dried radish, chop it up, and mix it with minced meat to make dumplings or steamed buns.

You can also cut it into strips and let it cool until semi-dry..."

As they ate and chatted, Dongfang Jin calmly and composedly answered all their questions.

Finally, before it got dark, we finished this meal called hot pot.

That evening, Lu Yunqing arranged for Dongfang Jin and the two children to stay in a small courtyard.

Lu Yunqing, along with Adong and Aping, returned to her study and wrote down the details of their hot pot meal in a letter, which she then placed in an envelope. Also included were drawings by Dongfang Jin of a hot pot pot and a table with a charcoal brazier.

"Ah Dong, you deliver it to Miss personally. As for the renovation, you've already heard about it. Just tell Miss directly when you see her."

By the way, you should have the young lady go directly to the palace to find that person and consider the Ruolan Residence that she and her sister run.

That restaurant is located in the most bustling area of ​​Dongyang Gate in the city. If that person is willing... or if not, you can let your sister run it herself.”

“That person will definitely agree. You know they’re short of silver in every treasury.”

Lu Yunqing laughed as she listened to his words. "Isn't that right? Every warehouse is short of silver."

The emperor and those powerful families have been at odds for so many years, and it's unclear what either side is after.

And those aristocratic families, they seem to have forgotten their own identity.

Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king; within the four seas, all are the king's subjects.

They actually thought the emperor wouldn't dare do anything to them; how ignorant!