Chapter 70

As the evening glow filled the sky and dragonflies danced around, another day in Yang Village came to an end. Villagers carrying hoes and baskets passed through the mountain pass and noticed that Cheng Duo's yard was filled with people, and there was an exceptionally wonderful aroma in the air.

Spicy and flavorful, mixed with a gentle evening breeze, it made the people who had worked hard all afternoon and were hungry salivate uncontrollably.

"What's that fragrance? It smells so good!"

"The young master is here again; the hunter must have prepared delicious food for the guests… But it smells too good, what could they be cooking?"

"You're asking me? I want to know too!"

No one dared to go up and ask, so they could only silently inhale the tempting scent as they passed by, then quicken their pace to return home.

Unable to resist the temptation, one person also paced around the pot, growing anxious, "Is it ready yet?"

Realizing that no one responded to him, he endured for a while and urged again, "Is it almost done? The smell is so enticing; can we eat it now?"

Xie Yuan's eyes were fixed on the large iron pot, where the hotpot base was still sizzling and bubbling, and the oil-fried red peppers and various spices were as alluring as captivating beauties, making it hard for him to look away.

With his hands pressed against his grumbling stomach, during lunch, he couldn't eat much as he found the food too hot. Cheng Duo had the cook prepare various bitter gourd dishes and bitter gourd soup for them… He barely had any appetite and only drank some soup. Now, he was hungry, and it felt like his stomach was being scratched from the inside.

Moreover, with such a feast in front of him, he couldn't bear to eat anything else to fill his stomach. The more he smelled the aroma, the hungrier he became. At this moment, he even wanted to grab a piece of dried chili from the boiling oil!

The cook responsible for stirring the pot was being watched by their young master. With his already sweaty forehead, even more sweat beads emerged, and his movements became disoriented.

"Ignore him and keep stirring in one direction," Cheng Duo advised. He sat confidently on a small stool, and by his side, his wife had just cut up some watermelon chilled by the mountain stream. He appeared calm and composed, unlike the ants on a hot pan—Xie Yuan, who seemed to be waiting for something good to happen.

While instructing the cook on adding ingredients, Cheng Duo also reminded Yong Ge to eat more. Yong Ge felt embarrassed and asked for Xie Yuan, "Cheng Ge, how much longer do we need to stir?"

Since it was his wife asking, Cheng Duo couldn't pretend not to hear. He smiled and asked Yong Ge, "Are you hungry?"

Yong Ge nodded. It wasn't just hunger; the fragrance was simply too tempting. After eating two pieces of chilled watermelon to moisten his mouth, just the smell of the spicy peppers made his mouth water.

Yong Ge was already in that state, but the other servants of the Xie family, some sitting, some standing, had already finished their portion of the chilled watermelon, and now they were looking at Xie Yuan with hopeful eyes, hoping that their young master would be in a good mood and share some with them.

After smelling the aroma, who would still want to eat tasteless meals!

Seeing Yong Ge helping to ask, Xie Yuan gave him a grateful look, his eyes watery, and the child was almost crying from hunger!

Before Yong Ge could say anything, Cheng Duo scolded him first, "Serves you right! I offered you lunch, and you didn't eat it. Now that there's watermelon, you still complain about it occupying your stomach."

Xie Yuan pursed his lips, "That thing is mostly water, and I'm already tired of eating it at home."

He felt that Cheng Duo was deliberately teasing him. The hotpot base had been stir-fried since the sun began to set in the west, and it was still not done!

He admitted that Cheng Duo's hotpot smelled incredible!

"When can we put the ingredients in? I'm starving to death!" he urged.

Cheng Duo ignored him and turned to Yong Ge, saying, "It'll be ready in fifteen minutes, and then we'll start eating."

Yong Ge suppressed a smile and nodded. He couldn't help but feel pleased with the special treatment from Cheng Duo. However, Xie Yuan's resentful eyes made him a little uncomfortable.

The other chef had already prepared the side dishes, freshly picked from the fields—crisp lettuce, white radish, green onions, neatly sliced pork, beef, and chicken. Additionally, there were fried tofu, fresh tofu, meatballs, fish balls, and small yellow croaker.

Cheng Duo instructed the cook to divide the stir-fried base into two pots, then added the prepared chicken soup. With the large iron pot, they combined it with a makeshift earthen stove, and the summer hotpot feast began.

As sesame sauce was prone to spoil in hot weather, Cheng Duo only had the cook prepare minced garlic and sesame oil as dipping sauce.

"When the weather gets cooler, you can make pure sesame sauce for dipping. Those who like garlic can use garlic, and those who prefer sesame sauce can use that…" he suggested.

Xie Yuan didn't know if he heard Cheng Duo or not; he just nodded indifferently and started desperately adding meat and vegetables into the pot.

Yong Ge reminded him helplessly, "Young Master Xie, put less; too much will slow down the cooking. Aren't you hungry?"

Xie Yuan said aggrievedly, "But I want to eat everything."

However, he also knew Yong Ge was right, so he reluctantly put down the plate of small yellow croakers.

Xie Yuan looked like a hungry tiger descending a mountain, and as soon as Cheng Duo said they could eat, he quickly picked up a piece of beef, dipped it in minced garlic and sesame oil, and impatiently put it into his mouth—

"Hot! So hot! Hot…" Xie Yuan opened his mouth wide, blowing air to cool the meat in his mouth, but he refused to spit it out.

Finally, when the meat cooled down, he chewed it and widened his eyes in surprise, "It's delicious!"

Cheng Duo also thought the taste was acceptable. If only they had some beer, ice-cold beer and summer hotpot would be a perfect combination.

However, this wish could only be left as a thought. Xie Yuan seemed to have the same idea and said while stuffing his mouth, "Eating this hotpot with a glass of our Xie family's chilled Shihuanying wine would be great! Even if we don't have Shihuanying wine, a glass of chilled herbal tea would do!"

They, as a large restaurant, generally have their own ice cellar. Although the ice can't be preserved for long during the peak of summer and the price is expensive, those who are willing to spend money wouldn't mind the cost of the ice.

Speaking of this, Xie Yuan was reminded of the countless times he complained before, "Tell me, why do you insist on staying in this village that has nothing? What's good about this place!"

It's all Cheng Duo's fault that he couldn't even enjoy chilled Shihuanying wine with hotpot!

Cheng Duo and Yong Ge exchanged a glance, understanding each other without words, and they both had a smile in their eyes: If Xie Yuan knew about the treasure hidden in the dilapidated tomb behind their village, it was even more valuable than their Xie family's business accumulated over several generations. He would definitely not say such things.

Xie Yuan unintentionally swallowed some food and choked. He decided to stop talking and just focus on eating his hotpot!

Compared to the three of them at one table, the other table with two chefs and five servants was much more competitive. Fortunately, they remembered that their young master was right next to them, so they fought for food while keeping their actions reasonable.

Cheng Duo also reminded them to cook the food thoroughly before eating, so as not to have diarrhea at night.

With those two chefs present, he should be able to rest assured, right?

As Xie Yuan ate more, he finally slowed down. After tasting all the side dishes, he started to pick out the small yellow croakers he liked.

"This hotpot is convenient to make, despite the troublesome stir-frying of the base. What about other vegetables, delicacies, and fish? Can they also be used as side dishes?" he asked.

"Of course! In our place, there's nothing that can't be used in hotpot…" Cheng Duo explained the eating style of hotpot to Xie Yuan, summarizing the generally accepted practices from various regions. 

After discussing how to eat, the next topic was how to cooperate.

After tonight's "tasting," Xie Yuan had been completely conquered by the hotpot. With his vision, he could clearly see how popular it would become once introduced.

"What I mean is, we open a dedicated hotpot restaurant, and we'll share the cost of the storefront and decoration. I'll provide the recipe, and you'll be responsible for the ingredients and manpower. We split the profits fifty-fifty," Cheng Duo proposed. In fact, this collaboration was already advantageous for him, considering the expensive ancient spices, except for manpower.

"How can that be? Your recipe alone is worth a fortune," Xie Yuan waved his hands repeatedly. Cheng Duo was generous during the whole process of stir-frying, and there was no secrecy. He couldn't just take advantage and not return the favor; that's not how business is done!

Moreover, Xie Yuan believed that Cheng Duo was a person worthy of investment. The more this was the case, the more he couldn't ruin their relationship.

In the end, they reached an agreement. The business plan was as Cheng Duo proposed, but Xie Yuan offered him an additional ten percent of the profits as compensation for the recipe.

Although this business was a joint venture between the two, the recipe was shared. They didn't know if they could adhere to the agreement in ten or twenty years, so this was an advance compensation for Cheng Duo.

Xie Yuan knew that Cheng Duo had already earned thousands of taels of silver by selling Shao Guang wine, so he was not worried about him not being able to come up with the money. However, for the location and decoration of the hotpot restaurant, he would definitely need to discuss with Cheng Duo. So, he hoped that Cheng Duo would stay with him in Twenty li slope for some time until the hotpot restaurant was opened.

Of course, Cheng Duo couldn't agree to this. He originally wanted to be a hands-off boss, especially because involving more people in the business would make the management more chaotic. So, he explained the layout and operation of a modern hotpot restaurant to Xie Yuan, gave him some guidance, and left everything to him.

It wasn't that Cheng Duo was lazy, but the Xie family had been in business for so long and had their own set of operating principles, different from modern times. He said what Xie Yuan needed to know, and if it was something he could adopt, then he could go ahead with it, and if not, he could make his own decisions.

Xie Yuan's family could trust him to manage the family business with confidence, so there was no need for Cheng Duo, an outsider in the business world, to interfere.

Of course, when the restaurant was up and running, he would occasionally check the accounts. Trust was one thing, but he couldn't afford to be fooled, so he had to keep an eye on things.

In fact, Cheng Duo's generosity not only showed his trust in Xie Yuan but also his confidence in himself. Although he didn't care about the hotpot profits now, he could guarantee that whatever he invested, he could take back as much. Therefore, he wasn't afraid of being fooled.

That night, Xie Yuan and his group stayed at Cheng Duo's house. Fortunately, when Cheng Duo got married, he considered the convenience of guests staying overnight, so he bought bamboo beds from the villagers and also had two bamboo mats. Seven people sleeping in the main room didn't feel too crowded.

The other people were used to it since many of them had come from humble origins and had slept on straw stacks and field ridges before, so the bamboo mats were already considered good enough for them.

However, Xie Yuan couldn't help but complain, "What kind of house did you build? You don't even have a guest room. It's so inconvenient!"

"It's almost done, young master. Please bear with it a little longer," Cheng Duo said when he noticed that Xie Yuan was still dissatisfied. "By the way, tomorrow morning, we can cook noodles in the hotpot. If you complain again, I won't prepare your portion."

"!!" Xie Yuan hurriedly laid down and pretended to be dead. Wasn't it enough that he stopped talking!

Cheng Duo knew that people who ate hotpot for the first time would find it hard to forget the taste. Moreover, the food in ancient times lacked oils and fats, so even though Xie Yuan was a young master, he wouldn't experience any negative effects from it. For them, a hotpot meal was always enjoyable, and they would never tire of it.

Seeing Cheng Duo say this, not only Xie Yuan and his servants but even Yong Ge's eyes lit up…..