Chapter 71

The next day, they indeed had hotpot noodles as planned. The two chefs Xie Yuan brought along were skilled at making noodles. Using pure natural wheat flour, they made noodles that were tender and chewy, with a clear yellow color and translucent edges after being cooked. When they poured a spoonful of steaming hot hotpot soup base over the noodles and sprinkled green chive segments, blanched vegetables, and bamboo shoots on top, it became a heavenly delicacy.

In Cheng Duo's courtyard, everyone held a large bowl in hand, happily eating the hotpot noodles. Some people wolfed down a bowl and immediately rushed to the kitchen to add more noodles, afraid of missing out.

"You guys, why are you fighting over it? Haven't I always made sure you have enough to eat?" Xie Yuan sat on a small stool, scolding his people for behaving like starved ghosts as they fought over the food.

However, his complaints didn't seem very convincing, considering the red oil all over his mouth and how he involuntarily increased his speed while eating the noodles.

Xie San, who was a home-born servant of the Xie family and had risen from being Xie Yuan's book boy to his close servant, spent enough time with Xie Yuan to not be afraid of him. Now, holding a bowl of noodles he had just snatched from the kitchen, he grinned and replied, "Young Master, it's not that you didn't feed us enough. The hotpot is just too delicious! Look at all of us. Once you and Master Cheng open the hotpot restaurant, the people in twenty li slope will definitely rush to eat there, and the business will be booming!"

"Well said." Xie Yuan was pleased with the flattery and didn't mind, so he turned his head to the kitchen door and said, "Hey, come and add more noodles to my bowl!"

The kitchen quickly responded, and then Xie Yuan looked at Cheng Duo and Yong Ge, asking, "Do you want more?"

Yong Ge shook his head honestly, "No, I'm good. How about you, Brother Cheng?"

Cheng Duo replied, "One more bowl, please."

In fact, the bowl they were using was bigger than a person's face. Usually, an ordinary person would be full after finishing one bowl, but the ancient people ate less because of the scarcity of oil and water, making them get hungry quickly.

But this hotpot noodles were different. The thick red oil coating the noodles meant that even after eating the noodles and the soup, one would already feel full. However, it showed how much they loved this hotpot noodles, eating it with a spirit of not stopping until they were full.

Xie Yuan had originally only casually scolded them, but who knew that after they finished breakfast, one of the chefs came over and quietly told him that Cheng's noodle jar was already empty…

How embarrassing!

It seemed he didn't scold Xie San and the others for being starved ghosts without reason. Of course, Xie Yuan was the exception!

Because of this, Xie Yuan, who had originally planned to mooch a few more hotpot meals before leaving, wisely said his goodbyes after receiving the hotpot recipe transcribed by Cheng Duo himself.

Cheng Duo also breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good. You go back first and make arrangements. I'll come to twenty li slope in a few days when I'm free."

It wasn't easy to feed this group of gluttons, and he couldn't expose his space. If they didn't leave soon, he would have to go to the village to buy more food in a few days!

"By the way, I split half of the stir-fried hotpot ingredients for you. The ones without added water can be stored for a while. Take them with you. The chef might have made some differences in the soup base when he tried it himself, so you can use it as a reference back home."

Xie Yuan was delighted, "Really? That's such a great thing! Uh, I mean… Brother Cheng, you're so thoughtful."

Cheng Duo rolled his eyes at him. How could he not see what Xie Yuan was happy about? "You've had two hotpot meals in a row, and you're still not tired of it?"

Xie Yuan fidgeted, "Well, uh, it's not that… I want to take it back for my parents to taste it, you know."

"Eat it if you want, but don't eat up all the special hotpot ingredients I saved for you," Cheng Duo warned.

Xie Yuan nodded as if he was crushing garlic, exuding an air of joy, "I know, I know, Brother Cheng, don't worry."

The more he said this, the more worried Cheng Duo became…

But never mind, since Xie Yuan himself found the spices, he could just keep an eye on the chef and have him stir-fry it again when he visits twenty li Slope next time.

"Oh, by the way, I have something to ask you."

"Brother Cheng, go ahead!" After emptying Cheng's noodle jar and receiving benefits from Cheng Duo, Xie Yuan felt a bit embarrassed, so he was eager to help now.

"It's like this. Yong Ge's father is currently in Yu Fang Mountain, and his elder brother broke his leg over there. If the guards from your commercial firm have time, I'd like to ask them to go and deliver some herbs and food to them."

"That's easy, I'll arrange it when I get back." Xie Yuan readily agreed, not even asking for money from Cheng Duo.

"Cheng Duo…" Yong Ge looked at Cheng Duo with joy, and he was soon held by Cheng Duo's hand. "Now you can rest assured, right?"

Yong Ge blushed, and although Xie Yuan had been teasing them with winks and nudges all this time, he didn't want to break free, "Yeah."

Xie Yuan might not look serious on the surface, but after being shown around and taken care of by Cheng Duo for two days, he also had some thoughts in his mind.

He rode back to twenty li Slope on horseback, not even bothering to wipe off the sweat on his forehead, and rushed excitedly into his own courtyard.

He entered the main house first, only to find it empty. Then he turned and went to the study, where he saw his husband, Shen Anyue.

"An Ge!"

Shen Anyue was painting at the moment, and Xie Yuan's sudden appearance startled him, causing his hand to tremble and the ink to drip onto the painting, ruining the view of the mountains.

"Young Master!" The servant, Shen Si, exclaimed in surprise.

Shen Anyue's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he directly tore the ruined paper and took out another clean sheet to repress it. "Get rid of it."

Shen Si took the paper, glared fiercely at Xie Yuan, and left.

Xie Yuan also felt a bit embarrassed. Half of the script he had prepared in his heart disappeared in an instant. He stammered, "I'm sorry, An Ge, I didn't know you were painting…"

Shen Anyue was cold and aloof, not even looking at Xie Yuan, asking coldly, "What's the matter?"

"Ah?" Xie Yuan was dumbfounded, completely different from his usual savvy and capable self.

"You came back suddenly to find me. Isn't there something you want to say?" Shen Anyue's gaze was cold, and his tone was indifferent.

Being looked at so coldly by his husband, Xie Yuan's enthusiasm when he returned home had already dissipated a lot, and his carefully prepared script was all over the place. "Um, that, I… just got something very delicious from Brother Cheng. It's called hotpot. We plan to do business together, using this hotpot… An Ge, I specially brought a portion back. Let's have a hotpot dinner with my parents tonight?"

After stumbling through his words, Xie Yuan secretly cursed himself. His husband came from a scholarly family and hated to hear about such "business" matters.

He was afraid he had annoyed him again…

Sure enough, after hearing him out, Shen Anyue's expression turned even colder, with a hint of mockery at the corner of his mouth. "No, I haven't had much of an appetite recently. It wouldn't be good to affect my father and mother's banquet. Please understand, husband."

"Then, should we eat separately?" Nervous, Xie Yuan came up with another bad idea.

Shen Anyue lowered his gaze and said nothing, while Shen Si muttered in a small voice, "Young Master, if you do that, it'll make things difficult for our Young Master."

Xie Yuan actually thought about it and awkwardly tugged at the corner of his mouth, "I got it wrong."

Xie Yuan, who came back in high spirits, returned dejectedly. He didn't dare to mention having a hotpot dinner together as a family. Feeling disheartened, he left and had the kitchen prepare a portion to be delivered to the yard. Then, he returned to the study in the front courtyard.

"Humph, you said you have no appetite, but he didn't even show any concern. At least come back to have dinner with you. I've inquired; the Young Master hasn't gone to the master and madam's yard, so I don't know which little fox he's accompanying!" Shen Si returned after a round outside, muttering angrily.

Shen Anyue glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Shen Si was brought out from the Shen family by him, and even though he had many faults, he couldn't possibly drive him away just because he was fond of him.

Moreover, Shen Si dared to be so bold in front of Xie Yuan because of his indulgence…

Thinking of this, Shen Anyue smiled self-mockingly. As the son of a convicted official, he dared to show off and act willfully in front of his parents. Letting him be impudent and give him face, wasn't it all due to Xie Yuan's indulgence?

Back then, he knew nothing and was brought home by Xie Yuan, even officially married. He almost believed it… Unfortunately, he later heard the truth.

A hint of coldness flickered in Shen Anyue's eyes. If only he hadn't suddenly turned back and overheard what Xie Yuan said to his parents, he could have continued to deceive himself…

"Never mind, I'm hungry. Set the table." Shen Anyue waved his hand.

Shen Si answered, and when he came back with a tray, his expression had changed, "Young Master, Young Master, is this the hotpot that Young Master mentioned? It smells so good!"

He had been sniffing it all the way and almost got himself lightheaded!

Shen Si looked greedy, and Shen Anyue also showed a curious expression, putting down the book in his hand, "What is it? Bring it over for me to see."

The lingering aroma in the air was indeed enticing, and it carried a hint of spiciness, which aroused the appetite he hadn't felt for a few days.

The kitchen provided a dipping dish, and Shen Anyue picked up a slice of bamboo shoots coated in chili oil, dipped it in the sauce dish, and then took a small bite of white rice.

"How is it, Young Master? Is it delicious?" Shen Si swallowed, his eyes expectantly asking.

Although Shen Anyue had long ceased to be particular about eating silently, he still swallowed the food in his mouth and gracefully nodded, saying, "The taste is excellent."

No wonder Xie Yuan was so excited. If they used this hotpot to open a restaurant, it would surely be successful.

Shen Anyue fell in love with hotpot at first taste and particularly enjoyed eating it with rice. Unfortunately, he seemed to have eaten only a few bites from the white porcelain basin, and before he knew it, it was empty…

Feeling a bit unsatisfied, Shen Anyue looked at the empty basin and paused for a moment with the chopsticks before turning his attention to another plate of side dishes.

Actually, it was no wonder that the kitchen had given him so little; he had never been a big eater, and they probably didn't expect him to finish it in one go.

"Young Master…" Not just the kitchen, even Shen Si didn't expect his Young Master to finish the entire dish.

He had been thinking of tasting some leftovers himself, but now, only the soup remained!

Shen Anyue felt a bit embarrassed, "Sorry, I forgot about you… How about you go to the kitchen and ask if they can bring you another portion?"

Actually, he now had the impulse to mix the leftover soup with rice, but with Shen Si standing there, he felt a bit embarrassed to act on it.

"I'll go right away!" Shen Si rushed off in a hurry. At this moment, he had no idea that the kitchen had already been picked clean by people from the other yards, and there was no portion left for him.

What's even more despairing for him was that by the time he returned, his Young Master had already mixed the soup with rice!

Looking at the servant who had written all over his face, looking as if he had been struck by lightning, Young Master Xie put down his chopsticks in embarrassment, "Well, don't look at me like that. When husband's hotpot restaurant opens, I'll take you there first to try it…"

Shen Si: Burst into tears!