Qi Zhenzhen nodded. Living together day in and day out, it was easy to determine like or dislike. At that time, she could also help Song Mingyue with her judgment.
As noon approached, it began to snow again, and Yun Shi invited them to stay for lunch.
Li Shan's wife and Aunt Song did not refuse. The women were on very good terms now and were happy to gather together.
Li Hu was the happiest. He ran to Qi Zhenzhen, "Auntie Zhenzhen, what delicious food are we having for lunch?"
"I've told you to call me sister, why can't you remember?" Qi Zhenzhen pinched Li Hu's nose. "Don't listen to your mother, we'll go by our own rules."
Since there was no blood relation, there wasn't much fuss about辈分 (generations/seniority).
"Then Sister Zhenzhen, what are we having for lunch?" Li Hu immediately changed his address.
Seeing that it was snowing outside and there were many people at home, Qi Zhenzhen thought for a moment, "How about we have hot pot?"
Li Hu blinked. "What is hot pot?"
The original body's memory included hot pot, but it was the delicate, small kind. They hadn't seen it in the countryside. When she went to the blacksmith, he said he hadn't seen it. Later, he made a large pot, and everyone gathered around to eat, chatting and laughing, which was very lively.
Qi Zhenzhen brought out the pot and placed it on the table in the main room. She then carried a bag of charcoal from the kitchen and put it into the pot along with scallions, ginger, and garlic. She dug the frozen bone broth into the pot. After lighting the charcoal, the frozen broth slowly melted. Li Hu watched intently.
Song Mingyue helped Qi Zhenzhen prepare the ingredients.
Cabbage leaves, radish slices, shepherd's purse dug before the snow, frozen tofu, and red-stemmed spinach.
After washing the vegetables, Qi Zhenzhen went to fetch a large piece of cured meat. There was no beef or lamb, so cured meat had to be used as a substitute. Sliced thinly, it had a unique flavor when dipped.
After preparing the ingredients, she started making the dipping sauce, using soybean paste. Qi Zhenzhen really missed sesame paste, but almost no one grew sesame here, so she had to give up the idea. Fortunately, her soybean paste tasted good. Sprinkling some chopped scallions into it made a delicious dipping sauce.
Everyone gathered around the table. Except for the Qi family, everyone else was curious about how to eat it.
The bone broth in the pot was already boiling. Qi Zhenzhen poured a plate of cabbage leaves into it and stirred with her chopsticks. "Throw in whatever you want to eat and cook it. Then dip it in the sauce. There's chili oil here too; if you like spicy food, you can add some to the soybean paste."
The method of eating was novel, and the hot pot continuously emitted steam. Soon, everyone had a fine layer of sweat on their foreheads.
"This method is great. In the middle of winter, the family gathers to eat a meal, it's so warm and satisfying." Li Shan's wife's cheeks were flushed, and she gasped from time to time. She had added chili oil to her dipping sauce, and it was hot and spicy. She felt like she was turning into a bright red chili pepper.
"I'll get one of these pots made too, so they can taste this delicious food," Aunt Song chimed in.
"Mom, can we get one too?" Li Hu pleaded.
"You greedy cat, alright, I'll ask your dad to get a pot made later."
Qi Zhenzhen told the two of them where to get the pot made and added, "You can cook anything in this pot, vegetables, meat, noodles. When you're almost done eating, throw in a handful of noodles, cook them, and mix them with soybean paste. It's incredibly delicious."
The meal was eaten with great enthusiasm, and everyone was satisfied.
"Zhenzhen, how did you come up with this way of eating?" Li Shan's wife was a bit curious.
"Sister-in-law, this wasn't my idea. When I was at home before, we often ate this in winter, but our pots were small, one for each person," Qi Zhenzhen replied with a smile.
Often ate it, and one pot per person.
Li Shan's wife clicked her tongue. What a wealthy family they must have been. No wonder everyone speculated that the Qi family mother and sons were from a wealthy family, but why did they settle in such a small mountain village? It was truly puzzling.
"Sister Qi, Sister Qi." Amidst the howling north wind, a焦灼 (anxious) voice was heard, and the door of the Qi family's house was being banged upon.
Judging by the commotion, it sounded like Du's wife.
Qi Zhenzhen hurried to open the door. It was indeed Du's daughter-in-law, with tear streaks on her face and a look of panic.
"Aunt Du, what happened?" Qi Zhenzhen asked as she led her into the house.
"Xiang Ge'er went into the mountains..." Du's wife said with a sob. "It's snowing so heavily now..."
Going into the mountains in this weather? That was truly courting death.
Qi Zhenzhen hadn't been into the mountains since it started snowing. She occasionally wandered around the outer edges of the mountains and, if lucky, could hunt a few pheasants. Going deeper was absolutely out of the question. Why? The mountains were covered in a vast expanse of white, making it easy to get lost. In this weather, if one got lost, there was almost no chance of getting out of the mountains. Besides freezing to death in the mountains, there was likely no other outcome.
Why did Du Xiang go into the mountains at this time?
From Du's wife's intermittent account, everyone understood that Du's mother-in-law was ill and had vaguely said she wanted to eat rabbit meat.
Du Xiang heard this and left without a word.
He hadn't returned by noon, so Du's wife went out to look for him. She searched the entire village but couldn't find him. Later, someone in the village said they saw Du Xiang heading towards Tiger Tooth Mountain.
Her son was filial, and Du's wife understood he was going to hunt rabbits...
"Auntie, don't worry. Perhaps Du Xiang will be back soon," Qi Zhenzhen comforted her, but she had a bad feeling. Du Xiang had gone into the mountains early in the morning. It was now the afternoon, and it had been snowing heavily since midday. He was likely trapped in the mountains. Moreover, Du Xiang was a scholar with no strength to even truss a chicken...
"Sister Qi, I, I was thinking of borrowing some money from you to hire villagers to help search the mountain," Du's wife said timidly, wiping away her tears. All the family's money had been spent on her mother-in-law's illness this time. The villagers had always avoided their family. After thinking about it, only the Qi family didn't dislike them.
Yun Shi, being soft-hearted and genuinely pitying the Du family mother and daughter-in-law, had no reason not to lend them money. She turned to go into the house to get the money.
"Mother, wait," Qi Zhenzhen stopped Yun Shi.
Yun Shi frowned, not understanding Qi Zhenzhen's intention.
"Mother, Aunt Du, it's still snowing. Even if someone in the village is willing to go into the mountains for money, what if they get lost in the mountains? If something happens, the money we give won't be enough. Then Du's mother-in-law and Aunt Du..."
They would be resented and ostracized, and life would be even more difficult.
Du's wife was not stupid and immediately understood Qi Zhenzhen's meaning. But, but to just abandon her son...
She slumped to the ground, "My unfortunate son, it's my fault, mother's fault!"
Her face was filled with grief, moving anyone who saw her.
"Mother, Aunt Du, I'll go into the mountains to search. Before the snow, I often went to Tiger Tooth Mountain. There's no one better suited to find someone than me," Qi Zhenzhen said calmly.