After transmigrating into the body of a widow, I became the richest man in the capital.

Chapter 108 Inviting Liu Zi'an to Hot Pot

Actually, hot pot is not common at this time, and not many people eat spicy food.

Su Xiaoxiao remembered that Liu Zian had traveled all over the country and had spent some time in the Sichuan region. Thinking about it, she decided to prepare a spicy hot pot for him.

"What? You're inviting us over for hot pot? What's hot pot?"

Liu Zian obviously didn't know what hot pot meant. Seeing that he didn't understand, Su Xiaoxiao explained to him, "Hot pot is just hot pot. You cook it over a fire while adding meat and vegetables. You eat it from the pot. You'll see when I make it in a bit."

Su Xiaoxiao used the leftover lard from making soup, which solidified into lard, and used it as a base for the pot, adding a lot of chili peppers to stir-fry until fragrant.

The broth in the pot turned a bright red color. Just as they were cooking this fragrant hot pot inside, someone walked in from outside.

The man had just entered from outside when he exclaimed with an exaggerated expression, "Wow, this smells amazing! What delicious food is Boss Su making?"

Without even looking, Su Xiaoxiao could tell from the voice that it was none other than Qian Musheng.

"Young Master Qian, what brings you here?"

Su Xiaoxiao asked, quite puzzled.

"Didn't you say you'd send fifty bottles of jam to our Baxianlou restaurant? You haven't delivered them yet, so I came here today to ask you about it!"

Su Xiaoxiao then remembered that the workers had a day off today and had gone home to harvest the crops.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Qian, our workshop is closed today. I'll send workers to deliver it to you when we have more manpower in a few days."

Su Xiaoxiao thought to herself, "Do you really have to be in such a hurry?"

Qian Musheng wasn't in a hurry at all when she heard this. "I know. I just wanted to come and visit Boss Su and see if I could get to eat some of your delicious cooking. Sure enough, I'm quite lucky with food."

"What delicious food are you making?"

The broth that Su Xiaoxiao made was bright red, very eye-catching, and smelled delicious.

"This is hot pot."

Although he was just learning and applying what he had just learned, Liu Zian still explained to Qian Musheng very politely.

When Qian Musheng saw Liu Zian, he was dressed like a scholar, young and handsome, with a slightly weak and aloof kind of handsomeness.

"Mr. Su, who is this person?"

Upon seeing this, Su Xiaoxiao quickly introduced him, saying, "This is my eldest and youngest child's tutor. His name is Liu Zi'an."

"This is Young Master Qian..."

Liu Zian was very polite, and he quickly came over to greet Qian Musheng.

"Hello."

Qian Musheng responded calmly.

"Hello, sir. You seem very well-read and knowledgeable. Is this hot pot really delicious?"

"This……"

This stumped Liu Zian, who was just learning and applying his knowledge. "Well, you have to try it yourself to know how it tastes. After all, everyone has a thousand different opinions on taste, right?"

Fortunately, it was Liu Zi'an. Even when stumped, he didn't panic and cleverly threw the question back to Qian Musheng.

"What you say is absolutely right, sir." Qian Musheng actually meant to make things difficult for Liu Zi'an. She felt that Liu Zi'an was always around Su Xiaoxiao, and they were even her neighbors. Such a relationship did make her feel a little uneasy.

The hot pot stove that Su Xiaoxiao commissioned Wang Er to make this time is somewhat similar to a modern hot pot for mutton; it can be lit simply by placing charcoal underneath.

Su Xiaoxiao brought the hot pot to the table and threw in the prepared vegetables and meat.

"Everyone, come and gather around this hot pot, let's get ready to eat!"

The hot pot was soon ready, and Su Xiaoxiao had prepared sesame paste and vinegar as dipping sauces for everyone. She was mainly worried that some people couldn't handle very spicy food, and these sauces would help to reduce the spiciness.

After everything was ready, Su Xiaoxiao saw that the soup in the pot had boiled, but no one touched their chopsticks.

So, Su Xiaoxiao took the lead, picked up a slice of meat with her chopsticks, blew on it to cool it down, and put it in her mouth. "It is indeed very delicious."

How to describe the spiciness? It instantly awakened Su Xiaoxiao's taste buds.

She felt as if all her senses were activated, after all, Su Xiaoxiao had rarely eaten such a spicy and refreshing hot pot.

Besides, having transmigrated here, Su Xiaoxiao had even less contact with chili peppers. If it weren't for getting the chili seedlings from Bruce, how could Su Xiaoxiao have enjoyed such a delicious and satisfying hot pot?
Everyone else was still observing, but Sanlang knew he had to start eating no matter what; he couldn't fall behind.

He had to give Su Xiaoxiao plenty of face.

"What does this smell like?"

After taking a bite, Sanlang immediately felt the spiciness was almost unbearable. He had initially blindly followed Su Xiaoxiao, but now he finally couldn't take it anymore and almost spat out the piece of meat in his mouth.

"It might be a little spicy since you're just starting out. Try dipping it in some sesame sauce first."

Sanlang was also puzzled, as he couldn't even match Su Xiaoxiao's ability to eat spicy food.

So, he tried it again, following Su Xiaoxiao's advice, and finally managed to eat it properly.

Qian Musheng stood up as soon as he saw it. Spicy food would definitely cause diarrhea, but of course, it's different from eating chili peppers directly.

At that time, only Liu Zian was genuinely enjoying the hot pot, while the others seemed to have no intention of truly appreciating the food. Instead, they appeared to be competing with each other to see who could handle the spiciness better.

These two are undoubtedly Sanlang and Qian Musheng. Both of them have fair skin, but the chili peppers made their faces covered in sweat. Sanlang, in particular, sweats from the area above his eyelids.

Qian Musheng kept waving his hand around his mouth to reduce the temperature and spiciness, but the two never stopped competing.

Su Xiaoxiao and Liu Zian were stunned. Eating like that would surely make them sick from the spiciness. Su Xiaoxiao quickly made them each a cup of jam water. "Drink this and see if it makes you feel better?"

Su Xiaoxiao brought over another pot of clear broth hot pot from the side and said to them, "If you can't handle that much spice, don't force yourself. This is clear broth, you can use this for hot pot."

The clear broth base has no chili peppers, making it very light and delicious, and not greasy at all.

In the end, Sanlang and Qian Musheng had no choice but to swallow their pride and stop competing.

You can't force things like this. Everyone's sensitivity to spiciness is different. Forcing yourself to try super spicy or extra spicy food to get attention will only leave you with a chronic gastritis problem. Why put yourself through that? There's a time and place for showing off.

"Shassha..."

"Take it out sooner rather than later?"

Qian Musheng complained, no longer pretending. Su Xiaoxiao watched the two of them blushing from the spiciness and couldn't help but laugh.

"Look how spicy it is for you guys, but there's no harm in eating more chili peppers."

(End of this chapter)