Double-Cut During the War of Resistance: My Wife Came from 1937

After much pleading and cajoling from Ma Hongwei, Xia Weiwei finally agreed to go out for hot pot with him.

The hot pot restaurant they came to was quite popular. They took the elevator to the third floor, where there were seven or eight customers waiting in front of them.

Upon seeing the two arrive, the waiter quickly approached and asked, "Hello, how many are in your party?"

"Just the two of us."

Ma Hongwei asked, "How many tables are left up ahead?"

The waiter replied, "If it's just the two of you, the next table will be served soon. If there are more people, you'll have to wait a little longer."

"oh!"

Ma Hongwei responded and said to Xia Weiwei, "We're the next table, please wait a moment!"

At this moment, the waiter pointed to the chairs and tables nearby and said, "Hello, distinguished guests, you two can sit there and wait a moment. There are complimentary sunflower seeds and snacks on the table!"

"Thanks!"

Ma Hongwei thanked her and led Xia Weiwei to sit down.

He looked around and saw a large plate of sunflower seeds and peanuts on the table, along with a small stack of snacks, including small twisted dough sticks, fried peas, and small cookies, all individually packaged.

"Help yourself to eat!"

Ma Hongwei picked up a small handful of melon seeds and tasted them, discovering they were sweet melon seeds, which he personally didn't like.

A short while later, a waiter came over and said to the two of them, "Hello, esteemed guests, there is a seat available. Please follow me."

Led by the other party, the two sat down at a table.

The waiter brought two menus and a pen, allowing the two to choose their own items.

Ma Hongwei glanced at the menu and said to Xia Weiwei, "Just put a checkmark next to whatever you like."

"You choose!"

Xia Weiwei glanced at the prices; a plate of mutton cost 33 yuan, and the so-called snowflake beef was even more expensive at 98 yuan, which made her feel heartbroken.

"Okay, I've chosen it!"

Ma Hongwei chose a three-combination pot: a spicy beef tallow broth, a wild mushroom soup, and a tomato soup.

Other dishes include classic tripe, prairie lamb, chuck beef, snowflake beef, thick-cut Angus beef, shrimp paste, freshly fried crispy pork, duck blood, and vegetable platter.

Ma Hongwei handed the menu to the waiter and said, "This is enough for now, we'll add more if needed!"

"OK!"

The waiter responded and left with the menu.

Soon, the pot and soup base were served.

Ma Hongwei invited, "Come on, Weiwei, let's go make some dipping sauce!"

He led Xia Weiwei to the condiment and snack area.

The first two rows are filled with various condiments, and on top of that are various fruits such as watermelon, oranges, cherry tomatoes, and lychees.

"Wow, so many seasonings and snacks!"

Seeing that no one was around, Xia Weiwei couldn't help but say, "When I ate hot pot with mutton in Beiping before, there weren't nearly as many condiments. It was mainly sesame paste, fermented bean curd, chive blossoms, and fish sauce."

"They won't provide these snacks either. Oh, and these are free too?"

"Yes, these are all free!"

Ma Hongwei nodded and said, "After all, the customers have already spent so much money. It wouldn't look good to charge for these things. Giving them away for free would make the customers happier and feel like they got a good deal, even though the cost is already included in those fees."

"I've never made dipping sauce before, could you make it for me?"

Xia Weiwei said to Ma Hongwei.

"Can!"

Ma Hongwei pointed to a small dish on the side and said, "Then take some watermelon and fruit, so you can have something refreshing when you get tired of eating them later."

"good!"

The two then divided the work: one prepared the dipping sauce, and the other fetched the fruit.

Ma Hongwei specially prepared two kinds of dipping sauces; those who like spicy food must pair them with the sesame oil dipping sauce.

This way, the layer of sesame oil can coat the spiciness, forming an oil film to prevent it from being too spicy and irritating the stomach and intestines.

By the time the two returned to their seats, the meat had already started to arrive.

Xia Weiwei glanced at it and couldn't help but say, "You ordered so much meat? Isn't that such a waste?"

"Eating hot pot is all about eating meat, so you have to eat your fill!"

Ma Hongwei said with a smile, "Besides, these look like a lot because they've been sliced; there's actually not much meat in them."

"Yeah, it looks like a lot, but since it's sliced ​​so thinly, there's not much left when you stack it up."

Xia Weiwei sighed, "There's hardly any meat on this plate, yet it's so expensive!"

"Hmph!"

Ma Hongwei rubbed his nose and said, "When you're out eating, don't think about these things. People run restaurants to make money, don't they?"

Xia Weiwei said, "I just think that it's actually quite nice for us to cook for ourselves!"

"It's not like we eat out every day; eating out occasionally is fine!"

Ma Hongwei changed the subject, saying, "By the way, how much does a hot pot meal cost where you're from?"

Xia Weiwei said, "Two silver dollars are definitely enough. Take Donglaishun for example. One catty of mutton is divided into five plates, and each plate is more than three liang (old liang, one catty in the Republic of China is sixteen liang), and the price is 0.12 silver dollars."

"In addition, the cost of ingredients such as copper pots, charcoal, sesame paste, and chive blossoms was 0.2 silver dollars per pot."

"Beef is cheaper; a plate of beef costs only 0.05 silver dollars. With side dishes and drinks, 2 silver dollars is enough to feed several people."

Ma Hongwei remarked, "This price is really not cheap!"

Workers in Beijing earn high wages, but a month's salary is only eight silver dollars.

If I were to treat someone to hot pot, one meal would cost a week's salary.

Workers in other places earn far less than those in the capital; a single meal can cost half a month's wages.

If you are eating alone, the cost of beef is 0.25 silver dollars per pound, plus 0.2 silver dollars for the copper pot, charcoal, and seasonings.

Add some more vegetables, and you'll get 0.5 silver dollars.

In the Taihang Mountains, this is enough to buy 15 jin of millet or one or two chickens.

Even Ma Hongwei himself could eat a pound of hot pot meat. Workers in the Republic of China era did heavy physical labor, so a pound of meat would definitely not be enough for them.

"Try this!"

Ma Hongwei used serving chopsticks to pick up a few slices of tripe, dipped them in the spicy broth seven or eight times, and then put them into Xia Weiwei's sesame sauce.

"What is this?"

Xia Weiwei looked at the tripe in the bowl and asked curiously.

During the Republic of China era, Donglaishun's copper pots never contained beef tripe or beef brisket.

Donglaishun does serve lamb tripe, but they stir-fry it, for example, stir-fried lamb tripe with coriander, or stir-fried tripe in oil, rather than cooking it in a copper pot.

As for the Donglaishun of later generations, it was a modified version and completely different from the original.

"This is cow's stomach!"

Ma Hongwei also rinsed it in the water a few times, put it in his mouth, and said, "Anyway, I think it's pretty delicious."

"A cow's stomach?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Weiwei frowned.

But she still tried it and found that it was crisp and tasted alright with the dipping sauce. However, there was a kind of offal taste on it that she couldn't stand.

"Don't you like it?"

Ma Hongwei laughed and said, "Then let's eat beef and mutton! We have to finish all this meat!"

……

The two ate and chatted for a full hour and a half.

After leaving the hot pot restaurant, we drove to the supermarket for a big shopping trip.

"Why did you buy all these pots, pans, and towels?"

Xia Weiwei couldn't help but ask, "Didn't I see they were all there in that room?"

Ma Hongwei explained, "Those are all unhygienic. It's better for us to buy new ones. Anyway, we can use these in the new house later."

I think...

Just as Xia Weiwei was about to speak, Ma Hongwei said directly, "Darling, listen to me this time."

He felt that Xia Weiwei had been thoroughly reformed in northern Shaanxi, and that she was very frugal, making it impossible to tell that she came from a capitalist background.

At the checkout counter, Ma Hongwei quietly took a large box of Durex condoms and a bottle of moisturizing aloe vera lubricant.

Xia Weiwei had never seen these before and did not know what they were.