After the family split up, my stepmother and scumbag father begged me to come home.

Lin Guozhu carried Lin Qianqian on his back and headed towards Doctor Zhou's medicine stove.

Lin Qianqian lay on his back the whole way, her hands on his shoulders, without saying a word.

Lin Guozhu didn't say anything, just kept his head down and walked steadily.

When they arrived at the medicine stove, Doctor Zhou was grinding medicine at the table. He looked up and saw Lin Guozhu carrying someone in, and snorted, "Here we go again."

Despite saying that, he put down the medicine grinder and got up to lift the curtain.

Lin Guozhu placed Lin Qianqian on the stool, squatted down, and carefully untied the cloth from her ankles.

Dr. Zhou leaned over to take a look, then pressed on both sides of her ankle. Lin Qianqian hissed. Dr. Zhou looked up at her and said, "It hurts? That's good. It means it's not fully healed yet."

"The recovery is going quite well. My medicine works, doesn't it?" Doctor Zhou straightened up, his tone full of pride, and raised his chin slightly.

"It works great, it works great! How could your medicine not work? Apply more today and it will heal faster," Lin Qianqian said with a smile.

Doctor Zhou snorted, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly as he went into the inner room to get the medicine.

When he came out, he had a small earthenware jar in his hand. When he opened the lid, a medicinal smell wafted out.

He picked up a piece of bamboo and rubbed it on Lin Qianqian's ankle with just the right amount of pressure, saying as he did so, "In another two or three days, you'll be able to walk slowly on the ground, but don't overexert yourself."

After everything was bandaged up, Lin Qianqian said, "Come to my place for hot pot later."

Dr. Zhou, without looking up as he tidied up the medicine bottles, asked, "Hot pot? What's that?"

"It's just setting up a pot, boiling the soup, and then simmering meat and vegetables in it. It's hot and spicy," Lin Qianqian said.

Dr. Zhou paused, thought for a moment, and put the medicine bottle back on the shelf: "Okay, I'll be there in a bit."

After Dr. Zhou finished packing, the group headed to the Lin family's house.

Aunt Ding and Sister Chunfen are both very efficient. They've already finished, and all that's left is for Lin Qianqian to come back and tell them how to proceed.

Uncle Ding and his son were also busy, chopping most of the wood that Lin Qianqian had piled up there, while Hu Zi was carrying neatly stacked pieces of wood to the side.

"I invited you over for dinner, why did you chop up wood for me?" This made Lin Qianqian a little embarrassed, and her face turned slightly red.

Aunt Ding came out of the kitchen and wiped her hands. "Your eldest brother and second brother are strong enough, it's no problem, let them do it."

"Girl, you're back just in time. Tell me how we're going to make this hot pot?" Aunt Ding waited for Lin Qianqian to give instructions.

Just as Lin Qianqian was about to demonstrate, Lin Guozhu handed her a walking stick he had made, saying, "Use this; it will save your legs from strain."

Lin Qianqian never expected that her father would make her a cane. She took it and found it quite useful. She walked forward a few steps with it and didn't have to exert any effort at all.

"Thank you, Dad," Lin Qianqian said with a smile.

"Tiger, can you find some bricks and stack them up like we did when we had barbecue last time?" Lin Qianqian asked Tiger.

Tiger quickly found some stones and piled them up like last time. He squatted on the ground and stacked them for a long time, getting his hands covered in dirt.

"Just add a clay pot on top. Add water and spices. Once it boils, we can put the meat, vegetables, and offal in to cook." Lin Qianqian said, gesturing as she spoke.

"How did you come up with this? How can you come up with something like this? You're such a foodie!" Aunt Ding thought Lin Qianqian was incredibly capable after hearing this.

Tiger had already gathered firewood to start a fire. The flames licked the bottom of the pot, and soon the water in the clay pot was bubbling away.

Next, spices were added, including chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and other spices. As the red oil broth in the pot bubbled, the aroma of the spices wafted out.

Lin Qianqian directed the preparation of the mutton and offal.

"Seven or eight dips is enough. Don't cook it for too long or it will get tough," Lin Qianqian said, one sentence after another.

The rich broth is infused with the freshness of mutton, the mellowness of offal, and the fresh aroma of green vegetables.

A group of people sat around a clay pot, dipping their chopsticks into it. One person picked up a piece of meat, another scooped up a piece of vegetables, all scalding the pot and gasping for breath, yet reluctant to put it down.

Ding Dahu and Ding Erhu kept saying, "Delicious, delicious, the spiciness is so satisfying."

Ah Long sat next to Lin Guozhu. Lin Guozhu didn't say much, but silently put the first piece of mutton he had cooked into Ah Long's bowl.

Ah Long looked down at the meat in the bowl, then at his father, and ate the meat without saying a word.

Lin Qianqian would occasionally put a few pieces of food on Dr. Zhou's plate, whispering, "Old man, don't eat too much. You're getting old, and it's hard for you to digest."

Just as Dr. Zhou was enjoying his meal, this girl brought up the very thing he didn't want to talk about.

I still said, "Okay."

A group of people sat around the casserole, each taking a bite with their chopsticks, eating with great enjoyment.

Lin Qianqian remembered there was still wine in the kitchen, so she asked Along to get it. Along ran over and brought back a jar of wine, which he then poured into each person's cup.

Everyone else drank, except for Ah Long, Hu Zi, and Lin Qianqian.

Uncle Ding took a sip and smacked his lips: "This wine is not bad." Lin Guozhu held his bowl, said nothing, and sipped it slowly.

Lin Qianqian and the others finished eating first, but the girls hadn't finished drinking yet.

Lin Qianqian then asked Hu Zi and A Long to cut off the snails' tails and cooked them a spicy snail dish.

Tiger and Ah Long squatted at the kitchen door, each holding a pair of scissors, snip-snip-snip.

Tiger cut quickly, while Ah Long cut more slowly, glancing at each cut carefully, afraid of making a mistake.

After finishing cutting, Lin Qianqian propped herself up on the stove to stir-fry. The oil was hot, and she added chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, and spices. With a sizzle, the aroma filled the whole house.

Add the snails, stir-fry a few times, add water and simmer for a while. When it's done, it's bright red and steaming hot.

It was the first time Lin Guozhu had ever eaten it before.

He picked up a snail, brought it to his lips, and sucked on it. His eyes lit up the moment he did.

He paused for a moment, then slurped up another one, chewing it carefully this time without saying a word, but his hands didn't stop.

This stuff is so delicious, yet no one in the village eats it. Tiger said before that it could be sold to restaurants, but he didn't quite believe it.

Dr. Zhou had eaten snails before, but this was his first time trying spicy ones. The first bite sent the spiciness straight to his throat. He coughed twice and quickly gulped down a large mouthful of cold water before he felt better.

Lin Qianqian laughed as she watched, "Old man, this is too spicy, you can't eat it. I'll make you some five-spice version tomorrow."

Dr. Zhou waved his hand without saying anything, but once the spiciness subsided, he still wanted to eat.

He couldn't resist picking up another one, this time slurping it up in small bites. It was spicy, but the spicier it was, the more he wanted to eat, and the more he ate, the more he couldn't put it down.

"When you make it tomorrow, bring me some of this spicy version too," Dr. Zhou quickly added, his lips still smeared with chili oil.

Lin Qianqian smiled, then looked at Doctor Zhou's spitting out spicy food and said, "Okay, I'll get you some."

The group chatted and laughed, finishing the hotpot completely, but leaving some snails.

After Aunt Ding finished cleaning up, Lin Qianqian asked her to take the snails away as well.

Tell her father to send Doctor Zhou back.

Dr. Zhou waved his hand, saying it wasn't necessary, but Lin Qianqian insisted, and Lin Guozhu also felt they should be sent back. Dr. Zhou couldn't persuade her otherwise, muttering "I can walk by myself," but he followed Lin Guozhu out the door.

After everyone left, Tiger hung up the door and went back into the house with them.