Shocking! The entire court was drooling with envy because of me.

[Ding—Host needs to sell 1,000 hot pots. Reward: Good Luck Buff for 3 days]

???

What did she hear? A lucky buff?

Is it the kind of person who has a knack for getting good luck no matter what they do?

"This thing is strangely good, but it only lasts for three days..." Shen Qing tried to pull it away.

[Ding—The host can choose option one: simply take one hundred taels of silver.]

The system's response was utterly cold.

Ok.

"I choose option two."

[Ding—Host has accepted the hot pot mission; hot pot base ingredients have been unlocked.]

Shen Qing opened the purchasing module and directly purchased six portions of hot pot base.

In an instant, a large oil paper package appeared before my eyes. Upon opening it, I found six hot pot base ingredients inside.

Six pieces, and they're quite large.

This is also why Shen Qing ran back to the courtyard and locked herself up.

You can't just pull six pieces of hot pot base directly out of your pocket.

"Oh right, I still have a spicy strip task. I don't have a cart, how am I supposed to set up a stall?" Shen Qing suddenly remembered her spicy strip task.

For the first time, she felt overwhelmed with tasks.

[The stall equipment will be delivered to the Shen residence this evening. Tomorrow's spicy snack flavor will be numbing and spicy, and the limit remains at two hundred servings. Please prepare accordingly.]

Two hundred portions isn't a lot.

That's good; the system is quite comprehensive in this respect.

With nothing else to do, Shen Qing took six pieces of hot pot base and went to the main kitchen.

At this moment, Yan Wenli had already returned with six copper pots.

"Madam Shen, the copper pot and stove are ready!"

"Madam Shen, the vegetables and meat are ready, and the soup is simmering. What's next?" Guo Tiancheng called out from the kitchen.

Shen Qingchao looked around and said, "That pavilion over there is nice. Let's move the copper pot and stove there."

"Move another long table over there and put all the prepared ingredients on the table."

Under Shen Qing's instructions, the items were quickly arranged inside the pavilion.

On the long table were plates of ingredients, including thinly sliced ​​pork belly, vibrant green spinach, and tender white tofu.

Around the long table was a circle of small stoves, with small copper pots on each stove.

"Let's light the small stove."

When the soup in the pot was almost ready, Shen Qing said again.

Several servants rushed forward and quickly started a fire.

Taking advantage of this moment, Shen Qing threw the six pieces of hot pot base into the copper pot.

The heat is low now, which is perfect for melting the hot pot broth.

"Master Guo, prepare the soup. Once the base ingredients in the pot have dissolved, you can pour the cooked soup directly into the copper pot."

"Good!!!" Guo Tiancheng was on high alert, his eyes shining.

"It smells so good!!! It smells amazing!!" Yan Wenli suddenly exclaimed.

A strong, complex, and domineering odor assaulted my nostrils, like an invisible bomb.

Upon closer inspection, a large amount of red oil had been rendered from the base ingredients in the pot.

"Master Guo!" Shen Qing called out.

Guo Tiancheng immediately understood and poured the prepared broth into the copper pot.

In an instant, the broth poured into the red oil, and the color in the pot changed from dark red to golden red.

At this moment, an even more complex aroma entered everyone's nostrils, a mixture of the richness of butter, the intensity of chili peppers, the numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns, the spiciness of spices, and the freshness of broth.

An indescribable fragrance.

Xin Heng couldn't help but sniff, his eyes wide with astonishment.

This smells amazing! It's almost too good to be true!

In all his life, this was the first time he had ever smelled such a wonderful fragrance.

Good heavens, this is unbelievable!

No wonder Yan Wenli keeps clamoring to eat; if it's food like this, he can't control himself.

"Everyone, please, just put whatever dish you want into the copper pot," Shen Qing's voice rang out.

Xin Heng was stunned: "We...we'll do it ourselves??"

"Yes, you download it yourself."

Upon hearing this, Yan Wenli rushed forward, selected a pot, sat down next to it, and immediately cooked several slices of meat.

He loves meat.

Fragrant!

Seeing this, Madam Yan, Guo Tiancheng, and the others also sat down in the pavilion and began to try this novel hot pot.

For everyone present, hot pot was an extremely novel way of eating.

Shen Qing put some shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, and tofu skin into the pot.

She loves to eat these, and every time she eats hot pot, she always eats these three things first.

As for meat, she usually chooses to eat vegetarian food first.

The group excitedly cooked a pot of food, but when they looked up, good heavens, Xin Heng was still standing there.

"Wouldn't Lord Xin like to try some?" Shen Qing asked with a light laugh.

"Yeah, Lao Xin, you should try some too."

Yan Wenli was so excited that he stopped being polite to Xin Heng and kept calling him "Old Xin".

Xin Heng frowned, looking troubled: "I don't know how to cook either."

"It's simple, just throw it in." Situ Liang gave a demonstration.

Shen Qing: "The meat slices are cooked when they float to the surface, the green vegetables are cooked after a quick blanch, and the tofu is ready to eat as soon as it hits the pot..."

"But, but..."

Xin Heng looked conflicted. He had just been feeling relieved that he didn't have to cook or fry anything, but now he had to cook for himself.

This is just... this is really putting people in a difficult position.

But the overpowering aroma wafted straight into my nose, making my mouth water uncontrollably.

"Ugh, why are you taking so long!" Yan Wenli stood up and pressed Xin Heng back into his seat.

Then he picked up a piece of meat, a piece of tofu, and two or three stalks of vegetables with his chopsticks and threw them into Xin Heng's pot.

"Eat up, eat it when it's cooked!"

Xin Heng was overjoyed; after all this time, it turned out that Yan Wenli had been quite loyal to him.

Knowing he was in a difficult situation, she offered to cook the dishes for him.

"Thank you, Lord Yan." Xin Heng bowed to Yan Wenli through the steam.

Yan Wenli grinned mischievously.

Eat up, eat well, he just doesn't believe that he can eat Shen Niangzi's delicious food without losing his powers.

The little bit of food he put in Xin Heng's pot just now was enough to whet one's appetite.

Before long, the red soup in front of Xin Heng began to churn in the pot, with bright red oil constantly floating in the pot.

The slices of pork belly floated to the surface, already curled up from being cooked.

Xin Heng had overheard Shen Qing's words and knew that the meat was cooked.

He quickly picked up another pair of unused chopsticks, scooped the slices of meat out of the pot, and put them into his mouth without caring that they were hot.

"Hiss~"

It's scalding hot, very hot, like the kind of scalding hot oil.

He slurped twice, and a spicy sensation exploded on his tongue, rushing straight down to his throat. In an instant, Xin Heng's nose turned red.

Before the spiciness subsided, a tingling numbness rose from the back of the tongue, intertwining with the spiciness in the mouth.

With a gentle chew, the aroma of meat bursts forth amidst the numbing and spicy flavors, creating an extremely complex taste experience in the mouth.

After swallowing a piece of meat, the spiciness lingered in my mouth, and my tongue felt slightly numb.

The refreshing water arrived again, making me want to have another sip.