Chapter 23: The Little Hotpot

Morning.
The sky was clear and bright.
Today, the traveling merchant Marco would arrive at Bean Village, and on the ninth day of the month, the large iron pot he had ordered could be collected.
However, he did not set off immediately on the ninth.
He was troubled, pondering how to assign tasks to the spirit beasts.
When Hoohoo Rabbit heard that he had brought back bamboo and that a “forest area” could be cultivated, its excitement made its fluffy tail twirl in circles: “Great! I want to plant bamboo—I’ll definitely grow a vast bamboo grove!”
Meanwhile, Guluulu, upon seeing the pioneer’s cabin missing its staircase and looking rather dilapidated, kept muttering, “Too ugly, too ugly… let me fix it…”
The spirit beasts were so eager to work that the unscrupulous capitalist, Chu Jiu, should have been very pleased.
Yet, expanding a forest area required 800 development points, while repairing the second floor of the pioneer’s cabin demanded 1,000 development points.
He sighed and glanced at the “Area Development Status” on the system panel.
[Open Areas: Forgotten Forest
Map Completion: Forgotten Forest — 83%
Overall Development Ratio: 2.1%
Current Development Points: 430
Current Facilities: Pioneer’s Cabin x1, Farmland x1, Old-Style Bucket Waterwheel x1]
The remaining development points were insufficient for either expanding the forest or repairing the second floor.
After some thought, Chu Jiu decided to let Hoohoo Rabbit continue farming, while Guluulu would first build a fence around the pioneer’s cabin.
Cultivating existing farmland required no development points, and building a fence only needed 50 points, which he could afford.
The financially strapped capitalist Chu Jiu resolved to visit the village elder.

*

“Xiao Jiu, is this… wine?”
The village elder and Aman stared at the bowl of deep brown liquid on the table, their faces full of confusion.
Judging by the color, it looked much like the sour grape wine, but the taste…
The elder sniffed and wrinkled his nose: a faint salty and savory aroma.
This was definitely not the flavor of grape wine.
Chu Jiu explained, “This is also made from beans; it’s a kind of seasoning.”
“It’s called ‘soy sauce.’”
The elder and Aman were still baffled: Soy… sauce? Seasoning? Made from beans?
Beans could be made into seasoning?
Chu Jiu asked Aman to bring a piece of fresh tofu.
Now, every household in the village soaked beans the night before the merchant’s arrival and ground soy milk to make tofu early in the morning. The elder’s family was no exception.
Chu Jiu cut the tofu into three-centimeter cubes and poured some soy sauce over them.
The snow-white tofu quickly soaked up the dark brown color.
He then took some pre-cooked “cotton lamb slices” and dripped two drops of soy sauce on the pale pink meat.
He pushed the seasoned tofu and meat under the elder’s nose: “It’s definitely a seasoning. Try it.”
The elder scooped up some tofu with a spoon.
Ah, this flavor…
The tofu, originally fresh and smooth, tasted doubly delicious and refreshing with this seasoning!
This “soy sauce” had none of the fishy odor of fish sauces, no bitterness or astringency at all!

*

The pure salty and savory taste filled the mouth, wrapped in the delicate fragrance of tofu.
This was truly delicious!
The elder clicked his tongue in amazement, his eyes full of admiration.
Aman awkwardly picked up a piece of lamb with chopsticks and chewed vigorously.
Within seconds, he swallowed and exclaimed how tasty it was, then handed a piece to the elder: “Grandpa, you have to try this meat—it’s so flavorful!”
Within minutes, the elder and Aman had devoured all the tofu and lamb on the table. Aman even wanted to dip the cornmeal bread into the soy sauce but was stopped by the elder.
“Xiao Jiu, what is the plan for this soy sauce?” The elder rubbed his hands excitedly, worried he might be overthinking or mistaken.
Chu Jiu, knowing the elder was an honest and kind man, didn’t beat around the bush:
“I want to share the recipe for this seasoning with you.”
“At this time of year, fresh tofu can be transported to Emerald Town and still won’t spoil after a few hours. But when the weather warms, fresh tofu won’t keep, so we need to make something else from beans.”
When it gets hot, selling stinky tofu could be an option…
But stinky tofu is a delicacy to some and poison to others—many villagers might not stand the smell.
“Brewing soy sauce takes about four to five months, and by then, it can replace tofu as a specialty product for the merchants.”
“This way, we won’t have to worry about ‘nothing to sell in summer.’”
The elder’s lips trembled, still incredulous: “Xiao Jiu, are you really… truly willing to share this recipe?”
Such a precious seasoning formula, and Chu Jiu wasn’t planning to keep it for himself to make money?
Chu Jiu nodded: “Of course!”
“You all make the soy sauce and sell it to the merchants—that’s how I get a steady income of development points.”
The elder was so delighted his voice changed, repeatedly thanking Chu Jiu while feeling ashamed that as a village chief, he had always relied on Chu Jiu’s help but had nothing to offer in return.
Chu Jiu hastily waved his hand, telling the elder not to overthink it, while secretly thinking, You’ve already given me more than enough!
As Chu Jiu predicted, when he revealed the soy sauce brewing method, the formula became a [Mass Production Recipe], and due to the villagers’ greatly increased favorability, he received a full 600 development points.

*

Leaving the elder’s house, Chu Jiu headed straight to the small square.
Marco’s face lit up upon seeing him:
“Tofu… cough cough… tofu sales… especially good… cough cough!”
“The city’s wealthy folks… cough cough… are obsessed with this dessert… cough cough…”
This cheerful middle-aged man’s voice was hoarser than before, coughing after every few words.
Chu Jiu worriedly asked if Marco was sick or running a fever.
Marco waved his hand: “Old problem. Every autumn, cough cough… my throat gets itchy…”
He sipped some wine from a nearby bottle, saying drinking wine eased the throat, and there was nothing else that helped.
Hearing this, a vague thought flickered in Chu Jiu’s mind but eluded clear understanding for now.
Meanwhile, Marco had already brought out the large iron pot Chu Jiu ordered: “Cough cough… here’s the pot for you.”
Chu Jiu took the pot, feeling its weight: this pot was really heavy—much heavier than any nonstick or stainless steel pot from his previous life!
Marco was puzzled: “Cough cough… why… cough cough… order a special pot like this? Isn’t a frying pan and soup pot enough?”
Chu Jiu smiled: “No, not enough.”
To stir-fry pork and make chili sauce, you need a big wok like those from Huaxia!

*

In his previous life, Chu Jiu had never tasted Tujuyu and naturally didn’t know how to use its fruit to make chili paste, so he had to experiment blindly.
He first rendered some pork fat from [plump pork], then mashed the Tujuyu fruits into a deep red paste.
He heated the pork fat in the wok, added chopped fresh ginger and screaming mushroom bits, and quickly stir-fried with a wooden spatula.
Within half a minute, the sharp aroma of ginger and the unique fragrance of mushrooms were released by the high heat, drawing the three little spirit beasts playing nearby to sniff eagerly in the kitchen.
Chu Jiu warned them not to approach the hot oil and poured the Tujuyu paste into the iron wok.
Instantly, a pungent spiciness filled the air, startling the three little creatures, who tumbled and jumped away from the kitchen.
Even Chu Jiu, who loved spicy food, couldn’t stop sneezing and had tears streaming down his face.
Wiping sweat away, he kept stirring, adding soy sauce, salt, and a generous spoonful of honey to enhance the flavor.
The final product was a pot of fragrant, dark red chili seasoning.
Chu Jiu wiped his forehead, dipped a chopstick tip into the sauce, and tasted it—
Mmm…!
Quite good!
A slight tingling and burning sensation was followed by a lingering, mildly sweet and savory aftertaste, making one want to breathe out with an open mouth and immediately take another bite!
Though it couldn’t compare to the “Old Lady Brand Chili Sauce” that conquered all of Huaxia, its spiciness was gentler, making it a perfectly acceptable substitute!
Satisfied, Chu Jiu put down his chopsticks: Great! Hot pot for tonight!

*

Evening.
The family of one adult and three little ones decided to dine outdoors.
Just then, Guluulu had finished fencing the pioneer’s cabin, giving them a proper little courtyard.
Chu Jiu built two stoves from stones in the yard, each holding a clay pot.
One pot contained clear pork bone broth with scallions, ginger slices, and screaming mushroom pieces.
This was for Hoohoo Rabbit and Little Can.
The other pot was a red oil hot pot base made by adding the newly made chili sauce to pork bone broth, glistening with fiery red oil.
Authentic hot pot base would usually include broad bean paste, dried chili, Sichuan peppercorns…
And a dipping sauce made from garlic and sesame oil to complete the flavor.
But at this moment, Chu Jiu couldn’t be so particular.
He eagerly placed the sliced lamb and fish into the clear broth pot, cooked them, and served them to Hoohoo Rabbit and Little Can. Then he poured a large glass of grape juice for Guluulu and sat cross-legged before the red oil pot, rubbing his hands excitedly.
Carefully, he picked up a lamb slice and dipped it into the boiling, bubbling red broth.
Counting silently: 1, 2, 3…
Sixty! Out!
The tender and delicate cotton lamb had no trace of gaminess, now soaked in the spicy red broth. Putting it in his mouth, the meat’s juices mixed with the soup’s flavors—freshness intertwined with heat, leaving a fragrant trail on the lips and teeth.
Chu Jiu was so satisfied he couldn’t find the words, so he cooked another chopstick of meat and added some thinly sliced potato slivers.
Soon, his cheeks flushed a rosy pink, and his lips turned bright red.
The three little spirit beasts had never seen Chu Jiu eat with such enthusiasm before; they stopped their play, staring at him curiously.
Hoohoo Rabbit twitched its little nose, its long ears pointed to the red oil pot: “Hoohoo hoo, is this really that delicious? Can we try some?”
“Then try it.”
Chu Jiu generously placed two slices of meat on the plates of Hoohoo Rabbit and Little Can.
Half a second later, Hoohoo Rabbit screamed, “Hoohoo hoo, my mouth burns, hoohoo hoo!” and hurriedly gulped down water from the bucket.