Three points are destined, seven points depend on face

There are no special hot pot bases sold in Dai Viet. People usually use chicken soup or bone soup as the base. Because the family was full of children, Xia Chuntao cooked pork bone mushroom soup as the base.

When the pot is served, carbon is added to the bottom, and the bone broth is bubbling and fragrant.

The children brought the prepared dishes to the table one by one: pork belly, pork tenderloin, fish fillets, shrimps, meatballs, blood clots, vermicelli, tofu, fungus, potato chips, mushrooms, vegetables...

Xia Chuntao prepared various dipping sauces to the best of her ability: soy sauce, vinegar, crushed chili, minced garlic, sesame oil, chopped green onion, chopped coriander, crushed peanuts, fried soybeans, and placed them in different small bowls.

"This is a dipping sauce. You should taste the various ingredients first, and then mix them according to your favorite taste. Later, put the cooked food in and dip it before eating."

This was the first time for the children to eat hot pot. While waiting for the pot to boil, everyone licked the dipping sauce they had prepared.

Xia Chuntao first scooped a small spoonful of pork bone fungus soup into each child's bowl, then put some meat and vegetables into the pot to cook. After it was cooked, she served each child a portion.

"Just like me, you cook your own favorite dishes. Niuniu tells mother what she wants to eat, and mother will cook it for you."

The children moved excitedly and ate enthusiastically.

While Anzi was eating his own, he was picking up food for Alai and Niuniu.

Alai buried his head in eating and said, "Mom, the vermicelli tastes really good when cooked in hot pot."

Anzi nodded, "The fish fillets are very tender, Niuniu, eat more." After that, he served Niu Niu a small bowl of fish fillets.

Niu Niu: ...is struggling with the meat in the bowl.

Xia Chuntao looked at Anzi and felt quite pleased.

When he first arrived, Anzi was very reserved. He was careful when eating and didn't dare to pick up the food. Later, Xia Chuntao laughed at him and asked his mother to pick up the food like Niuniu, and Anzi gradually got better.

Anzi never dared to move things at home wherever they were placed. She just did work every day: cleaning, feeding chickens, collecting firewood, lighting fires...

Xia Chuntao knew the child's mentality of repaying kindness, so she asked Alai to work with him without saying much. As time went by, the two of them got along more and more like brothers. Anzi is integrating into this warm little family.

Now that he eats well and sleeps well every day, Anzi has grown visibly, and he looks more and more like an older brother in front of Alai and Niuniu.

"Mom, did you sell that crystal?" Alai asked while eating.

"Well, it happens that harvesting ground beans costs a lot of money, so you don't have to worry about it now." Xia Chuntao looked at the two brothers, "Don't talk about it outside, to prevent those who are jealous of money."

Xia Chuntao treats Anzi and Alai as eldest children. Xia Chuntao never hides family matters and even asks the children to express their opinions. After all, Xia Chuntao couldn't stay with them all their lives. From now on, it would be up to the two brothers to support the family.

"Anzi, do you want to study?" Xia Chuntao gave Niu Niu a ball and asked casually.

Anzi was stunned by the question and looked at Xia Chuntao in disbelief.

"Our family is rich now, not rich by any means, but it is more than enough for you to go to school." Xia Chuntao looked at the two brothers, "We don't want to be a high official in the future, but we must be able to read and know how to distinguish right from wrong, good from evil." , to have a broader horizon, reading is very important.”

Niuniu blinked her round black grape-like eyes and tugged on Xia Chuntao's sleeves, "Mom, can Niuniu also study?"

"Yes! When our Niuniu is as old as your eldest brother, we can study!"

Niuniu shouted happily, "Reading! Reading!" Then she went back to fighting with Wanzi.

Anzi is very eager to study.

There was a private school in the neighboring village, and he had seen it outside the door before. The children were sitting neatly, with books in front of them, and they were reading along with the Master. Anzi didn't understand, but he felt that it must be a particularly enjoyable thing.

Anzi never thought that he would still have the opportunity to study in this life.

"Mom, I am willing to study, and I will study hard!"

Alai echoed on the side, "Mom, I also want to study! Like dad, be a scholar!"

Xia Chuntao:......

What a prospect!

Well, it seems that it’s not easy to pass the examination for scholar.

The next day, Xia Chuntao went to "gather good things" to take inventory in a happy mood. Before I even reached the shop, I saw a large crowd of people outside.

As I got closer, I heard the shrill scream of a woman in the crowd,

"Everyone is here to comment. I bought a box of pastries from this store yesterday. After eating it, I had vomiting and diarrhea. There were a lot of red rashes on my face and my lips were swollen."

"This shady shop, call your boss out!"

Zhao Chunsheng saluted the woman and said, "Sister, you said that you ate my pastry and became like this. Are you sure it's my pastry? Could it be that you ate something else?" "

"There must be something wrong with your pastry, call your boss out!"

Someone in the crowd said: "I thought this store was so good, but I didn't expect that the boss is also evil and sells bad things to customers."

Another person said: "That's right, the store is bullying customers! They sell us all dirty and smelly things, evil things!"

Xia Chuntao squeezed in from the crowd and hugged the woman with rash on her face, "Sister, I am the shopkeeper of Juhaowu. If you have any questions, please come to me."

After saying this, Xia Chuntao winked at Zhao Chunsheng. Zhao Chunsheng understood and quietly left the crowd.

The woman took a sip on Xia Chuntao and said, "You black-hearted profiteers, if I hadn't eaten your cakes, how could I have done this with a good face?"

"Sister, you said you became like this after eating my pastries. Do you have any evidence?"

"I don't understand what evidence is and isn't. Anyway, I just eat your pastries and get spoiled!"

"I just don't understand this. Why do you insist that it was my pastries that made you like this? Did you not eat all day and only ate pastries?"

The woman looked away, her eyes slightly wandering.

"Yes, I didn't eat anything all day yesterday. I only ate your pastries."

Xia Chuntao smiled and said: "In this case, my pastries must be so delicious that you can go without eating for a whole day just to make room for these pastries!"

"Seeing as you love eating so much, I guess there must be no leftovers from the pastries you bought, right?"

The people watching laughed out loud. They had never seen such a greedy woman who would not even eat to eat cakes. When someone buys pastries, they either give them away or leave them for their children to eat slowly. Women like this are really rare.

When the woman saw everyone laughing at her, she shouted angrily, "Are you still reasonable? You sold me poisonous things and ate me like this. I'm not done with you!"

Xia Chuntao made a serious face, "Sister, I won't argue with you because of your disfigurement, but if you insist on saying that the food in my house is poisonous, I can't bear it."

"My pastries are poisonous, is that what you said?"

"Yes, what's the matter? It's already poisonous, but you won't let anyone talk about it!"