Chapter 74: A Recipe for Her Smile

Because of the roast duck incident last time, Wei Lan had been disciplined by her wife and had learned her lesson.

These past few days, she had stayed obediently in her courtyard, drawing blueprints.

She was mainly drawing blueprints for a copper pot, since she had promised Lu Zijin to come up with a delicious signature dish for their own tavern.

After several revisions of the blueprint, she finally felt it was ready.

She handed the blueprint over to a craftsman to have it made and polished.

In between, Wei Lan went to check several times.

She personally supervised some of the details.

Finally, a decent-looking copper pot was produced.

Wei Lan had Xi Ye carry the copper pot back to her courtyard.

She planned to wait for her wife to return in the afternoon so they could eat hot pot together.

It was already autumn now.

The weather was no longer as scorching as the previous month.

In the evening, it even felt a little cold, which was perfect for hot pot.

Wei Lan had someone prepare a thick wooden board to set the pot on, and had charcoal prepared in advance.

She went to the kitchen and instructed the two cooks how to cut the vegetables.

It was worth mentioning that tofu already existed in this world.

Wei Lan, who loved eating tofu, absolutely had to include it.

The next step, making the hot pot base, had to be done by Wei Lan herself.

But cows were very precious animals in ancient times.

After all, farmers needed them for plowing fields.

Therefore, very few people ate beef, and in some places, killing a cow was strictly forbidden.

Fortunately, Panyang City had no such regulations.

The Lu residence wasn’t short of silver.

A few days ago, the residence had slaughtered a cow to eat.

The leftover meat had been sent to the tavern to be cooked and sold.

The beef tallow had been stored in several large jars by the cooks in Lu Zijin’s courtyard.

Now, it could finally be put to use.

Wei Lan poured the beef tallow into a pot and melted it.

She added various spices and chili peppers and stir-fried them.

Afraid that Lu Zijin and Wei Qing couldn’t handle too much spice, she didn’t put in too many chili peppers.

But even so, the fragrance from the pot spread far and wide.

With this kind of broth, even a shoe sole boiled in it would taste delicious.

Wei Lan finished frying the spices.

After they solidified, she cut the mixture into large chunks.

She stored the chunks that wouldn’t be used immediately, leaving one large chunk for them to eat later.

The residence had tofu-making tools.

Two days ago, Wei Lan had the servant boys in the courtyard get a set, specifically for grinding sesame paste.

Of course, they also produced sesame oil.

Sesame oil was sold in Panyang City, but sesame paste was unheard of.

The corners of Wei Lan’s mouth lifted.

She would undoubtedly be leading a new trend in Panyang City again.

She didn’t think anyone could resist the temptation of hot pot.

After preparing these things, she had the cooks slice the lamb and beef into thin pieces.

The sliced meat was placed in ice buckets to keep it fresh.

After doing all this, Wei Lan just had to wait for Lu Zijin to arrive.

They had agreed yesterday that Lu Zijin would come and have dinner with her after finishing her work.

Wei Lan lay on the table, waiting for her wife with eager eyes.

She had practically turned into a ‘waiting-for-wife stone’.

These past few days, she had been especially well-behaved, afraid that her wife wouldn’t let her touch her when they went to bed at night.

Because she had promised her little Qiankun she would come back early today, Lu Zijin finished her work very early.

After returning, she went directly to Fuqu Pavilion.

As soon as she arrived, Wei Lan, hearing the commotion, rushed out of the bedroom.

Her eyes shone brightly as she looked at Lu Zijin.

“Wife, you’re back!

Are you tired?

Let me give you a massage.”

Lu Zijin looked at Wei Lan with a smile.

Wei Lan ran over to her, took her hand, and quickly led her back to the room.

As soon as they entered the room, Wei Lan hugged Lu Zijin tightly.

“Wife, I missed you.”

Looking at her little Qiankun, who was hugging her and acting spoiled, Lu Zijin smiled and shook her head.

She kissed Wei Lan’s lips and asked with a smile, “Why did you want me to come back early?

What do you want me to eat?

Hmm?”

“Hot pot.

I’ve had everything prepared.”

Wei Lan hadn’t seen Lu Zijin all day and didn’t want to let her go.

In the end, Lu Zijin kissed her.

The two kissed for a while before finally separating slightly.

Lu Zijin raised an eyebrow at Wei Lan.

“Do you want me to eat hot pot or eat you?”

Wei Lan snorted at Lu Zijin, then said, “I’m the Qiankun.

If anyone is eating anyone, it’s me eating you.”

Looking at the soft little dog in her arms, Lu Zijin was amused.

Even after her little dog understood that sort of thing, she still wasn’t particularly fierce.

Sure enough, seeing Lu Zijin laugh, Wei Lan hugged her again and shook her, acting spoiled.

“Wife, you’re laughing at me.”

“Alright, I won’t laugh.

My little Qianjun is the fiercest.

Is that better?”

Lu Zijin coaxed Wei Lan.

Wei Lan hummed and whined, hugging Lu Zijin tighter.

“Mm.”

Wei Lan hugged her wife and acted spoiled for a while, then said, “Wife, the delicious food I mentioned last time is ready.

Let’s have dinner with Wei Qing tonight, okay?”

“Alright.

Whatever you say.”

Lu Zijin smiled.

Wei Lan got up from Lu Zijin’s arms and sent someone to bring up the things prepared in the kitchen.

She herself went to the next room to call Wei Qing to dinner.

Although she had been living in the Lu residence for a while, Wei Qing was still a bit afraid of Lu Zijin.

She said to Wei Lan, “Sis, I won’t go.

You and Sister Lu go ahead and eat.”

“It’s fine.

My wife is very nice.

Don’t be afraid.

Besides, this is a new dish I invented.

I guarantee you’ve never had it before.

It’s especially delicious.”

Wei Lan emphasized.

Seeing her sister insist, Wei Qing had no choice but to agree.

Wei Lan took her hand and led her to her bedroom.

The maidservants had already brought up plates of vegetables and meat, and placed a large copper pot with a chimney in the middle.

Lu Zijin asked, puzzled, “Why is all this food raw?”

“Wife, the broth is inside the pot.

We need to add charcoal underneath.

When the pot boils, you just cook whatever you want in it, then dip it in this sesame paste.

It’s especially delicious.”

Wei Lan explained.

Lu Zijin was skeptical; she had never seen this way of eating before.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.

Don’t worry.”

Wei Lan blinked at Lu Zijin.

She waved her hand grandly, and the servant boys filled the bottom opening with red-hot charcoal.

Soon, the broth in the copper pot began to boil.

“Time to add the meat and vegetables.”

Wei Lan said, adding tofu to the pot to start, then adding a circle of lamb and beef.

Soon, the meat was cooked.

“Quick, take some.

It’s ready.”

As she spoke, Wei Lan picked up Lu Zijin’s bowl and put some meat in it.

Wei Qing saw her sister start, so she picked up some as well.

Lu Zijin took her bowl from Wei Lan’s hand and took a skeptical bite.

The fresh lamb, cooked in the spicy broth and then dipped in sesame paste, was both tender and fragrant.

Exceptionally delicious.

Lu Zijin nodded continuously.

“Mm, delicious.

And not too spicy.”

Originally, looking at how red the broth was, she had thought it would be very greasy.

But it wasn’t greasy at all.

Wei Qing heard Lu Zijin say it was delicious, so she tried a bite the same way, and her eyes lit up.

Wei Lan also picked up a few pieces of meat.

After three bites, she was almost moved to tears.

In her past life, she had really liked eating lamb and beef.

Hot pot was a meal she had to have at least twice a month.

“Vegetables are delicious in it too.”

Wei Lan said, adding cabbage and bean sprouts.

Bean sprouts were basically cooked after just a quick dip, giving a crisp, refreshing texture with a hint of spiciness.

Lu Zijin picked up two pieces of tofu for herself.

She blew on them gently and found that tofu cooked in the pot was also especially delicious.

But Kunzes had very limited appetites.

After trying a few more bites of vegetables, Lu Zijin put down her bowl.

Wei Lan was eating happily.

Seeing her wife put down her bowl, she quickly asked, “What’s wrong?

Don’t you like it?”

“No, it’s very delicious.

I’ve already eaten quite a bit.

I can’t eat any more.

You two go ahead.”

Lu Zijin smiled at her.

Wei Qing also couldn’t eat any more.

She put down her chopsticks and drank some tea to cleanse her palate.

Seeing that both had stopped eating, Wei Lan simply added more meat and vegetables herself.

She had just started eating.

So, Lu Zijin and Wei Qing watched as Wei Lan devoured the food on the table like a whirlwind.

When Wei Lan was full, only a bit of cabbage and bean sprouts were left.

She was a bit too full.

She stood up and walked around, then looked at Lu Zijin, acting spoiled.

“Wife, I ate too much.

Walk with me outside for a bit.”

Lu Zijin smiled at her and nodded.

“Alright.”

After all, she was her own little Qiankun.

Naturally, she had to spoil her.

But Wei Qing, watching their interaction, couldn’t help but shudder.

No, she felt like her sister had been spoiled by Sister Lu.

Wei Lan told Wei Qing she was free to do as she pleased, while she herself took Lu Zijin’s hand and went out for a walk to digest their food.

There were maidservants carrying lanterns, following at a distance both in front and behind.

Wei Lan held Lu Zijin’s hand and swung it gently.

Occasionally, she deliberately stepped on Lu Zijin’s shadow.

Then she would have her cheek pinched by Lu Zijin.

“The little dog is misbehaving again.

Do you want to be disciplined later?”

“No, I’m very good.

I like you the most, wife.”

Wei Lan quickly said her sweet words.

Lu Zijin smiled and shook her head, leading the little dog around the garden once.

Wei Lan felt that some of the food in her stomach had been digested, so she and Lu Zijin headed back.

“Wife, this hot pot could be a new dish for our tavern.

But remember to stock up on a lot of beef tallow.

You need beef tallow to make the base.”

Wei Lan reminded her.

“Alright.

I’ll have the head chefs from the tavern come to the residence tomorrow morning.

You can teach them personally, okay?”

Lu Zijin smiled.

“Mm-hmm.

We can also put up promotional copy at the entrance of the tavern: ‘Personally recommended by Wei Lan, author of Rebirth: The Abandoned Wife of the Marquis’s Household – the Lu family tavern proudly presents a new signature dish – Hot Pot!'” Wei Lan said after a moment’s thought.

After all, quite a few people liked that storybook.

It might just help drum up more business for their own tavern.

Lu Zijin looked at Wei Lan.

Her little Qiankun had so many ideas.

Putting up promotional copy was a good idea.

“That’s feasible.

And it’s a good idea.”

Hearing her wife praise her, Wei Lan’s doggy tail practically pointed to the sky.

That’s right, wasn’t it just marketing and promotion?

In her past life, she had been surrounded by marketing everywhere.

She had some experience.

Lu Zijin saw the little dog’s smug expression and reached out to pinch Wei Lan’s cheek.

“Bad dog.

What are you so happy about?”

Wei Lan blinked at Lu Zijin, hooking her finger into Lu Zijin’s palm.

“Wife, I thought of such a delicious dish for our tavern.

What’s my reward?”

Lu Zijin smiled at Wei Lan.

“This is you making up for your mistake.

Who told you to be so attentive to Xiao Nanyan’s tavern?

I heard that the Xiao family tavern’s business has been especially good lately, especially that roast duck set meal.

It sells out every day.”

Wei Lan pouted, feeling wronged.

No, why did her wife like to bring up the past so much?