After the divorce, he took care of his child and sold fried rice; his ex-wife was filled with regret

The next morning.

The wind in Jiangcheng was still dry, cold, and biting.

At six o'clock in the morning, Lin Fan got up and went downstairs on time.

Lin Yi had already cleaned the hall until it was spotless.

Lin Fan entered the system farm and used a ripening agent to slaughter two top-quality Tan sheep that had just reached adulthood. He then butchered them, took them out of the farm, and put them in the refrigerator in the back kitchen.

Chop the bones, make soup, cut the meat, and prepare charcoal.

The kitchen was soon filled with the rich and mellow aroma of bone broth.

At 6:30, the iron gate in the back alley rattled twice.

Su Xiaoxiao walked in wrapped in a thick down jacket, breathing on her hands to warm them as she changed her shoes.

"Good morning, Brother Lin." Su Xiaoxiao walked to the cashier, picked up the cloud and mist white tea that Lin Yi had poured, took a sip, and her body gradually warmed up.

As soon as she put down her teacup, Su Xiaoxiao sniffed and followed the aroma to the window of the open kitchen.

"It smells so good, Brother Lin. This smell... is it mutton?" Su Xiaoxiao swallowed and asked in surprise.

"When I pass by those mutton restaurants, I can smell the gamey odor from far away. How come your pot only has a pure meaty aroma and not any gamey smell at all?"

Lin Fan picked up a piece of chalk from the kitchen and handed it to Su Xiaoxiao.

"Write down the new dishes," Lin Fan said calmly.

Su Xiaoxiao took the chalk and ran to the small blackboard next to the gate. Lin Fan announced the names and prices of the dishes, and Su Xiaoxiao neatly added a line of text.

【Premium Charcoal-Grilled Lamb Hot Pot: 888 RMB/pot (includes half a pound of hand-cut fresh lamb and a dish of secret dipping sauce)】

After writing down the price, Su Xiaoxiao clicked her tongue: "Brother Lin, it's so early in the morning, and you're charging 888 yuan a pot? Who would order that?"

"It's cold, someone will eat." Lin Fan turned to wash his hands.

It's exactly 7 o'clock.

Lin Fan walked to the front door and pushed open the roller shutter.

A cold wind blew through the streets, carrying fallen leaves. The diners in line immediately rubbed their hands together and rushed into the hall, looking for familiar spots.

Li Dayong, wearing a black leather jacket, strode over to the table by the window and sat down. Chairman Chen followed closely behind and sat down opposite him.

"Xiao Su, two bowls of beef noodles and two servings of stuffed tofu," Li Dayong shouted at the top of his lungs, while pressing his frozen hands against the hot teacup to warm them up.

Su Xiaoxiao stood behind the cashier, holding a tablet computer, and pointed to the small blackboard on the wall.

"Mr. Li, we have some new dishes in the menu today."

Li Dayong followed the finger's gaze, paused for a moment, and read the words: "Ultimate Charcoal-Grilled Lamb Hot Pot, 888 yuan per pot?"

Li Dayong touched his bald head and turned to look at Chairman Chen.

It wasn't that he was stingy with the 800-plus yuan; he often spent tens of thousands of yuan on a single meal when socializing outside.

"Hot pot so early in the morning? Old Lin's cooking skills are impressive. But this lamb..."

Li Dayong hesitated for a moment, "I've never really liked eating mutton since I was a child because I can't stand the smell. Even my burps after eating it taste like that."

Chairman Chen smiled, picked up his teacup, and took a sip of white tea.

"Dayong, that's what you call being an amateur. The real top-quality mutton is just rinsed in water; you enjoy its fresh, sweet flavor. The fact that Lao Lin dared to label this dish 888 on the blackboard shows that he has absolute confidence in his ingredients."

Li Dayong turned to Chairman Chen, "Old Chen, why don't you try some? Don't you usually love eating these fresh seafood dishes?"

Chairman Chen smiled, picked up his teacup, and took a sip of white tea.

"Let's skip today. I have an early meeting later, and eating hot pot so early in the morning will inevitably leave me smelling like hot pot. It's not appropriate to go to a meeting then. Xiao Su, I'll go ahead with the usual."

"Okay, please wait a moment." Su Xiaoxiao placed the order on the tablet, turned around and walked to the food counter to hand the order to Lin Fan.

He turned around, took a piece of beef shank from the refrigerator, and began to slice it steadily.

Outside, the north wind was blowing harder, and the roller shutter door was rattling loudly in the wind.

The heavy windproof curtain was suddenly lifted from the outside, and Ye Wanxing walked in.

Today she wore a long, ankle-length black down jacket and a thick cashmere scarf around her neck, which covered most of her face, leaving only her eyes visible.

Even though she was wrapped up so tightly, she still couldn't help but shiver as soon as she entered the door.

The winter morning in Jiangcheng was damp and chilled to the bone. She stood outside for less than ten minutes, and her hands and feet were already numb with cold.

"Phew—" Ye Wanxing pulled down her scarf and let out a long breath.

She skillfully found an empty table near the heater and sat down. Lin Yi came over and handed her a cup of steaming Yunwu white tea.

Ye Wanxing held the white porcelain teacup tightly in both hands, took two sips, and only then did her body recover slightly.

She looked up, habitually glancing at the small blackboard on the wall, ready to order. Her gaze swept over it, and she paused, startled.

"The ultimate charcoal-grilled mutton hot pot?" Ye Wanxing murmured.

Hearing the sound, Su Xiaoxiao came over and asked, "We have new dishes today. It's cold, would you like to try this?"

Ye Wanxing is a female celebrity who is very strict about her diet. She almost never touches hot pot, which is high in oil and salt, let alone in the morning.

But it was so cold today. She'd been outside in the wind for a while, and her hands and feet were freezing. Besides, this was a new dish from Lin's shop. She trusted Boss Lin's cooking skills.

Ye Wanxing glanced at the price tag: 888 yuan a pot. For her, money wasn't the issue; the issue was whether her stomach could handle eating hot pot so early in the morning.

"Is this mutton hot pot spicy?" Ye Wanxing asked Lin Fan in the kitchen.

Lin Fan scooped the cooked noodles into a bowl without turning his head: "Clear broth base, not spicy, it'll warm you up."

Hearing the words "clear broth hot pot base," Ye Wanxing felt relieved.

"Give me one then."

"Okay, that'll be 888 yuan in total." Su Xiaoxiao operated the tablet.

Lin Fan pressed the order bell. Lin Yi picked up the tray and delivered the noodles and tofu to Li Dayong and Chairman Chen.

Next, Lin Fan began preparing the mutton hot pot.

He bent down, opened the cabinet underneath, and took out a gleaming brass hot pot. This old-fashioned brass pot had a tall fire tube in the center and a circular water trough around it.

Lin Fan used fire tongs to pick out several pieces of smokeless fruitwood charcoal and lit them on the gas stove.

The charcoal fire quickly glowed red-hot, producing no smoke, only a faint aroma of fruit and wood.

He placed the glowing red charcoal into the firebox of the copper pot. Then, he scooped two spoonfuls of freshly cooked mutton bone broth from the soup bucket beside him and poured it into the circular water trough of the copper pot.

The soup base in the sink is very simple: a few slices of ginger, two sections of scallion, a pinch of white peppercorns, and a small spoonful of salt.

Then Lin Fan turned around, opened the refrigerator, and took out a piece of fresh lamb hind leg meat.

The meat has already been aged. Lin Fan picked up a sharpened slicing knife and placed it on the solid wood cutting board.

He held the mutton with one hand, found the muscle fibers, and cut against the grain.

With a steady wrist movement, the blade rises and falls rapidly.

"Knock knock knock..."