Hunting 81: Gathering Goods in the Mountains, I Spoil My Ex-Wife to the Extreme

"Mom, what does 'eating out' mean?"

As we left the guest room, DouDou asked curiously.

For a child who is just over three years old, who rarely goes to Xiangyang Commune and spends most of her time in the village, she cannot understand the meaning of the words "going to a restaurant".

However, let alone Dou Dou, a three-year-old child, even Lin Xiulan was a little confused about eating out.

In her mind, going to a restaurant is just eating.

However, she has never eaten out at a restaurant in all her life.

When she was at her parents' home, her family was poor. Later, when there was a famine in her hometown, her parents told her to pack her simple belongings and leave to escape the famine in order to save food for her family and her brothers.

Later, she met Li Yunshan, who gave her some food, and she married him.

However, she didn't have a good life after marrying Li Yunshan, because Li Yunshan was still idle and didn't do anything productive at that time.

However, for most people in this era, the simplest understanding of living a good life is being able to have enough to eat.

They don't lack understanding of what a better life would be like; rather, they lack the means to experience or comprehend it.

Because most people in that era were poor.

"Eating out is just about eating, but what you eat depends on your budget and lifestyle. Some restaurants serve ordinary food, while others serve more elaborate food."

"In big cities, some restaurants or hotels specialize in seafood, some specialize in beef and mutton, and some specialize in dishes that were introduced from the West; those are called Western restaurants."

"However, there aren't any Western restaurants in Qinghe County. Maybe when we have the chance, Daddy will take you and Mommy to a big city and show you around a Western restaurant, okay?"

Li Yunshan patiently explained to Dou Dou.

"Okay." Dou Dou nodded happily, but immediately followed up with, "Daddy, when are you going to take Mommy and me to the big city to see a Western restaurant?"

"Well... when Dad works hard to earn money, Dad will go into business and make lots of money. When Dad expands his business to a big city, we'll move there and live there. Then we can eat out whenever we want, and go to a Western restaurant whenever we want."

Li Yunshan was taken aback by Dou Dou's question. After thinking for a moment and organizing his thoughts, he patiently spoke to Dou Dou.

"oh."

Dou Dou nodded, asked Li Yunshan a few more childlike questions, and then her attention was immediately drawn to the main street of the county town.

Although it was freezing cold and the sun was beginning to set, and there were fewer and fewer pedestrians on the street, everything in the county town held great appeal for Dou Dou, who had grown up in the countryside.

She was being led by the hand by Li Yunshan and Lin Xiulan, but her little head kept turning around. Her big, dark eyes looked here and there, and she seemed to find even the buildings on both sides of the town's streets fascinating.

Because many buildings in the county town are two or three stories high, while in Guapigou Village, almost all the houses are single-story red brick and tile houses.

Even a building that's only two or three stories high is extremely tall in the eyes of a little girl like Dou Dou.

Lin Xiulan's beautiful eyes also curiously surveyed everything before her.

She remembered what Li Yunshan had said not long ago: he wanted to buy land in the county town, build a house, and move there to live.

To be honest, Lin Xiulan was really looking forward to it.

In the past, when things were difficult, city dwellers received a fixed amount of commercial grain each month, with 24 to 30 jin of grain coupons. With the coupons and some money, they could buy commercial grain at the supply and marketing cooperative or grain station. This was much better than her working hard in the fields in the countryside to earn work points and only receiving grain from the village at the end of the year.

In the past, if a girl married into a family in the city and received a government-subsidized food ration, she would become the envy of her family's neighbors.

In Lin Xiulan's mind, if Li Yunshan really kept his word, really bought land and built a house in the county town, and moved there with her and Dou Dou in the future, then they should be city dwellers, able to eat marketable grain, and completely say goodbye to the life of working hard in the fields in the village to earn work points to earn money and grain.

"What are you thinking about?"

Seeing Lin Xiulan staring blankly at the streets of the county town, Li Yunshan asked with a curious smile.

"You said before that you wanted to buy land and build a house in the county town so that we could move there. I'm wondering when that will happen."

Lin Xiulan didn't hide anything.

"Hehe, Xiulan, believe me, I keep my word. If I say I'll buy land and build a house in the county town, I will. You won't have to wait too long for that day," Li Yunshan patted his chest and assured her.

"Okay, I believe you."

Lin Xiulan said.

After taking Dou Dou for a stroll, Li Yunshan and his family of three arrived at a mutton restaurant.

Standing at a table in the mutton restaurant, Lin Xiulan glanced at the menu and was suddenly stunned.

After a while, she came to her senses and looked at Li Yunshan: "Yunshan, this mutton restaurant is too expensive. How about we go and have a bowl of braised noodles, or a bowl of wontons or dumplings?"

"Xiulan, the purpose of our trip to Chengxian is to enjoy life and broaden our horizons. If we go to eat braised noodles or wontons and dumplings just because this mutton restaurant is expensive, then we might as well not bring DouDou to the county town at all."

Li Yunshan glanced at Dou Dou, who was curiously looking around, and then said to the waiter next to him, "Bring a copper pot with charcoal fire, the soup base is bone broth, and three catties of mutton rolls, as well as a serving of mutton intestines, mutton tripe, frozen tofu, Chinese cabbage, white radish, winter melon slices, shiitake mushrooms, king oyster mushrooms, and hand-pulled noodles."

Li Yunshan picked up the menu and ordered food with practiced ease.

The waiter, pen and paper in hand, jotted down notes rapidly.

"Are you sure you can finish all this food?"

Lin Xiulan said with concern.

"I can finish it."

Li Yunshan nodded.

Only three pounds of mutton rolls? That's nothing!

Despite the large number of side dishes ordered, Li Yunshan knew that those side dishes actually didn't amount to much.

Soon after, the copper pot with charcoal fire was served, followed by lamb rolls, frozen tofu, mushrooms, and other side dishes, as well as dipping sauces such as sesame paste.

As soon as the bone broth in the pot boiled, Li Yunshan put the mutton rolls in.

After simmering the mutton rolls in the copper pot for a while, just as they were cooked through, they were scooped out and placed in the bowls in front of Lin Xiulan and Dou Dou.

"It tastes even better when dipped in sauce."

Li Yunshan added new mutton rolls to the copper pot while teaching Lin Xiulan how to eat them.

Dou Dou is still small. She picked up her chopsticks and clumsily picked up a slice of cooked mutton roll, blew on it a few times, and put it in her mouth.

"Mom, the mutton is delicious."

After tasting it, DouDou's bright black eyes lit up.

Li Yunshan smiled. In this era, the main thing about ingredients is to use the real thing. Lamb is lamb, and there is no adulteration at all.

If you go to a hot pot buffet decades from now and order lamb or beef rolls, you'll find that they're using synthetic meat.

What is synthetic meat?

Those with a conscience will mince duck meat, add seasonings that can give it a lamb or beef flavor, and then use a machine to make lamb rolls or beef rolls, so that you can enjoy so-called lamb hot pot or beef hot pot.

"Silly child, dip it in the sauce first, then eat it."

Lin Xiulan picked up a slice of cooked mutton roll, dipped it in sesame sauce, and brought it to Dou Dou's lips.

"Xiulan, you should eat too. DouDou will teach her once, and she'll know how to eat it herself."

As Li Yunshan spoke, he scooped the cooked mutton rolls into a bowl.

"Okay, you should eat too. Don't just focus on me and DouDou and not even try a bite yourself."

Lin Xiulan said.

"Who said I won't eat it? I'll eat it right now."

Li Yunshan smiled.

He was worried that Lin Xiulan and Dou Dou might not be used to eating out for the first time, so he kept taking care of them.

After a while, seeing that Dou Dou could skillfully pick up the mutton rolls, dip them in sesame sauce, and eat them, Li Yunshan also started eating mutton while cooking it.

After cooking about two pounds of mutton slices, I added frozen tofu, cabbage, and other side dishes to the pot.

Frozen tofu needs to be cooked for a longer time, while Chinese cabbage only needs to be briefly blanched in the copper pot until fully cooked before being taken out and eaten.

In addition, sheep intestines, sheep tripe, sliced ​​white radish, sliced ​​winter melon, and other ingredients were also added to the copper pot one after another.