After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

When Ouyang Zheng arrived at the Jiang family's house, he didn't get to eat braised pork or spicy stir-fried chicken.

The truth is that Lin Yueniang did not inform her family in advance that she would be arriving in the capital today, and Jiang Xiaoqi was even more unaware that her master would be traveling to the capital with her mother.

It's not that we don't want to treat you well, it's just that we're completely unprepared. Neither the small kitchen nor the large kitchen has the habit of keeping large quantities of ingredients on hand.

Because the young master likes fresh ingredients, the kitchen staff goes out every morning to buy the day's produce.

I happened to not buy pork today, nor did I buy a young rooster suitable for spicy stir-fried chicken.

I do have an old hen, but it's not suitable for stir-frying; it's only good for making soup.

What ingredients did the kitchen purchase today?

"The main kitchen managed to buy some beef and mutton. It was a rare opportunity to buy beef, so the person in charge of purchasing at the main kitchen bought more."

Thinking that if all else fails, making spiced beef jerky and spicy beef jerky using the young master's method would be fine too.

"Okay, okay, cut me a few pounds of meat suitable for hot pot, lamb too, and fresh vegetables as well."

"Is Young Master planning to make hot pot for Mr. Ouyang?"

"Well, time is tight, so this is the most suitable. My husband also likes spicy food, and I still have a few pieces of the spicy beef tallow hot pot base that I haven't eaten yet."

"Okay, I'll go get the ingredients from the main kitchen now."

Li Mo rushed out of Jiang Xiaoqi's courtyard. Jiang Xiaoqi was not idle either. After finishing her shift, she went home to arrange everything. First, she went to the guest courtyard to see her master. After leaving her master's courtyard, she went to see her mother.

This doesn't mean that the master is more important than the mother; on the contrary, it's because I'm closer to my own mother that I go to see the master first.

After making sure both of them were healthy and not too tired from their journey, Jiang Xiaoqi returned to her courtyard to prepare the ingredients herself.

The hot pot was made into a divided pot, with three portions prepared. One portion was sent to the master's courtyard to eat with him, one portion was sent to my mother, and the last portion was given to my grandparents as a token of filial piety.

As for why we don't eat together, one reason is that we can't find the time, and another is that even if we did, men and women would still have to sit at separate tables, which wouldn't save us much trouble.

Eating separately like this makes everyone feel comfortable, and there's no need to compromise on mealtimes.

After all, Landlord Jiang wouldn't go home before dark, and it wouldn't be good to keep his guests waiting.

Madam Jiang agreed with this point. As for why she didn't eat with her daughter-in-law Lin Yueniang, perhaps she was used to being free?

It's more relaxing and comfortable to eat with Liu Yatou, and Lin Yueniang will also eat with Fuling and several female bodyguards, so everyone can feel at ease.

Under Jiang Xiaoqi's subtle influence, the Jiang family has already streamlined many of the red tape.

Of course, in situations with many outsiders, they wouldn't do that; they would still follow the rules, conform to the crowd, and blend in with the crowd.

Ouyang Zheng was certainly not an outsider; he was Jiang Xiaoqi's elder. Ouyang Zheng's solitary nature also shaped his preference for quiet.

He figured he could eat an extra two pounds of meat since it was just him and his apprentice Jiang Xiaoqi eating hot pot.

After all, there's no need to put on airs or pretend to be a great scholar.

For this hot pot, Jiang Xiaoqi did not use the combination of mushroom broth and spicy broth.

The autumn harvest was bountiful, and a considerable number of tomatoes were stored in the space. The space's preservation function was far superior to that of refrigerators in later generations.

It's like a seal; no matter how you put it in, it comes out exactly the same as before.

So, with enough stock, Jiang Xiaoqi thought of making a tomato broth, which would also help relieve the spiciness when paired with a spicy broth.

Not long after, Li Mo returned carrying a shoulder pole.

"Why did you take so much?"

"The head kitchen knew you were going to prepare hot pot, so they brought over most of the beef they bought today, as well as the lamb."

That's right. The masters are having hot pot tonight, so there's no need to prepare any other dishes. We only need to prepare meals for the servants, stewards, young men, and guards.

Beef and mutton are also used in small quantities, but they are not the main ingredients. They are accompanied by some white radishes and potatoes.

For example, there are large pot dishes like mutton stew with radish or potato stew with beef, which are also served with some seasonal green vegetables stir-fried.

This is not mistreatment of servants; the meals served to the Jiang family's servants were actually better than those of many small landlords.

"Alright, but it's still a bit too much. We'll divide it up later. Have the small kitchen divide it into portions for hot pot, and marinate the rest so your mother can make beef jerky."

“Alright, young master, I can handle this job. My mother and I have learned a few tricks from me.”

"Okay, then it's up to you. You'll get a share if it's done well!"

"Guaranteed to complete the mission!"

After spending a lot of time with Jiang Xiaoqi, Li Mo also became a bit mischievous.

He carried the shoulder pole to the small kitchen, where he and his mother prepared hot pot ingredients and beef jerky for the young master.

Jiang Xiaoqi took out twenty or thirty ripe tomatoes from her spatial storage, scalded them with hot water first, so that they would be easier to peel.

After peeling, I cut the tomatoes into equal-sized pieces and put them into my solar-powered slow cooker to simmer the tomato broth.

The tomatoes gradually simmered and became mushy, bubbling and gurgling.

In fact, Jiang Xiaoqi didn't look up how to make the tomato hot pot base, nor did she buy a house from the system store.

I just added things based on my intuition. I definitely needed scallions and ginger, but I hesitated a bit when adding the spices.

The spices shouldn't be too strong, otherwise they will overpower the sweet and sour taste of the tomatoes, thus losing the unique characteristics of tomato hot pot.

After much deliberation, I still didn't buy a house from the system store, but I couldn't stand it anymore during the National Day holiday.

"Young master, how about I pay for the points you use to buy the house?"

"No need, no need. This doesn't require any skill. Why waste those points? Aren't your points points points too? Don't be so pretentious!"

Even after being rebuffed during the National Day holiday, he wasn't angry. He just saved what he needed to save and spent what he needed to spend. That's just his host for you~

He hasn't changed at all since he was a child. No wonder he's the grandson of a landlord. His stinginess, no, his thriftiness is just a family trait.

After much deliberation, Jiang Xiaoqi added two or three jujubes and a small handful of goji berries to the mushroom broth, but nothing else.

Anyway, there's always the spicy broth to go with it. If you don't like the tomato broth, just pretend it doesn't exist and eat the spicy broth instead.

After Jiang Xiaoqi finished preparing the broth, Li Mo had also cut several kilograms of beef and mutton, all of which were the most suitable cuts for hot pot, and were very tender.

The rest are also marinated and will be used to make spiced beef jerky and spicy beef jerky.

The three hot pot bases were delivered to three courtyards, their spicy, savory, and sweet aromas filling the courtyards along the way.

Ouyang Zheng was looking at the chess score, but the domineering aura made it impossible for him to concentrate.

Before he could go out to look for it, the servant lit the charcoal fire under the pot.

Now Ouyang Zheng doesn't need to trace the source of the aroma anymore; his own courtyard is the source of the fragrance.

"What is this?"

"Sir, my young master said he's in a hurry today, so we can only ask you to have a tomato and spicy hot pot with him."

When he has a day off, I'll prepare your favorite braised pork and spicy stir-fried chicken for you, oh right, also twice-cooked pork and stir-fried bamboo shoots with cured pork.

In short, I will make all the foods you liked before, so please don't worry.

"Uh, I understand. You can go now."

Ouyang Zheng was speechless. What kind of disciple was this?! Did his master look like a glutton?

They even come here to list the dishes! They don't seem to care that much about their appetites! Humph!

Ouyang Zheng seemed to have forgotten that as soon as he entered the city gate, he had already decided on braised pork with bamboo leaf green tea in his carriage.

After the servants who delivered the broth and charcoal left, another group of servants carrying trays of ingredients arrived.

Ouyang Zheng instantly gained a new understanding of the Jiang family's current strength. He remembered that a few years ago, the Jiang family was not like this.

It seems my apprentice's Liuxiang Pavilion has made a fortune these past few years.

Ouyang Zheng did not dislike scholars engaging in business; on the contrary, he disliked scholars who were useless.

He himself is quite the "jack-of-all-trades," with a wide range of skills, knowledge, and interests.

"You brat, all the dishes are served and you still haven't come? Are you deliberately trying to whet your master's appetite?"

The overpowering spiciness hit him right in the head. Even Ouyang Zheng, who considered himself to have excellent self-control, kept glancing towards the door.