Everyone was very excited to hear that they were going to have hot pot.
Although they had enough to eat and drink these past few days, it had been a trial for the two girls who were accustomed to eating out.
An Nuan was fine; with memories of surviving the apocalypse, she was grateful for even a warm bun to eat.
Luo Luo, however, was a different story. She was craving it so much!
An Nuan went downstairs to the kitchen.
Her kitchen was equipped with various pots and small appliances, and she had many spare sets prepared in her space.
An Nuan took an electric Yin Yang hot pot from the cupboard and placed it nearby.
She took out spicy hot pot base and a packet of tomato hot pot base from the refrigerator.
Both An Nuan and Luo Luo liked to eat strong flavors.
She first added star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, chili, and a little broad bean paste to the pot, stir-frying them to release the aroma. Then, she poured in chili oil, brought it to a boil, and added it to the hot pot base with a little sweet fermented rice.
Luo Luo helped her by boiling the peeled tomatoes in a pot until they were soft and mushy, creating a thick tomato sauce.
An Nuan poured the thickened tomato sauce into the tomato base and boiled it together.
She added chopped ginger, garlic, and scallions to the pot.
She then took two more tomatoes, cut them into eight pieces, and tossed them in.
While the broth was simmering, An Nuan took some ingredients from the refrigerator.
"Enoki mushrooms, frozen tofu, seaweed, radishes, and winter melon. Are there enough vegetables?"
"Enough, enough! Hot pot is all about the meat. Who eats vegetables!"
Luo Luo and Chang Kaitong helped wash the vegetables, their eyes fixated on An Nuan as she brought out the meat.
Lamb rolls, beef rolls, crispy tripe, fresh duck intestines – the essential four must-haves for hot pot.
Crab sticks, shrimp paste, duck brains – the essential three extras must also be arranged.
An Nuan liked to eat pork kidney, but she didn't feel like having it boiled today.
She skipped the minced meat stuffing and directly sliced the kidney. She mixed it with chili, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and added bird's eye chilies and scallions, kneading it all with her hands. Finally, she drizzled a little sesame oil.
An Nuan asked, "Is this enough? Do you want to cook some rice?"
"We're having hot pot, who eats rice! Let's cook some hot dry noodles, they're delicious when boiled!"
Luo Luo reminded An Nuan.
When the hot dry noodles were cooked and absorbed the broth, their taste was comparable to divine!
An Nuan, who already loved noodles, almost drooled as she recalled the taste.
She took out a packet of noodles and placed them on a plate, along with several small bowls.
Coarse chili, bird's eye chilies, scallions, cilantro, minced garlic – all placed in small bowls.
She also prepared oyster sauce, sesame oil, tahini, and the most important ingredients for the tomato broth: chopped celery and beef granules.
Chang Kaitong carried the pot to the living room coffee table, plugged it in, and then went to help Luo Luo bring the dishes.
An Nuan took out two different brands of beer.
"Luo Luo, which one?"
"The one on the left, it's sweeter. My taste buds have been a bit off lately!"
"Alright, the younger brother is underage, you drink coke."
Chang Kaitong was a little displeased at being treated like a child by An Nuan.
But he did want to drink coke.
Cold, refreshing coke was the perfect match for hot pot!
The three of them sat cross-legged on the carpet. As Luo Luo was adjusting the TV, she saw a news alert warning citizens about strong winds.
Many people were cheering, grateful for the temperature drop.
Luo Luo sighed, "They don't know about the hurricane yet. How pitiful."
"Feeling sympathetic?"
"Just saying. That old hag was loitering around our house again today. I'm a bit worried she'll break in."
Luo Luo now understood that sympathy could be a fatal flaw after the events of the past few days.
She was currently worried about that old woman, having seen her lingering in front of a villa on the surveillance footage in the afternoon.
She probably didn't believe their story and wanted to scout for an opportunity.
An Nuan was quite impressed by the old bat.
The winds had only started to pick up today, the day they began distributing supplies. Three days later, the hurricanes would be rampant, and no more supplies could be distributed.
In other words, this distribution today was the only chance for supplies in the next week.
The old woman was indeed increasing her chances of survival by scouting for targets to snatch supplies from.
An Nuan said, "Let's not worry about her for now. If she dares to make a move, then eliminate her."
"Sister Nuan is right. With Phase Three still under construction and the hurricane coming, it's easy to deal with someone in this environment."
"Brother, you're starting to sound more like a man! Come here, let your sister give you a kiss!"
"Sister Nuan, quickly stop Sister Luo Luo! Her mouth is covered in chili oil!"
An Nuan didn't stop her and even egged them on from the side.
After the three of them finished their hot pot, An Nuan opened the window to ventilate.
A strong gust of wind blew in.
Luo Luo: "It's so cold! It's only in the teens, right?"
"The strong winds are coming, and the extreme cold won't be far behind. From today on, we'll all sleep in the upstairs rooms."
"Sister, can I sleep there too?"
"What's wrong? Is it inconvenient for you?"
Chang Kaitong's cheeks flushed slightly.
He was less than a month away from turning eighteen, which, rounding up, made him an adult male.
Sleeping with two girls...
He was shy!
An Nuan didn't see any issue with it.
After the strong winds and temperature drop, extreme cold weather would follow. Gathering together for warmth was the wisest choice.
After the apocalypse began, they often encountered alternating periods of extreme heat and cold, and everyone had to live through it.
An Nuan leaned against Juanzi, rubbing its big head: "It's good that you've grown. This layer of fat will be useful for keeping warm."
"Meow meow meow~"
Juanzi: I'm not fat, not at all!
Daizi: Anyway, you're fatter than me!
With one cat acting as a pillow and the other as a footrest, the two girls were quite comfortable.
After everyone had eaten their fill, they began to clean up the dishes.
There was still water available, so Chang Kaitong filled all the containers in the house with water, not even sparing the pots and pans.
An Nuan felt a little embarrassed to tell him that the water in her space was enough for ten people for a lifetime.
She didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm and let him do as he pleased.
Luo Luo took out the trash and disposed of it outside. When she returned, her expression was a bit grim.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, the wind hurts my face. Xiao Nuan, we won't need to go out and kill zombies these past few days, right?"
Luo Luo was still quite worried.
Although they were all Tier 1 ability users, with An Nuan infinitely close to Tier 2, she hadn't officially broken through yet.
But they were still human. Standing in a hurricane for two seconds would get them blown away.
She already felt uncomfortable just stepping outside for a moment, her little face pale from the wind.
Luo Luo was worried that Black Smoke would call them out to kill zombies at this time.
Ding!
Text appeared on the TV screen.
【How much like a pervert do you think I am?】
Pfft!
An Nuan could almost see Black Smoke rolling his eyes through the screen.
【Stay home and be cozy】
The subtitles disappeared for two seconds, then another line floated out.
【Sleep by yourself!】
A bright yellow arrow on the screen pointed directly at Chang Kaitong, accompanied by a scrolling row of skulls.
An Nuan almost burst out laughing.
She had imagined Black Smoke to be cool and handsome, but sometimes he was very childish.
His image was a bit fragmented!