Those fields might have been extremely important to ordinary farmers, but to Lu Youqing as she was now, they were far less important than the bond she had formed with Li Nanqiao over the past year.
Money had become nothing more than a number to her. Just a few days earlier, Gu Lanxi had sent over the profit share from Jade Pool Immortal Baths, not to mention that none of the fresh vegetables Qin Ke had grown had even been sold yet.
She had already come to regard Li Nanqiao as family. If separation was inevitable, then naturally she would do everything she could to plan for her future.
Seeing Li Nanqiao pressing her lips together tightly and remaining silent, Lu Youqing sighed softly and continued, "Of course, if you want to keep following us, I'd be very happy. But Nanqiao, I hope you'll think it through carefully."
Li Nanqiao lifted her head, her eyes reddened, damp as she looked straight at Lu Youqing.
It was the first time Lu Youqing had ever seen her cry.
Lu Youqing turned her head slightly, her nose stinging as well. After steadying herself, she turned back and said, "I hope you'll think carefully about what kind of life you want to live. You should live for yourself—not just follow behind me."
What kind of life did she want?
That was a question Li Nanqiao had never considered. No one had ever told her to live for herself.
Growing up, all the women she had seen in the village listened to their parents at home, and once they came of age, they were matched and married off to men they had never met, spending the rest of their lives bearing children and serving their husbands.
After her family's circumstances improved, her mother had also cautiously asked whether she wanted to marry. She knew the village matchmaker had once come to speak with her mother. At the time, she simply hadn't wanted to marry so early.
But now someone was asking her—what kind of life did she want? What kind of future did she want to live?
Did she really want to marry and have children like most people?
No. She knew that wasn't the life she wanted. Following her madam, she had seen more of the world. She had seen that women could pursue their own paths—her madam could, and so could Lady Gu.
"Nanqiao, you can take your time to think about it. There's no need to give me an answer right away," Lu Youqing said, seeing the confusion and struggle on her face.
Most women in the world lived their lives constrained by parents and husbands. How many could truly pursue themselves?
…
Once the potatoes and chili peppers had been fully harvested, some of the tomatoes in the warm greenhouse had also ripened. Qin Ke eagerly picked them. These were all-natural, pesticide-free vegetables. Taking a bite, the tomato juice burst in his mouth—perfectly balanced between sweet and sour, juicy and delicate.
Truly worthy of being a premium variety produced by the system.
But what excited Qin Ke most was that he could finally eat the hotpot he had been longing for.
As soon as he returned, he had drawn the design for a yin-yang hotpot from his previous life and had Zhang Da and Zhang Er make it. Being made of copper, each pot was heavy and sturdy—naturally, also expensive.
With the pot ready, all that remained were the ingredients. Sliced lamb, sliced potatoes, tofu, cabbage, mushrooms—all of these were readily available. As for fish balls and shrimp balls, Qin Ke bought fresh fish and spent an entire day in the kitchen with Lei Zhong and the others pounding and shaping them by hand.
Lu Youqing, curious, even changed into lighter clothes to help in the kitchen. Qin Ke couldn't bear to let her do physical labor, so he stood beside her, guiding her hand by hand on how to squeeze the fish paste into balls and drop them into water to cook.
Rarely so interested, Lu Youqing enthusiastically made one fish ball after another.
"I'll take over, Brother Lei," Li Nanqiao said, noticing that Lei Zhong's arm movements were slowing. She stepped forward to help. She was naturally strong and had later learned some martial techniques from Lei Zhong.
Lei Zhong didn't refuse. He truly was tired, so he sat aside to tend the fire instead.
"Sister Pei, what exactly is the master doing this time?" Li Nanqiao asked Pei Xiu, who was seasoning the fish paste nearby.
Pei Xiu glanced at Qin Ke, who was speaking softly and laughing with Lu Youqing, and replied calmly, "You'll find out soon enough."
"The master is always so mysterious," Li Nanqiao muttered.
Pei Xiu curved her lips slightly. She was already used to Qin Ke constantly coming up with novel ideas.
The kitchen echoed with clanging sounds all day, producing a large basin of fish balls. At night, they were placed in the courtyard alongside the lamb. With the cold night air, they froze solid by morning.
What remained was preparing the dipping sauces—the soul of hotpot.
Fortunately, sesame paste already existed locally, saving Qin Ke a great deal of effort. Besides sesame sauce, he also prepared an oil-based sauce. Which one people preferred depended on their taste.
With everything ready, it was time to eat. Qin Ke prepared three soup bases: bone broth, spicy broth, and tomato broth.
As he cooked, he stroked his chin, pondering the possibility of producing sauces. Once he reached Liangzhou, he planned to consider opening a food processing workshop dedicated to making sauces.
The copper pots were placed on charcoal stoves. Qin Ke shared a pot with Lu Youqing; Pei Xiu shared one with Li Nanqiao; Han Qi and Lei Zhong shared another.
"Master, what's this in the bowl?" Han Qi asked, looking at the sauces.
"This is sesame sauce. That one is oil-based—it's a bit spicy. See which one you like," Qin Ke explained.
After explaining, he placed a bowl of each beside Lu Youqing. "My lady, try them and see which you prefer."
As for Qin Ke himself, he liked mixing sesame sauce and oil sauce together.
Seeing the others unsure where to begin, Qin Ke stood up smiling and explained, "This is called hotpot. You put whatever ingredients you like into the pot, cook them, then dip them in sauce to eat."
Pei Xiu was the calmest. She placed the lamb slices in front of her into the pot.
Seeing everyone busy, Qin Ke sat down and began cooking for himself. The pot in front of him held spicy and tomato broth, and he added vegetables to both.
"My lady, try and see which broth you like."
Lu Youqing usually preferred light flavors. Compared to the spicy broth, she favored the sweet-and-sour tomato soup.
After tasting both dipping sauces, her gaze slowly drifted to Qin Ke's face, flushed with sweat.
Qin Ke blinked, touched his face, and after confirming it wasn't dirty, looked at her and asked, "My lady?"
Noticing her lowered gaze fixed on the bowl in front of him, he smiled. "Do you want to try my dipping sauce?"
Lu Youqing nodded shyly.
Qin Ke smiled, picked up a mushroom, and fed it to her. Seeing that Nanqiao and the others were busy eating and chatting, not paying attention, Lu Youqing tucked her loose hair behind her ear and leaned forward to take a bite.
Steam rose from the boiling pot. Through the hazy vapor, Qin Ke saw a faint blush bloom on her flawless cheeks.
"You like it?"
"…Mm."
Qin Ke smiled as well.
The room was filled with laughter and warmth, alive with the spirit of everyday life. Perhaps the beauty of hotpot lay precisely in this lively bustle and unrestrained joy.
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