In addition, the gains were quite substantial.
Six wild chickens, a wild mountain goat, and everyone was holding a live wild rabbit in their arms.
When Patriarch Zhou followed Mo Jiuye to check out the situation, they saw all these hunting spoils in front of them.
The old man couldn't quite believe his eyes and rubbed them forcefully.
Having lived here his whole life, he naturally knew there was game on the mountain.
The hunters from the village would gather and organize trips up the mountain that would last several days.
Even so, it seemed the game they hunted back was not as much as what this Mo family had obtained in one day.
Patriarch Zhou was so envious, he was too envious of the Mo family.
With such great hunting skills, even if the Mo family spent their whole lives as country bumpkins like himself, they would never have to worry about food and clothing in the future.
At the moment, everyone's attention was focused on the game, especially the wild rabbits held in some people's arms, which no one could take their eyes off.
Mo Hanyue simply couldn't resist such cute creatures. At this time, the little girl was smiling from ear to ear.
"Big Brother Liang Hao, you guys are too amazing to have caught so many little bunnies."
Liang Hao grinned foolishly, "Miss likes them, so we tried our best to catch more to bring back."
Mo Hanyue pointed to an empty room to the west. It had already been turned into a place for her to raise Rice Ball and the little white rabbit they just caught.
"Dear brothers, please first put the wild rabbits in there."
When the door opened, Rice Ball immediately bared its teeth at the few men approaching them.
It was as if it was a door god, as long as you dare come near, I will bite you.
Liang Hao and the others all knew this black and white furball was Madam Nine's darling, so of course they had to indulge it.
Liang Hao was the first to make a gesture of surrender, "Little ancestor, don't bite me. We promise not to go in."
Mo Hanyue ran over with an amused smile and picked up Rice Ball to bring it into the room.
"Rice Ball, they are all our own, don't be so fierce, okay?"
When facing Mo Hanyue, Rice Ball could only reluctantly tolerate her and did not have the same good attitude as towards He Zhiran.
It was seen wagging its little butt and slid off Mo Hanyue's body, then swaggered away.
This was also considered tacitly approving Mo Hanyue's words.
The few men laughed to themselves, then put the rabbits in the room before closing the door and leaving.
Mo Jiuye saw Eighth Brother had come back and told him to accompany Patriarch Zhou inside to chat while he went to invite Patriarch Zhao over.
Just as he walked to the front door, the Zhou family servants came over again with a large round table and some chairs, plus two braziers.
Everything was ready except for the leading actor. It was time for He Zhiran to make her entrance.
She directed her bewildered family members to place the two braziers in the center of the two tables. Then she fetched two large copper pots from the kitchen that they had bought on their exile journey.
As the copper pots were filled with clear water, she added the hot pot soup base she had purchased from Taobao Treasury.
By this time, Mo Jiuye, who had gone out to invite people, had also returned.
Following him were not only Patriarch Zhao, but also Xie Tianhai and Fang Chuanzhou.
Fifth Sister also helped Fifth Brother over.
Seeing the red-hot braziers and copper pots placed on the tables, everyone was somewhat at a loss.
Especially the few outsiders.
While the Mo family was hospitable in inviting them for a meal, cooking with braziers on the table was a novel way of dining.
The two patriarchs, Zhao and Zhou, were particularly puzzled but did not dare ask out of politeness. They assumed it must be some fancy, modern way of dining practiced by rich noble families in the capital.
If they asked, it would make them seem unsophisticated country bumpkins...
Eventually it was Xie Tianhai who voiced what everyone was wondering.
"Nephew Jiuye, what are you having us eat?"
Mo Jiuye smiled.
"Uncle Xie, this is a new way of dining my wife came up with called hot pot."
Having said that, he went on to usher everyone to their seats, with men at one table and women at the other, perfectly dividing up the space.
Still confused, everyone had just sat down when He Zhiran led a group of women to start bringing up ingredients.
Seeing these ingredients made them even more bewildered.
Before anyone could ask, He Zhiran took the initiative to explain, "Everyone, this is a new dining method I read about in books. You cook the ingredients in the copper pots and eat them as they simmer."
As she spoke, the water mixed with spicy hot pot soup base in the copper pots started boiling. The aromatic smell of numbingly spicy flavor permeated the entire room.
After hearing He Zhiran's explanation and smelling the tantalizing aroma from the pots, some could no longer restrain their eagerness to try this novel way of dining and picked up their chopsticks.
They had picked up their chopsticks but still did not quite know how to eat this hot pot without seeing someone demonstrate first.
Therefore, everyone could only watch Mo Jiuye longingly.
In fact, this was also Mo Jiuye's first time seeing this new dining method. However, as the host he had to "lead by example."
So he used the chopsticks to grab some of the ingredients and put them in the copper pots.
He Zhiran also timely prepared the dipping sauce and distributed it to everyone.
Seeing the water in the pots boiling again, she reminded, "You can eat now after dipping it in the small bowls of sauce."
Everyone followed her instructions to grab some cooked ingredients into their bowls and dip them in the spicy sauce to eat.
As Da Shun did not yet have chili peppers, the tongue-numbing spiciness that hit their throats as soon as they put it in their mouths made several people cough uncontrollably.
After coughing, an tantalizing, rich, and irresistible flavor lingered in their mouths for a long time, making them crave more bites with rising fervor.
Then everyone grabbed more ingredients from the simmering copper pots into their bowls again and wolfed them down with great relish.
Mo Chuhan kept nodding in praise, "I don't know what spices Sister-in-Law put in the soup, but it's so delicious that I just can't stop."
Fang Chuanzhou chimed in in agreement, "That's right. Having been in the capital for so many years and eaten all kinds of delicacies, nothing can compare to the delightful flavor of this hot pot."
Xie Tianhai also laughed, "With such delectable flavors, it would be even better if there was wine to accompany the meal."
Speaking of wine, He Zhiran had really been negligent today. She had prepared so many tasty dishes but had completely forgotten about the wine.
The mule cart supplies were already completely moved out so if she conjured up wine now, it would definitely arouse suspicion.
So for today, she could only let everyone have some slight regrets.
Seeing that everyone had gotten the hang of eating hot pot, He Zhiran called a few sister-in-laws over to help bring out the garlic steamed lobster and spicy shelled shrimp dishes that had been prepared in the kitchen.
Patriarch Zhou was a bit more composed since he had already heard Mo Jiuye mention this stuff when he came over to deliver firewood earlier.
Patriarch Zhao reacted differently. He asked in puzzlement, "Elder Nine's wife, what is this? The hot pot ingredients are so good and your Mo family doesn't seem short on money. Why make such lip-burning stuff to eat?"
Out of courtesy, Patriarch Zhao kept the latter words to himself in his mind.
Instead of explaining, He Zhiran directed Mo Jiuye to ask everyone to try some.
She wanted to prove with facts that these seafood they did not regard highly could indeed become irresistibly tasty delicacies in her hands.
And so it was. Bound by propriety, everyone resolutely ate a bite that Mo Jiuye had grabbed for them, only to find, as He Zhiran expected, it made them crave for more bites.
