With the go-ahead, Liu Ahbao unceremoniously picked up a slice of meat and held it in the pot with his chopsticks, swishing it back and forth.
"When it comes to lamb hot pot, I just love Boss Su’s style."
"None of that miscellaneous junk, just pure meat! You’ve got the all-lean rump, the half-lean, half-fat belly cut, and the beautifully marbled ribeye!"
As Ah Bao spoke, he closed his eyes and swayed his head in appreciation. In reality, he was silently counting in his head—the meat was cut two or three millimeters thick, so it would only take a few seconds to cook.
The moment the meat changed color, Ah Bao placed the piece of belly on his plate and ladled some sesame sauce over it.
"You add some fermented bean curd, chive blossom paste, chili oil, scallions, and garlic to the sesame sauce. Then you take the cooked lamb, drench it in that sauce... and that first bite... SSSSS!!!"
As Ah Bao put the morsel in his mouth, he felt a pleasure so intense it was like his soul was leaving his body!
The thick, rich sesame sauce delivered an unparalleled savory experience. The lamb, having been blanched in boiling water infused with scallions and ginger, had absolutely no gamey taste. Every bite brought a profound sense of satisfaction to his body.
Indeed, eating meat was the one true way!
Ah Bao swayed his head, savoring the taste for a long moment. He opened his eyes, ready for another bite.
"Where’s my meat?"
The plate of belly cuts in front of him had long since vanished. He saw that everyone else at the table wasn’t even speaking.
No one else was cooking one measly slice at a time like him. They were all grabbing huge bunches of meat with their chopsticks!
Once a full bundle of meat was cooked, they’d dump it into their bowls and give it a good stir!
They coated every crevice between the meat slices with sesame sauce, then stuffed the whole thing into their mouths!
Su Chen chewed on a large mouthful of the fresh, tender mutton. The fragrant sesame sauce, mixed with hints of cilantro and scallions, was absolutely divine!
He Shuting was also smacking her lips. "Ah Bao, if you keep talking, the rest of the meat is going to disappear too."
Wasn’t that the truth? At a time like this, there was no room for social graces. The dinner table was a battlefield—whoever ate fastest, ate most!
Even Jiang Yuan, who usually preferred an oil-based dipping sauce, had her mouth stuffed full. "Why isn’t it this delicious when we eat it at home?"
Brother Fang Chang hadn’t even swallowed the meat in his mouth, but his chopsticks were already reaching back into the pot. "Beats me. I guess Boss Su has his secrets!"
After being butchered, the fifteen-jin leg of lamb yielded only ten jin of meat for the hot pot. In just a few minutes, every slice of meat on the table had been devoured. Bai Xiaobo, refusing to give up, used a slotted spoon to dredge the pot one last time.
After confirming there truly wasn’t a single scrap of meat left, he sighed and said, "It was really, really good. There just wasn’t enough of it."
Jiang Yuan shot her boyfriend an annoyed look. "Why didn’t you bring more meat? Who is one leg possibly enough for?"
Brother Fang Chang: ???
’Babe, a minute ago you were complaining that one leg was too much, and now you’re saying it’s not enough?’
’Are you even my girl anymore?’
"That’s about enough, actually. You can’t just eat meat. Have some vegetables."
Aunt Fang stood up happily. "I’ll go get some handmade noodles."
The sliced frozen tofu started going into the pot, along with napa cabbage and lettuce. Ah Bao had eaten the least amount of meat, and he’d learned his lesson.
He stood up straight and began spooning dollops of shrimp paste into the pot.
"Boss Su, this shrimp paste is incredible! You can tell it’s made with real care!"
"What do you mean?" Zhang Li stared eagerly as dollop after dollop of shrimp paste dropped into the pot, turning into little balls in just a few moments.
"You can’t mince the shrimp paste too finely. The ready-made stuff from the supermarket is usually cut with fish paste and other fillers to pass it off as the good stuff. When you chop it yourself like this, it has texture. It tastes so much fresher!"
The words had barely left his mouth when Liu Ahbao used his spoon to scoop out the very first shrimp ball he had dropped into the pot.
He had learned his lesson: when eating with this pack of animals, you couldn’t play by the rules!
And sure enough!
The moment he finished speaking, ten pairs of chopsticks dove into the copper pot!
"Wait... the ones that went in later aren’t cooked yet..."
"Who cares! Eat first, ask questions later!" Brother Fang Chang expertly snatched a shrimp ball with his chopsticks.
Zhang Li’s chopsticks seemed to have a personal vendetta against the shrimp balls. Every time she managed to pick one up, it would slip away again before she could get it out of the pot. The short-legged girl tried several times to no avail, becoming locked in a stubborn battle with that one particular shrimp ball.
’I *will* get it this time!’
Just as she was making her umpteenth attempt, a pair of chopsticks clamped onto that very shrimp ball with unerring precision.
"Sister Ling~ Tha—" The short-legged girl hadn’t even finished her thanks when she saw Ling Shuyu, with a perfectly natural expression, place the shrimp ball into her own bowl.
Hmm... She rolled it around in the sesame sauce, her crimson lips parted slightly, and she took a bite.
Zhang Li: Ծ‸Ծ
When just about everything on the table had been eaten, Aunt Fang added the handmade noodles to the pot.
The sesame sauce in their bowls had become much soupier. Everyone scooped the noodles into their bowls, added a few leafy greens, and mixed everything together with the sauce.
The sheer joy of carbs made everyone unconsciously begin to slurp their noodles with gusto.
"So good! That lamb hot pot was so damn satisfying!" Brother Fang Chang wiped his mouth, snapped a photo of the empty plates and copper pot on the table, and sent it to the Gourmet Squad group chat.
[The Future is Long: Hot pot at Boss Su’s company. It was epic!]
The photo immediately got several replies.
[Zhan Yang: You lucky bastard. I’m still stuck on a mountain looking at a power station and you’re already feasting?]
[Zhang Yi: Is this a new hot pot offering from Boss Su? Is it expensive?]
[The Future is Long: This is a perk only insiders get to enjoy. So don’t even think about it, haha!]
[Zhan Yang: Insiders? Did you really get a job at Delicious? Holy shit, for real?]
Having successfully flexed on them, Brother Fang Chang put his phone away with a satisfied smile.
’Go on, guess all you want. Eat your hearts out!’
The meal was over, and everyone was patting their full, satisfied bellies. Ling Shuyu clutched her Xue Dan protectively, terrified someone might steal one from her.