I, a Mental Patient, Was Chosen to Participate in AnalogHorror
Chapter 329 - 296: Rainstorm with Hot Pot

Chapter 329: Chapter 296: Rainstorm with Hot Pot

"Ah, don’t worry, Zheng Qian will be back soon. I estimate that her hypnotism skills have improved by several levels. When she’s here, with me in charge here, isn’t taking care of two little girls aged four or five as easy as picking things up with one hand?"

At this point, an indescribable aura of a master emerged from the old dean.

After all, being able to hold the position of dean in Qingshan and go toe-to-toe with Jiang Xiao, how could he not have some tricks up his sleeve?!

"Uh, but will they let him go?"

Bai Jie worried that they wouldn’t easily release Jiang Xiao from the big compound.

"Don’t worry, why can’t they let him go? They definitely will. I’ll make a phone call to check."

Before the dean could even make the call, the office phone rang.

Seeing that string of encrypted numbers...

"Hello, Qingshan Mental Hospital, who are you looking for?"

"It’s not ’who,’ it’s me! Old Li! You must have seen what Jiang Xiao said in ’Kaidan’, right?"

"Um, what? You’re not getting sentimental, are you?"

There was a pause on the other end, as if the person hadn’t expected the old dean to say something like that.

"No, no, Dean, I mean, since Jiang Xiao will eventually bring his two little ’cotton-padded jackets’ to your place anyway, why not just take the two little ones over there now? Uh, if not, I could personally deliver them to you!"

Old Dean: ...

What does that mean?

"What’s with the two ’cotton-padded jackets’? They didn’t cause a racket at your military compound, did they?"

"Ah, no, no, no! Don’t get me wrong, these two are so well-behaved, and they’re both so cute and pretty, how could they possibly make trouble? What I mean is..."

’Click!’

The old dean hung up the phone.

The other guy’s tone was off, at least thirteen percent off!

Never mind that. Everything will be discussed after Jiang Xiao gets out. The other party’s posture surely involved reluctance to release him.

It rather seemed they couldn’t wait to see the father and his two daughters leave.

...

Meanwhile, Jiang Xiao and Fei Yu had finally made it back to their little home before it got dark.

"Good, good, it feels like the rain is about to pour down heavily."

It had started as a drizzle, but within minutes, it had intensified significantly, and the ’whooshing’ sound of the wind also hinted the rain wouldn’t stop anytime soon.

"Hey, how come you’re..."

When he opened the door and saw Jiang Xiao return unharmed, Fei Mi was startled.

"Don’t space out. Come on, help me with the ingredients. We’re having hotpot tonight!"

"Hotpot!"

Zhenzhen and Aiai, who were playing with skipping ropes on the sofa, jumped up all at once.

"Is it New Year’s?!"

"Oh come on, it’s not New Year’s. It’s just something your brother Jiang Xiao bought. Both of you come over and help; there’s a lot to wash and cut today."

"Yay!"

Hearing about eating something good, the two sisters stopped complaining about being tired or weary.

"Jiang Xiao, you’ve had a tiring day. Go rest for now; we’ll call you when everything is ready."

Instead of resting, Jiang Xiao went to take a shower.

During this time, Fei Mi immediately asked Fei Yu what exactly had happened.

How did Jiang Xiao come back alive, and how would they explain this to old Wang tomorrow?

"Explain what? Niu Tu was defeated by Jiang Xiao in a second."

Fei Yu didn’t want to elaborate and got straight to the point.

Defeated in a second?

Fei Mi swallowed, and it took her a while to digest this shocking piece of information.

Cough, although Fei Yu might have exaggerated a bit, it was pretty close to the truth.

"So, the deal with old Wang and our heirloom... we’re not taking it?"

"Why would you take it? Do you have more skills than Niu Tu?"

Fei Mi shook her head, indicating she didn’t have such abilities.

"Well, there you go. Besides, Jiang Xiao is very, very, very wealthy."

Three ’verys.’

"Oh~"

Fei Mi nodded thoughtfully, no wonder they had brought home so many ingredients.

Huh?

"Aren’t you curious about how rich he really is?"

Bai Jie didn’t continue to press, but as an older sister, Fei Yu was not satisfied. She had been shocked herself and felt that Fei Mi must experience that feeling too.

"He has assets of at least ten million in his hands."

Oh my!

’Clang~’

Fei Mi’s cleaver, as she was cutting ribs, fell to the ground.

No way?

This stepson is actually this wealthy?

"See? This rich and handsome boy, why should we pick on him?"

"You’re right, sister. I was being superficial."

The sisters decided not only to be nice to Jiang Xiao but also to warn Zhenzhen and Aiai not to mess around.

Though they weren’t good people.

But the sisters’ cooking skills were impeccable.

Fei Mi was in charge of cutting the meat with bones.

Her knife skills were extremely precise.

Always cutting the meat into the perfect bite-size pieces.

And the angles were very tricky.

She didn’t chop straight through; instead, she made it easier to chew by skillfully cutting some tough pieces into manageable shapes.

The other three women were doing the tedious work of washing and plating.

"You guys keep washing, I’ll go put the beef bones, pork bones, and the base of the hotpot into the pot to simmer."

The earlier the bones are simmered, the tastier they will be later.

"Wash more enoki mushrooms, I love them the most!"

"There are plenty of enoki mushrooms; today our main focus is the meat!"

"Huh? Was the price on this meat labeled wrong?"

$160 per pound for beef?!

Amid exclamations from everyone, the lavish dinner was finally ready.

...

The rain outside had become heavy.

Even inside, one could hear the ’pitter-patter’ of the rain and the ’whooshing’ sound of the wind whipping the leaves, making it feel like winter had arrived early though it was only autumn.

Tonight, everyone ate in the warm living room instead of the kitchen.

Little Zhenzhen even wrapped herself in a blanket.

A melodramatic family drama was playing on the TV.

The broth in the hotpot was bubbling vigorously.

The steam made it hard for the five seated around it to see each other’s faces clearly.

In front of everyone were premium drinks and fruit juices that they normally wouldn’t splurge on.

"Put in the meat first, as it takes longer to cook, then some vegetables. By the time we finish the vegetables on top, the meat underneath will be well-cooked."

’Sizzle~’

The cold ingredients instantly generated more steam and aroma when they hit the boiling hotpot.

"Gurgle~" Aiai swallowed her saliva, staring intently at the hotpot in front of her: "It smells so good, I can’t even remember the last time I had hotpot."

Yeah~

All four women’s eyes became misty.

Since moving to Guanxi Town, whether it was hotpot, changing clothes with the seasons, or any money-spending matter, they had been very frugal.

"Slurp~"

Enoki mushrooms cooked fast; Zhenzhen grabbed a piece and stuffed it into her mouth.

"Sss! Ha~ hot hot hot! Ha~ha~"

She was scalded and had to stick out her tongue, finally managing to swallow the enoki mushroom after a sip of her drink.

Then she took a bite of a spicy and savory slice of fatty beef.

The premium fatty beef burst with rich, delicious juice the moment it touched Zhenzhen’s teeth!

A lingering taste on the lips~

"Wow! My happiness has reached an unprecedented peak at this moment!"

Just one enoki mushroom and fatty beef, and Zhenzhen’s eyes welled up with tears.

The child has had a tough few years!