How can you celebrate Chinese New Year without having a hot pot meal?

In the blink of an eye, it was late December, and the New Year was just around the corner.

The entire Nanzhou also gradually began to enter New Year mode, and the streets slowly became lively.

The common people took their year's harvest to the streets to buy the supplies needed for the New Year.

Inside the government office, today was the last day of work.

However, no one was working in the hall; instead, everyone crowded into the courtyard to watch the excitement.

Having been a corporate slave himself, Gao Yuan naturally wouldn't be a stingy, unscrupulous capitalist.

The year-end bonuses and employee benefits that should be given must be there, and they must be generous enough.

It absolutely couldn't be the kind where you just hand out two cans of drinks and two mooncakes to dismiss them.

To this end, Gao Yuan had discussed it with the three women half a month ago and took money from his private treasury for Gao Fu to arrange it.

According to the rank of the position, each person received one to five strings of coins, ten to fifty catties of high-quality wild beef, plus sugar and refined salt.

This left everyone immersed in a state of joy.

Early in the morning, Xia Luqi led men to carry in two slaughtered wild oxen.

At this, everyone couldn't be bothered to sit in the hall and chat anymore; they all crowded over to watch the beef being distributed.

Those who received their beef and New Year's gifts were elated and unwilling to leave just yet, carrying their things and squeezing into the crowd, standing on their tiptoes to watch the fun.

Those who hadn't received their meat yet were full of anticipation, hoping to get a good cut of meat.

After everything was shared, Gao Yuan pulled Mu Sheng to the side and mysteriously handed him something wrapped in palm leaves.

"Uncle, this is good stuff. I kept it for myself. Take it back and enjoy it slowly."

After Gao Yuan finished speaking, he stuffed the item into Mu Sheng's arms and then bolted away.

"What good stuff? Being so mysterious..."

Mu Sheng unwrapped the package with a face full of doubt, and when he saw what was inside, his face turned green.

"You brat, come back here! Can an old man like me eat this stuff, huh?"

The 'good stuff' Gao Yuan had mysteriously left for Mu Sheng was exactly the 'one spear and two bullets' from one of the wild oxen.

This was indeed good stuff; Xia Luqi had already enjoyed the set from the other ox the night before.

This portion was originally intended by Xia Luqi to curry favor with Gao Yuan, but unfortunately, he didn't like this kind of thing, finding it too gamey.

It just so happened that Mu Sheng walked by, and Gao Yuan forcibly stuffed a package of 'good stuff' onto him.

The most crucial point was that since his wife died during a difficult childbirth, Mu Sheng had never remarried, nor did he have any concubines.

After eating such a highly nourishing thing, where was he supposed to find an outlet for that energy!

Like holding a hot potato, Mu Sheng agonized over this package of 'good stuff' for a long time.

In the very end, it was Xia Luqi who bore it all.

Fortunately, through several house raids, Gao Yuan had rewarded him with four concubines in total.

Otherwise, with the strength and stamina of this killer, plus some highly nourishing food, those concubines wouldn't have been able to handle it.

After distributing the New Year's gifts, everyone returned to their own homes. Gao Yuan and the three women returned to the backyard, which was now their home.

Lying on a rocking chair, Gao Yuan enjoyed this rare peace.

He didn't know if he had done something heinous in his previous life; he was a corporate slave before transmigrating, and he still had to be a workhorse after transmigrating.

Since coming to the Southwest, except for the few days he rested by using the opportunity to inspect the terraced fields, he hadn't been idle at all.

"I definitely have to get two Summoning Cards later and get someone like Prime Minister Zhuge Liang or Wang Meng. Otherwise, I'll surely work myself to an early grave."

Lamenting for a moment, Gao Yuan felt his increasingly robust body.

"Don't say it, really don't say it, this daily exercise isn't without benefits, tsk tsk tsk."

While he was admiring himself, the System, which had been quiet for a long time, popped up again.

"Detected that the Host is about to spend the first New Year after transmigrating. Temporary special event 'A Dinner That Cannot Be Settled For' triggered:

As a transmigrator who has tasted countless delicacies, how can New Year's Eve dinner be settled for?

Event Goal: Prepare a sumptuous and unforgettable New Year's Eve dinner for everyone in the household;

Event Reward: Depending on the number of participants and their evaluation, a random Material Gift Pack can be obtained."

"I say, System, it's the New Year, can't you let me rest?"

The System chuckled and said mysteriously,

"Host, an S-rank Material Gift Pack can yield materials like potatoes, corn, and high-yield rice seeds!

But seeing how reluctant the Host is, how about we just give up?"

Gao Yuan bounced straight up from the rocking chair and said repeatedly,

"Don't, don't, don't, Big Brother System, Daddy System, I'll take it, I'll take it, okay?"

"Not forced?"

"How could it be forced? Not forced at all."

Having accepted the event, Gao Yuan began to recall his list of culinary skills.

"Cooking instant noodles? No, there are no instant noodles here. Master-level takeout-unboxing skills? There are no little yellow men or little blue men here either..."

After thinking for a long time, Gao Yuan slapped his thigh.

"Hot pot, that's right, hot pot."

No sooner said than done, Gao Yuan immediately began making preparations.

No chili peppers, no sour soup, but none of this could stump Gao Yuan.

Since he was in the Southwest, how could he miss out on the most characteristic mushroom hot pot here?

He called the maids to go to the street to buy old hens and mushrooms, and had someone instruct the kitchen to take the beef skeletons left over from the distribution to stew for broth.

As a heavy web novel enthusiast, Gao Yuan knew that China's native Cornelian Cherry could barely serve as a substitute for chili peppers.

The next day was New Year's Eve, the last day of the year, and Gao Yuan got up early.

After finishing his daily exercise, he dove into the kitchen, commanding the servants like a Great General to start getting busy.

Since one of the evaluation criteria for the event reward was the number of people, he planned to include everyone in the entire manor.

"Right, cut the beef spine open, and add it in to boil with these seasonings..."

"Stew these mushrooms with the old hen broth. They need to be stewed for a bit longer, otherwise, people will end up 'lying on a plank' after eating them..."

"What does 'lying on a plank' mean? It means meeting your great-grandmother, understand? It means kicking the bucket, dying, do you understand?"

"Slice all this meat; it must be the very thin kind..."

"This is called Hairy Tripe, it's good stuff. If you don't understand, move aside and watch me do it personally. I guarantee you'll want more after eating it..."

Just like that, he was busy until the afternoon. Mu Sheng, Mu Qing, and Xia Luqi had all arrived, and only then did Gao Yuan finish his work.

Seeing the dozen or so tables full of people sitting in the courtyard, Gao Yuan was as proud as a general who had won a battle.

"Today everyone is gathered together to welcome the New Year. I have specially cooked delicious food for everyone myself."

After saying that, he clapped his hands, and the maids, cooks, and servants filed out.

One by one, stoves and pot bases were brought to the tables. Without copper pots, they could only use ceramic pots instead.

Each table was set with two types of pot bases: a Cornelian Cherry beef bone broth base and an old hen mushroom broth base.

At the same time, the sauces Gao Yuan had personally mixed were placed on the tables, along with plates of sliced beef, Hairy Tripe, Omasum, and various mushrooms and vegetables.

"Husband, isn't this just a Warming Pot? Why is the meat still raw?"

Gao Yuan naturally knew that China had hot pots since ancient times, commonly known as Warming Pots.

However, it was basically still the way of eating where the ingredients were put in beforehand and stewed together.

"This is indeed improved from the Warming Pot, it's just that the way of eating is a bit different."

As he spoke, Gao Yuan stood up and put a piece of Hairy Tripe into the pot with his chopsticks.

"With this way of eating, everyone can choose ingredients according to their own taste. Like this Hairy Tripe, just do this... seven up and eight down, and it's ready. Here, Zhao Xiyaos informal address, you try it."

Gao Yuan blanched a piece of Hairy Tripe and gave it to Zhao Xiyao first.

The girl looked at the strange thing in her bowl, the expression on her face shifting like the clouds.

After a while, under Gao Yuan's expectant gaze, she plucked up her courage, picked up the dark thing, dipped it in the sauce, and took a small bite with her cherry-like mouth.

After chewing carefully for a while, Zhao Xiyao suddenly felt as if a door to a new world had opened.

"It... it really is delicious. Everyone, try it."