343: Spicy Hotpot

Pan Han immediately refocused his attention when he heard that sentence.

"Daughter, what do you want to eat?" This was the voice of a weathered middle-aged man, utterly exhausted, yet still conveying his deep love for his daughter.

"I want to eat spicy hot pot. It's snowing now, and I'm so cold."

..."Okay, we'll eat spicy hot pot."

Pan Han heard that the man's tone was off; he actually hesitated for a moment!

How much could two bowls of spicy hot pot cost?

"Daddy is so good, thank you, Daddy!" The little girl said obediently, with a hint of maturity that didn't match her age.

"Little Ling is so well-behaved. Daddy will definitely let you eat spicy hot pot today!"

After saying that, the man pulled his daughter and walked into a small spicy hot pot restaurant.

Pan Han ran out of the parking lot, came to the roadside, and looked across the street, only to see a father and daughter walking into Old Liu's Spicy Hot Pot.

The man's body was slightly hunched, carrying a large backpack, holding his daughter's hand with his left, and carrying a large package with his right.

Pan Han vaguely felt that this father and daughter were in trouble.

Sure enough, as soon as they entered the shop, the man led his daughter to a window seat.

After putting down their things, he took his daughter to pick out food.

The little girl seemed especially sensible, picking three or five vegetable skewers, two skewers of meatballs, two skewers of tofu, and a portion of noodles.

She didn't even order a single sausage skewer, let alone beef or lamb.

"Daddy, you should get some too."

"My darling daughter eats, Daddy isn't hungry." The man forced a smile, his voice trembling slightly.

"Really? But Daddy hasn't eaten for two days," the little girl asked.

"Who said Daddy didn't eat? When you were asleep during your IV drip, I secretly ate several buns," the man said with a smile.

Pan Han heard this and knew something was wrong.

He didn't know why, but he started crossing the street, heading towards Old Liu's Spicy Hot Pot.

"Daddy is so naughty, stinky Daddy, hee hee!" After hearing that, the little girl started joking with her father.

The two returned to the window and waited for their spicy hot pot to cook.

At this moment, Pan Han had appeared at the shop entrance; he could see the father and daughter through the window.

The father was thin, looked around forty years old, with some gray hair, wearing glasses.

The girl looked about ten, with a ponytail, very pretty, but her face was pale.

"Pan Han, where are you?" At this moment, Wang Doudou sent a WeChat message, saying that the dishes were already being served there.

"You guys eat first, I have something to do." Pan Han replied with a few words and then ignored them.

He found a spot, sat down, lit another cigarette, and watched the father and daughter inside.

The waitress brought the cooked spicy hot pot, and the father immediately pushed it in front of his daughter, urging her to eat quickly.

"Thank you, Daddy. I'm so hungry, I'll definitely eat it all." As his daughter spoke, she shook her little head a few times, a look of happiness on her face.

Her father watched her, affectionately stroking her little head, his mouth twitching unnaturally.

Pan Han was certain that this father hadn't eaten for at least two days and had been deceiving his daughter.

The daughter ate the spicy hot pot in big mouthfuls, her father watching her intently.

A thin mist covered the window, making their figures and faces slightly blurred, like a shadow play. Pan Han stared blankly, motionless.

"Daddy, you eat!" The little girl picked up a meatball and tried to feed it to her father.

"Thank you, daughter, but Daddy isn't hungry. You eat. You need to eat more to fight off the virus," the man quickly waved his hand.

"No, no, Daddy has taken care of me for so many days, he must be very tired. You must eat this meatball." The daughter insisted on giving the meatball to her father.

"Darling, Daddy isn't tired, I'm happy taking care of you. You eat, eat more, so we can get better quickly!" The man dodged, and in the end, still didn't eat it.

"Daddy, you're lying!" Suddenly, the little girl threw the meatball back into the bowl and said angrily, puffing out her cheeks.

"How could I lie to my darling?"

"Even though I'm sick, I'm not stupid. You haven't eaten anything these past few days. Daddy, I want you to eat something. Waaah!" As the little girl spoke, she started to cry.

And it was the kind she couldn't hold back, as if she had suppressed it for a long time and it finally burst out.

Pan Han's heart suddenly clenched.

One second ago, the two were laughing and talking; the next, they were crying heartbrokenly in each other's arms.

How long had this father and daughter been so careful with each other!

It hurt!

Pan Han's heart ached terribly!

"Darling, don't cry. Isn't it okay if Daddy eats?" In fact, the man's eyes were already brimming with tears. He wiped them away, held his daughter in his arms, and gently swayed her.

After a long while, the daughter stopped sobbing, slowly picked up the meatball, and brought it to her father's embrace.

Her clear, bright eyes gazed at her father intently.

"Mmm, it's really delicious. My daughter has grown up, she knows how to care for Daddy now." The man couldn't resist his child and finally ate a meatball.

He chewed slowly, his face full of happiness, but tears streamed down uncontrollably, reaching the corners of his mouth.

The little girl quickly pulled out a few tissues and wiped her father's tears.

"That's enough, Daddy is full, daughter, eat quickly. Otherwise, it will get cold soon." The man quickly pushed the bowl back in front of the little girl.

"Hmph, that's more like it." The little daughter pretended to pout, playfully scolding the man, then broke into a smile through her tears and started eating again.

"Daddy, their soup is so delicious. It's rich and fragrant, and it's warm." The little girl stirred the noodles a few times, coating them in broth, and slurped a big mouthful.

"Mmm, as long as you like it. When you get better, we'll come eat every day." The man looked at the little girl dotingly, tears secretly welling up again.

He quickly turned his head to look out the window, wiping away his tears.

Just then, Pan Han and he made eye contact, seeing each other.

Pan Han nodded at him. The man was a little stunned but returned the nod, then shifted his gaze back to his daughter.

Pan Han flicked his cigarette butt away and walked straight into the shop, heading directly for the counter.

"Sir, what would you like to order?" The counter girl, seeing how handsome Pan Han was, asked excitedly.

"How much did that father and daughter just order?" Pan Han asked in a low voice.

The counter girl looked and also said softly, "16 yuan."

"Here's 100 yuan. Pay for them, and then have another portion sent over. Just say that every winter's first snow, the shop has a buy-one-get-one-free promotion." Pan Han took out his phone to scan the code.

"You're...?" The shop was bustling with people, and the counter girl, who hadn't heard the father and daughter's conversation, was a little confused.

"Don't ask, just do as you see fit. Be quick, or they'll finish eating." After saying that, Pan Han walked to the cooler, grabbed a bottle of cola, and found a random spot to drink it.

The counter girl roughly understood what was going on and quickly selected sausages, luncheon meat, bacon, tofu, vegetables, and noodles, filling a large bowl, and put it in the pot to cook.

Fortunately, the little girl seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere here, chatting and eating with her father, so they still had some time before finishing.

The counter girl kept an eye on the cooking and the father and daughter, afraid of missing her chance.

Finally, a large bowl of fragrant spicy hot pot was ready.

The girl picked it up, then felt it wasn't enough, so she grabbed two more bottles of drinks and took them over.

The father and daughter were startled at first. The counter girl explained, using Pan Han's words.

The little girl immediately danced with joy, happily exclaiming that Daddy also had food to eat, and how lucky they were.

But her father clearly sensed that this was an act of kindness from someone.

However, under the gaze of the counter girl and his daughter, he couldn't refuse. After thanking them, he accepted the gift.

The father didn't eat it himself but first picked out many pieces of meat for his daughter, letting her continue to eat.

Then, he looked around the shop.

Pan Han and he made eye contact again.

The middle-aged man immediately understood what was going on and gratefully nodded at Pan Han.

Pan Han raised his cola bottle, giving him a toast from afar.

"Do you have cash?" Pan Han opened his phone and sent WeChat messages to Yan Xiaoli and Wang Doudou.