Hot Pot, Hot Pot

Chapter 18: Hotpot, Hotpot

"Been chatting away—you must be hungry! I'll make dinner."

With that, Hagrid moved to prepare the meal.

Brook was about to say there was no need for the trouble when he saw Hagrid pull all sorts of vegetables and meat from his coat pocket.

His eyes went wide.

Cabbage, water bamboo, enoki mushrooms, lettuce, purple cabbage, youmaicai, winter melon.

As for the meat, its grain was quite peculiar—it didn't look like beef or mutton.

Brook quickly asked, "Hagrid, where did you get all these ingredients?"

"These? Some I grew myself, some I picked in the Forbidden Forest."

"Are there a lot of ingredients like this in the Forbidden Forest?"

"Yeah!" Hagrid suddenly grew wary. "But you can't go into the Forbidden Forest—it's dangerous there."

"Don't worry, I won't go in. But could you do me a favor and get me some seeds? I'd like to grow my own vegetables too."

"No problem. I'll be heading to Diagon Alley in a few days—I'll buy plenty of seeds. As for the rest, I can transplant some from the Forbidden Forest."

Hagrid agreed readily.

"Then I'll trouble you. How much do I owe you? I'll pay."

Hagrid shook his big head like a rattle-drum. "Seeds aren't worth much—no need, no need."

Brook didn't press the matter.

Isn't that how relationships work?

You owe me a little, I owe you a little.

Owe each other enough, and naturally, you grow closer.

Still, such good ingredients couldn't go to waste.

"Hagrid, how about we have hotpot tonight?"

"Hotpot?"

Both Hagrid and Hermione looked puzzled.

"It's just cooking these ingredients in a pot and eating them."

Brook gave a simple explanation.

Hagrid broke into a smile—he knew this method.

He pointed to the small pot by the fire. "I usually just boil them all together."

"Alright, Hermione, help prep the ingredients. Wait for me to come back, and I'll cook." Brook gave the instruction before dashing out of the hut.

"Don't go into the Forbidden Forest!" Hagrid shouted after him.

"Relax, Brook must be heading back to the castle to get something." Hermione stopped Hagrid, soothing him.

Brook, of course, wasn't heading back to the castle.

Once outside the hut, he went straight into the space inside the ring.

With some reluctance, he picked two caps from each type of fungus.

He definitely wanted the Spicy Pot.

But Hermione couldn't handle it.

He'd have to make her a Mushroom Soup Pot.

After gathering everything else he needed, he returned to the hut.

Hermione was hard at work cutting the winter melon.

Brook stared at the uneven slices, still with the skin on, and felt a wave of speechlessness.

"Hermione, let me take over."

Brook first set up the Mandarin Ducks Pot with Hagrid.

Then he put the Chuan Shu hotpot base and the mushrooms into the two compartments and started boiling.

The aroma of the Chuan Shu hotpot base hit him instantly.

Brook smelled the familiar fragrance of beef tallow and chili, and felt a surge of energy.

He took the knife from Hermione and began to trim the winter melon.

First thing, of course, was to peel it.

He had to admit, Hagrid's knife was huge.

At least two or three times heavier than an ordinary kitchen knife.

No wonder Hermione had struggled so much cutting earlier.

Hermione watched Brook's movements, her cheeks flushing slightly.

She had never eaten winter melon before, so how would she know it needed to be peeled?

If you can't find the book by its title, try searching by the author—maybe it just changed names!

Just now, she had even carefully washed the entire winter melon several times with Hagrid.

Brook moved quickly.

Though the knife wasn't comfortable to use, the allure of hotpot gave him a speed boost.

His knife skills were only average, but since it was just for their own meal, there was no need for precision.

Size didn't matter.

As long as it tasted good.

Everything was ready.

The two smaller ones and one giant sat around the already boiling Mandarin Ducks Pot.

Sliced vegetables and meats were neatly arranged on the side, ready to be added at any moment.

Dipping sauces were also in place.

Brook naturally had an Oil Dip, with Garlic Paste and a bit of Oyster Sauce mixed in.

The bowls of Hermione and Hagrid both held Da Yu Seasoning.

Then came the awkward part.

No chopsticks.

Chopsticks were easy enough to handle.

Hagrid had plenty of branches around; he could just whittle a few suitable ones.

But the real problem was that Hermione and Hagrid had no idea how to use chopsticks.

Using chopsticks wasn't something you could master in one go.

Hagrid held one chopstick in each hand, directly picking food from the pot.

And honestly, his method was pretty practical.

His success rate was nearly one hundred percent.

After trying food cooked in the Spicy Pot, Hagrid decisively locked his target onto it.

He even ladled out a big bowl of the Spicy Pot's broth and drank it like soup.

Hermione, on the other hand, struggled to imitate Brook's method of picking food from the pot, but her success rate was extremely low.

Getting one piece up out of ten tries was considered good.

Seeing this, Brook picked up another pair of chopsticks and scooped vegetables and meat from the Mushroom Soup Pot into an empty plate.

"Hermione, use a fork."

"No, I'll use chopsticks," Hermione said stubbornly.

"When eating, the most important thing is to be happy. You're so smart—once you have time to practice, you'll get the hang of chopsticks."

Seeing that she was still hesitant, he continued.

"It took me half a year to learn how to use chopsticks."

He wasn't lying about that.

He had started using chopsticks at age six, and it took over half a year to become proficient.

Only then did Hermione stop insisting.

But she swore to herself that she would learn to use chopsticks in the shortest time possible.

No need for half a year—one day was enough!

"Hagrid, what kind of meat is this? It's really chewy."

Brook slowly chewed the slice of meat in his mouth.

Though it was a bit tough to chew, the flavor was excellent.

"A Giant-tailed Beast died in the Forbidden Forest yesterday, so I brought back some meat."

Hagrid took another happy, big gulp of the hotpot broth.

"Are there many magical creatures in the Forbidden Forest?" Brook asked curiously.

Hagrid instantly became alert. "Brook, the Forbidden Forest is dangerous. You absolutely must not go in."

"I wasn't planning to go in, that's why I have you," Brook said with a smile. "If you can get meat from other magical creatures, I'd love to try them all."

"No, no." Hagrid shook his head like a rattle-drum.

"Magical creatures can't be eaten. If they die accidentally, I always send them back to their clan grounds or bury them on the spot."

He continued to explain, "As for Giant-tailed Beasts, they reproduce very quickly and serve as food for many groups in the Forbidden Forest. So when I come across a dead Giant-tailed Beast, I take some meat to eat."

"Hagrid, I have to say something about this," Brook said seriously. "That's discrimination against magical creatures."

Hagrid was completely stunned.

How could he, who loved magical creatures so much, be discriminatory?

"Is the Giant-tailed Beast a magical creature? Its meat can be eaten, but other magical creatures can't be eaten? That's clearly discrimination—it's disrespect toward magical creatures."

Hagrid's mind couldn't quite wrap around that for a moment.

If you can't find it by searching the book title, try searching by the author—maybe it just changed names!

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