Hot Pot, Hot Pot

Chapter 18: Hot Pot, Hot Pot. "We've been talking so much—you must be hungry! I'll make dinner."

After saying that, Hagrid moved to prepare supper.

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

His eyes nearly popped out.

Cabbage, wild rice stems, enoki mushrooms, celtuce, purple cabbage, Indian lettuce, winter melon.

As for the meat, its texture was quite peculiar. It did not look like beef or mutton.

Brook hurriedly asked, "Hagrid, where did you get all these vegetables?"

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

"Are there lots of ingredients like these in the Forbidden Forest?"

"Yes!" Hagrid suddenly became alert. "But you mustn't go into the Forbidden Forest. It's very dangerous there."

"Don't worry, I won't go in. Could I trouble you to get me some vegetable seeds? I want to grow my own vegetables too."

"That's no problem. I'll be going to Diagon Alley in a few days, so I can buy some extra seeds. As for the rest, I can transplant some from the Forbidden Forest."

Hagrid agreed readily.

"Then I'll have to trouble you. How much do you need? I'll pay you."

Hagrid shook his huge head like a rattle drum. "How much can seeds possibly cost? No need, no need."

Brook did not press the matter any further.

Wasn't that how relationships worked?

I owed you a little, and you owed me a little.

As the debts piled up, people naturally grew closer.

But such good ingredients could not be wasted.

"Hagrid, let's have hot pot tonight."

"Hot pot?"

Both Hagrid and Hermione looked utterly puzzled.

"It's when you cook these ingredients in a pot and eat them."

Brook gave a simple explanation.

Hagrid smiled. He was familiar with that way of eating.

He pointed at the little pot beside the fire. "I usually boil them all together."

"Fine. Hermione, help prepare the ingredients. Once I'm back, I'll do the cooking." After giving those instructions, Brook dashed out of the hut.

"You're not allowed to go into the Forbidden Forest!" Hagrid hurriedly shouted.

"Don't worry, Brook probably went back to the castle to get something." Hermione stopped Hagrid and reassured him.

Brook naturally had not gone back to the castle.

After leaving the hut, he went straight into the space inside the ring.

With some reluctance, he picked two of each kind of mushroom.

He was definitely going to have a Spicy Pot.

But Hermione could not.

He could only make her a mushroom soup pot.

Then he prepared everything else and returned to the hut.

At that moment, Hermione was diligently slicing winter melon.

Brook was speechless at the sight of those unevenly sized winter melon slices, skin and all.

"Hermione, I'll handle the rest!"

Brook first set up the Mandarin Ducks Pot with Hagrid.

Then he put the Chuan Shu hot pot base on one side and the mushrooms on the other, beginning to simmer them.

The fragrance of the Chuan Shu hot pot base immediately burst forth.

Breathing in that familiar aroma of beef tallow and chili peppers, Brook felt invigorated from head to toe.

He took the kitchen knife from Hermione and began reshaping the winter melon slices.

Naturally, the first thing he did was peel the winter melon.

It had to be said, Hagrid's knife was truly enormous.

It was at least two or three times heavier than an ordinary kitchen knife.

No wonder Hermione had struggled so much while cutting earlier.

Watching Brook's movements, Hermione's cheeks reddened slightly.

She had never eaten winter melon before. How was she supposed to know it needed peeling?

Hermione and Hagrid had even carefully washed the entire winter melon several times just now.

Brook worked quickly.

Although the knife did not feel comfortable in his hand, the temptation of hot pot gave him a speed buff.

His knife skills were only average, but they were eating it themselves, so there was no need to be too meticulous.

The size did not matter.

As long as it tasted good, that was enough.

Once everything was ready.

Two children and one giant sat around the already boiling Mandarin Ducks Pot.

The sliced vegetables and meat were neatly arranged beside it, ready to be tossed into the pot at any moment.

The dipping sauces were also in place.

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

Hermione and Hagrid both had Da Yu Seasoning in their bowls.

Then came the awkward part.

There were no chopsticks.

Chopsticks themselves were easy enough to deal with.

Hagrid had plenty of branches around. They just needed to carve a few that felt comfortable to hold.

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

Using chopsticks was not something one could master overnight.

Hagrid held one chopstick in each hand and picked food out of the pot directly.

Oddly enough, his method was quite practical.

His success rate was nearly one hundred percent.

After trying food cooked in the Spicy Pot, Hagrid decisively set his sights on that side.

He even scooped up a huge bowl of broth from the Spicy Pot and drank it like soup.

Hermione, meanwhile, struggled to imitate Brook's method of picking food from the pot, but her success rate was terribly low.

Getting something up once out of ten tries was already considered good.

Seeing this, Brook picked up another pair of chopsticks and transferred vegetables and meat from the mushroom soup pot onto an empty plate.

"Hermione, use a fork."

"No, I'll use chopsticks." Hermione looked stubborn.

"When you eat, the most important thing is being happy. You're so smart. Once you have time to practice, you'll learn how to use chopsticks."

Seeing that Hermione still looked hesitant, he continued.

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

He was not lying about that.

He had only started eating with chopsticks at the age of six, and it really had taken him more than half a year to use them proficiently.

Only then did Hermione stop insisting.

But she swore to herself that she would learn to use chopsticks as quickly as possible.

She would not need half a year. One day would be enough!

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

Brook slowly chewed the slice of meat in his mouth.

Although it took some effort to chew, the flavor was truly excellent.

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

Hagrid happily took another huge gulp of hot pot broth.

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

Hagrid immediately became alert. "Brook, the Forbidden Forest is very dangerous. You absolutely cannot go in."

"I wasn't planning to go in. Aren't you here?" Brook said with a smile. "If you can get meat from other magical creatures, I'd like to try it too."

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

"Magical creatures can't be eaten. If they die accidentally, I send them back to their herds or bury them where they died."

He continued explaining, "As for Giant-tailed Beasts, they reproduce especially quickly and serve as food for many groups in the Forbidden Forest. That's why, when I come across a dead Giant-tailed Beast, I take some of its meat to eat."

"Hagrid, then I need to have a word with you about this." Brook spoke seriously. "You're discriminating against magical creatures."

Hagrid was completely dumbfounded.

He loved magical creatures so much. How could he discriminate against them?

"Isn't a Giant-tailed Beast a magical creature? You can eat its meat, but not the meat of other magical creatures. That's clearly unequal treatment. That's discrimination, and it's disrespectful toward magical creatures."

For a moment, Hagrid's brain could not quite process it.