Wanglong Mountain Scenic Area is a 4A Level scenic spot in Wu County, under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou City. Though the level is not high, its unique geographical environment and landscape have made it a famous tourist destination in the surrounding counties and cities.

Every summer, visitors come in an endless stream.

However, a few years back, the management rights of this scenic area were sold to a private boss from the south. After several years, due to poor maintenance, the number of tourists gradually decreased, and now even in the hot summer, there are not many visitors.

But Chen Mo didn't care about these things. He wanted to visit Wanglong Mountain because he is a local of Jingzhou, and he's lived almost half his life without ever visiting the mountain. Every time he chats with others, they give him a look of disbelief:

It's right in front of your house, and you've never been?

It made Chen Mo always feel in his heart that Wanglong Mountain must be a great place!

Moreover, it is said that if you can reach the top of the mountain, you'll see an endless range of mountains ahead, connecting like a giant dragon, looking extremely magnificent!

Having just set foot on the highway, Chen Mo was already brimming with excitement, not just for Wanglong Mountain, but more for the sense of relaxation brought by quitting his job.

"Xiao Huang, can you overtake that Audi in front of us? It's so pretentious."

[Sorry, the maximum current speed is 120. I can't provide you with speeding services.]

Chen Mo looked displeased at the disappearing Audi ahead, thinking to himself, their car has a speed limit too, yet they drive so fast. They probably won't get off the highway much faster than me anyway.

Besides, my food truck has autonomous driving, which the Audi certainly doesn't have!

Thinking this, Chen Mo felt much better.

Covering a distance of more than a hundred kilometers took nearly two hours to reach the scenic spot, and it was already 7 p.m., with the mountain skies slightly darkening.

Parking the car at the entrance of the scenic area, the gatekeeper immediately jogged out.

"Driving up the mountain is 80 Yuan, walking up is 30 Yuan."

This was something Chen Mo had heard about. Ever since the southern boss bought the management rights, they tried to develop Wanglong Mountain into a tourist spot like Mount Tai, building staircases for walking and a ring road around the mountain.

Some young people who don't like climbing but want to see the sunrise drive up, then walk to the top.

If they want to climb, they take the steps up and the cable car down.

Remembering a rumor about Wanglong Mountain, Chen Mo didn't rush to pay but instead put on a fierce expression, cursing into the void in the local dialect, "What the...?"

Rhetorical + questioning tone.

The gatekeeper immediately became serious, "Local? Go ahead."

The gate opened just like that.

Watching the slowly rising gate, Chen Mo suddenly understood why the southern boss had invested so much, yet Wanglong Mountain was losing more and more money.

The visitors were all locals. When it came to collecting tickets, they would verbally assault, and some even made calls to this bureau or that department; a foreign businessman couldn't help but give some face.

There were later discount policies, like local discounts, but even those were scolded back by the burly locals.

Somewhat speechless, Chen Mo scanned to pay 80 Yuan, "I'm driving up, old man."

The gatekeeper showed a hint of surprise, watching Xiao Huang's food truck disappear from sight, momentarily unsure how to assess the situation.

The mountain road was challenging, winding, with the mountain on one side and a cliff on the other, but fortunately, the food truck had smart driving capabilities, and Chen Mo didn't have to worry about safety at all.

"Once I reach the top, I'll make myself a delicious dinner, then take a nap! Get up in the morning to watch the sunrise, then head to the next destination!"

Thinking of this, Chen Mo felt delighted.

The food truck swayed and slowly climbed to a parking lot not far from the summit, where Chen Mo jumped out and took a deep breath.

"Damn, it smells like cow dung!"

The parking lot was empty, with no people or cars, looking very peaceful.

Chen Mo checked the time and slipped back into the food truck. There were quite a few ingredients in the cupboard, but recently he had been making the same few dishes repeatedly. Customers weren't tired of it, but Chen Mo was a bit bored.

Not in a rush to cook, Chen Mo retrieved a power strip from the food truck, set up Xiao Huang's chairs and table.

"Boil the tea, eat the snacks, delightful."

Of course, the pastries were brought by Mu Mu from Yueyun Pavilion.

Chen Mo hadn't paid much attention these past few days, only realizing when he checked the cupboard that the little girl had stuffed quite a few things in there, all sorts of oddities, like this pastry.

Then, he turned on the food truck's lights, and the kettle started boiling water. Twenty Yuan a kilo of Maojian tea was thrown into the teacup with hot water poured over.

A rich tea fragrance drifted out, and if viewed from a distance, this scene even had a bit of a social media camping atmosphere.

"Deep in the mountains, boiling water for tea, if there were a hotpot, it'd be perfect!"

Jingzhou is located in the north, and Wanglong Mountain is quite high in altitude. Coupled with the dense forest, although it's just June, the temperature plummets to nearly zero after dark.

This cold is different from winter's cold. It's a chill that directly penetrates to the bone, making it delightful to drink hot tea and eat hotpot in such weather.

Having quit work, naturally, it's time to act immediately!

Chen Mo got up, stretched, and dove into the food truck.

He picked out a bunch of seasonings from the spice box, then took a small portion of the available ingredients, threw them into the dispenser, and clearly told the food truck: I want hotpot!!!

[...]

[Based on analysis, your current ingredients can only make a new-style hotpot. Would you like to see it?]

"Let's see."

[Everything in the world can be brined! We've analyzed and obtained a recipe for brined-flavored hotpot. It's seasoned with a traditional five-spice method, adding new flavors to the broth with different ingredients, accompanied by dipping sauces according to personal preference.]

Brined hotpot, interesting.

Chen Mo glanced at the recipe. In fact, culinary development has reached a point where hotpot can no longer be considered just a dish; it's more accurately described as a way of eating.

Buy a piece of hotpot base, boil it, and you have spicy, tomato-flavored, mushroom soup, curry pepper, and many more types, then cook the ingredients you love. This is hotpot.

In the Capital City, people boil spring water with scallions, ginger, and seaweed, dip thinly sliced fatty lamb in sesame sauce. This is also hotpot.

Guangdong people use congee as the base, boil the hotpot with plain water, and eat it with steamed fish soy sauce and scallions; it can still be called hotpot.

Guizhou people scoop out semi-digested contents from a cow's stomach and boil them with tripe, that too is hotpot.

There are countless variations of hotpot, but one thing remains unchanged: it must be hot, aromatic, and you cook what you like.

Eating is free and uninhibited, eating until sweating profusely, and if you can have a couple of shots of liquor, that's the pinnacle of enjoyment in life.

With the recipe in hand, Chen Mo started preparing the basic ingredients for the brined-flavored hotpot, then slowly handled the ingredients.

The night deepened, the air became colder, and the craving for hotpot grew stronger.

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