HLM -Chapter 832 Hotpot in the Storm

The government office building was also a modular prefab structure, and Wang Bo had chosen a relatively spacious three-story office building from the first batch.

So under the assault of the storm, the back of the office building also began to wobble dangerously.

A pane of glass upstairs shattered. Uncle Bing had reinforced it with an asterisk-shaped tape pattern, but it was still smashed by the wind and rain—proof of how terrible the weather was.

Atulu rubbed his belly, wearing a deeply troubled expression. “What’s worse is… I suddenly realized something. How are we going to handle supper?”

“Supper? In this weather you still care about supper?” Kidd asked.

Atulu replied, “Fine, then let’s call it dinner. Did we eat dinner? No. So we still need to eat something!”

Juan laughed. “We didn’t have dinner, but you did. Don’t think I didn’t see you hiding at your seat eating a whole bunch of stuff at seven o’clock.”

The Maori big guy looked aggrieved. “Who ate a whole bunch? I only had two packs of biscuits, one sausage, and a box of yogurt. That’s snacks, okay?!”

Just then, Eva sent over a video call and asked, “Hey, darling, how are things over there?”

Wang Bo said, “We’re all together, so not too bad. How about the castle?”

Eva sighed helplessly. “Overall okay, but pretty chaotic. The wind and rain outside are intense, and Zhuang Ding has gone crazy—he keeps wanting to go out and play.”

She moved the camera, and Wang Bo saw Zhuang Ding standing on his hind legs, paws pressed to the door, staring intensely through the glass. Then suddenly he threw his head up and howled.

“Little Wang is terrified—I’m trying to calm him down. Oh my god, Little Wang, pull your head out of there! How did you even squeeze yourself behind the sofa when the space is so tiny?!”

On camera they could only see the back half of Little Wang; his big head had vanished somewhere behind the sofa.

“The Commander and the Commissioner started fighting. The Commissioner came back drenched and shook the water from his feathers all over the Commander.”

“The fat cat brothers are fighting too. I have no idea why, but I think they’re just excited—the weather outside is making them all hyper.”

“The Queen is fine. She’s been by my side the whole time, worried I’d be scared. She even gets up to hug me sometimes. Such a sweet child.”

After chatting for a while, Eva said, “Right, you guys haven’t eaten, right? Should I find a way to send you something? I baked some pastries. I think you’d really like them.”

Wang Bo refused. He knew all too well how dangerous it was outside. No matter what, Eva would have to drive down the mountain—that was practically suicide.

He said, “We have food here. Not a lot, but I’ve stored some things in the office. It should be enough.”

Eva thought he was just brushing her off. Wang Bo went over, opened a drawer, and pulled out a round ham sausage—obviously something he’d taken from the castle kitchen.

Seeing that, Eva laughed happily. “So you’ve been secretly snacking in your office? No wonder you’ve gotten a bit chubby lately.”

Wang Bo denied it. “Who said that? It’s just preparation for afternoon tea. And back then, when we had to chase speeding cars at night, I’d keep some late-night snacks on hand.”

After hanging up, he thought for a moment. It seemed they wouldn’t be able to return tonight—they’d have to rest here. So supper was necessary.

Even though it was summer, the relentless storm made it much colder than the past two days.

Wang Bo felt that in weather like this, nothing was more fitting than hotpot—especially with so many people here.

But that meant braving the rain to get supplies from the supermarket. Sure, he could use the sandbox to retrieve things, but hotpot required too many ingredients and condiments. Ham and sausages were easy enough to explain, but fresh meat, vegetables, and seasonings?

Stocking snacks in an office was normal—but stocking fresh meat and vegetables?

The wind and rain hadn’t stopped but were far weaker than during the day. Wang Bo went downstairs to check, then shared his idea. Atulu immediately jumped up with both hands raised.

His sudden movement startled Conely beside him. “What—did a robber get in?!”

“No, I’m raising my hand to support the boss’s proposal!” Atulu said excitedly.

Wang Bo pointed at him. “Since you’re the most enthusiastic, you’ll come with me to the supermarket.”

When it came to food, Atulu was always dependable. He thumped his meaty chest like a drum. “No problem!”

No need to bring many people. Wang Bo informed Anderson, who was on duty at the supermarket, then took Atulu and drove the Predator over.

The supermarket was the sturdiest building in town besides the castle, built properly by an engineering team. The back had a delivery door, and because it was a roll-down type, it wasn’t affected by the storm.

After they drove in, Anderson showed Wang Bo the prepared items. “Rice cooker, beef and lamb, vegetables, seasonings—Boss, take a look. Anything missing?”

They weren’t preparing a feast, and the supplies were already more than enough. Wang Bo nodded. “Good. Load it up.”

Braving the wind and rain, he struggled to drive the Predator back. Several men came out to unload. The wind was still fierce—one wrong move and a whole box got blown away.

The guy wanted to chase after it, but Wang Bo grabbed him. “Forget it. It’s just meat and vegetables. We have plenty left—we took more than enough!”

The blown-away box was huge, filled entirely with beef. The massive chunks flew into the wind like kites—frightening to watch.

When they returned to the office building, applause erupted inside. Wang Bo felt they didn’t even cheer this enthusiastically when he went out to rescue people earlier. Feeding people was clearly more important than saving lives.

They put water in the big rice cooker to boil. He added scallions, ginger, garlic, and a hotpot spice packet. Once it boiled, a fiery, fragrant aroma filled the room.

“Smells so good!” a child shouted excitedly.

Atulu said, “It’s full of chili—super spicy! Can you handle it?”

The child smiled shyly. “I used to be scared of spicy food, but not anymore. Dad said after braving the storm, we’re real men now.”

Chinese wisdom was limitless—hotpot spice packets even came with ready-made dipping sauces: sour, sweet, aromatic, spicy—all kinds.

Wang Bo first added a big pile of beef and lamb slices and meatballs. When the slices floated to the top, he ladled servings out.

It wasn’t a proper hotpot setup, so he tasted it—pretty average, too simple, nothing like his custom-made sauces.

But the families he’d brought here didn’t think so at all. Eating the fragrant, spicy, steaming beef and lamb, they burst into praise:

“Wow! Delicious! Oh my god—what is this dish? It’s amazing!”

“Chinese food is magical! I love this style of eating. It looks simple too—I need to learn how to make it!”

“I can’t live the rest of my life without hotpot. I swear to the great Mori!”

Naturally, the last line was from Atulu.