Chef Hua
Chapter 100: Episode 74 Who is that person?

Chapter 100: Episode 74 Who is that person?

Meng Yuhuai had originally planned to take a quick look and leave, but unexepectedly, Hua Xiaomai happened to turn around and see him, so it wouldn’t have been polite to leave immediately. After thinking it over, he tied his horse to a tree and walked over.

Hua Xiaomai had already stood up from the swing and, looking up, smiled at him from a distance, "Big Brother Meng, have you come back to the village for the celebration?"

Behind her, Scholar Wen, who was happily eating at the table, also looked up and greeted him with a smile, "Brother Yuhuai, are you here for noodles, too?"

Meng Yuhuai nodded slightly at him and glanced around, his brows unconsciously furrowing slightly. He looked down at Hua Xiaomai and said, "Is it just you running the stall here? Aren’t Sister-in-law Hua and Brother Taihe helping you?"

Hua Xiaomai shook her head and smiled, "Usually, my second sister is here every evening. But today is the festival, isn’t it? Her husband took her back to the old house. They had said there was no need to set up the stall today, but I was bored at home, so I still pushed the cart out. Selling a few bowls of noodles is secondary; I mainly did it to pass the time."

Meng Yuhuai "Hmm"ed in response, not saying much, but gave her a deep look and then heard Hua Xiaomai say again, "By the way, do you want to try the taste of the noodles from my stall?"

He had finally come home, and at dinner, his mother had made him eat many cold dishes until he was full to the brim; his stomach honestly didn’t have the space for another bowl of noodles. Even so, after thinking it over, he still nodded in agreement, "... Eating a bowl would be fine."

"Then you sit, it will be ready in a moment." Hua Xiaomai immediately turned and went to the side of her stall, quickly preparing a bowl of Locust Leaf Cold Noodles and placed it in front of him.

"You’re not in luck today, I don’t have hot soup noodles here, so you’ll have to make do with this." As she spoke, she pulled over a stool, sat down at a slight distance, and said smilingly, "Just two days ago, Sister-in-law Zuo and Big Brother Zhong went to my house, and I cooked them some steaming hot noodles. Big Brother Zhong ate two bowls and still said it wasn’t enough!"

Not wanting to be left out, Scholar Wen stretched his neck over and chimed in, "Brother Yuhuai, don’t worry, although the noodles are cold, they are still very tasty. After all, it is still spring. When summer nights come, and you are tired from reading, if you could have such a bowl, you’d certainly feel refreshed immediately!"

Finishing his statement, he followed with his usual exclamation, "Such vibrant green colour, fragrance that rivals orchids and swamp magnolias, ah!"

"Big Brother Meng isn’t taking exams, so what books are you reading late into the night?" said Hua Xiaomai as she rolled her eyes at him, "Stop showing off your literary airs, just focus on your eating!"

Wen Huaren wasn’t offended at all, he just chuckled ’heh heh’ and turned his head back. Meanwhile, Meng Yuhuai handled the chopsticks as if he wished he could stuff the noodles into his mouth one by one.

He had eaten Hua Xiaomai’s cooking more than once, and the taste was undeniably good, but the portion in this bowl was simply too generous for him to finish...

As he ate slowly, he looked around and couldn’t help but ask, "How’s business?"

"That’s why I say your timing is not good!" Hua Xiaomai laughed, knowing he was probably worried because there weren’t many people at the stall. She continued, "It just so happens that you saw the quietest time. Most people in the village stay at home for the festival, naturally they wouldn’t think of coming to my little stall, but on normal days the business is quite passable. Once the weather warms up a bit, it should be even better. If I were to expect this little stall to move mountains of gold and silver for me, that would surely be a daydream, but relying on it to make life at home a bit better is not difficult."

Before the sound of her voice died away, there came a rustling noise from the dense bushes on the left, as if the leaves were suddenly stirred, followed by a series of faintly audible footsteps quickly moving away, accompanied by a crisp crunching sound as if stepping on dry leaves on the ground.

All three turned their heads to look simultaneously, but only saw branches swaying and shadows bobbing, nothing else was discovered.

The night was pitch-black, there were no other people by the river, and the wind was not strong. Out of the blue, where was this noise coming from?

"What... What was that sound? It’s terrifying late at night! It doesn’t sound like the wind," said Wen Huaren, instinctively shrinking back while not forgetting to hold his bowl tightly, "It seemed like someone ran past... Our Fire Knife Village isn’t near any deep forests, so there shouldn’t be any wild animals around, right?"

Meng Yuhuai had no time to deal with him, frowning more tightly, he turned to ask Hua Xiaomai, "In the time you’ve had the stall here, has everything been peaceful? Has anyone come to cause trouble or to harass you?"