Chef Hua
Chapter 102: Episode 75 Taking Care of Business

Chapter 102: Episode 75 Taking Care of Business

Hua Xiaomai thought it over and over, but ultimately she did not tell Hua Erniang about what happened last night; she just smiled and said, "That’s good, we can rest assured," and then went to check on her chili plants behind the house. By evening, after the sisters had prepared dinner for Jing Taihe and left it in the pot, they proceeded as usual to push their cart to the riverbank to set up their stall.

After the Cold Food Festival had passed, the village naturally buzzled with activity again. Perhaps because not much serious business was conducted yesterday, at this time, even two or three fishmongers were shouting their wares on the riverbank, clearly eager to make up for the money they hadn’t earned during the festival.

This lively, steaming scene not only settled one’s heart but also was easily infectious. Hua Erniang, overwhelmed with emotion for a moment, threw down the cart and let Hua Xiaomai push it from behind, rushing ahead to join the crowd.

"This temperament of my second sister probably can’t be changed..." Hua Xiaomai shook her head, took two steps forward pushing the cart, but then saw Hua Erniang come running back in a panic, grabbing her and saying, "Ah, there are quite a few people standing by the river, all tall and muscular. They speak so loudly, louder than gongs, as if they’re waiting for someone... I feel a chill looking at them. We’ve had our stall here for over twenty days, and it’s always been peaceful. Could it be that today we’re going to encounter trouble?"

Hua Xiaomai couldn’t help but give a wry smile and glanced at her helplessly, "Second sister, can you not jump at every little thing? The village has always been peaceful. In all the time you’ve lived here, have you ever seen a group of people brazenly come to pick a fight? Besides, we haven’t even set up our stall yet. Are they supposed to be waiting there for us already? That doesn’t make sense! And even if they really are here to make trouble, who would you, the tyrant of Fire Knife Village, be afraid of?"

After thinking about it, Hua Erniang felt that it indeed made sense, so she calmed her heart and came over to help Hua Xiaomai push the cart.

The sisters turned a corner under a dense tree and saw indeed about a dozen people at the waterfront, laughing and jesting loudly, punching and slapping each other in a ruckus that made the nearby fishmongers glance over.

Hua Xiaomai squinted, trying to discern the figures in the crowd, and suddenly laughed out loud, reaching out to push Hua Erniang.

"Second sister, I told you you were worrying over nothing, so panicked that you didn’t even recognize people? See, under that big tree, isn’t that Big Brother Meng from the Meng Family, and the one speaking to Brother Xu, the fishmonger, isn’t that Big Zhong?"

"Eh?" Hua Erniang turned her head and took a good, serious look, and then couldn’t help but laugh a bit, "Oh, it really is them! They scared me, my heart was about to leap out of my chest!"

Hua Xiaomai laughed and gave her a look, but inside she was slightly puzzled.

Didn’t Meng Yuhuai just return yesterday? Just last night, she had clearly watched him leave the village to head back to the county, so why today...

Could it be that he really led the whole group of escort masters from Lianshun Escort Agency to look after their business?

Hua Xiaomai murmured to herself, but unconsciously her lips curved into a smile. She quickened her pace, raising her voice and calling out, "Big Brother Meng, Big Zhong, what brings you here?"

Meng Yuhuai turned around in response, took large strides and came over. After exchanging greetings with Hua Erniang, he lowered his gaze towards Hua Xiaomai, a hint of a smile on his lips, "I have brought the brothers from the Escort Agency here to eat noodles."

It really was true...

Hua Xiaomai found it unbelievable, momentarily at a loss for words. After a good while, she finally opened her eyes wide and said, "... I was just making a joke yesterday, how did you take it seriously? Fuzhe County is not far from Fire Knife Village but is certainly not close either; even riding horses, it would take a good while to get here. Just for a bowl of noodles, was it worth such a grand display? And..."

And with such a large group of you, all burly and strong, catching a glimpse out of the blue, it’s really quite frightening!

"There wasn’t much going on at the Escort Agency tonight, so it’s better to come out for a walk than to sit around idle," Meng Yuhuai replied with a faint smile, as if such a trifling matter truly wasn’t worth Hua Xiaomai’s surprise.

"But..." Hua Xiaomai was about to say something more when she was interrupted by Big Zhong, who had leapt over like a monkey.

"Sister Hua, we’ve come specially for your noodles. We hardly had a few bites at dinner, just going through the motions, which made Sister-in-law Zuo curse us for wasting food!" Having been chased and beaten by Zuo Jinxiang all the time, he finally found respite today and was ecstatic, his face beaming as he said, "You’ll have to make us something delicious so that even if she nags us tomorrow, we’ll be able to bear it!"