Chef Hua
Chapter 103: Episode 75 Taking Care of Business_2

Chapter 103: Episode 75 Taking Care of Business_2

Hua Xiaomai was amused by his mischievous appearance and turned around to see that Hua Erniang had already set up the stall, so she didn’t have time to elaborate with Meng Yuhuai, and hurriedly nodded to Dazhong before walking over.

Most of the men in the Escort Agency were young and unmarried, and Ke Zhenwu paid them quite well. Without the worries of supporting a family, they spent money more freely than the common folk of Fire Knife Village, always choosing the most expensive and generously portioned noodles—fish soup noodles, chicken leg noodles, spare rib noodles—and they ordered quite a pile, which left Hua Xiaomai somewhat swamped.

Hua Erniang was beside her, handing things over and helping out, lowered her voice, and said, "Meng Family’s eldest brother has brought so many people to our stall to eat noodles, which shows he is truly righteous and it’s no wonder your brother-in-law gets along with him. You just stay here and take care of things, I’ll go call your brother-in-law over, anyway, we’ve got to thank Meng Family’s eldest brother in person."

Without waiting for Hua Xiaomai’s agreement, she turned around and ran towards the west side of the village.

Unable to stop her, Hua Xiaomai could only let her go and busied herself until she was sweating profusely, finally managing to get all the dishes onto the tables. When she turned around, she saw that Xu Ershun had not yet closed his stall, and an idea struck her, so she went over to take a look at his stall.

There were still plenty of small fish and shrimp in the water basin, which, although lacking in liveliness and no longer jumping about, were at least still alive. As it was close to closing time, the prices for meat, vegetables, and fish would not go up, and Xu Ershun was in a hurry to get home, so he ended up selling the remaining fish and shrimp to her in a bulk deal at an extremely low price.

Hua Xiaomai took the fish and shrimp back to her stall and swiftly coated them in a thin layer of batter before frying them to a golden color. She then sprinkled some salt and chili powder on them and served a small dish to each table, clearly stating that it was on the house and no payment was needed. Dazhong and the others were even happier, exclaiming, "You can’t get such good flavor even in the County," while inhaling and gulping down their noodles with great gusto. In no time, every bowl was empty.

"Hua Xiaomai, I just can’t seem to get enough of the food you make!" Dazhong said contentedly, unable to control his mouth, "I say, why bother setting up a stall here every day, working so hard? You might as well just take over the ladle from Sister-in-law Zuo at our Escort Agency, and save her the trouble of cooking three meals a day and scolding me!"

Hua Xiaomai just smiled and said nothing, but Meng Yuhuai next to her sternly rebuked, "Don’t talk nonsense," and pulled two strings of copper coins out of his pocket and handed them over.

"Why do you need to give so much?" Hua Xiaomai hurriedly waved her hands, "The most expensive noodles here are only twelve wen a bowl, and there are fourteen of you..."

"No need to count, just take it." Meng Yuhuai had no intention of letting her finish her sentence, "I know those little fish and shrimp aren’t worth much, but since I promised to look after your business, I shouldn’t let you spend more."

"It’s not like that, Big Brother Meng, even with those fish and shrimp, it wouldn’t need so much..."

"Take it." Meng Yuhuai insisted, pushing the money into her palm without discussion, quickly changing the subject, "I forgot to ask you, how are the chili plants doing now?"

With so many people watching, Hua Xiaomai found it inappropriate to keep refusing, and after thinking for a moment, she accepted the money and replied with a smile, "I just checked them this morning. Although there are a few frail leaves, the plants are growing well overall. In another month or two, they should start blooming. I’m just hoping nothing goes wrong so that by June or July, they can bear fruit for me to use in cooking."

Meng Yuhuai smiled as well, "Take good care of them, and they shouldn’t run into any trouble. Before they bloom, you should apply some wood ash. If you can’t find any, go and ask Uncle Qiao. He loves to grow flowers and always has some in store."

Hua Xiaomai naturally agreed with a smile.

The two of them talked by the river for quite a while before Hua Erniang, dragging Jing Taihe hurriedly from home, finally arrived at the riverbank, only to see Hua Xiaomai and Meng Yuhuai standing in front of the stall, chatting.

It was no surprise that her sister was smiling cheerfully, as she always did. What was rare was seeing Meng Yuhuai, who usually maintained a stern face, looking soft and smiling, slightly bowing his head in conversation with Hua Xiaomai—this...

Upon seeing this, Hua Erniang paused, exchanged a glance with Jing Taihe, bit her lip, and suddenly muttered, "Husband, I thought that Big Brother Meng brought all these people here today to support our business because of you, but now I feel like..."

She didn’t finish her sentence, but the implication was clear. Jing Taihe furrowed his brows and after some thought, turned to her with a puzzled expression, saying, "Could it be?"

...

The Lianshun Escort Agency group needed to return to the County, so after finishing their noodles, they left quickly. Afterward, a few more customers came to the stall in dribs and drabs, and Hua Xiaomai kept the stall open until the hour of the pig before rolling everything back home with Hua Erniang.

Because she had made two strings of copper coins in one go today, she was genuinely happy. Upon entering the house, she immediately rushed into the main room with the money box, proudly declaring to Hua Erniang, "I was planning to wait until the end of the month to see how much we could earn in one month, but business has been good recently, and I wanted to give you, Second Sister, a treat, so why not count it now?"

As she spoke, she emptied the copper coins from the money box onto the table with a clatter and began to sort through them.

Hua Erniang glanced at Jing Taihe and signaled for him to step away for a moment. Then she cleared her throat and pressed down on Hua Xiaomai’s hand.

"Slow down, little sister, I have something to ask you." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets or monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)