Chef Hua
Chapter 104: Episode 76 Sister’s Night Talk

Chapter 104: Episode 76 Sister’s Night Talk

Hua Ermother pressed Hua Xiaomai’s hand, filled with things to say yet not knowing where to start, she just hemmed and hawed without opening her mouth.

Seeing her like this, Hua Xiaomai became wary and dodged to the side, glancing at her, "Sister, you... you aren’t thinking of taking my box of copper coins are you? I’m telling you, that won’t do! Although our stall is doing a bit better now, it’s still far from breaking even. I need to save this money to buy ingredients, so I don’t have to spend the family’s money, you really can’t..."

"Tch, who would bother eyeing those few coins of yours, I’ve got a shining ingot silver stored in my trunk at home!" Hua Ermother glanced at her disdainfully, fidgeting with her hands and feet before haphazardly tossing the copper coins back into the box and thrusting it into Hua Xiaomai’s arms, pulling her by the arm, "Come on, let’s go back to the west room to talk!"

Dragged by Hua Ermother, Hua Xiaomai stumbled and followed her back to the west room, only to see Hua Ermother firmly shut the door, did not light the lamp, and simply sat down at the table.

What was all this, she hadn’t done anything wrong today, and why was Hua Ermother showing such an aggressive demeanor?

"Sister, what are you trying to do?" She tentatively reached out and poked Hua Ermother’s arm, only to be slapped away.

It was dark in the room, which somehow made it easier for Hua Ermother to speak, pulling Hua Xiaomai down into a chair too, she pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Little sister, why did Meng Yuhuai suddenly bring the folks from Lianshun Escort Agency for noodles today?"

So it was for this?

Hua Xiaomai frowned slightly and without much thought said, "Yesterday, Brother Meng Yuhuai returned home for the festival, and while heading back to the County passing by the river, he saw me setting up my stall and dropped by. I offered him a bowl of noodles and didn’t take his money. Seeing him feeling uneasy, I joked that he should bring the escort agency brothers to support my business when he’s free. Who knew he would actually bring them today? If you think we now owe him a favor, I’ll find an opportunity to repay him with money. Why are you getting so worked up?"

"He had already gone by the river yesterday?" Hearing this, Hua Ermother was even more shocked, her mouth hanging open as she glanced at her sister in the pitch dark, seeing nothing, "What did he talk to you about?"

"Nothing much, just some idle chat." Hua Xiaomai was puzzled why she was digging up these matters, biting her lip, "Ah, right, he probably had also heard about the escaped convict from the jail while in the County, and he mentioned that it would be best for me not to set up my stall for a while..."

"Eh, why didn’t you tell me about this?" Hua Ermother was an impulsive person and her patience wore thin after a few words; suddenly standing up, she grabbed Hua Xiaomai’s arm, "That’s strange, if he told you not to set up the stall, why would he bring people over today? Hua Xiaotian, you didn’t tell me the whole truth, did you?"

How did one thing lead to another?!

Hua Xiaomai’s arm was sore from her grip; she struggled a bit but couldn’t break free, feeling annoyed, she raised her voice a little, "How would I know? Maybe he guessed that we had already found out that the escaped convict was a false alarm and naturally we would continue setting up the stall, or maybe, he just brought people along to try his luck. If you are that curious, go ask Brother Meng Yuhuai yourself, why bother badgering me? Sister, if you have something to say, just say it directly, why beat around the bush?"

Wrong, wrong, wrong... Hua Ermother bowed her head to think, the more she thought, the more peculiar it seemed.

Meng Yuhuai seldom interacted with the girls in the village, if he met them on the road, he’d just nod and greet, that was all; yet, why was he so concerned about her little sister’s affairs?

Two months ago, he had eagerly brought over those chili seeds, now he had grandly brought people to support the business... something was not right!

She remained silent for a while, fiddling with her fingers, and after a long pause, she blurted out a sentence nonsensically.

"Meng Yuhuai is certainly beyond reproach, everyone in the village praises him. But his old mother is no easy person to deal with."

Hua Xiaomai was startled.

She was not one of those shy, shrinking violets from Fire Knife Village, how could she not understand what Hua Ermother meant? But...

In such a situation, even understanding, she could only pretend not to know, hence just silently sat there.