Chef Hua
Chapter 118: Episode 83: Aren’t You Afraid of Being Misunderstood?

Chapter 118: Episode 83: Aren’t You Afraid of Being Misunderstood?

"How can this be?" As soon as Hua Erniang heard this, she became indignant and was about to jump up in protest when she suddenly remembered she wasn’t on her own turf. Hastily straightening her already bending knees, she gave Ke Zhenwu an awkward smile, "What I mean is, Master Ke, isn’t this a bit inappropriate? After all, my sister is still a young lady..."

"It’s Yuhuai we’re talking about, not someone else. Are you really worried he might devour your sister?" Ke Zhenwu joked, hoping to lighten the mood. However, seeing that both Hua Erniang and Jing Taihe maintained a serious demeanor, he couldn’t help but feel embarrassed and stroked his beard, "Old Zhao’s family has guests these past two days. With more people going over, it will inevitably be noisy and might displease him. Having Yuhuai take Xiaomai to find gardener Liu, ask him about the matter, and then quickly return — what’s wrong with that?"

Meng Yuhuai also turned his head to look at Jing Taihe, "Zhao’s residence is not far from here. I will make sure to deliver Miss Xiaomai safely."

Hua Erniang seemed to want to say more, but Jing Taihe, having grown up with Meng Yuhuai, couldn’t bear to lose face. He quickly grasped his wife’s hand and said with a smile, "Alright, Brother Yuhuai, we’ll be in your care then."

"Don’t worry." Meng Yuhuai nodded, pushed the cart, and walked out. Xiaomai hurriedly followed him. Unnoticed by others, Hua Erniang stamped fiercely on Jing Taihe’s foot behind them.

The two left through the great gate of the Escort Agency. They didn’t speak much on the way and went straight to the Zhao family mansion. After being announced by the servant and waiting a while, the steward who came out was a Mr. Ma.

"Leader Meng." He greeted Meng Yuhuai first, then turned and nodded at Xiaomai with a smile, "My master is currently entertaining guests and cannot come out. I heard that Miss Xiaomai’s chili plants encountered some trouble and are highly regarded by my master. Since Miss Hua once helped my master verify a batch of counterfeit goods, he naturally won’t ignore your situation. You two can follow me inside; Old Liu is already waiting in the garden."

After speaking, he ordered someone to move all the chili plants off the cart and led them through the corridor gate toward the garden near the back door.

The Zhao family mansion had many flowers and plants, always tended by an old gardener named Liu. The old man seemed to be about sixty years old, perhaps due to constantly walking among various plants and tending to watering and weeding, his movements were still nimble, and he appeared spirited.

The garden was all mud, thoroughly soaked and slippery from the rain, making it easy to slip and fall flat if one wasn’t careful. Xiaomai, with her mind full of concerns about the chilies, upon seeing Old Liu, rushed to him as if seeing a savior, forgetting all caution, eagerly holding up a chili plant, and quickly slid over to him.

"Uncle, please take a look at this chili plant and see if it’s seriously damaged. Last night, it got covered with oilcloths weighed down by rainwater. I dared not leave them outside, so I moved them into pots and brought them indoors. This morning, they seemed to be lacking in spirit... They couldn’t possibly be dying, could they?"

On rainy days, no one likes to stay in the garden. Old Liu had also come hurriedly from the tool shed after hearing instructions from Lord Zhao. Of course, he wasn’t very happy getting drenched. But since Lord Zhao had specifically asked him to pay close attention to Xiaomai’s chilies, he dared not slack off or be lazy. He carefully examined that chili plant and checked the rest in the same thorough way.

He frowned in silence, and Xiaomai, already feeling unstable, became even more anxious and couldn’t help but prompt, "How is it? Is it very serious?"

"Chili plants like sunlight, not shade. Although they need thorough watering, they can’t be waterlogged. Having been soaked by so much rain and weighed down by those heavy oilcloths, how could they not be affected?" Old Liu lifted his eyelids and looked at her, "Such precious plants, if you intend to raise them, you should take proper care of them. This kind of negligence is unseemly. Seeing that the weather was bad, you should have moved them into a sunlit room. Doesn’t this trouble now seem self-inflicted?"

His words were quite severely spoken. Xiaomai, already uneasy, felt even more distressed after his reprimand and had no mind to argue; she simply hung her head in silence.

It was Meng Yuhuai who slightly furrowed his brows and came to her defense, "Master Liu, as you said, these chili plants are precious. Ordinary people, even if they wanted to, wouldn’t have access to buy seeds. It’s her first time taking care of such plants, so some oversights are inevitable. Moreover, you also saw that the leaves are lush and vibrant—obviously, she has been quite attentive normally. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so worried. Don’t you think?"