Chef Hua
Chapter 124: Episode 86: Milky Soup Pot Fish

Chapter 124: Episode 86: Milky Soup Pot Fish

Hearing Madam Jing suddenly bring up the matter of the stall, Hua Xiaomai couldn’t help but pause with the knife in her hand.

She didn’t want to be oversensitive, but what was Madam Jing really getting at? Was she indirectly complaining that they were becoming increasingly well-off but still unwilling to give more money to the old house? Such matters shouldn’t even involve her, an "outsider," right?

After thinking for a moment, she just smiled and gave a noncommittal "hmm.

Was Madam Jing about to fly into a rage now?

Hua Xiaomai squinted slightly, her muscles tensed as she calculated. If Madam Jing were to lash out, she would run away immediately without confronting her head-on.

However, Madam Jing appeared very calm, looking down at the bamboo shoot slices as thin as hair on the cutting board with a disdainful curl of her lip, "I also heard that you’re close to the Guan Family girl, Guan Rong. Do you often visit with each other?"

Huh? What was she driving at with this odd and unexpected shift of topic? These two topics didn’t connect at all; it was truly impossible to guess her intentions!

Hua Xiaomai turned her head perplexedly to look at her, "That... we’re not particularly close. If we happen to meet on the road, we’ll chat together, but we seldom make plans to hang out. Her health isn’t good, and I also worry..."

"Does she have a share in your food stall business?" Madam Jing didn’t have the patience to let her finish and continued to indulge her own curiosity.

"How could that be?" Hua Xiaomai laughed, but seeing Madam Jing’s serious expression, she could no longer keep laughing and quickly said in all seriousness, "That stall is our own, usually looked after by my second sister, my brother-in-law, and me. How could it have anything to do with that Guan Family sister?"

"Tsk!" Madam Jing scoffed with a cold expression, "That Guan girl has been sickly since she was young. In my view, it must be because all her energy went to being crafty. If your stall really has nothing to do with her, then consider it your good fortune! If you’re smart, you’d best not get entangled with her. If she latches onto you, I’m afraid you won’t be able to shake her off!"

A thought struck Hua Xiaomai, and her brow furrowed even more tightly.

She probably knew what Guan Rong was plotting with her food stall, and for that reason, she had bluntly tried to nip Guan Rong’s thoughts in the bud and had kept her distance. In the past two months, Guan Rong rarely came to the riverbank, and perhaps she hadn’t been visiting her at the Jing household for a while—could it be that she was causing some trouble in secret?

At that thought, Hua Xiaomai felt a wave of irritation, bit her lip, and said with a forced smile to Madam Jing, "Madam, my little stall really has nothing to do with the Guan Family sister. Did you... hear something?"

Madam Jing looked at her and didn’t speak immediately. After a long while, she finally spoke reluctantly with drooping eyelids, "The Guan Family lives in the south next to us; we’re always bumping into each other. A couple of days ago, I passed by their house and happened to see that Guan girl talking to someone..."

At this point, she suddenly raised her voice slightly, "I’m not the type to eavesdrop, but they were talking so loudly they didn’t even bother to avoid others!"

Anxious, Hua Xiaomai nodded vigorously, "Yes, yes, I understand that. Please, go on."

Madam Jing twisted her mouth, "The one talking to that Guan girl was a young woman from the village. I clearly heard her asking, ’Guan Family sister, how come you haven’t been seen managing the stall by the river recently? These days, it has only been that Miss Hua and her second sister handling it; they seem to be having a hard time.’ In our entire village, the only ones with the Hua surname are you and your second sister. If not you, who else could she be talking about?"

"What did the Guan Family sister say?" Hua Xiaomai asked eagerly.

"Her?" Madam Jing rolled her eyes and sneered, "She didn’t say a word, just slightly lowered her head with a smile on her lips, but her eyes looked as though they were filled with tears, appearing quite pitiful! You say the stall has nothing to do with her, so tell me, what does that behavior signify?"

What? Hua Xiaomai clenched her fists tightly, feeling a burst of anger surge up from within her.

Although Madam Jing might not be entirely trustworthy, the scene she described definitely sounded like something Guan Rong would do, vivid and lifelike!

A fine young lady, repeatedly behaving so shamelessly without embarrassment!