Chef Hua
Chapter 127 - 87 Under the Gaze of the Crowd (Part 1)_2

Chapter 127: Chapter 87 Under the Gaze of the Crowd (Part 1)_2

Ever since they had talked in March in the woods by the river, she and Hua Xiaomai had hardly seen each other. It was rare to encounter each other even when walking around the village, which made her wonder if Hua Xiaomai meant to gradually distance herself. Today, Hua Xiaomai specifically asked Hua Erniang to invite her for food, which made her think she was still considered a sister, so she immediately went back to her house, tidied up, and followed Hua Erniang out.

At this time, the riverside was bustling.

Around the small stalls, many customers were waiting to be served their noodles, a whole row of villagers sat cooling off by the riverbank, and not far away, a large group of children ran around making a racket.

Guan Rong followed Hua Erniang to the stall and glanced at the crowd squeezed around the table, and immediately widened her eyes, "The business is really good today!"

"It’s okay." Hua Erniang had achieved her task by bringing her here, she said with a forced smile, "It’s also a good time, during summer, it’s hot at home, everyone wants to come out for a walk."

Before she had finished speaking, Hua Xiaomai, who was busy rolling out noodles, looked up and squinted with a smile, "Sister Rong, you’re here? I’m busy right now, please sit, I’ll come and talk to you in a while."

Then turning to Hua Erniang, "Erniang, could you bring that Southern Almond Tofu to Sister Rong."

Hua Erniang indeed went behind the stall, took a bowl resembling a sweet cake from the food box, and handed it to Guan Rong.

Guan Rong smiled and accepted it, approaching the table just as Hua Erniang pulled a man named Hu Si’er up from his stool, shouting, "Make way for her, Guan girl is frail, you’re a big man, standing for a while won’t hurt you!"

Hu Si’er, who had come with Chun Xi and La Mei, naturally didn’t make a fuss and quickly complied, smiling cheekily as he picked up his bowl of noodles and flopped down on the ground.

Guan Rong, feeling a bit embarrassed, thanked him repeatedly before sitting down and looked into the bowl of Southern Almond Tofu.

The refreshing dessert of this summer truly looked exquisite. The pale yellow translucent jellied cake was cut into diamond shapes, topped with chilled sugar water and milk, tender and slippery, seeming as though a mere touch with a fingertip would make it sink and then bounce back instantly; a few sugar-pickled cherries were sparsely sprinkled on top, oddly, a larger one encapsulating a smaller one, charmingly red and strikingly cute.

Feeling increasingly joyful, she rushed to scoop a small piece. However, before she could bring the spoon to her mouth, a loud booming voice suddenly erupted beside her.

"Hey, Guan girl, you’re supporting the stall’s business again? That’s how it should be! Although the stall is small, just relying on Hua Xiaomai and Erqiao to manage it is really tough, look at Erqiao, she has visibly lost a lot of weight! I don’t mean to be nosy, but you, you can’t lack perseverance, fishing for three days and airing the nets for two, that won’t do!"

Guan Rong turned around and saw the speaker was a young housewife named La Mei, whom she had seen a few times in the village, barely recognized, but was not familiar with.

"I..." she opened her mouth, about to speak, when another woman’s voice interrupted.

"Enough of that! Sure, she showed up, but did you see her helping out? Hua Xiaomai and Erqiao are busying themselves nonstop, while she sits here enjoying sweet cakes. It’s only because Hua Xiaomai is too kind to hold it against her. If it were me, I’d have split with her a long time ago!"

This time, it was Chun Xi who spoke.

Guan Rong’s face instantly flushed red, and her ears felt hot. Holding a spoon in her hand, she couldn’t grip it properly nor put it down, and unusually for her, she appeared somewhat at a loss.

Just then, Hua Xiaomai came over with a bowl of noodles and glanced her way with a grin, "Sister Rong, how’s the taste of the almond tofu? I used Southern Almonds, soaked before grinding, so there’s no bitterness at all. I added some milk too, so it should be pretty good, right?"

"Oh my, tsk tsk tsk..." Chun Xi immediately took over the conversation, curling her lip disdainfully, "You even prepare such exquisite food for her? Hua Xiaomai, are you foolish? She does nothing but sit here eating, comfortably earning money. That’s quite a bargain for her!"

"Hm?" Hua Xiaomai seemed puzzled, turned her head to look at her, "Sister-in-law Chun Xi, what are you talking about? Earning money? Why would Sister Rong need to help me work? Ah..."

Then it dawned on her, she slapped her forehead, "You must think this stall is run jointly by Sister Rong and me? Oh dear, you misunderstood! When you saw Sister Rong here helping me wipe tables and wash dishes a while ago, it was just because she saw how exhausted I was and couldn’t bear it, so she offered to help, purely out of kindness. This is really a misunderstanding!"

"Ah?" Upon hearing this, Chun Xi was taken aback, and instead of asking Hua Xiaomai, she pushed Guan Rong, "So this stall has nothing to do with you at all?"

Guan Rong gasped, her face reddening like the bottom of a hot pot, unsure of how to respond, she could only bite her lip hard.

It was only then she realized that her seat was right in the middle of several sets of tables and chairs, surrounded by people whose gaze bore into her with a probing intent, making her uncomfortable as if millions of ants were crawling all over her.

Seeing her silence, Hua Xiaomai just kept smiling and said to Chun Xi, "I did some catering for the villagers a few days ago and saved up some money, which gave me the idea to start this stall, to add some income for the family. My older sister said it’s hard work and was initially opposed; I had to persuade her for a long time! Sister Rong isn’t well, how could I drag her into this? This stall is truly my own venture."

"Oh dear, I really messed up with good intentions, then." Hearing this, Chun Xi hurriedly patted Guan Rong on the shoulder, "I am sorry, sister, I didn’t know and made you suffer a wrong."

Guan Rong glanced at her quickly but still said nothing. At that moment, Hu Si’er, sitting on the ground, suddenly spoke up, "After all this fuss, it turns out you have nothing to do with this stall? If that’s the case, why did my wife come back the other day telling me that you looked like you were about to cry but didn’t, when this stall business was brought up? What are you plotting?"

(To be continued. If you enjoy this piece, we welcome you to come to Qidian (qidian.com) and cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)