Chef Hua
Chapter 128 - 88 Under the Gaze of the Crowd (Part 2)

Chapter 128: Chapter 88 Under the Gaze of the Crowd (Part 2)

Men naturally had loud voices, and Hu Si’er even deliberately raised his pitch, sounding like thunder booming. Consequently, not only the diners sitting at the tables eating noodles but also most of the people cooling off by the river turned their heads to look this way.

Guan Rong was on tenterhooks, holding a bowl of cold almond tofu that felt like a fiercely burning charcoal stove. She couldn’t make a sound and could only bite her lips while looking up pitifully at Hua Xiaomai, as if waiting for her to save her.

This time, however, Hua Xiaomai refused to speak any further; she just gave a light, reassuring smile, squeezed her way out from the middle of the table, and stood in the dark shadow of the tung oil lantern, gazing quietly.

Amidst the tightly packed crowd, all eyes were on Guan Rong, making her seem exceptionally isolated and destitute. Her normally tall figure seemed to have shrunk a few inches, her back slightly hunched, and upon closer inspection, her shoulders seemed to tremble slightly.

She truly aroused sympathy... Hua Xiaomai slightly curled her lips. But if she sympathized with Guan Rong, who else would seek justice for her?

"Hu Si’er, you better not talk nonsense!" La Mei played the role of a gossiping wife to perfection, puckering her lips and pushing forward, then raising her palm to slap Hu Si’er on the back. "The Hua sister just said that the stall has nothing to do with the Guan sister, so why on earth is she crying? You should have some limits when fabricating lies!"

As she spoke, she reached out to push Guan Rong vigorously, as if she intended to knead her into a dough. "Miss Guan, say something. The stall isn’t a joint venture with Ms. Hua; it has nothing to do with you, right? Right?" Clearly, she insisted on making her speak.

Guan Rong, shaken to the point of nearly falling apart, could no longer hold back and nodded, squeezing out a response as thin as a mosquito’s buzz: "Yes... the stall is entirely Xiaomai’s; I was just helping her because she was overwhelmed..."

"Did you hear that?" La Mei triumphantly jutted her chin at Hu Si’er, "I knew you were making it all up!"

Hu Si’er couldn’t stand being provoked and suddenly stood up, raising his voice further as if he wanted to scream, "If I am lying, may I have a boil on my mouth and pus on my feet tomorrow! And my wife, she isn’t mad or foolish, why would she deceive me with such a tale? Miss Guan wasn’t crying, but her expression did indeed seem aggrieved! If there’s a single false word in my wife’s story, I’ll go home tonight and beat her senseless!"

La Mei muttered something under her breath and rolled her eyes away. At this moment, a figure stood up from the crowd sitting cool by the river, calling loudly, "I don’t think Hu Si’er is lying. The other day, I ran into Miss Guan on the road and asked about this. She looked just as sorrowful then, and I thought Ms. Hua was being unreasonable, having agreed to set up a stall together only to drive her away later!"

This was a middle-aged woman in her forties, not coming with Chun Xi and La Mei, clearly having overheard the conversation here and unable to restrain herself, she stood up to support the argument.

Hua Xiaomai glanced over to her, wanting to rush over and give her a big hug, then turned her head back to look at Guan Rong.

By this time, the pretty girl was so furious her face was flushed red. La Mei gripped her arm tightly, making it impossible for her to leave. She could only sit on the bench, her hands twisted tightly on her knees.

"Do you hear that, do you hear that?" Hu Si’er, greatly encouraged, clenched his fist and waved at La Mei who just ignored him, turning her head away with a pout.

"Miss Guan, regardless of why you showed such a distressed demeanor in front of others, let’s just say that it isn’t quite appropriate, is it?"

Hua Ermother finally made a grand entrance, throwing the cloth in her hand into the basin and striding over to Guan Rong.

"Heaven and earth bear witness, my sister has been in the village for quite a while, and you should know how she has treated you! That one time selling bamboo shoots, you left her alone in the county, causing her to search for you all afternoon in the heavy rain until she finally got home the next morning. She didn’t complain and still shared the money she earned with you, joyfully delivering it to your door. When you were sick, she was so anxious every day, desperately boiling old loquat leaves for you to drink, all in the hope that you’d recover soon..."