Chef Hua
Chapter 154: Episode 101: Spicy River Snails and Drunk Shrimp

Chapter 154: Episode 101: Spicy River Snails and Drunk Shrimp

Pan Ping’an had just stepped out of the Jing Family’s courtyard when Hua Ermu immediately shut the courtyard door and, not feeling reassured, poked her head out and looked in the direction of the courtyard wall.

"What are you doing, Second Sister?" Seeing her acting so sneakily, Hua Xiaomai found it somewhat amusing and chuckled, teasing her, "Just say what you need to say, why make such a fuss? With that loud voice of yours, who could you possibly fool?"

"Stop talking nonsense!" Hua Ermu glanced back at her, indeed lowering her voice a notch, "I’m talking about something serious here. Didn’t you notice that something was off with Uncle Ping’an?"

Indeed, Pan Ping’an was acting strangely today. Not only did his face look battered, but his movements while walking seemed awkward, likely hiding injuries, yet he adamantly refused to disclose the real reason behind them, which in itself was enough to arouse suspicion.

If it were just that, it would still be bearable, but the problem lay in his expression when those sauces were mentioned. It seemed as if he had been greatly wronged, like he had a belly full of bitterness he couldn’t vent, as if continuing to sell these sauces would require tremendous courage—it was just some ordinary sauces after all. If they were truly hard to sell, he could’ve just said so outright; why struggle to such an extent?

"It is a bit unusual." Hua Xiaomai thought for a moment and then nodded at Hua Ermu, "But since he doesn’t want to tell us, it’s useless to ask more. As long as it doesn’t concern us, it’s fine."

"Oh my, why don’t you use your brain!" Hua Ermu slapped her on the head and without thinking, raised her voice again, hastily covering her mouth, "His face, it’s clear somebody beat him up like that, and all that nonsense about falling down, I don’t buy it! Think about it, every time the sauce comes up, doesn’t his face turn as if he’s swallowed sewage? You crafted those sauces yourself. What if he got into a dispute over the sauce and drags us into it, too? From now on, this little courtyard won’t have a moment’s peace!"

This layer of consideration hadn’t escaped Hua Xiaomai; however, she had reasoned after much deliberation that given Pan Ping’an’s cautious but seemingly generous nature, he wouldn’t likely offend people. Therefore, she hadn’t really taken it to heart.

Now that Hua Ermu made it sound so grave, her demeanor as if she had witnessed Pan Ping’an’s beating herself, Hua Xiaomai pondered for a moment before saying, "If so, what do you propose we do? Maybe... I should go and give Uncle Ping’an a heads-up that we’re too busy lately to continue with the sauce business. It might give us a bit of peace. Are you really okay with losing that much money every month?"

Hua Ermu was speechless at her words, her concern about her younger sister drawing trouble balanced against losing the substantial monthly income, and she found herself indecisive.

"If you ask me, we just supply the sauces to Uncle Ping’an and take his money. The rest, how he sells them, for how much, and to whom, doesn’t concern us at all as long as there’s nothing wrong with the sauces making someone sick. We don’t need to overthink it; just let him handle it."

After making her point, Hua Xiaomai stood up and poured herself a cup of tea to drink. Hua Ermu still felt uneasy and was about to chatter more when they heard a knock at the door mixed with Luo Yuejiao’s crisp calling: "Xiaomai, are you not at home?"

"Yuejiao is here; I’ll go let her in. Don’t think too much about this anymore." Hua Xiaomai gave Hua Ermu a look and quickly went out, letting Luo Yuejiao in and leading her to the kitchen to learn cooking without mentioning it further.

...

In the evening, Hua Xiaomai and Luo Yuejiao went out to set up their stall. Along the way, they heard many villagers discussing how, at dusk, the shoe repair shop on the east side that hadn’t done much business all year suddenly had three or four customers show up and generously threw down a shiny ingot of silver to book the entire place.

"Honestly, that little broken shop, is it even necessary to spend money to book it all?" One of them said, seeming dismissive but actually green with envy, "An entire ingot of silver! Really, some people just have money to burn!"

The shoe repair shop, which Hua Xiaomai had heard about, stood isolated on the eastern edge of the village, a good half-mile from the nearest household. The owner had several dozen acres of farmland and didn’t rely solely on the small shop for a living. Since there was hardly any business all year round, he was considering leasing it out. Now, suddenly receiving such a pie from the sky, undoubtedly, he must have been so elated that he practically forgot his own name.