Chef Hua
Chapter 158: Episode 103: Trouble Brewing

Chapter 158: Episode 103: Trouble Brewing

As soon as those words were spoken, an immediate silence fell over the entire stall area.

Pan Ping’an had been doing business in the Provincial City for many years, seldom returning to the village more than once every half a year, but in the past three to five months, he had started showing up reliably in the middle of each month. First, he took various preserved fruits and cakes from the Jing Family’s courtyard to sell in the Provincial City. Before long, he had also taken a liking to the sauces made by Hua Xiaomai for her own family’s consumption, happily paying to buy them all. He carted them off to the Provincial City—one cartload after another. These matters were never hidden; who in the village didn’t know about them?

In just a few months, Pan Ping’an was noticeably more prosperous, clearly making a good profit. There were envious and resentful talks among the villagers, some even muttered to their wives at home, saying that this Mr. Pan had indeed stumbled upon incredible luck. Unexpectedly, he had now found himself in trouble, with people tracking him down all the way to the village!

The villagers, who had been leisurely strolling or bending around the riverbank, were originally grinning as they gathered behind Shopkeeper Zhu and others to watch the excitement. Suddenly, when they heard him asking who made the sauces, they all hurriedly pretended nothing was amiss and scattered to leave; as for the patrons sitting at the stall eating noodles, many were frequent visitors and had a good relationship with Hua Xiaomai, naturally unwilling to say much. They all bowed their heads and focused intently on the bowls of noodles in front of them, eating them one strand at a time.

In an instant, Hua Xiaomai turned over several thoughts in her mind.

Running a food business was no different from other trades; frankly, it was never an industry where one could make a mark solely through skill.

For newcomers breaking into the scene without connections or pathways, how to get one’s food recognized and accepted by patrons was already enough to scratch one’s head over. Just when one might gain some reputation, there was the worry about whether they would be harassed by competitors claiming "you’ve blocked my business," making life never peaceful.

She had thought that entrusting her preserved fruits, cakes, and sauces to Pan Ping’an to sell would spare her these troubles. But how could she have anticipated that people would follow him to Fire Knife Village and even go around inquiring about the origins of the sauces? They wouldn’t have come all this way just to compliment her on her good sauces, would they?

Although she had no idea about the backgrounds of these few individuals, from Shopkeeper Zhu’s attire and the menacing looks of the people behind him, she could roughly guess that they were not the type to reason with. If things turned sour, they might resort to physical confrontation. She was alone with only a useless stick at hand—who could she possibly beat?

This matter... hmm, was troublesome.

For a moment, at a loss, her gaze involuntarily drifted over to Qiao Xiong, just in time to see him gently shaking his head at her, seemingly signaling her to not make any rash moves. Still hesitating, Shopkeeper Zhu, seeing her long silence, grew suspicious and gave her a chilling look, his voice cold and harsh, "What, is my question too difficult for you?"

Hua Xiaomai opened her mouth, just about to scramble for words to blur through the situation, when Qiao Xiong at her side had already started laughing and struck up a conversation.

"Ahem, why bother asking her? She’s a young girl from out of town who’s been living in the village for only two months. She hasn’t even gotten to know everyone yet, how could she possibly know who sells sauces here?"

"Is that so?" Shopkeeper Zhu looked at Hua Xiaomai with a smirk and then turned his mung bean eyes to Qiao Xiong, "It seems I’ve asked the wrong person, you... should be a local, right? Do you know where Pan Ping’an gets his sauces from?"

"Hey, where would I know?" Qiao Xiong laughed slyly, shrugging his shoulders casually.

"And you all? Also clueless?" Shopkeeper Zhu sneered. The smile had barely faded from his face when a chill flashed across it, darkly scanning everyone around the table.

The diners immediately lowered their heads even more, pretending they didn’t hear a thing, without making a sound.

"Humph, you sure stick together!" Shopkeeper Zhu changed his expression seeing this, narrowed his eyes, and raised his voice, "I’m not afraid to tell everyone here that my master is the owner of the ’Antai Garden,’ a century-old establishment in the Provincial City. Our shop produces all kinds of sauces famous for their delicious taste, strong flavors, and reasonable prices. For decades, every restaurant and eatery in the city, anyone with some cash to spare, would prefer to buy their sauces from us. It’s cost-effective, and even adds prestige when spread out."

As soon as these words came out, the people at the stall began to whisper among themselves.