Chef Hua
Chapter 161: Episode 104 Stirring up a Commotion_2

Chapter 161: Episode 104 Stirring up a Commotion_2

"Then I’ll just put the matter out there, and you can judge, Grandfather," she said slowly after a long while, turning her head. "Originally, it was Uncle Ping’an who fancied the preserves and pastries my sister made, thinking them a fine business opportunity, and he suggested they go into business together, right? And our sauces too—it was after Uncle Ping’an had tasted them and found them good that he couldn’t wait to put down some money and have us make more, so he could sell them in Provincial City. Isn’t that right?"

"Yes, that’s right, but... what’s the problem now?" Grandfather Pan nodded, a puzzled expression on his face.

Hua Erniang wiped her face, "We had an agreement: my sister would sell the sauce to Uncle Ping’an, and after that, she was not to be involved at all, letting Uncle Ping’an handle things on his own. Even if he sold it for a sky-high price, it had nothing to do with us. But at the same time, if Uncle Ping’an got into trouble because of selling the sauce, we shouldn’t have to share the burden with him, right? Isn’t that reasonable?"

Grandfather Pan felt something was amiss and grew anxious, "Erniang, what exactly are you trying to say? Tell it all in one go, will you? What trouble has Uncle Ping’an gotten into?"

Hua Erniang had no choice but to relay the incident that had happened at the riverside where Hua Xiaomai was selling her goods tonight, describing the whole thing. She added, "Today, during the day, Uncle Ping’an came to our house to discuss the sauce business with my younger sister. We saw that he had injuries on his face and walked unsteadily, so we asked him about it. He said he had merely fallen by accident, but I was skeptical even then—no way could a fall cause a fist mark around his eye! Now that I think about it, his injury must have been caused by someone hitting him, and he had already met with people from Antai Garden!"

"What?" Grandfather Pan gasped upon hearing such serious news, taking a sharp breath, "This... can it be true?"

"True?" Hua Erniang scoffed coldly, "The people from Antai Garden have already come to Fire Knife Village, and they even ate noodles at my sister’s stall tonight, offering a silver as a reward. They were looking for Uncle Ping’an and the family making the sauce. Now, tell me, what do you think they want to do? Since Uncle Ping’an had already met them before, he should have warned us to allow us to prepare. He had endless opportunities to reveal what was going on, yet chose to keep silent, letting my sister get hit with a sucker punch. Look at her stall; she’s too scared to even keep it running and rushed home in panic. Do you see what state she’s been put into?"

As she spoke, she pushed Hua Xiaomai right in front of Grandfather Pan, sobbingly saying, "It’s a good thing that Uncle Qiao from the paper mill store was there and managed to keep it under wraps long enough to secure my sister’s safety for the time being. Otherwise, those people from Antai Garden would have stormed our house by now! We don’t even know who the sauce was sold to, and we have no clue who we’ve offended—doesn’t this count as an unprovoked disaster?"

"You’re saying the people from Antai Garden already made it up to Xiaomai’s stall?" Grandfather Pan’s body swayed as he swallowed hard, suddenly stunned to the spot.

He usually took no interest in Pan Ping’an’s business dealings, at most advising his eldest son during their chats not to make dishonest money. If what Hua Erniang said was true, it would mean that the people from Antai Garden were being unreasonable. Yet Pan Ping’an, knowing he had caused trouble, wouldn’t share a word of it...

As they spoke in the courtyard for so long, Pan Ping’an hadn’t even dared show his face, causing Grandfather Pan to feel both angry and afraid. He rushed to the window and peered through the latticework with his cane, shouting angrily, "Come out! Stop hiding inside, I’m embarrassed for you!"

Some faint noises came from inside the house, and after a while, the door finally opened; Pan Ping’an emerged shakily.

Hua Erniang looked furious, almost rushing over to hit him, but Jing Taihe quickly held her back. She could only glare and loudly chastise, "Look at the great job you’ve done! Now you’ve dragged my sister into this. Are you satisfied? Even the unrelated Qiao Xiong and the guests were willing to protect her, but what about you? Supposedly her business partner, yet you just hardened your heart and watched us all get dragged into this mess!"

Jing Taihe sighed and said, "Uncle Ping’an, we know you want to make money, we all do, but we aren’t willing to take such big risks, you..."

"What, you think doing business involves only making money without facing any risks? Whenever I brought out the money every month, you were all happy. But, when trouble arises, you back off immediately..." Pan Ping’an muttered under his breath.

"Only thinking about making money?" Hua Erniang clenched her teeth, "Wasn’t it my sister who slaved away to make that sauce? Without her skills, you wouldn’t have made a penny! We sold the sauce to you, whoever you sell it to is none of our business; you clearly just wanted a fall guy!"

Pan Ping’an was a bit scared of her and didn’t dare further quibble, just grumbled with a pained expression, "Yes, I’ve gotten into trouble, and yes, these injuries were inflicted by them, but I truly didn’t know they would find their way to Fire Knife Village. The sauce is much more profitable than the pastries, and I don’t believe you’d really want to pass up such a large monthly income."

Hua Erniang was getting angrier by the minute, about to berate him further, but Hua Xiaomai quickly stepped forward and restrained her older sister’s hand.

"Enough, what good will more arguing do?" she glanced at Pan Ping’an, then at Hua Erniang, "Uncle Ping’an, you are indeed at fault; you should have told me about such a big issue, so I wouldn’t be unprepared and thrown into chaos. But as for the sauce business itself, you haven’t done anything wrong. Business is all about capability. Those people from Antai Garden have no right to hit you or to come here looking for trouble. Now that they are here in the village, instead of fighting amongst ourselves, we should think about what to do next."

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please head over to Qidian (qidian.com) and cast your votes for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)