Chef Hua
Chapter 191: Episode 119 To Be Continued_2

Chapter 191: Episode 119 To Be Continued_2

The more important issue was, in front of so many people, no matter how eloquently she managed to clear her name, she still inevitably would be seen as being in the same league as Aunt Geng, without a chance to defend herself.

She remained silent for a long time, Hua Xiaomai just slightly smiled and arched an eyebrow.

"You’re not willing? Well, that’s no problem, I won’t force you. Apologizing and making reparations, these things depend on your own conscience. What’s it to others? Take your things and leave, as for today, just consider that you never came here, and in the future..."

"No, no, since I sincerely came to make amends, making things clear is the right thing to do. I..." Guan Rong hurriedly stepped forward to stop her, "Tonight I will go with you to the riverside. Xiaomai my girl, I just want you to know, I truly never harbored any ill will towards you. If you would trust me and still consider me as a friend, I’ll do anything you ask."

Hua Xiaomai neither agreed nor disagreed, just curled her lips and turned away from her, entering the house by herself.

Guan Rong stood at the door with her mother, seemingly unwilling to leave just yet, but eventually, they withdrew. Hua Erniang closed the courtyard door with annoyance and clomped into the kitchen, dragging Hua Xiaomai in front of herself.

"Letting them explain and then just letting it go?" she said through gritted teeth, feeling deeply unsatisfied, "That’s letting them off too easy! Humph, you said one time to show them what for, and this is what you can do? A couple of broken eggs and some Bamboo Leaf Cakes buy you off, I think you want to be the death of me!"

"What else then?" Hua Xiaomai turned around to face her and sighed, "They came to the door, apologizing nicely, and didn’t hide a single word. If you keep holding onto this, in the end, you’ll just earn a bad reputation for being petty, why bother? To make her confront Aunt Geng in front of everyone, we may still get a scene of a dog-eat-dog fight to watch, don’t you have any interest in that? If that causes them to split, that would be an unexpected gain. At least from then on, they won’t be teaming up and plotting evil, what do you think?"

Pausing, she glanced at the two baskets on the table in the courtyard: "You’re well-off now, so those eggs and Bamboo Leaf Cakes, naturally, you don’t care for, but to their household, they’re worth quite a bit of money. Why shouldn’t we take them? It’s good to make them bleed a little."

Hua Erniang was still dissatisfied and muttered under her breath, pouting, "So, this matter... is just over?"

The corners of Hua Xiaomai’s mouth slightly pulled, but she said nothing.

This affair impacted her reputation as a maiden, so naturally, the quicker it was resolved the better. But the grievances between her and Guan Rong were likely not so easily dispelled.

It just occurred to her that this morning, although Chun Xi had come up with a bad idea, she also unintentionally reminded her of something.

Making Guan Rong taste the bitterness to her bones didn’t seem like such a difficult task, did it?

...

That very evening, Guan Rong indeed went to the riverside with her mother, on time. Hua Erniang ran to the Geng family, captured Aunt Geng, and made her confess in front of everybody on the riverbank. Aunt Geng recounted how she saw Hua Xiaomai and Scholar Wen involved in some pushing and pulling, and how she took the opportunity to add fuel to the fire and spread rumors throughout the village, explaining everything in detail.

Guan Rong certainly wasn’t idle either. She tearfully expressed her sorrow and regret, and unsurprisingly, she blamed everything on Aunt Geng. Aunt Geng, infuriated as expected, leaped up to hit her but was blocked by Guan Rong’s mother. The two inevitably got into a fight, resulting in Aunt Geng losing a handful of her already sparse hair, while Guan Rong’s mother ended up with two scratch marks on her face.

Onlookers, led by Chun Xi and La Mei, were enthralled, laughing until they doubled over. Who had time to care about the dubious rumors involving Hua Xiaomai and Scholar Wen? They would rather have grabbed Hua Xiaomai’s hand and sincerely thanked her for providing such a delightful evening.

As a result, although Guan Rong was not directly involved in the scandal, she did lose an "intimate partner" in Aunt Geng, and it could certainly be said that she was greatly weakened. Hua Xiaomai never told her "forgive" to her face, and she didn’t dare to brazenly visit again, leaving Guan Rong to sulk at home and fall ill for two days, watching her already slim figure grow even frailer.

The rumor incident ended in farce, which, while not entirely satisfying, also wasn’t wholly resolved, but there would be more days ahead. Thinking of a certain someone, Hua Xiaomai felt as if she had taken a reassuring pill, and was in no rush. She put her daily life back on track.

A few more days passed, and the chilis behind the house were gradually turning from green to red, small and glossy, sparkling in the sunlight, irresistibly charming. The closer harvest time approached, the more nervous Hua Xiaomai became. She sat restlessly each day, occasionally running over to check them, gently touching the semi-green, semi-red fruits with great care.

On the fourth morning, Luo Yuejiao came to the Jing family’s small courtyard to learn cooking. After greeting Hua Erniang and Hua Xiaomai, she went to water the vegetable garden as usual. Hua Xiaomai was bent over in the courtyard, checking on various sauces, when suddenly she heard a sharp scream from behind the house.

"Xiaomai sister, come quickly and look, all your chili peppers have turned red!"

Hua Xiaomai, jolted, couldn’t care about anything else and sprinted towards the back of the house. Reaching Luo Yuejiao, she squatted down and meticulously inspected the chili plants, only to find all the fruits hidden beneath the leaves were a brilliant red, without a trace of green.

It was... no easy feat. After such a long wait, her chili peppers had finally reached the harvesting season. For a chef, having these chilies truly meant having all the essential flavors!

Luo Yuejiao was also very excited, she swallowed hard and tugged at Hua Xiaomai’s sleeve repeatedly, asking eagerly, "Sister Xiaomai, are you really planning to use these chilis for cooking? Then, what’s the first dish you’re going to make with them?"

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