Chef Hua
Chapter 260: Episode 154 Call Master_2

Chapter 260: Episode 154 Call Master_2

Zhou Qing was thick-skinned, and Jing Taihe’s few scoldings barely tickled him as he nonchalantly spoke through his grinning teeth, "Your younger sister-in-law refuses to take my eldest daughter as an apprentice, saying that if I have any complaints, I should come to her directly, and here I am. I have no other intentions; I just want to ask, on what basis does she refuse to take my eldest daughter?"

"And why on earth should I have to take her?" Hua Xiaomai stepped forward, fixing her gaze on Zhou Qing’s loathsome face, and said calmly.

"Cut it out, my eldest daughter came back and told me everything!" Zhou Qing spat on the ground and looked skyward through his nostrils, "Yesterday, you specifically tested her skills, had her identify various sauces, and asked her to chop pumpkins. She told me the truth; you even had a smile on your face, clearly satisfied with her. If that’s the case, why then did you refuse her? I really want to hear what you find fault with in her."

Hua Xiaomai glared at him, turned around to gesture to Zhou Yunyun and the three other girls to come by her side, took them to herself, lifted her sleeve to reveal the purplish bruise, and thrust it towards Zhou Qing, "You ask me why? Because of this, I do not want her!"

"...What do you mean?" Zhou Qing was momentarily stunned, his gaze becoming somewhat evasive.

Due to his commotion, the nearby neighbors all came out to watch the excitement, and the elderly neighbor Pan also shakily walked out with his walking stick, glanced at the girls’ arms, and exclaimed "terrible sin" three times.

"You’re their own father!" He banged his walking stick on the ground, making a loud noise, "Even a tiger doesn’t eat its cubs, how can you bear to beat your children to this state? You really are... you really are..." he trembled all over with anger and couldn’t continue speaking.

"They are my own daughters; what does it have to do with you?" Zhou Qing, no matter how reckless, became somewhat apprehensive surrounded by people and shouted with false bravado, then turned to Hua Xiaomai, "What exactly do you mean?"

Hua Xiaomai rolled her eyes conspicuously at him and smiled, "I’m not afraid to tell you the truth. If we’re really talking about suitability, Yunyun is indeed a promising apprentice for cooking. If she herself is willing to learn, I am very willing to mentor her. But I just can’t stand seeing these injuries on her. You want her to become my apprentice? That’s not impossible, but..."

Zhou Yunyun suddenly heard these words, her eyes lit up, and she immediately turned her head to look at her, "Sister, you want me?"

"Don’t interrupt." Hua Xiaomai glanced at her and continued towards Zhou Qing, "You take her back and heal her. When there is not a single injury left on her, then let her come to me, and I will accept her as an apprentice. Otherwise, don’t even think about it!"

Zhou Qing stood with his mouth agape, stunned for a long while, and then dismissively waved his hand, "Just nursing injuries, right? I’ll pamper her like she’s an ancestor; is that good enough? Everyone heard it today. When eventually these injuries heal, and you still refuse to take her, I’ll take it up with you!"

With that, he did not care for his daughters anymore and turned to leave.

"You stop right there." Hua Xiaomai furrowed her brows. Once Zhou Qing turned back, she lifted her chin, "Don’t think I don’t know what you’re plotting. You have four daughters in total. If Yunyun is untouchable, the remaining ones are always available for you to vent your anger... Oh, and your wife, she’s an easy target too, isn’t she? You listen to me carefully; if I want to know what happens in this village, I can easily find out everything. From today onwards, if I hear of you beating your wife or children at home, I will definitely not accept Yunyun as my apprentice. Even if in the future she really does follow me, the moment I hear a whisper of it, I will immediately send her back home, no discussions. In front of all these people, do you... dare to promise me?"

Zhou Qing was utterly dumbfounded and stood still for a while before snickering, "Tsk, I see you know we’re begging you, so you’re pushing your luck! What’s next, you gonna tell me what to do, stop me from drinking and gambling? I say, aren’t you supposed to marry that Meng Yuhuai? What happened, you changed your mind and want to be my bride? Hahaha!"

He believed his words to be clever, sure to resonate, but to his surprise, the onlookers remained silent, merely watching him coldly. After a moment, Grandpa Pan turned his head away and spat on the ground, saying with disdain, "Any decent person wouldn’t say such disgraceful nonsense!"

Hua Xiaomai stared fixedly at Zhou Qing’s face, saying with contempt, "Does your drinking and gambling involve me even by one cent? If you want to dig your own grave, why should I stop you? Just tell me if you agree or not, and save the rest of your blather for someone else."

Zhou Qing couldn’t quite maintain his façade, hanging his head, muttering something under his breath, then, with clenched teeth, he looked up, "Agreed then, I’m not afraid of you! Just remember what you’ve said. If I do as you’ve instructed and you later renege, I won’t let this rest!"

He dropped that line and ran off without looking back. The three young girls looked at each other, biting their lips, and hurriedly followed him. Zhou Yunyun’s face was already smeared with tears. She stepped forward, wanting to grab Hua Xiaomai’s hand but not daring to, whispered cautiously, "Sister, thank you..."

"Don’t mention it, just wipe your face and go back. I need to rush to the restaurant," Hua Xiaomai replied with a smile, "Don’t think I’m joking with you. If you don’t recover from that injury, I really won’t accept you, got it?"

Zhou Yunyun quickly agreed, grinning timidly and smiling in return.

...

Zhou Qing brought Zhou Yunyun back home, and from that day forward, he indeed never dared to hit or scold her at all. He took good care of her at home for more than a month before sending her back to Hua Xiaomai.

At the time, Hua Xiaomai was cleaning a fat fish in the restaurant to the east of the village, as Zhou Yunyun followed Chun Xi into the kitchen. Upon seeing her, she immediately ran over.

"Sister, my wounds are healed," she said hurriedly, rolling up her sleeve to show Hua Xiaomai, "My dad now doesn’t dare to beat my mom and my sister. So, does that mean you can..."

Hua Xiaomai glanced down at Zhou Yunyun’s arm and indeed, the scars had mostly faded, leaving only faint marks.

"Don’t call me sister," she pursed her lips, "From now on, you must call me Master." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)