Chef Hua
Chapter 288 - 168: Three Gifts (2)_2

Chapter 288: Chapter 168: Three Gifts (2)_2

"Hey, you should be asking me what kind of work he hasn’t done," Dongzi said briskly, counting off on his fingers, "We have both paddy and dry fields at home, which are now leased to the farmers, so I don’t have to worry about them. In the early days, he dealt in flowers and plants, also had a tea shop, a dye workshop... If it weren’t for the risk, he would probably have gone to the west to trade horses! It’s also thanks to his past dealings with flowers that we have such a connection; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been easy to get so many chili seeds!"

Having said that, he drained the tea in his hand in one gulp and stuffed the two greased paper packages into his chest: "Thanks for the tea. You really are a great chef, even your tea tastes better than others. I really have to get back now, got a whole lot of things waiting for me at home!" With another smile, he took his leave.

At night, when Hua Xiaomai returned home, she quietly told Meng Yuhuai about the gifts Wu Wenhong had brought that day.

"The two pieces of land that my second sister and brother-in-law gave me as part of my dowry are lying fallow. I know you’ve been busy lately, but once you’re free, we should still sow the vegetable seeds – that’s only right. If we delay, the fields will lie idle until next spring. He also brought a lot of chili seeds. I was worried that the ones we had left wouldn’t be enough, and this really solved a big problem for me."

She leaned into his embrace, resting her face in the crook of his neck, and played with his thick calloused palm, looking up at him with downcast eyes: "If it were just this gift alone, to be honest, I think I could accept it. But I heard from the boy who ran errands for him today that this is just the first of two or three more gifts to come, and I’m afraid each will be more valuable than the last. How could I possibly accept them? You really need to help me figure out what to do."

Meng was a man of few words and a bit rigid. Before getting married, he rarely interacted with women, other than Hua Xiaomai. The one he was closest to, aside from Hua Xiaomai, was probably Zuo Jinxiang, the cook from Lianshun Escort Agency. It was only after marrying Hua Xiaomai that he really felt for the first time the joy of having a warm girl in his arms, being relied upon by her.

Well, although the girl’s frame was indeed a bit bony to the touch.

He lowered his head and looked directly at Hua Xiaomai’s dark hair and couldn’t help but curve his lips slightly upwards, saying in a deep voice, "I’ve never met Wu Wenhong, but hearing about his reactions when you previously treated his wife for anorexia, I think he really wants to thank you and doesn’t have any ulterior motives. However, the way he sent his servant with gifts today, without showing up himself, makes it difficult for you to refuse."

"Exactly!" Hua Xiaomai nodded vigorously, her feelings resonating, "He had someone else deliver them, and if I don’t accept them, sending them back unopened, wouldn’t that be making things difficult for his servants? They’re just carrying out orders after all. What if they get punished for returning with the gifts? But if I accept them, I..."

"You don’t have to worry so much," Meng Yuhuai smiled slightly, "It’s actually quite simple. If the gift he sends next time is too valuable, we can just return it ourselves and explain the situation to him. If we make the effort to go there, he’ll probably think twice before sending more."

"I suppose that’s the only way..." Hua Xiaomai pouted, then suddenly looked up into his eyes, "But these days, haven’t you been very busy? Can you really spare the time to accompany me to Qingping County?"

At this point, anyone with the slightest bit of charm would promptly say something sweet like "Wife’s business comes first," or "No matter how busy, I can’t neglect you," right? Meng Yuhuai, after pondering for a moment, nodded slightly and said, "It’s fine. Qingping County is only half a day’s journey from our village. We can go and return in the same day. I can afford to spare an entire day."

Listen to that, in your view, helping your wife is merely ’wasting time,’ isn’t it?

Hua Xiaomai gave him a half-serious, half-playful glare, wanting to say something else, when she suddenly found herself lifted into the air, and the next moment, moved to the bed.

"It’s late, let’s rest now, we can talk about this tomorrow," he said, then ’puff,’ he blew out the light.

In the darkness, there was the sound of rustling cloth, and soon Hua Xiaomai let out a low cry.

"Meng Yuhuai, stop moving around, didn’t you say let’s rest – this is not resting!"

...

Hua Xiaomai’s estimate was not wrong; about two or three days later, the second gift from Wu Wenhong arrived.