Chef Hua
Chapter 296: Episode 172: Argument

Chapter 296: Episode 172: Argument

"Hmm?" Meng Yuhuai furrowed his brow upon hearing this, quickly walked over, and also peered into the pot, suddenly feeling a bad premonition in his heart.

His mother, whenever she was in a rage, had a repertoire of three tactics: cursing vehemently, incessant crying, and refusing to eat. They had a specific order and escalated step by step with increasing anger. She hadn’t eaten all day today, indicating great fury, but... He and Hua Xiaomai had been out since morning until evening and were not at home, so who could have provoked her? And who in the village would dare to offend her?

Although Hua Xiaomai didn’t know the previous events, she also felt uneasy and immediately looked worried, whispering to him for advice, "She hasn’t eaten all day, how can this be alright? Won’t she harm her health from hunger? Why don’t I call her up and make something warm for her to..."

"No need," Meng Yuhuai quickly shook his head, "Since she has fallen asleep, why bother waking her up? Perhaps she went out during the day and ate something outside. Let’s not concern ourselves with it. Go make a couple of dishes for me, let’s eat quickly and then get some rest. I need to check the escort agency early tomorrow."

"Then I’ll go to the restaurant early, too," Hua Xiaomai hastily added, then seeing the man looking at her with a half-smile, she felt a bit embarrassed and touched her forehead, "I didn’t do any business today, I’m feeling quite unsettled..."

Meng Yuhuai did not make it difficult for her. After she prepared the meal, they ate hurriedly in the kitchen, washed up again, and then retired to their room without further mention.

There were no words exchanged throughout the night. The next morning, Hua Xiaomai indeed got up earlier than usual, quickly prepared the meals and left them in the pot, tidied herself up neatly, and upon seeing Meng Yuhuai leading a horse out from behind the house, immediately went up to join him in leaving.

But just at that moment, unexpectedly, a creaking sound came from behind, followed by two coughs of "hem hem", as Meng’s aged mother walked out with a chilled face.

Hua Xiaomai felt a chill run down her back and uncontrollably stuck out her tongue at Meng Yuhuai, then turned to call out "Mother" and told her that the meal was ready, before pulling her husband away and running off. Where would Meng’s aged mother be so easily fooled? She cleared her throat right away and stopped her in her tracks.

"Yuhuai can go ahead, Xiaomai, you stay. I have something to ask you."

Was it really her she was coming for? Hua Xiaomai shuddered inside, continuously ordering herself to stand upright without slouching, while surreptitiously tugging hard at Meng Yuhuai’s sleeve.

Meng, understanding her gesture, sighed inwardly and turned back to say, "Mother, can we talk about whatever it is later when I return in the evening? I..."

"What, I can’t even speak a few words with your wife?" Meng’s aged mother cut him off before he could finish, glaring coldly at him, "Aren’t we a family? I’m not going to eat her; are you so protective? A woman has her own matters to discuss with another woman, why are you as a big man meddling unnecessarily? I remember you didn’t used to be like this..."

As she spoke, she glanced purposefully at Hua Xiaomai.

Meng Yuhuai felt cornered by her words, his heart instantly filled with displeasure, he opened his mouth to respond, but Hua Xiaomai hurriedly pushed him, "It’s okay, just go to the escort agency."

It wasn’t necessary to cause a big fuss over such a small matter first thing in the morning, was it?

Watching him leave with a furrowed brow leading the horse out of the courtyard, Hua Xiaomai secretly rolled her eyes and walked towards Meng’s aged mother, saying with a smile, "Mother, you have something to tell me?"

Meng’s aged mother, on the other hand, wasn’t in a hurry to speak now and just gave off a gloomy expression as if it was about to rain, dragging a chair over and sitting down in the courtyard without saying a word, occasionally glancing at her.

Regardless of whether it was the past or present, Hua Xiaomai had almost zero experience dealing with a "mother-in-law", and seeing her expression like this, she grew more and more anxious, and also felt hurried to get to the restaurant. After some thought, she only had to move in front of her, still smiling, "Mother, I noticed that you hadn’t touched the rice in the kitchen last night, is it not to your taste? The weather’s getting cold. I’ll try to come back early tonight and stew a pot of black bean and pork bone soup for you. It’ll warm you up and ensure you a solid, good night’s rest."

Having lowered herself in such a manner, surely Meng’s aged mother wouldn’t make things difficult for her, would she?

Meng’s aged mother snorted coldly through her nose, finally began to speak, but what came out was a topic completely unrelated, "After you both left yesterday, I went out for a stroll and ran into your Aunt Feng. Originally we were just chatting idly, but somehow the topic turned to the game we had at home that was still good to eat. I’ve always been on good terms with her and thought of giving her some, but who would have guessed, after bringing her back home, I found that the game had diminished by quite a bit—do you know anything about this?"