Chef Hua
Chapter 316: Episode 182: Wild Mushrooms Hot Pot

Chapter 316: Episode 182: Wild Mushrooms Hot Pot

The night sky was piled up with a dense layer of clouds, obscuring the moon and leaving not a single starlight visible.

Hua Xiaomai leapt into Meng Yuhuai’s arms without a thought, grabbing his shoulders tightly and cradling his neck. She freed one hand to turn his face toward her for a close inspection. Her eyes curved into a smile, and she chuckled, pressing her cheek firmly against his neck.

Her pounce used all the strength she had, and though Meng Yuhuai was tall and strong, he was still rocked backward by the impact. He hurriedly steadied himself, lifting her slightly as he did so, his smile carrying a hint of amusement as he patted her back.

People who had been traveling for a long time always carried with them an air of the hardships they faced, and their clothes were cold, but their hands remained warmly comforting, inexplicably offering solace. Neither of them was in a hurry to speak. They stood outside in the courtyard for a while. Finally, Hua Xiaomai reluctantly lifted her head and cheerily said, "Why have you come back at this hour? It’s the middle of the night. It would have been less tiring to stay at the Escort Agency for the night."

Meng Yuhuai answered earnestly, "It was too late when I reached the borders of Fuzhe County, and I couldn’t enter the city. If I didn’t come home, where would you have me sleep, in the wild?"

...Great, after all this time, still no progress, not a single sweet word to charm someone! Is it so hard to say, ’I missed my lovely wife and couldn’t wait to come home to see you’?

Hua Xiaomai inwardly grumbled to herself, just as she was about to say something else, she heard him say with a smile, "Did you miss me?"

"What about you?" She raised an eyebrow, not answering his question but responding with her own.

Meng Yuhuai chuckled softly, then nodded earnestly, "Every single day."

Hua Xiaomai finally felt a bit of relief in her heart, "Well, I also..."

Before she could finish, a loud cough suddenly came from behind her. Turning around, she saw Meng Yuhuai’s mother standing at the doorway with a stern face and hands on her hips.

Startled, Hua Xiaomai quickly slid down from Meng Yuhuai’s embrace and stuck out her tongue.

Meng Yuhuai’s mother paid her no mind, staring only at her beloved son, and coldly said, "You’re back?"

Meng Yuhuai called out, "Mother," and then said, "I came back too late and woke you up."

Getting a wife really changes a man, Meng Yuhuai’s mother almost sneered, flicking her eyelid, "When you used to leave for escorts, I never saw you rush back home in the middle of the night. I knew you’ve long stopped caring about your mother!"

Just returned and without any chance to explain, Meng Yuhuai was already being unpleasantly criticized in a sarcastically biting tone. His face turned slightly sour, his brows furrowed, and his smile entirely disappeared: "What are you talking about? If you’re dissatisfied with me, it’s better to speak straightforwardly instead of beating around the bush. Why drag Hua Xiaomai into this unrelated matter?"

Tsk tsk tsk, this mother and son, really...

Seeing the atmosphere turning sour, Hua Xiaomai quickly interjected, smiling at Meng Yuhuai’s mother, "Mother, you misunderstand. Normally, after returning from an escort, Yuhuai would first go to the Escort Agency to report to Uncle Ke, to reassure him. He only came back to the village tonight because it was too late to enter the city..."

Once Meng Yuhuai’s mother was truly angered, not even the heavens could save face, let alone the mere Hua Xiaomai. She immediately waved her off, full of impatience, "There’s no need for you to make excuses for him. You’re no good yourself! You know it’s already late, yet why haven’t you heated water for him to wash up so he can rest early? Why just cling around him, what kind of decorum is this?"

Hua Xiaomai, thick-skinned as ever, was not hurt by a couple of harsh words. She just smiled at her, answered, "I’ll do it now," and dragged Meng Yuhuai back into their room.

Once inside and the door closed behind them, Hua Xiaomai sighed, "I don’t know what the exact problem is between you and mother, but no matter what, you’ve just returned. Couldn’t you have spoken more gently? You weren’t home all this time, and mother has been looking out for me, you..."

At this moment, Meng Yuhuai lacked the patience to listen to her complain about these matters, leaned in, wrapped his arms around her waist, and his lips found hers.

The couple shared a moment of tenderness in the dark, then sat down by the table, lit a lamp, and stoked the fire in the brazier to a greater blaze.

It was only then that Meng Yuhuai remembered Hua Xiaomai’s earlier words, glanced at her face, and asked in a low voice, "You said mother has been looking out for you? Has something happened at home?"

The incident with the vegetable garden being burnt could not be hidden since a simple walk in the fields would give it away. Hua Xiaomai didn’t intend to hide it from him. She sighed and said, "Isn’t it just about hiring help at Sauce Garden? Some local ruffian surnamed Huang, unhappy that he didn’t earn our wage, burned our fields on Chinese New Year’s Eve. Luckily, Great Saint helped catch him and brought him before me, or our family would have suffered a big loss!"