Chef Hua
Chapter 32: Episode 25 Recommended

Chapter 32: Episode 25 Recommended

On the way back, Hua Xiaomai had quietly calculated everything thoroughly. Despite feeling reluctant, deep down she understood that the business of selling bamboo shoots was likely doomed from the cradle. For this reason, upon hearing Hua Ermom’s words, she didn’t react violently, instead, she simply uttered a soft "hmm." But Hua Ermom misunderstood, thinking she was merely being resigned without the courage to confront her face-to-face, so she simply pulled her to sit down on the stone steps at the door, took her icy hands into her warm embrace, and said with heartfelt earnestness, "Little sister, it’s not that I’m being unreasonable. I know you want to earn more money to support the family, but many things aren’t that simple."

"I know, you don’t need to say anymore," Hua Xiaomai smiled at her, trying to stand up.

"What do you know, can’t you let me finish speaking?" Hua Ermom, strong as she was, nearly made her stumble with an outstretched arm, "This is no small matter!"

"Alright, alright, you speak, just speak," Hua Xiaomai said helplessly, pouting pitifully, "I just wanted to drink some water. The elder brother from the Meng Family walked so fast it was like the wind, and I didn’t dare to ask him for water. I’m about to die of thirst!"

"Why do you have so many issues? Wait here; I’ll go get you some water!" Hua Ermom said, clearly impatient, fetched a bowl of warm water from inside, handed it to Hua Xiaomai, and sat down again.

"Let’s talk about Guan Rong. This time, she left you and went home alone; I can’t blame her. After all, the entire village knows that she has been frail since childhood, often plagued by headaches and fevers. If she doesn’t feel well, we can’t force her to wait for you at the market. But what will you do next time? Would you dare to let her go to the County with you again?"

"Of course not!" Hua Xiaomai shook her head vigorously.

Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me? She did not want to experience the exhaustion and hunger of running around in pouring rain!

"Right?" Hua Ermom slapped her thigh, "When making the bamboo shoots at home, Guan Rong already couldn’t help much. If she also doesn’t contribute to selling them, will you still share the earnings with her or not? If you decide not to share, initially, you both agreed to split the money you made, half each. Not giving her share would seem a bit unkind; but if you really give her half every time... to tell you the truth, I feel like it’s a huge loss! After thinking it over, it’s better to drop the business as soon as possible. Though we lose a way to make money, at least we could have some peace!"

She was usually accustomed to resolving issues with brute force. Hua Xiaomai never thought her second sister could also be so meticulous in her thoughts. She pursed her lips and smiled, saying, "You’re right, second sister. I’ll listen to you. From now on, I won’t mess with the bamboo shoot business anymore. It’s okay, with my superb cooking skills, am I afraid of not being able to make money?"

As she spoke, she took out one string of coins, counted out half, and handed it to Hua Ermom, "Uncle Ke from the Lianshun Escort Agency was very generous; he bought all of our thirty-some pounds of bamboo shoots. Take these five hundred copper coins and keep them safe; I’ll take the rest to Sister Rong later."

Seeing how obedient she was, Hua Ermom’s worries lifted considerably. She counted the money twice in her palm, very pleased, pinched Hua Xiaomai’s nose, and said, "Okay, we’ll save this money to eat well for a few days for the Chinese New Year’s Eve. Let’s see if we can fatten up this skinny monkey of yours and sell it for a good price!" With that, she entered the house with a cheerful twist of her hips.

After resting in her room for a while and reenergizing, Hua Xiaomai opened the large jar of pickling pork and cabbage to check on it, added some salt, and, seeing that it was past noon, took the remaining five hundred copper coins and went to the Guan Family at the south end of Fire Knife Village.

Guan Rong’s parents had both gone out, leaving her home alone. As Hua Xiaomai approached the door, she leaned on the door frame and looked in, seeing a middle-aged woman in her forties sitting in the yard, holding Guan Rong’s hand and weeping bitterly, tears rolling down like beads off a broken string. Guan Rong was whispering something gently in the woman’s ear, her expression tender; by her looks, she was probably uttering some words of comfort.

"You tell me, Rong girl, is this any way to be a son? He’s gone most of the month and, on the rare occasion he comes back, he doesn’t even enter the house! His father passed away early, and I worked myself to the bone raising him, endured so many hardships, suffered so many woes. Does he remember any of my kindness?" the woman cried, her words slightly garbled as she spoke.

Hua Xiaomai was originally planning to step in, but hearing the woman speaking as if she was airing her grievances, she felt that it might not be appropriate to intrude so unceremoniously. She was still undecided when Guan Rong inadvertently looked up and caught sight of her, immediately calling out, "Ah, Little Sister Mai, you’re here? Why didn’t you come inside?"

The woman also lifted her eyelids and cast a rather sharp glance over Hua Xiaomai.

Hua Xiaomai quickly mustered a smile, greeted Guan Rong, and added, "I saw you were talking, so..."

"It’s no bother, no bother," the woman immediately stood up, straightened her somewhat wrinkled clothes, and wiped the tears and snot from her face with her hand. "We were just chatting about trivial matters. You have business, so I’ll head back first." After speaking, she turned to nod at Guan Rong and slipped past Hua Xiaomai.

Guan Rong hurried over in a few strides, clutching Hua Xiaomai’s hand tightly and said apologetically, "Little Sister Mai, yesterday I went home without saying a word, leaving you to look for me all over the county. I really feel terrible about it! I thought you were mad at me and wouldn’t want anything to do with me anymore!"

"How could that be?" Hua Xiaomai smiled slightly, reached out her hand to take out the five hundred copper coins, and handed them to her, "You weren’t feeling well and wanted to go home early, which is completely normal. As long as you’re alright, everything else is easy to talk about. Here, we sold the bamboo shoots for a total of one string of coins yesterday. I’ve kept half, and these five hundred copper coins are yours."

"How could I have the face to take this money?" Guan Rong rubbed her hand on her clothing repeatedly, seemingly very hesitant, but ultimately she accepted the money. "Little Sister Mai, you must let me explain. I didn’t mean to leave you behind on purpose! After you left the market yesterday, I waited there for a bit, but soon I felt so constricted in my chest that I couldn’t catch my breath, fearing that my asthma was acting up again. I was at a loss when, by chance, I ran into Brother Li San from our village and his wife. Seeing that I looked pale, they didn’t hesitate to pull me into their ox cart on the spot. I really couldn’t persuade them otherwise! When I got home, I planned to send my father back to the county to meet you at the tea stand, but then it started raining heavily... I really was..."

"It’s alright, it’s alright, didn’t I say I wasn’t mad?" Hua Xiaomai patted her shoulder with a smile.

"No, it’s not that. Brother Yuhuai told me that yesterday you looked for me the whole afternoon with him, and I was so afraid you caught a cold in the rain and were regretting it terribly," said Guan Rong, her grip intensifying. "Don’t worry, next time we go to the county to sell bamboo shoots, I definitely won’t do it again, really. Do you believe me?"

"Ah, let’s not talk about it," Hua Xiaomai frowned and drooped her head, saying dejectedly, "When I got home this morning, my sister scolded me rotten, telling me I was imprudent and couldn’t prioritize, worrying that if something dangerous had happened to you, how could I live with myself? No matter how much I pleaded with her, she wouldn’t budge, insisting that no matter what, I’m not to sell bamboo shoots anymore."

"Ah?" Guan Rong’s hand suddenly loosened, "Then... then what about this matter..."

Hua Xiaomai hung her head even lower: "Because of this, I even cried at home just now, but my second sister wouldn’t agree. I’m really out of options."

Guan Rong seemed a bit disappointed as well. After a moment of silence, she forced a smile and patted Hua Xiaomai on the shoulder, "It’s alright, if we can’t do this business, we can’t. You’re so capable, you’ll think of another way to make money. Oh, I have some good news to tell you!"

"Hmm?" Hua Xiaomai lifted her head.

"Didn’t I come back with Brother Li San and his wife yesterday? Their family is building a new house, and it’s almost complete. They want to finish the house frame before Chinese New Year’s Eve. In Fire Knife Village, on the day we put up the frame, we not only have to honor the gods but also treat the neighbors to a meal. They were worried about entertaining guests, so I recommended you to them. Just wait, within a couple of days, they will surely come to your house to find you!"