Chef Hua
Chapter 366 - 206th episode: Worry_2

Chapter 366: 206th episode: Worry_2

His voice was quite loud, which startled Hua Xiaomai, prompting her to quickly compose herself, "I’m sorry, I just... I got it, shad, cow’s milk, and yam, I’ll remember, don’t worry."

It was only then that Steward Jiang seemed satisfied and grunted in acknowledgment before continuing, "Now that you know the topic, that’s the first matter. There is also a second, more important matter. Don’t say I didn’t warn you, be extra careful. If any problems arise in your establishment before the final selection, you’ll be immediately disqualified and replaced by another restaurant. Even if you have good luck and end up hosting the banquet for the literati, don’t think that everything will be smooth sailing. In short, if anything goes wrong in your little restaurant before the fifth day of the fifth month, don’t expect to land this job in the end. Do you understand?"

Hua Xiaomai stuck out her tongue, and seeing Steward Jiang glaring at her, she quickly squeezed out a smile.

It was just a banquet for the literati; although she understood Magistrate Tao considered it important, she didn’t expect there would be so many rules. She couldn’t help but feel a little uneasy.

Her little restaurant had never made any blunders, but in these exceptional times, she really needed to be more careful!

"Thank you, I remember everything, but may I ask if Magistrate Tao had any other orders?" This time, she didn’t dare to let her mind wander and eagerly nodded in agreement, hurrying to show she understood.

"What other orders could there be? That’s it!" Steward Jiang tidied his sleeves, sighing deeply as if he had just finished a big task, and upon seeing Hua Xiaomai still sitting there motionless, his eyebrows rose again, "What’s the matter, is there something else you need?"

"No...," Hua Xiaomai looked at him innocently.

"If there’s nothing else, why aren’t you in the kitchen? You said you wanted to offer me your specialty dish, I’m starving!"

"...Please, wait a moment." Dealing with the temperament of Steward Jiang was indeed a bit difficult, Hua Xiaomai ran into the headache-inducing situation, and without the option of arguing with him, she could only give him a sheepish smile, asked him to wait for a while, and then dashed into the kitchen. She quickly prepared some dishes and heated a pot of wine, letting Chun Xi take it upstairs.

But she herself didn’t want to go through that ordeal again!

...

Although Steward Jiang had a difficult temperament, he didn’t take small advantages. After eating his fill, he didn’t forget to leave the money for the meal before leaving in a not-too-pleased-not-too-displeased manner.

After sending off this difficult guest, Hua Xiaomai finally took a deep breath and spent a good while pondering over the ingredients.

Really, these three ingredients weren’t hard to find: the shad could be sourced by Xu Ershun, the yam was commonly sold by vendors in the village, but the cow’s milk had to be arranged from the County.

Although not rare, the local villagers weren’t usually keen on spending money for it. Firstly, many disliked its strong taste, and secondly, it was quite expensive. Since Hua Xiaomai had been in Fire Knife Village, she had only purchased it once, and that was to entice Guan Rong. Now that she thought about it, maybe it was because the villagers rarely got to taste it that Guan Rong couldn’t resist and had come running over for it?

The evening was as busy as usual. As the hour of the pig began, Meng Yuhuai came to the store to pick up Hua Xiaomai, and upon seeing each other, both felt a bit awkward.

Hua Xiaomai turned and instructed Chun Xi and La Mei to tidy up the store before they left. She lifted a food box she had prepared earlier, pursed her lips, and smiled at him, "This is eight-treasure duck — Steward Jiang from Magistrate Tao’s residence came by today..."

These two matters were unrelated, yet she forced them into one conversation to avoid awkwardness, hastily searching for something to say.

Meng Yuhuai seemed to sense her discomfort, his brow lightly furrowed as he stepped forward to take the food box. Disregarding whether Chun Xi and La Mei could see, he took her hand and led her out the door, deliberately avoiding yesterday’s incident with a smile, "I went to the city today and just found out that it’s been decided. I expect someone from the County will come soon. Did that Steward Jiang, by any chance, bring the final selection topic?"

Some things he wouldn’t mention, and clearly, he wasn’t going to compromise easily. Hua Xiaomai sighed inwardly and mustered a tentative smile as she nodded, "Yes, exactly. He said they will be watching our establishments’ conduct in the coming days, and he gave us three ingredients as our assignment. I was thinking, cow’s milk isn’t easy to buy, and it spoils quickly... The final selection is on the fifteenth day of the fourth month, so it’s probably best to buy it only a few days before then to make sure."

Meng Yuhuai responded but his expression did not relax. After a pause, he turned to look at her, "I’m a bit concerned. Becoming the host of the literati banquet means you’re forming a connection with the Government. You understand the benefits and risks involved. All five restaurants will surely give their utmost to compete, and I’m afraid some might..."

Hua Xiaomai had already considered this, but if someone were to play dirty, she didn’t have a solution at hand, she could only defend as needed. Hearing Meng Yuhuai also mention this, she shook her head, "I know what you’re worried about, but..."

"Let’s not speculate whether they’ll harbor ill intentions. Still, we must take the necessary precautions." Meng Yuhuai thought for a moment before speaking in a low voice, "How about this? Tomorrow, I’ll go to the shop that sells the cow’s milk and reserve what we need. Even if it costs a bit more, it’s worth the peace of mind, right?"

Grateful for his offer to help, Hua Xiaomai naturally felt reassured, the corners of her mouth curling up, "That sounds good. Then please, take care of this task for me." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) and cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)