Chef Hua
Chapter 368 - 207_2

Chapter 368: 207_2

Zhou Yunyun turned pale with fright, unable to utter a word, only frantically waving her hands.

"Why are you scaring her?" Chun Xi quickly pulled Hua Xiaomai aside and said with rolling eyes, "First of all, whether what Yunyun did was proper or not, I wanted to give you some advice. It’s normal for couples to have small quarrels, don’t look at me and Yuejiao’s brother who already had two kids, if we really get into a fight, we go hands-on! In the heat of the moment, no one can control their mouth, but after cooling down, we still need to talk and negotiate. Constant bickering, how damaging is that to the feelings?"

Her words were earnest and heartfelt. Hua Xiaomai couldn’t help but smile through tears, pursing her lips and saying, "We didn’t actually fight, at most it was just a disagreement about a few words, and aren’t we fine now? You’ve also seen, he still comes to pick me up daily to go home, I..."

"Well, it looks fine on the surface, but you also shouldn’t forget, some things if kept inside for too long, they don’t just disappear with a breeze but instead build up resentment, and then you’ll have reasons to cry!" Chun Xi put on an air of experience, her words precise, and finally said, "I’m just advising because I usually see you two getting along well. If you have sense, just consider this as me babbling. By the way, after the busy noon, I was thinking of visiting Erqiao in the afternoon. She moved back to the old house, and we haven’t met since. It’s about time to check on how she is doing. Would you like to come with me?"

Hua Xiaomai lowered her eyes and pondered a moment, then nodded: "I think it’s good for me to go with you, but I won’t go inside. I’ll wait outside to avoid making uncle and aunt think I’m worried they are not taking good care of my sister and that’s why I keep visiting."

"Why worry about them? She’s your close sister, isn’t it natural for you to be concerned?" Chun Xi muttered, but she didn’t continue with the topic. She circled back to the serious topic of "how to maintain marital affection", earnestly advising Hua Xiaomai once more.

...

Late afternoon, when the restaurant had cleared out its customers, Hua Xiaomai chose two dishes and asked Zhou Yunyun to help with the cooking. Then, she walked out with Chun Xi towards the Jing Family’s old house situated at the south side of the village.

At this time, Jing Taihe was likely still busy in the blacksmith’s shop, probably only the three elderly were at home. As Hua Xiaomai and Chun Xi approached the courtyard, they found a secluded spot to stop, letting only Chun Xi enter the house.

Chun Xi, a gossipy little woman filled with curiosity, held a high reputation among the aunts and grandmothers of Fire Knife Village. Her arrival delighted Granny Jing, who happily led her to the west wing where Erqiao was staying.

Hua Xiaomai stood under a camphor tree, inhaling the fragrance of the leaves, idly playing with a leaf she picked, pondering the possible outcome of an upcoming famous scholars’ banquet, while also straining her ears to catch any noise from inside the house.

The voices coming from the west wing were not loud, muffled and indistinct, making them hard to understand. After about half a stick of incense had passed, Chun Xi hurriedly rushed out.

"Why did you come out so quickly?" Hua Xiaomai was a bit surprised, tossing the camphor leaf in her hand, and blinked twice at her.

"You should try talking to your second sister," Chun Xi stomped her foot, "She doesn’t eat properly all day, causing her mother-in-law to worry in vain. She’s about to give birth, what nonsense is she causing?"

"Not eating?" Hua Xiaomai furrowed her brows, "Uh... could it be that the food prepared by your mom doesn’t suit her taste? Sister, you know, pregnant women tend to be picky eaters, or maybe, my second sister is afraid of gaining too much weight, which might make the delivery difficult later, that..."

"I’ve already had two children, don’t you think I understand?" Chun Xi was so anxious that she even slapped her on the back, "I’ve checked, and the food mom prepared is quite appropriate, there’s nothing wrong with it at all—this Erqiao, is really trying to drive me mad!"

As they were talking, Jing’s mother hurried out from the yard. Seeing Hua Xiaomai, she grabbed her arm as if seeing a savior, "Xiaomai girl, why didn’t you come in when you arrived? Hurry and persuade your second sister a bit, going on like this, isn’t she going to starve my grandchild? She won’t listen to me, but since your hearts are connected as sisters, maybe she’ll listen to you."

With such a plea, Hua Xiaomai didn’t dare to delay and quickly followed into the yard, first checking the kitchen to see the food Jing’s mother had prepared. Seeing that it was just pork trotters, carp, and radishes, which indeed were beneficial for Hua’s second mother at this time, she felt somewhat annoyed at her second sister’s antics, and hurriedly went to the west wing room, bursting out loudly, "What are you fussing about? Not eating and starving my nephew, what will you compensate with?"

"Xiaomai, quickly, come here!" Hua’s second mother saw her, her lips downturned, and waved her closer, clutching her wrist tightly, with a pained expression, "It’s not that I refuse to eat, I am feeling very anxious! Didn’t I mention this to you the other day? These last two days, this feeling has gotten stronger, I can’t even sleep well, how can I have an appetite?"

Is it still... because of that anxiety issue?

Hua Xiaomai hadn’t expected this and couldn’t bring herself to scold her further, just sat down beside her and softened her tone, "Everything is fine, nothing bad has happened, why are you feeling anxious? Second sister, are you... scared of giving birth?"

"Am I that cowardly?" Hua’s second mother held on to her and didn’t let go, shaking her head as if it were a rattle, "Every woman goes through this, and I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time, why would I be scared? I... I don’t know why either!"

As she talked, she kept a steady gaze on Hua Xiaomai’s face: "Tell me the truth, is there something going on between you and Yuhuai?"

Hua Xiaomai was initially stunned, then quickly shook her head, "We are doing great, there’s nothing wrong at all!"

She and Meng Yuhuai had indeed felt a bit uneasy these last few days, but if truth be told, there hadn’t been any problems in their relationship. Why would that make Hua’s second mother this anxious?

"Since I returned to the old house, nobody has upset me, Taihe’s mom... though it’s for her little grandchild, I must say, she indeed took great care of me." Hua’s second mother seemed even more puzzled, her brows knotted, "But why do I feel so restless? I always feel... like something has happened..." (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)