Chef Hua
Chapter 37: Episode 30: Not About Making Steamed Buns, Just for the Sake of Argument

Chapter 37: Episode 30: Not About Making Steamed Buns, Just for the Sake of Argument

"Oh, rules..." Hua Xiaomai slightly lifted her eyelids, nodding as if she had just realized something, and then swept a glance with a half-smiling expression at Chef Wei and the four men behind him, "Then, what if I refuse?"

"You better wise up, if you offend my master, you’ll suffer!" Another apprentice jumped out, rolling up his sleeves and baring his teeth, apparently very eager to show off in front of his master.

"Get back!" Chef Wei turned and scolded, his face growing uglier.

To tell the truth, to seek a girl out in such a manner was somewhat embarrassing for him, but people die for wealth, birds die for food; concerning future profits, he simply could not ignore the situation.

Chef Wei truly did have some reputation in Fuzhe County. Families within ten miles, those with a bit of money, whenever there was a wedding or funeral or any celebration or mourning, would specifically invite him to manage the kitchen. Over the years, he had earned a good income—compared to this, the monthly wages from Chunfeng Restaurant were negligible.

Today, Hua Xiaomai completely stole his limelight at the banquet with her signature dish. His anger surged, though he barely managed to keep it in check. However, when he was about to collect his wages still harboring this evil fire, he happened to see an elderly villager from the town inquiring with Sister Li about who had managed the kitchen that day.

What the elder was asking about was naturally the "second-class" table set up in the open courtyard.

Sister Li, unaware that Chef Wei was just outside, piled up a full-faced smile with pride, "Isn’t it just the sister-in-law of Jing Taihe? I heard she had only been in our village for a month or two! Originally, when I heard she came to seek refuge, I was really worried, thinking that Brother Taihe was going to be at a loss. But who knew, she has such a great skill! If I had known this earlier, I should have let her manage both tables, no need to give much wages, the dishes she made, regardless of their color, fragrance, or taste, were all top-notch!"

Speaking of which, she lowered her voice a bit, murmuring, "Nobody’s money is blown in by the wind. Having her manage the kitchen is both cost-effective and prestigious!"

It was these six words, "both cost-effective and prestigious," that gave Chef Wei a heavy sense of crisis. He could almost foresee Sister Li’s words spreading across the entire village soon, maybe even to the neighboring villages. Before long, the profits he had earned for many years might all end up in Hua Xiaomai’s pocket. How could he sit idly by?!

Chef Wei did not really intend to harm Hua Xiaomai, he just relied on his well-known reputation and some backing, fearlessly abducting her to frighten her a bit.

He wholeheartedly believed that such a naive country girl, suddenly abducted, would surely be terrified out of her wits, and with a few side words from him, she would surely yield. But how could he have expected that Hua Xiaomai, from beginning to end, would remain calm, making him seem like a bumbling fool?

"Miss Xiaomai," Chef Wei thought for a moment, his face showing a bit of a smile as he softened his tone, "Speaking of which, you haven’t been betrothed yet, right? Hehe, although Fire Knife Village is all our own people, and there’s nothing much to avoid, for an unmarried lady like you, always appearing in other people’s kitchens, it’s really not very appropriate. And if you encounter some rogues with lustful intentions, you wouldn’t even have time to cry! Helping with the banquet can indeed earn you some money, but compared to a lady’s reputation, it’s really negligible!"

Was this a blatant threat? This Fatty Wei really had no shame!

Hua Xiaomai almost clenched her teeth to the point of shattering them, cursing all of Chef Wei’s ancestors in her heart, and with narrowed eyes coldly chuckled, "Thank you for your concern, but I have my own judgment on these matters, so you need not worry."

Impervious to oil and salt, neither soft nor hard!

"...Think it over again." Chef Wei finally lost his patience, dropped these words, turned, and walked out with his four followers. With a clang, the door was locked again.

Hua Xiaomai spat in the direction he left, sighing in her heart, and raised her eyes to survey her surroundings.

This house, she did not know exactly where in the village it was, since it had been abandoned, it was mostly secluded, surely there were few people passing by outside—otherwise, Fatty Wei wouldn’t have so brazenly abducted her—the place, she feared even if she screamed her throat hoarse, no one would hear.

She knew that today at the banquet at Brother Li’s house she had gained quite a bit of face. With Qiao Xiong making a fuss, even those who didn’t know her before, after tasting her signature dish, might have some impressions that could potentially lead them to think of her for their future banquets. It was for this reason that Chef Wei had abducted her, reckoning to intimidate her, so that afterwards she wouldn’t dare to "steal" his business.

Actually, just now, she could have initially agreed just to appease Chef Wei, pretending to comply while actually doing otherwise—who doesn’t know how? Afterwards, she would still take on the work she intended to, and if that fatty found out, she could think of a way to deal with it later—but she just couldn’t swallow her indignation!

She hadn’t provoked anyone; everyone should live by their own skills—why should Chef Wei be able to threaten her like this? She was sure he wouldn’t dare to actually harm her. Now, keeping her trapped here was just to make her anxious and force her to submit, but she was determined not to let him succeed!

However... speaking of which, she had been away from home for quite a while now, her mother must be very worried, right? Maybe she had already brought Jing Taihe out to look for her...

Thinking of her elder sister, she felt a bit saddened and grew slightly distracted, propping up her chin, staring blankly out the window.

Time slowly trickled by, and the sky darkened. In just a moment, it was pitch black outside the window.

This secluded place didn’t echo with the chatter of households, nor was there the scent of cooked meals. The warmth of the daytime sun gradually faded, and Hua Xiaomai sneezed. Even though she was sitting on thick hay, she couldn’t help but feel increasingly cold.

She absolutely couldn’t afford to get sick... She thought to herself. Although Fatty Wei and the others hadn’t returned, the matter wasn’t resolved, and he certainly wouldn’t leave. If she had to spend the night here and Fatty Wei saw her looking all sickly the next morning, it would only boost his morale and crush her own spirit.

As Hua Xiaomai pondered, her eyelids began to fight each other, her head resting on her knees, just as she was about to drift into sleep, a succession of calls suddenly reached her ears.

"Xiaomai, Hua Xiaomai..." The voices sounded like a mix of men and women, including Hua Erniang’s voice.

She jolted awake and jumped up, rushing to the window and shouting, "Erjie, I’m here!"

Outside, several bright torches rapidly approached her. It seemed someone had taken an ax or something similar, and with a couple of loud bangs, the door lock was smashed open. Hua Erniang charged in first.

Following her were Jing Taihe, Li Sansao, a couple of young helpers, and... Meng Yuhuai?

Wasn’t he in the County? How did he end up here?

"Sister!" As soon as Hua Erniang burst into the room, she immediately embraced Hua Xiaomai, her voice choked, examining her up and down while repeatedly saying, "You scared me to death, truly scared me! How are you, are you hurt anywhere?"

Before Hua Xiaomai could respond, Hua Erniang grabbed her arm tightly and asked, "Tell me, was it that Fatty Wei who locked you up here? Did he bully you, huh?"

Hua Xiaomai was momentarily confused about what she meant by "bully." Before she could react, Hua Erniang misunderstood her silence, gripping her wrist, grinding her teeth, and said, "Look at these scars, that bastard deserves to die! If I don’t butcher him today, my name isn’t Hua!"

She was about to rush out immediately.

"Erjie, I’m okay, these wounds are from the grass." Hua Xiaomai quickly held her back firmly, then turned to Jing Taihe, "Brother-in-law, how did you know I was here?"

"Well, what else could it be? We searched everywhere!" Jing Taihe said with a wry smile and a shake of his head, "I even went to the County this afternoon. When I reached Chunfeng Restaurant, I learned that Fatty Wei hadn’t returned there. Anxious and without any other solutions, I had no choice but to head to Lianshun Escort Agency to seek Brother Yuhuai’s help, I only just returned to the village."

"Do you know where Fatty Wei is now?" Hua Xiaomai gently patted Hua Erniang’s back and asked further.

"Fatty Wei? You mean Fatty Chef?" Jing Taihe scratched the back of his head, "We were only focused on finding you, and aren’t really sure, but I heard that one of the apprentices with him is from our village, his family runs a distillery on the east side of the village."

Hua Xiaomai didn’t have time to inquire how they figured out she was taken by Fatty Wei. The moment she heard about the fatty’s whereabouts, fire blazed in her eyes. She pushed Hua Erniang into Jing Taihe’s arms and squeezed through the people, dashing outside.

Everyone was startled, even Meng Yuhuai, who had been silent, called out, "Hua Xiaomai!" and quickly followed her.

Hua Xiaomai was holding back a surge of anger. Hearing Meng Yuhuai’s footsteps close by and knowing his pace was fast, she thought he was trying to stop her and dashed forward even more recklessly. But soon, she realized he was only closely following her and wasn’t trying to pull her back. Feeling slightly relieved, she didn’t slow down at all.

Distillery, distillery... She was not very familiar with the roads of Fire Knife Village, buzzing around like a headless fly. Meng Yuhuai didn’t offer any guidance, and it took a great effort before she finally smelled the scent of wine.

Following the scent, she arrived at a small courtyard and peered inside—

There was Fatty Wei, indeed there, having a drink with his apprentices in the courtyard!

Fury filled Hua Xiaomai from head to toe. Looking around, she spotted several large baskets of maroon-colored distiller’s grains by the gate. Her eyes narrowed, she quickly grabbed a basket, took a few steps towards Fatty Chef, and with all her might, she dumped the entire contents onto him!

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It’s late again... Begging desperately for votes and recommendation tickets~

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