Chef Hua
Chapter 389: Episode 217: This Lady Wants to Talk to You

Chapter 389: Episode 217: This Lady Wants to Talk to You

A small fish in the shallow water, confused by Hua Xiaomai’s inexpert flailing, foolishly bumped right into her palm. Just as it was about to fall into her clutches, her unmethodical movements stalled momentarily, and the fish, as if pardoned, hurriedly flicked its tail and escaped.

The moment Hua Xiaomai heard Meng Yuhuai’s words, her heart sank. Reflexively, she was about to blurt out a rebuttal, but fortunately, her mind was quicker than her mouth. In an instant, she changed her mind, splashed around in the creek twice, clumsily climbed onto the bank, wet all over, charged straight at Meng Yuhuai, and forcefully flipped him onto the ground, sitting on his waist without a moment’s hesitation.

"Leader Meng, your resentment seems quite strong..." She stretched out her hand, grabbed Meng Yuhuai’s cheeks, and gave them a couple of hard tugs, proudly saying, "Look at you, the capable young leader of the Lianshun Escort Agency, highly regarded by Uncle Ke on normal days, and even the village ruffians fear you a bit. So why do you look now as if you’ve been wronged by your wife? Has your wife been bullying you?"

No sooner had Meng Yuhuai uttered those words than he regretted them. He chastised himself for being so impulsive. Carelessly, he had jeopardized the sweet intimacy of the past two days. Seeing that she seemed not to be angry, but rather smiling playfully instead, he relaxed. Seeing her sit so carelessly on his waist, looking like a female hooligan, he couldn’t help but smile. "Can you be serious for a moment? Let go, what will people think?"

"Absolutely not!" Hua Xiaomai leaned closer, raised her eyebrows, "There’s nobody else around in this empty mountain, no one to see us, so let me indulge a little longer. It won’t cost you a limb! Besides, I am being serious; I just don’t want the mood to be too tense. You, on the other hand, Leader Meng, can you please adjust your attitude?"

Meng Yuhuai, struggling to contain his laughter, found the position of lying on his back somewhat undignified, so he sat up and steadied her waist with his hand: "As you wish, what should I do now?"

"Hmm..." Hua Xiaomai looked around and then touched her stomach, "Well, you first catch me a couple of fish. I haven’t eaten all day, and I’m really hungry now. Once the fish are grilling, miss here wants to have a talk with you."

For someone like Meng who had grown up in the village and possessed martial skills, catching a few fish was probably even easier than flipping his hand. With his swift movements, he stood in knee-deep stream water and quickly caught several plump fish. He handed them to Hua Xiaomai, who skillfully cleaned them, speared them on branches, and then started a fire in a sheltered spot.

The two of them had come out in a rush, initially without any intention of cooking fish, and had brought no seasonings with them. Hua Xiaomai walked over to some bushes, rummaged around for a while, picking out the leaves she recognized with a spicy scent, and tore a handful. She squeezed out the juice and rubbed it on the fish, then immediately placed them over the fire.

The fish from the mountain stream were plump but not very large, making them quick to cook. As their skins were grilled, it took only moments before the fat began to drip down, hissing lightly as it hit the flames.

Hua Xiaomai carefully flipped the fish over, glanced at Meng Yuhuai, who sat nearby drying his clothes, and pursed her lips: "I know, ever since you learned about my plans to open a restaurant in the Provincial City, you’ve been uneasy. Not just you, but Sister-in-law Chun Xi and Sister-in-law La Mei have nagged me about it too..."

"I haven’t felt uneasy, just that..." Meng Yuhuai furrowed his brows and began to speak.

"Let me finish." Hua Xiaomai smiled at him, "You may not know much about cooking, but actually, it’s not much different from practicing martial arts. You focus on training intensively during winter and summer while we also have our hardships. On the coldest days, we have to endure dipping our hands in ice water, and on hot days, standing next to the stove feels like being in a steam room. We can’t move from our spot until the dish is cooked. As for practicing knife skills, mastering the heat, seasoning—the work never slackens. For two or three years, it’s been like that every day. Looking back, I can hardly dwell on how I’ve made it this far."