Chef Hua
Chapter 40: Episode 32 Where to Spend the New Year

Chapter 40: Episode 32 Where to Spend the New Year

Hua Xiaomai knew all too well that her second sister was brash, but she hadn’t expected yesterday’s incident to have roused all of her competitive spirit. Surprised and finding it somewhat amusing, she couldn’t help but snort, covering her mouth and mumbling, "Second Sister, I thought you would never let me cook for others again!"

"Laugh, laugh, laugh, have you drunk ’laughter urine’?" Second Sister Hua glanced at her sideways, "Don’t think I’m always so unreasonably troublesome. I’m very clear about this! No matter what, this can’t be blamed on you. That shameless Fatty Wei caused you to suffer so much, and I simply cannot swallow this anger! Let me tell you, I’ve never been the type who is faint-hearted and afraid of trouble. We earn money through our own skills, and even if we break the big sky, we’re still in the right! Your business of arranging feasts for others should continue as usual. I want to see just how much Fatty Wei can really weigh!"

"Second Sister, I knew you were the best," Hua Xiaomai’s heart warmed as she hugged Second Sister Hua’s arm and rested her face on her shoulder.

Second Sister Hua was slightly taken aback and chided softly, "Get lost," but immediately wrapped her arms around her, sighing, "We two have bad luck, burdened with a brother who’s useless. Now that you’ve come to me, if even I don’t support you, what use is there in having me as your sister? Besides, you can earn quite a bit of money by cooking for others. Without picking up the money in front of your eyes, wouldn’t I be a fool?"

"Mhm, you’re the smartest," Hua Xiaomai said with a laugh in her voice, burying her head even deeper in her embrace.

Second Sister Hua, who was usually fierce, seemed a bit uncomfortable with such intimate behavior between the sisters, and awkwardly stroked Hua Xiaomai’s hair.

The morning sun was pleasantly warm on their bodies, and neither of them felt like talking or moving. They just quietly sat on the stone steps in front of the door. After a long while, Second Sister Hua resumed the conversation, "By the way, what time did Big Brother Meng leave yesterday? I didn’t even notice at all!" No sooner had she spoken than two blushes appeared on her cheeks.

Hua Xiaomai glanced at her and thought to herself, how can you have the cheek to ask? If it weren’t for you messing around with Jing Taihe without any regard for the time or occasion, perhaps none of the subsequent events would have taken place, right?

As she thought of last night’s events, her own face felt a bit hot. She pressed her lips together, quickly turned her face away to cover it up, and said, "Wasn’t Brother-in-law drunk? You were... looking after him in the room, and Big Brother Meng stayed for a short while. Worried about missing the curfew, he said goodbye to me and went back to the County. He asked me to pass on a message to you and Brother-in-law, but I just didn’t get around to it yet."

"Oh, it was really thanks to him yesterday as well," Second Sister Hua nodded, responding indifferently, before sweeping a puzzled look across Hua Xiaomai’s face, "What’s with your red face all of a sudden?"

"Ah?" Hua Xiaomai jumped, frantically waving her hands, "I’m not blushing, it’s the sun! If you don’t believe me, look in the water vat, your face is redder than mine!"

Second Sister Hua felt a bit embarrassed too and couldn’t help but touch her own cheeks, looking up and coughing awkwardly, "Cough cough... Indeed, the sun today... is pretty strong..."

Both sisters had their own guilty consciences and silently sat for a bit longer. Then Second Sister Hua changed the subject, "Uh... There’s something else I haven’t told you. These past few days, your brother-in-law and I were thinking, when spring comes, we’ll dig up that little patch of land behind the house and plant some vegetables. We’ll have fresh food to eat, and if we have extras, we can even exchange them for a few coins."

"You’re going to grow vegetables, Second Sister?" Hua Xiaomai eagerly followed the topic while secretly breathing a sigh of relief in her heart.

Second Sister Hua nodded slightly, "Before you came, your brother-in-law and I just scraped by, satisfied as long as we were not starving. Now that you are so earnestly making money, even if we can’t help, we can’t drag you down, right? Mom always said that living is about saving in these small ways. Copper coins might not seem valuable, but over time, you can save up quite a bit!"

"That’s wonderful!" Hua Xiaomai lifted her head, her eyes curving into a smile, "Beans, bok choy, radishes, eggplants... we can grow some of each ourselves. Whatever we feel like eating, we eat, just thinking about it makes me happy! Second Sister, when you’re ready to start preparing the land for seeding, you must tell me, I’ll help too!"

"You really perk up when it comes to food—could you possibly have been a starving ghost in your last life?" Hua Erniang teased with a mix of sincerity and jest, "Just in time, Chinese New Year’s Eve is in a couple of days. We have money on hand, so we should buy some more vegetables and meat for the household. Since neither of us has anything else to do today, how about we go out for a stroll?"

How could Hua Xiaomai decline such an offer? She immediately jumped three feet high with excitement, quickly tidied herself up, and together with her sister, they picked up their baskets and walked to the door, only to run into Jing Taihe who was hurriedly returning home.

In recent days, the blacksmith’s shop had been doing rather well. Many villagers wanted to get their farming tools fixed and readied before the new year so that they were prepared for spring planting. There was no need to rush at the last minute, so Jing Taihe was usually back from the blacksmith’s shop only as dusk was approaching. Today, he had returned before noon, which Hua Xiaomai found odd. She grinned at him and called out, "Brother-in-law, why have you come back so early today?"

Jing Taihe turned and gave her a smile, as mild and honest as ever, "Ah, Chinese New Year’s Eve is in a couple of days, and the work at the blacksmith’s shop is almost finished, so today I decided to close up shop. It won’t be late to open again on the fifth day of the new year. You two... are you going out?"

"Isn’t it all for you?" Hua Erniang sent a coquettish glance his way without any attempt to hide it, her voice as sweet as dripping honey, "Xiaomai and I plan to buy some more vegetables and meat for the New Year celebrations. Now that Xiaomai is here, you’re in for a treat with this year’s New Year’s Eve dinner!"

"That’s very good, very good," Jing Taihe rubbed his hands together, quickly glanced at Hua Xiaomai with a hint of hesitation in his eyes. He hesitated for a moment, then reached out and tugged at his wife’s sleeve, "Erniang, come with me for a moment, I have something I want to discuss with you."

Hua Erniang, puzzled, murmured shyly with a touch of embarrassment, "Goodness, what are you up to in broad daylight, not afraid of being laughed at... Xiaomai, wait for me in the yard for a bit, I’ll be right back."

With that, she swayed her willowy waist and delicately followed Jing Taihe back into the east room.

Hua Xiaomai was well aware that Jing Taihe and his wife were always sweet on each other, so she wasn’t surprised. She covered her mouth and giggled, then sat down on the doorstep, looking around in boredom.

There was a Buddha’s hand tree in front of the Jing family courtyard that remained green all year round, its leaves still lush and green even in winter. At this moment, sunlight filtered through the gaps between the leaves, casting mottled shadows on the ground. The light breeze made the shadows quiver, and the fresh scent of the leaves carried on the wind was indescribably comforting and pleasant.

She was in a good mood, squinting her eyes to enjoy the rare tranquility, when suddenly, a piercing scream came from Hua Erniang in the east room.

"How could you do this, hadn’t we agreed? In the past years when it was just the two of us, I wasn’t good at cooking, so I reluctantly followed you home for a lavish meal on Chinese New Year’s Eve. But now, Xiaomai has come too, why can’t we just stay at our own home and have a good New Year?"

"Shh, shh, Erniang, don’t be anxious, listen to me," Jing Taihe’s voice of helplessness also drifted out, "I know I promised you, and if it were up to me, I’d prefer to spend the New Year’s Eve just with you. But father has already spoken... and with grandmother’s poor health, I..."

"What about my sister then!" Hua Erniang shouted stubbornly, her voice choked as if she was on the verge of tears.

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