Chef Hua
Chapter 407: Episode 225 Mother and Son Conflict_2

Chapter 407: Episode 225 Mother and Son Conflict_2

At that point, he sneered and said, "You haven’t seen their tactics. The Warehouse Guard controls the working hours very strictly. If a guard is late, he misses the chance to wear the guard’s uniform and enters the warehouse. If not handled carefully, he might lose his job. Those thugs specifically target the guards on their way to work, using various means to extort and blackmail them—and that’s putting it mildly. Others simply kidnap the guards and force their families to pay a ransom for their release. During these past few months, the incidents involving the County Government Money Vault’s guards have become quite frequent and serious, angering Magistrate Tao enough to ask our Escort Agency to intervene and help."

"So, Magistrate Tao sought your Escort Agency to protect the guards during their commutes?" Hua Xiaomai raised an eyebrow, "But what if the guards encounter trouble outside those times?"

"To stay safe in this line of work, one must keep a low profile. Those ruffians might not be decent folks, but they won’t easily break into a house. Even if the guards must leave their homes, they must be exceedingly careful. If someone gets kidnapped, our Escort Agency must still send people to investigate the matter thoroughly," Meng Yuhuai turned to her with a smile.

Hua Xiaomai nodded then shook her head: "I don’t understand. Since the Money Vault is under the County Government, why doesn’t Magistrate Tao handle this matter himself? Your Escort Agency, after all, is an external party..."

Meng stroked her head, "Though the County Government has many staff, they all have their assignments and can’t monitor everything around the clock. It’s more convenient to entrust the Escort Agency with this task—after all, it costs just a bit of silver and saves trouble. Actually, Magistrate Tao trusts Lianshun Escort Agency, which is something to be happy about."

Hua Xiaomai lowered her eyes in deep thought, then sighed, "Earlier, you mentioned handling this matter yourself, which means, in the coming period, you will be very busy, right? Fortunately, you are just in the County and not traveling far. We can still see each other every day. I’ll try to get more of the food you love. You can take it with you and make everyone else envious!"

Meng Yuhuai did not speak but quickly glanced at her.

"What’s wrong?" What did that look mean?

"We still have to meet with Magistrate Tao before knowing exactly how to proceed," Meng Yuhuai paused, seemingly troubled, "However, I suspect that the guards start their duties right when the city gates open. If I also have to come from home, I might be late. So, at that time, I might mostly need to stay in the town for a while..."

"Do you mean, you won’t be able to come home for that long?" Hua Xiaomai gripped a handful of melon seeds, tossed them aside upon hearing this, and muttered with a frown, "When we got married, you promised me that you would come home every night unless you were on an external mission. The worst part is, my diner closes past the hour of the Pig, and by then, there’s a curfew in town. I can’t get in, otherwise, I could have come to town to see you..."

"Pfft!" Meng Yuhuai couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.

"What are you laughing at?" Hua Xiaomai glared at him, feigning anger.

Meng cleared his throat with his fist near his mouth, unable to stop laughing: "You running to find me in the middle of the night, what do you want to do?"

"Meng Yuhuai!" the young wife easily detected the implied meaning in his words. Even though she considered herself thick-skinned, her ears still felt hot. She angrily said, "Are you playing the rogue now? I really want to drag you in front of Uncle Ke and Big Zhong and let them see how you’re usually so righteous, but only bully your wife!"

As she spoke, she raised her fist to hit him but he caught both her wrists with a laugh and pulled them to his chest. While they were laughing and playing, they suddenly heard a loud "bang" from behind them as the door slammed; Meng’s mother, furious, yelled from inside, "Who allowed you to call your husband by his name? Such a fine daughter your parents raised, no manners, no respect!"

It turned out someone had been listening from inside the room... Hua Xiaomai quickly stopped what she was doing and wriggled free from his embrace, chuckling softly, "Alright, if you’ve got things to do, just go ahead, I’ll visit you when I’m free. You don’t need to worry about the house."

Meng Yuhuai had just begun to feel a bit better when his mother’s shout made his mood plummet in an instant. He frowned and pursed his lips toward the room door, "I’m not worried about anything else, I’m just worried about this. If it’s just you and mother at home, what if..."

"It’s fine, it’s not the first time I’m alone at home. I’ll be careful not to make mother angry," Hua Xiaomai waved her hand and leaned in closer, grinning, "I have a trick to cheer her up. If she gets mad, I’ll make something she loves to eat, I guarantee it’ll blow her anger away. Also, since it’s getting hotter, food doesn’t keep well. I could cook something in the morning before I leave and, for dinner, either come back in the afternoon to prepare it or, if mother doesn’t mind the trip, we could eat at a nearby diner."

She said this to ease Meng Yuhuai’s worry, but even before she finished speaking, he immediately objected, "No, that’s not suitable! My mother loves to take charge on behalf of others. If you let her go to the diner all the time, in three to five days, she’ll take over the place and you, the legitimate owner, will just have to step aside!"

With a loud "clang," the door was flung open forcefully, and Meng’s mother stormed out, pointing at Meng Yuhuai and berating, "Are these human words you’re speaking? What in heaven’s name have I done that’s so outrageous for you to malign me behind my back? Not to mention that little broken-down diner—even if it were mountains of gold and silver presented before me, it would depend on whether I wanted to accept them! I am your mother, and you plot against me in front of your wife, aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning?"

Meng Yuhuai was not naturally hot-tempered; he was usually gentle with people, but now he refused to back down even a half step and lifted his eyes to speak firmly, "Over the years, the things you’ve done, mother—do I need to list them one by one for you?"

This clearly was adding fuel to the fire. Hua Xiaomai’s face turned pale, unable to understand why this usually composed man would become utterly irrational when confronting his mother. She quickly reached out and tugged at him, "It’s just a small matter, why do this..."

"Fine, fine, fine, you truly are my good son, I’ve worked so hard all these years to raise you, and it turns out I raised an enemy!" Meng’s mother’s voice cracked with emotion. She paused for a moment, then abruptly turned and viciously slammed the door shut.

Meng Yuhuai, also angered, left Hua Xiaomai alone in the courtyard and strode back to his room.

Hua Xiaomai stood bewildered in the middle of the courtyard, staring at the dark night sky for a while before spreading her hands.

What on earth was this about? People say that a husband is the ’meat in the sandwich’ between his mother and his wife, but why did it seem like, with her, everything was completely turned upside down? (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)