Chef Hua
Chapter 412: Episode 228: Getting Along

Chapter 412: Episode 228: Getting Along

Hua Erniang was still in her postpartum confinement, and with no draft allowed in the heated room, it felt extremely stuffy. She sat by the bed with a thin quilt draped over her waist and belly while her hands wiped away the endless sweat on her forehead. Watching Hua Xiaomai holding the soft and cuddly Tie Chui, making faces and having a great time, she couldn’t help but curve her apricot eyes into a smile.

"Your intentions are naturally good," she said, lowering her head to think for a moment, and then softened her voice, "The things that happened with Yuhuai’s family in the past, although your brother-in-law hasn’t said much about them to me, over the two or three years since I married into Fire Knife Village, I’ve heard a lot, on and off. It hasn’t been easy for him. It’s right for you to be considerate of him, but with Meng’s mother coming and going at your eatery every day, aren’t you afraid she’ll disrupt your business?"

"Of course I’m afraid," Hua Xiaomai replied as she gently placed Tie Chui back beside Hua Erniang, pursing her lips, "But how can our relationship improve if I don’t interact with her more? Don’t worry, second sister. Though I want to get closer to her, I won’t accommodate her unconditionally. Besides, with her personality, she might not appreciate it if I always give in to her. Honestly, I have no confidence, and I’ll just have to take it one step at a time. Anyway, she didn’t make any trouble all of yesterday."

She laughed again, "Let’s not talk about this anymore. Just rest assured that I know how to handle it myself. But I must ask you, did you try that thorny dragon’s tooth I sent over the other day? It’s pretty good, right?"

Upon hearing this, Hua Erniang also laughed, "Don’t bring that up again. Your brother-in-law is really so earnest. You told him that thorny dragon’s tooth could be prepared in any way, even just boiled in water, and it would taste great. So, he actually had his mother boil it in water for me to eat with sauce. But you know, the thing really is refreshing and flavorsome, and lately, the food at home has been so greasy it’s unbearable. Every mealtime has become a worry for me. That dish of crisp thorny dragon’s tooth settled my stomach and made my whole body feel comfortable."

"Boiling it in water and savoring its natural fragrance also has its charm. If I get my hands on other wild greens in the next few days, I’ll send them to your brother-in-law, so he can bring them to you. They say eating more wild greens is quite beneficial during confinement," Hua Xiaomai nodded and said, then noticing Hua Erniang drenched in sweat, she securely bolted the door and fetched a clean garment to help her change.

The sisters chatted idly for a while until Tie Chui began to cry. Mrs. Jing sped to the door like an arrow, repeatedly asking whether he was hungry or had wet himself, slamming the door with enough force to make the mountains echo. Knowing that newborns are hard to care for, Hua Xiaomai did not stay long, hastily took her leave, and did not discuss her return to the small eatery in the east of the village.

From that day on, Meng’s mother lingered daily in the small eatery. Most of the time, she rushed in for meals, leaving right after eating, but occasionally, when she was unbearably idle at home, she would also go early in the morning with Hua Xiaomai and stay for the entire day.

As the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law saw each other day in, day out, it was inevitable that they would rub each other the wrong way and argue a bit. But the more they interacted, the more Hua Xiaomai figured out some tricks.

Meng’s mother was not the kind of person you could ’stroke the right way.’ The more you yielded to her, the more she would take advantage and expect even more. She might even get so brash as to reach for the sky, but if you occasionally gave her a prick and left her wordless and gasping for breath, then appeased her afterward, she would actually become much more compliant.

Nobody likes to be pushed around, and Meng’s mother was especially intolerant of any slight. She had been enraged more than once by Hua Xiaomai and had thought about leaving the eatery for good. Yet, in the end, she could never bring herself to do it.

How could the meals cooked at the small eatery be compared to those at home? With a wealth of vegetables, meat, and several kinds of liquors in the kitchen, as well as a chef of exquisite skill, the dishes served were hot off the stove, steaming and fragrant. Plus, one didn’t need to do the dishes after eating. Sometimes, if a customer ordered some fancy dish, Hua Xiaomai would even cook extra and share it with Meng’s mother for a taste—such luxuries, who could easily give them up?

The so-called ’a slap followed by a sweet date’; in the case of Meng’s mother, the dishes from the small eatery were her ’sweet dates,’ compelling her to keep returning rather than facing a whole day in that empty and quiet courtyard with nobody to talk to.

And so, through endless squabbles and clamor, Hua Xiaomai and Meng’s mother gradually became familiar with each other.

Indeed, it was not until this time, six months after marrying into the Meng family, that Hua Xiaomai truly became ’acquainted’ with Meng’s mother in a meaningful sense. Maybe their relationship wasn’t particularly harmonious, and it certainly couldn’t be described as deeply affectionate, but after enduring a morning of roasting by the kitchen stove, coming out and having a spat with Meng’s mother became one of Hua Xiaomai’s enjoyments.