Chef Hua
Chapter 424: Issue 234: Playing Good Cop, Bad Cop

Chapter 424: Issue 234: Playing Good Cop, Bad Cop

Meng Yuhuai also felt it was a bit tricky, turning his head to glance at the village path but not immediately answering.

He and his wife were seldom idle during the day, so villagers eager to buy chili seeds and haggle over the price would crowd into the small restaurant incessantly. This had been going on for three to five days, nearly wearing out the doorstep, making it impossible to conduct business properly, which irritated Hua Xiaomai to the point of frequently losing her temper. Even he, usually amiable with the villagers, was getting increasingly annoyed.

A few months ago, when they were sowing the chili seeds, many villagers scoffed, suggesting he "shouldn’t always listen to his wife" in their comments. Now, before the harvest had even arrived, those same people suddenly changed their attitude. Could it be anything other than Old Man Li’s instigations?

This old man, really...

Hua Xiaomai was already feeling unhappy, and seeing Meng Yuhuai not speaking only added to her frustration. She lightly smacked his arm and complained, "Come on, give me an idea, will you? Don’t tell me you’re actually considering yielding to Old Man Li just because, as he says, you usually get along with him and now can’t bear to lose face? I’m telling you now, although you’ve always treated me well, if you make a rash decision on this, I will really get angry!"

Meng Yuhuai couldn’t help but smile wryly, turning back to shake his head helplessly at her, "Do you think I’ve lost my mind? I’m still thinking it over, aren’t I?"

"How much longer will you need to think?!" Hua Xiaomai stamped her foot forcefully, "We’ve never thought of making a fortune out of this, but we can’t just suffer a loss. I’ve done a rough calculation; our two fields can produce a little over two thousand jin of chilies. Half of that is for our own use. Selling the rest to everyone, even if they only buy six or seven jin, that’s enough for them to dry and save seeds for planting one mu of land. How much could that cost them? Knowing full well how rare these chilies are, it’s hard to buy them even with money in hand, yet they’re fixed on getting them cheap from us. How does that make sense?"

"I know you’re anxious, but what good does being upset do?" Seeing her face turn red, Meng Yuhuai reached out to soothingly pat her back.

Yet Hua Xiaomai’s frustration was far from over, and she continued sulkily, "If they really didn’t have the money, that would be another matter, but I heard from Sister La Mei that Old Man Li’s family drinks tea that costs one to two hundred wen per jin. Is he really short of that little money? I wasn’t planning to sell it that expensive! Just fifty wen per jin. At most, we would earn a few dozen strings of cash, and it’s not like our household is desperate to use it. But should we really toil for so long only to benefit others? If they anger me, I won’t sell them a single seed and see what they can do about it!"

These past couple of days, whether it was due to the hot weather or not, she felt irritable, knowing that such incessant complaints were futile and annoying, but she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. It was as if a fire had been lit in her chest, burning all the way up to her throat. If she didn’t vent it quickly, she felt like she would burn to ashes.

The chilies were about to be harvested, a joyful occasion, so why did it have to be so frustrating?

While they were talking, Meng Yuhuai’s mother happened to come out from their house. With just a glance, she noticed Hua Xiaomai’s bad mood and immediately sneered coldly, "What’s all this fuss about? Did someone step on your tail? Have you even looked at the time? Is dinner ready? I’m hungry."

Hua Xiaomai, already in a bad temper, was in no mood to be courteous, and replied offhandedly, "Oh, Mother, please don’t add to the chaos right now! We won’t make you miss a meal; could you please go inside and rest for a bit?"

"How dare you speak to me like that? I am your mother-in-law; aren’t you afraid of being struck by lightning for such an attitude?" Meng Yuhuai’s mother was immediately displeased, raising her voice in protest.

"If you keep talking, you’ll only have pickled vegetables for dinner!" Hua Xiaomai glanced at her and, to everyone’s surprise, actually turned and shouted towards the kitchen, "Yun’er, Yun’er! Get two pieces of old pickles out, my mother-in-law is hungry!"

"You wretched girl, are you threatening me?" Meng Yuhuai’s mother, unable to contain herself, picked up a broom and prepared to hit her.

Hua Xiaomai, not at all intimidated, quickly hid behind Meng Yuhuai, peeking out only her head, "I’m threatening you, so what? Let’s see if you can stop yourself from eating what I cook!"

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, neither willing to back down, continued their heated exchange, trapping Meng Yuhuai in the middle and giving him a headache with their clamor.

He had only been away from home for about a month, but how could these two have ended up in such a state? Should he step in to mediate, or simply let them be?

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