Chef Hua
Chapter 44: Episode 36: The Turtle Soup of Misfortune

Chapter 44: Episode 36: The Turtle Soup of Misfortune

At noon, the sun was surrounded by a halo of thin clouds, like a fuzzy scarf, shakily rising to the zenith. However, the old Jing Family house in the south of Fire Knife Village remained shut, without a hint of sound to be heard.

In the main hall, leftovers from last night’s Chinese New Year’s Eve feast still lingered on the table. After a night, the juices in the dishes had coagulated, oozing a string of murky drops around the edges of plates, further adding to the mess strewn across the table.

"Ouch, my stomach, it hurts to death..."

In the large room to the left, old Jing Taihe and his wife were both leaning on their daybeds, each occupying an end, clutching their bellies and moaning in pain; in the western wing, Hua Xiaomai and Jing Taihe were similarly lying in bed with pained expressions, their faces pale and frightening, as large beads of sweat continually dropped from their foreheads.

As for old Madam Jing, she had already been curled up in her own room, too weak to make a sound.

Last night, Jing Taihe and Hua Xiaomai had come back to the ancestral house to celebrate the New Year. Midway through the feast, they all started to feel stomach pains.

Country folks, bred tough, usually don’t make much fuss even with a headache or fever—such a small ailment was naturally not taken seriously, and was thought to be just overeating. They even set off firecrackers as usual, gathered around the brazier, clutching their stomachs and forcing smiles until well past midnight.

Feeling unwell, Jing Taihe discussed with Hua Xiaomai about staying the night at the ancestral home and returning to their own place early the next morning. Hua Xiaomai was naturally reluctant, but couldn’t stand the pain in her gut, so she reluctantly agreed. They settled down in the western wing, hoping that they would wake up refreshed the next morning and return home immediately.

However, when daylight came the next day, the pain in their stomachs not only hadn’t subsided but had become even more intense.

"We can’t go on like this, I still need to get a doctor to have a look..." Jing Taihe struggled to sit up, wiping the sweat from Hua Xiaomai’s forehead, but just as he started to rise a little, his gut churned violently as if his organs had moved out of place, and with a thud, he fell back into the bedding, smiling wryly as he whispered, "What’s with these guts, acting like they’re tied up and fighting each other?"

Hua Xiaomai hurriedly helped him, anxiously crying out, "What’s the use of calling for a doctor? On such a festival, which doctor would readily make a house call? You had better lie down and save your strength..."

Mid-speech, they heard old Madam Jing’s voice from the main room, hoarse with strain, "You little whore, you cheap slut, still pretending to be good? I bet my life it was you who poisoned the food, you black-hearted creature, trying to take our entire family’s lives! If I survive this, I swear I’ll go to the Government Office to sue you, and let the judge order you executed!"

"You’re talking nonsense!" Hua Xiaomai’s fighting spirit surged, ignoring her pain, she shouted with all her might, "Watch your tongue! If I’m a whore, what is your son? Hmm, you start with slandering me and end up embarrassing yourself! I haven’t even stepped foot in that kitchen, am I easy to bully, that you just put the blame on me? Dream on! You might as well give it a rest!"

The two hurled insults through the air, and for a time it was quite a spectacle, with neither giving ground. Jing Taihe and old Jing Taihe, disturbed by the racket, simultaneously pressed down on their wives’ hands, chastising in low voices, "Be quiet!"

Tears instantly gathered in Hua Xiaomai’s eyes. She clutched Jing Taihe’s hand, half-complaining and half-grieved, "I said we shouldn’t have come back, but you insisted. Now what? A fine Chinese New Year’s Eve ruined... We haven’t returned yet, and who knows how worried my little sister must be!"

...

Hua Xiaomai had paced several rounds in the Jing’s small courtyard, waiting and waiting. As noon passed and with Hua Xiaomai and her husband still not home, she could no longer contain herself. She changed into a brand-new blue cotton coat with red flowers, combed her hair once more, locked up the courtyard, and ran toward the southern part of the village.

This was her first time venturing to the Jing’s ancestral home. She only knew it wasn’t far from the blacksmith’s shop. As for which house it was specifically, she had no idea. With no other choice, she went to ask Guan Rong for assistance. Guan Rong was very eager to help without a second word, leading her to the doorway of the old house.

Not a human voice was heard inside the courtyard, only a few free-range chickens sorrowfully clucking in hunger as they huddled together. Guan Rong warmly took Hua Xiaomai’s hand, peered inside, and whispered with furrowed brows, "What time is it already, and why are the doors and windows still shut tight? Haven’t Uncle and Auntie gotten up?"

Hua Xiaomai, having come all this way, didn’t care to speculate further. She raised her hand and knocked on the door several times, calling out, "Uncle Jing, Aunt Jing, I’m Hua Xiaomai, is the sister-in-law and her husband at home?"

Hearing the commotion in the wing, Hua Xiaomai immediately gripped Jing Taihe’s hand, "Little sister is here, see, I told you she’d be worried if we’re not home, right? What are you waiting for, hurry up and open the door!"

Jing Taihe, bearing the pain in his stomach, staggered out into the courtyard, removed the door bolt, and let Hua Xiaomai and Guan Rong in. Just these simple actions had him sweating profusely, retreating several steps backward, and he sat down on the ground, panting heavily.

Seeing him like this, Hua Xiaomai was startled and reached out to help him up, asking anxiously, "Brother-in-law, what’s wrong with you, are you feeling unwell? Where are uncle, auntie, and my second sister?"

"Cough, they’re not doing much better, they’re all resting inside the house now. We don’t know what we ate, but our stomachs are in so much pain... alas!"

Jing Taihe had no choice but to recount the simultaneous stomach pains.

Hua Xiaomai’s brows furrowed upon hearing this.

A good Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner, where the whole family ate the same food—if only one person was unwell, there might be a possibility of food allergy, but with several people experiencing stomach pain at the same time, and this severely, there had to be something wrong with the dishes.

She strained to pull Jing Taihe to his feet and helped him sit down in the main room, then turned around to glance at the leftover dishes on the table. Her gaze swept back and forth and finally settled on the turtle soup in the center. She leaned in to smell it carefully, and she had her suspicions.

At Chef School, the teachers would talk about issues related to food safety, including which foods should not be eaten together, which ingredients were prone to spoilage or poisoning, and the need for extra care when cooking. Turtle was one of those very valuable ingredients that were difficult to manage.

She had her plans in mind and didn’t rush to see Hua Erniang. She went straight to the large room on the left, bowed to Jing Lao Dad and Jing Lao Mom who were complaining incessantly on the couch, and said with a smile, "Auntie, that bowl of turtle soup on the table... "

Jing Lao Mom obviously looked down on her. Even in such pain, she couldn’t forget to scoff, huffing, "What, you want to drink it?"

Auntie, can you please not make a fuss for goodness’ sake, why is your thought process so erratic?

Hua Xiaomai rolled her eyes inwardly but maintained a smile on her face: "No, I mean to ask, how long ago did you buy that turtle?"

"What do you mean, how long ago?" Jing Lao Mom said with irritation on her face, "You and your sister must have never eaten such fine food in your lifetimes, right? I kindly let her come over for Chinese New Year’s Eve to have a taste of meat, and look what she does, she dares to poison my food!"

"Auntie, my second sister wouldn’t..."

"You just wait, once I get better, I will not let her live!"

"Auntie, let’s talk about that turtle first..."

"Not one of you Hua’s is any good!"

Hua Xiaomai looked to the sky silently, took a deep breath, clenched her teeth hard, and suppressed the urge to punch her: "Auntie, that turtle might be the reason why you all have stomach pains. Please tell me quickly, how long ago did you buy it, and was it still alive when it was slaughtered?"

When Jing Lao Mom heard this, she was momentarily stunned, too shocked to keep cursing, and said blankly, "I didn’t buy it; it was sent to me by Qi the widow from our village."

"When she sent it, was it already cleaned and cut into pieces, ready to be cooked?" Hua Xiaomai became even more certain.

"How... how did you know?" Jing Lao Mom suddenly opened her eyes wide, and Jing Lao Dad also sat up.

Uncle and Auntie, don’t panic. If I am not mistaken, the turtle was already dead for two or three days before it was brought to your house. Afraid that you would notice, she specially cleaned it up at home. Little did she know, eating a turtle that’s been dead for a few days can lead to poisoning!" Hua Xiaomai explained calmly, "You don’t need to be afraid, I have seen this kind of thing before, there’s a way to counteract the poison—however, to counteract the poison from an un-fresh turtle, we will need something else."

She suddenly smirked sinisterly and motioned outside with her lips: "First, we need to pick up some chicken feces."