Chef Hua
Chapter 463: Episode 253 Let’s Join Forces_2

Chapter 463: Episode 253 Let’s Join Forces_2

"Didn’t you see? Just now, Tang Dongyan clearly wanted to take me back with her. If I’m not mistaken, she was planning to explain everything in detail on the way back, to earnestly apologize, and to ensure that I would forgive her so-called recklessness. It was also a convenient way to shut me up."

Hua Xiaomai slightly curved her lips upward, "Their whole family is somewhat afraid of my mother-in-law, and they definitely don’t want her to know about today’s events. Just think about it, if they are so sincerely apologizing, even if I’m still angry, for the sake of saving face, I can only swallow this incident. Otherwise, I’d become the petty and clueless one. Therefore, I didn’t want to give her that chance. By letting Tang Dongyan go back alone, I can later justifiably report the issue in front of my mother-in-law. My mother-in-law is very clear-headed; she doesn’t need to ponder, she will understand what happened immediately."

"Uh..." Luo Yuejiao opened her mouth but couldn’t manage to speak.

"These past days, I’ve also realized that my mother-in-law is actually quite wary of them. With her around, Yuehuai and I don’t need to worry about much on normal days. With that being the case, I should be more than just useful and certainly can’t keep dragging her down, right? Yuehuai will only get busier at the Escort Agency in the future. I don’t want to tell him about this; it would bother him. If my mother-in-law and I can resolve this cleanly and neatly on our own, there would be nothing better."

After Hua Xiaomai finished, she smiled again, posing a "do you understand now" expression.

Luo Yuejiao pondered for a moment with her head down and then absent-mindedly nodded.

Indeed, relatives and such can be the most troublesome!

...

The two of them sat in the bamboo grove a while longer, and as the sun began to set and the heat subsided, they finally left the garden and parted ways at the crossroads, each heading home.

The moment Hua Xiaomai stepped through the courtyard gate, she saw Mrs. Ding sitting there alone. Before Hua Xiaomai could even greet her, the woman had already stepped forward eagerly, grabbing her and looking her over from head to toe.

"Ah, you’re back? Tsk tsk, look at this face, all red from the sun!" She clutched Hua Xiaomai’s hand with heartfelt emphasis, "Xiaomai, as someone who has been through it, I know very well that when a woman is pregnant, she needs to be extra careful. How can you walk around under the scorching sun? What if you harm yourself?"

Her concern was more than apparent.

Hua Xiaomai thanked her, but inwardly she was rather speechless.

She couldn’t help but wonder who it was on the day their family had just arrived, who had said that a daughter-in-law from a farming family didn’t need to be so delicate, and who had insisted on sending her to cook? At that time, they babbled on about how one couldn’t be raised too delicately, but now they were treating Hua Xiaomai as if she were a porcelain doll, as if scared she would break at the slightest touch—do you have a split personality?

Mrs. Ding’s eyes kept darting to Hua Xiaomai’s face, as if searching for something, also seeming a bit uneasy, and her smile seemed a tad forced, making one feel exhausted just looking at her.

Hua Xiaomai didn’t want to talk much with Luo Yuejiao, so she just claimed she was feeling a bit dizzy from being out in the sun too long and wanted to rest. Turning around, she went back to her room. Barely the time it takes to brew a cup of tea had passed when she began shouting at the top of her lungs, "Mother, could you come here for a moment? How come I can’t find my longevity silver lock?"

From outside the door, a rush of menacing footsteps approached, followed by a loud bang as the door was flung open. Meng Laojiang burst in with an unhappy face and shouted, "What silver lock? I haven’t seen it; who are you asking about your own things?"

"It was a full hundred days’ congratulatory gift prepared in advance for Tang Dongyan’s little Tie Chui, Yuhuai just brought it back the other day!" Hua Xiaomai raised her voice in reply, quietly shutting the door, and flashed Meng Laoniang a thick-skinned smile. When she spoke again, her voice was so faint it was almost inaudible.

"Mother, please don’t shout. In fact, that silver lock was never even made; I just made up an excuse to have you come to the room, that’s all."

Meng Laoniang wasn’t foolish. Hearing the odd way Hua Xiaomai spoke, her suspicion immediately arose, and her gaze involuntarily drifted towards the door, though her tone remained unfriendly, "What are you trying to pull here? Since when do we have things to say that need to be spoken behind others’ backs?"

Hua Xiaomai pulled her closer, "Mother, I just want to ask you, this afternoon when I had just left for the little restaurant, Dongyan also went out right after me; do you know about this?"

"Her?" Meng Laoniang thought it over for a moment, "I didn’t pay attention, your aunt was dragging me into a conversation the whole time, and I didn’t really see her. What about it?"

"Ha, I knew it was kept from you." Hua Xiaomai let out a cold laugh, not mincing words, and proceeded to recount the incident that happened not long ago in its entirety to Meng Laoniang.

"Anyway, I just cling to one thought: if it was as Dongyan says, and she was following me to the restaurant because her aunt was worried about me, why would she sneak around and not show herself? She claims she was afraid of making me angry; do they really see me as such an unreasonable person? As far as I’m aware, I haven’t neglected them in recent days, have I?"

Meng Laoniang was as explosive as powder and couldn’t contain her anger after hearing this. She slammed the table and cursed in a low voice, "No wonder Maolin was so hesitant and would not decide on a job no matter how much I asked—turns out he was scheming this! These people, I took them in out of the kindness of my heart, and not only do they show no gratitude, they even dare to scheme against my family, hmph, if I let them get away with it, I’d be unworthy of the name of the shrew!"

Hua Xiaomai hurriedly reached out to pat her back, "I’m not feeling good about this either. If uncle and aunt had just openly shared their thoughts, it would have been fine, but they had to sneak around like this; what does that mean? Mother, I don’t want Yuhuai to know about this, but this matter needs to be resolved properly and soon, so, let’s work together, shall we?"

"You?" Meng Laoniang cast a disdainful glance at her, as if she was looking at a pile of dust in the corner.

Is this... considering her as a useless teammate?

"I know I can’t even compare to a little finger of yours," Hua Xiaomai endured and smiled, "but I do as I’m told. If Mother gives an order, I’ll certainly follow through—shall we work together, is it good?"

(To be continued. If you like this work, we invite you to cast your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)