Chef Hua
Chapter 465: Episode 254: Thorny Situation Part 2

Chapter 465: Episode 254: Thorny Situation Part 2

"Half a month has already gone by, how is the job search coming along?" she asked, staring intently at the face of her brother she hadn’t seen in many years. "In the past few days, I’ve noticed you hardly ever leave the house anymore, and all the household items are still usable. Why are you fussing over them? You need to come up with a plan soon," she said heavily.

To this, Tang Maolin put on a look of misery: "Do you think I’m not anxious? But finding a job recently has been really tough. I’m unfamiliar with the place, and it’s truly been difficult..."

With just those words, he pushed back everything that Meng’s old mother wanted to say.

In reality, how could it be difficult to find work at this time?

The winter wheat in the fields had already been harvested, and there was still some time before the next sowing. The diligent farmers of Fire Knife Village usually chose this time to go out and work for a while, to earn an extra income to support their household expenses, and the wealthy families in the city also knew this. They often arranged the heavy work in their homes around this time, to make it easier to find help.

With some effort in the search, wasn’t finding work bound to happen?

Meng’s old mother had spoken to him several times, but whenever she spoke a little harsher, Tang Maolin would put on an expression of pitiful resignation, not arguing back, just bowing his head and squatting on the ground without a word, looking unspeakably wronged.

After all, you were the one who promised that you would stay at home until you found a job. It hasn’t been very long since then, and you’re already impatient? Speaking of which, she’s your own sister, so anxious to send her disaster-stricken brother away?

Tang Maolin never uttered these words, yet every move he made was communicating just that. What could Meng’s old mother do?

They did have some surplus money on hand, and supporting a family of three wasn’t difficult for them, but the question was, why?

A man in his thirties, whose daughter was of marriageable age, doing nothing serious all day long and insisting on staying at his sister’s house who had married a long time ago, expecting her family to support him—isn’t it laughable?

What a dilemma! Hua Xiaomai, who was not favored by Meng’s old mother, hid away in her room, sighing quietly to herself.

Now, even if Meng’s old mother wanted her help again, she wouldn’t be able to find the time.

The small restaurant’s renovation was in its final stages, and in half a month or so, the work should be finished. There were many things she had to start thinking about in advance. Among the most important was recruiting chefs.

Currently, she was incapable of spending all day in the small restaurant’s kitchen. Not to mention that Meng’s old mother wouldn’t allow it, even she herself found the mere thought somewhat unbearable.

The child in her womb was approaching three months, and various reactions were coming along with it. Although she rarely felt nauseous and her appetite was still good, she easily felt fatigued every day. From time to time, her back ached, and standing for a while became uncomfortable. How could she endure an entire afternoon in that smoke-filled kitchen?

This was her and Meng Yuhuai’s first child; needless to say, Meng’s old mother took it very seriously, and she herself was extremely nervous. But at the same time, she did not want to just abandon the small restaurant’s business. Therefore, hiring two reliable chefs had become an urgent matter.

In the past, she often heard Master Zhao of Chunfeng Restaurant say that good chefs were hard to find, and now Hua Xiaomai truly understood this point.

In this era, there were not many channels or methods available for such purposes, and since the small restaurant was in the village next to the official road, it was not like the big restaurants in the city, where posting a job notice for a chef would result in a flock of applicants. The only viable method was to rely on word of mouth or introductions by acquaintances.

She thought that, after all, her small restaurant had managed the official "Scholars’ Banquet" and had some reputation in Fuzhe County, so there should be no shortage of willing applicants. She asked Meng Yuhuai to spread the word in the city, stating that as long as the applicant had good culinary skills, a good character, and was willing to work hard, upon employment, the salary would be competitive. She also set the place for the interviews at Zhenwei Garden. However, several days passed and not a single person showed up.

"What a worry..." In the evening, when she returned to her room to rest, she couldn’t help but complain to Meng Yuhuai.

"I don’t want to find an apprentice like Yun’er who doesn’t know anything and even needs to be taught how to hold a knife. Ideally, I want someone who already has culinary skills and just needs a little guidance, familiarizing themselves with my cooking methods and heat control, so that they can start cooking immediately. It would ensure that even when I’m not there, the taste and quality of our restaurant’s dishes won’t differ much. That would be the best. But now... We can’t even find someone half-decent, and just thinking about it makes one anxious!"

Meng Yuhuai was more even-tempered than she was, knew she was anxious, but also knew that being anxious now was useless, so he tried to amuse her with his words, saying with a smile, "The other day I heard that Master Zhao, because of the serious trouble with Chef Wei, finally bit the bullet and sent him packing after settling their accounts. Now, Chef Wei is probably still idling at home. Unless..."

"Don’t even think about it!" Hua Xiaomai knew he was joking, glared at him, and said huffily, "You’re well aware that I don’t get along with Fatty Wei. I still resent him for abducting me that time; it still makes my teeth itch with anger. Expecting me to employ him? I don’t have such a good temper! Besides, he’s prone to causing trouble. Even Master Zhao with his good nature couldn’t stand it, let alone me. If he really came, he would be picking fights with me all the time. It would be enough to drive me nuts!"

Meng Yuhuai nodded: "That’s true, so you understand that I was just talking for the sake of it."

He thought deeply for a moment, then suddenly seemed to think of something, and said quickly, "But there is someone I think might be suitable, I just don’t know what you think—do you remember Master Tan?" (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote with a recommendation ticket or monthly ticket on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)