Chef Hua
Chapter 50: Episode 42 Fake Goods

Chapter 50: Episode 42 Fake Goods

Meng Yuhuai’s intention was to indicate that Hua Xiaomai had already thanked him, and Jing Taihe and Hua Erniang had even invited him to their home for a meal, which was more than enough by way of courtesy; there was no need to send food specifically. However, to Hua Xiaomai, someone with a guilty conscience, these words seemed to carry a deeper meaning, causing her ears to heat up instantly.

What on earth does this guy mean? After all, so much time had passed, and Meng Yuhuai, being a consistently upright person, should not still be indirectly taunting her, should he?

Oh, never mind!

"These preserves and pastries were brought by my sister who insisted on giving them to you. Just accept them. If you don’t like them, you can share them with the other brothers in the Escort Agency... Right, let Uncle Ke try some too, since he’s particularly interested in various delicacies!"

After blurting out this sentence in a flurry, Hua Xiaomai immediately turned and ran back to Hua Erniang.

She ran faster than a rabbit, leaving Meng Yuhuai a bit stunned. He then smiled slightly and called out, "Then many thanks," and nodded towards Hua Erniang from a distance.

After chatting with Zuo Jinxiang for a long time until she was nearly out of saliva, Hua Erniang remembered that they should head back to Fire Knife Village earlier. So, she said goodbye to Meng Yuhuai and pulled Hua Xiaomai to leave. Just then, outside the gate of the Lianshun Escort Agency, a series of hearty laughs suddenly echoed, and soon, a chubby, merchant-looking middle-aged man strode in, all smiles.

"Old Ke, Old Ke!" the man, holding a couple of paper packages, entered the gate and didn’t greet anyone else. He just loudly called for Ke Zhenwu, "The stuff I bought has finally arrived today! A whole cartful, oh, I’ve waited so long! I’ve brought some for you, come and have a look!"

Before his voice had faded, he had already reached the stone table in the courtyard, placing the paper packages delicately on it and carefully opening them.

Responding from inside the Escort Agency, Ke Zhenwu came out roaring with laughter, "My goodness, it’s finally here. Now I can relax, saving me from your constant nagging!"

"Don’t waste words with me; look, this is genuine fish maw! I already opened it at home to check, whoa, each piece so fat and big, just a glance at them makes one happy!" That man seemed to get along very well with Ke Zhenwu, speaking in an informal and intimately familiar tone.

Hua Xiaomai, who was about to follow Hua Erniang out of the door of the Lianshun Escort Agency, paused unconsciously when she heard that the man had brought fish maw.

Even though she had studied at a Chef School for two years, such expensive ingredients were rarely used for students’ practice. Later, during her internship at a five-star restaurant, only the head chef could handle delicacies like fish maw and abalone, so she had never seen high-quality fish maw before. Caught off-guard by this mention, curiosity arose within her, and she couldn’t help but walk back a few steps, stretching her neck to look at the stone table.

"How is it, pretty good, right?" The chubby middle-aged man’s face beamed with undisguised pride as he picked up a large, slightly yellowish piece of fish maw and showed it off to Ke Zhenwu, "The fish maw from Lingxiu Prefecture is beyond comparison! Look at the size, and feel the thickness, tsk, if this were made into a dish at my restaurant, surely the customers would flock in! No wonder it’s pricey, the price is justified! Here, take another look at these spices."

With that, he opened the other paper packages, and Hua Xiaomai, astute as ever, immediately noticed that they contained cinnamon, grass fruit, star anise, and dill seeds—all essential for creating various dishes.

No wonder this chubby man looked like a merchant, so he owned a restaurant? Hua Xiaomai couldn’t help but take another look at him before turning her gaze back to the stone table, feeling a sudden thump in her heart.

She seldom saw fish maw and couldn’t differentiate between good and bad, but as for cinnamon and dill seeds, she couldn’t do without them when cooking; they could be considered her best friends, and she was very familiar with them. The various spices in those two paper packages looked exceptionally large and intact at a glance, creating the illusion "they are indeed fine products," but a closer inspection would immediately reveal something amiss.

Take the cinnamon on the table, for example. Real top-quality cinnamon is grayish-brown, with some irregular fine wrinkles and protrusions on the surface, slightly rough, while the inner side is reddish-brown and very smooth. However, although the color of the cinnamon on the stone table looked similar, its surface was very smooth and even. Indeed, such cinnamon might look appealing, but after all, it’s bark—how could it have no texture at all?

And those star anise, aptly named for the fruit usually comprising eight wide fleshy ’arms’ that end like bird beaks. Now looking at the bunch brought by that chubby man, many had only six or seven arms and were relatively slender—this product was the so-called "fake star anise" that could be poisonous!

There was definitely something wrong with these spices!

The middle-aged man continued to boast to Ke Zhenwu unabated, "Although the wait was long, I always believe in a saying, ’Fine goods are worth waiting for!’ The shopkeeper of the store in Lingxiu Prefecture was very serious and responsible, even arranging for two workers to deliver the goods! The only drawback is they don’t accept silver notes, only cash. So, I’ll need to ask your Lianshun Escort Agency people to make a trip for me, I feel relieved entrusting you with this matter!"

Ke Zhenwu stroked his beard and nodded repeatedly, "Hmm, if you trust us, I am surely bound by duty! Later, I will have Yuhuai run this errand for you, he won’t make any slip-ups!"

Madam Hua waited by the side for a long time and was getting impatient. Hearing this, she slapped Hua Xiaomai and said irritably, "What’s the matter? Can’t move when you see ingredients? We can’t afford such goods. Let’s hurry home. That’s the sensible thing to do!"

With that, she grabbed Hua Xiaomai’s arm and pulled her outside.

As Hua Xiaomai walked passively with her, the more she thought about it, the more it didn’t feel right.

She couldn’t discern the authenticity of the fish maw and knew that while it might fetch a higher price than the spices, if even the spices were fake, who could guarantee the fish maw was genuine? That chubby middle-aged man had bought a whole cartload!

It might not be her concern, but...

No! As a chef, she just couldn’t turn a blind eye to such fraudulent activities that harmed people!

"Sister, wait for me!" She could not afford to explain much but hastily instructed Madam Hua before turning around and running back to the Lianshun Escort Agency.