Chef Hua
Chapter 51: Episode 43: Tricked

Chapter 51: Episode 43: Tricked

By the time Hua Xiaomai returned to Lianshun Escort Agency, Ke Zhenwu and the chubby middle-aged man from earlier were no longer in the courtyard. Zuo Jinxiang was chasing an agency worker named Dazhong, berating him loudly while Dazhong, without talking back, just smiled and ran ahead, dodging.

This kind of scene was almost a daily performance at Lianshun Escort Agency, and no one took it seriously anymore; nobody stepped forward to intervene, and they all stood by with their arms folded, loudly jeering and laughing.

Meng Yuhuai stood in the corridor with a helpless smile on his lips, also watching this scene unfold when he suddenly saw Hua Xiaomai rushing back anxiously.

Last time, when she couldn’t find Guan Rong during the heavy rain, she had barged into the escort agency like a headless fly seeking help. Today... Could she have lost her elder sister again?

With this thought in mind, Meng Yuhuai’s smile deepened a bit. He didn’t hurry forward to inquire but unconsciously stood a bit straighter.

Hua Xiaomai looked around bewilderedly, not seeing the portly middle-aged man, just as Zuo Jinxiang shot past her like a gust of wind. She hurriedly stretched out her hand but grabbed at nothing as Zuo Jinxiang had already darted far away.

"Sister-in-law Zuo!" she exclaimed with a mixture of laughter and tears.

"Miss Xiaomai, why have you come back?" Zuo Jinxiang was energetically pursuing Dazhong and had no time to pay attention to Hua Xiaomai, but she glanced back amidst her busyness and said with a smile, "Wait a moment, as soon as I’ve taken care of this rascal, I’ll come and talk to you!"

As she spoke, she clenched her teeth and said fiercely, "This bastard, if you don’t discipline him for one day, he’ll try to shit on your head!"

"I... Oh dear!" Hua Xiaomai couldn’t help but stamp her foot in frustration.

How could Sister-in-law Zuo be just like Second Madame Hua? She was here for serious business! If she delayed any longer, that chubby man might end up penniless!

Scanning the surroundings again, she finally noticed Meng Yuhuai in the corridor, glancing her way unintentionally or intentionally. Hesitating for a moment, she bit the bullet and walked over quickly, standing at the foot of the stairs and looking up at him, she furrowed her brow and spoke in a low voice, "Meng Family’s elder brother, where is the man who just came to show Uncle Ke the fish maw and various spices? Has he already left?"

Meng Yuhuai had not expected her to come back specifically to ask this; somewhat surprised, he paused and then said, "Zhao laoye? He went to the back courtyard with Uncle Ke... Why, do you have something to find him for?"

"So his surname is Zhao?" thought Hua Xiaomai, realizing that she couldn’t easily enter Lianshun Escort Agency’s back courtyard by herself and would need Meng Yuhuai’s assistance. Naturally, she should explain the whole situation clearly to him, so she quickly nodded and said, "Right before my sister and I left earlier, we ran into him coming in. Since his paper wrap contained culinary ingredients, I took a closer look, and he..."

At this point, she looked around and lowered her voice even further: "I feel that, some of the spices he brought might be problematic."

Meng Yuhuai, knowing Hua Xiaomai’s insight into culinary matters, wouldn’t take her words lightly. He immediately came down from the corridor, descended a few steps, and stood in front of her, asking seriously, "Oh? What do you mean?"

Hua Xiaomai imperceptibly took a half step back and calmly said, "Fish maw, those things are expensive, and I had never seen them before, so I shouldn’t rashly judge, but I am certain that all those spices like cinnamon, grass fruit, and dill seeds are fake. Especially the fake star anise which, if put into food, is harmful rather than beneficial! Though these things may not be worth much on their own, a whole cartful is not cheap at all, and besides..."

"Spices are all fake, how can the fish maw be trusted?" Meng Yuhuai understood immediately, his face also showing a few more signs of worry, "The ingredients were specially brought in from Lingxiu Prefecture by Elder Zhao. He spent a lot of money on them. If there really is a problem..."

"That’s exactly my point!" Hua Xiaomai, who had by now thrown the earlier awkwardness between them out of consideration, nodded again and again, "Sigh, I just don’t understand. That Elder Zhao, since he’s in the food business and even runs a large restaurant, how can he not distinguish between the real and the fake?"

Meng Yuhuai glanced at her and said, "Elder Zhao is the owner of Chunfeng Restaurant. According to Uncle Ke, he may love gourmet food, but he is basically a layman. He leaves the procurement of ingredients and other assorted tasks to the Shopkeepers and chefs of the restaurant. Perhaps because he grew up in a family where money was never an issue, he has always been a bit extravagant. On a previous trip to Lingxiu Prefecture, he bought all these ingredients, mostly on a whim."

So... Elder Zhao is actually Fatty Wei’s boss? Previously, when Meng Yuhuai stood up for her in front of Fatty Wei, he made it clear that if Fatty Wei wanted revenge, he could simply find him—although Elder Zhao and Ke Zhenwu seemed to be old friends who had known each other for a long time, wouldn’t this poorly handled situation potentially affect their families’ relationship?

Hua Xiaomai felt a bit scared in hindsight, thinking luckily that Fatty Wei was useless, or else she would have really caused trouble for Meng Yuhuai. However, the current situation didn’t allow her to dwell on those thoughts. She refocused on the matter at hand: "If that’s the case, didn’t the other people in Chunfeng Restaurant notice anything wrong?... That’s right, today when my sister and I entered the city, although it was already past the fifth, many shops were still closed. Probably the chefs and Shopkeepers of Chunfeng Restaurant are still resting at home, right?"

This meant that the shop in Lingxiu Prefecture had most likely chosen this time to deliver the ingredients specifically because they took advantage of Elder Zhao’s ignorance. It was also for this reason that they insisted on cash instead of silver notes, to prevent Chunfeng Restaurant from realizing there was something wrong with the ingredients and immediately cancelling the silver notes, making them uncollectible!

"This is swindling!" Hua Xiaomai couldn’t help but mutter, then looked up at Meng Yuhuai, urgently saying, "Big Brother Meng, I overheard Elder Zhao saying that he wants to hire Lianshun Escort Agency to help transport the payment. Could you please talk to him for me, tell him there might be a problem with the ingredients, and ask him not to rush into paying? He should find a reliable person to check first?"

Meng Yuhuai looked at her face and pondered, "The issues with the cinnamon, grass fruit, and other spices were picked up by you, and you are an expert. It would be better for you to speak on this. Elder Zhao is still in the back garden. How about you come with me and we tell him the whole story clearly? This way we can avoid any misunderstandings or omissions, how does that sound?"

"That works, but my sister..." Hua Xiaomai hesitated and couldn’t help but look back toward the direction of the gate.

Sister-in-law Zuo was still waiting outside. She had delayed for so long that her hot-tempered sister would surely blow her top!

"Don’t worry, I’ll have someone inform Sister Zuo to come in and wait patiently in the Escort Agency," Meng Yuhuai had already thought this through and promptly had Zuo Jinxiang go out to deliver the message to Sister-in-law Zuo.

Hua Xiaomai felt somewhat reassured and followed him straight into the Escort Agency’s back garden and once again explained the entire situation to both Elder Zhao and Ke Zhenwu.

"This... can’t be, right?" Upon hearing this, Elder Zhao was first startled, then beads of fine sweat began to form on his forehead.

"I still maintain what I said before, I can’t recognize the fish maw, but those spices are definitely fake, without a doubt," Hua Xiaomai declared with conviction, "So, please, you must not just simply release the payment. In the end, it will be your own loss!"

"What should I do, what should I do?" Elder Zhao paced around the garden several times, his palms loudly slapping together, then he turned a hopeful gaze towards Hua Xiaomai, "I brought in a whole cartload of ingredients, could it be that there’s just some low-quality goods mixed in by chance? Miss, since you’re so familiar with spices, would you be willing to come to my place to help me take a closer look?"