Chef Hua
Chapter 53 - 45: Discovery of Chili

Chapter 53: Chapter 45: Discovery of Chili

As soon as these words came out, the young lad immediately recoiled in shock, his mouth forming a perfect circle, unable to utter even an "ah" for quite a while.

"Oh—" Hua Xiaomai suddenly seemed to realize, looking regretful as she patted her forehead and offered the young man an apologetic smile, "Look at my mind! How could I carelessly let you taste something that could endanger your life? Ah, it’s all my fault!"

She pffft discarded the fake star anise aside and casually picked up a piece of cinnamon, handing it back to the young man with an innocent and adorable grin, "Here, why don’t you try this instead! I can guarantee that eating this won’t threaten your life, at worst you might just lose your sight or hearing, or maybe... even though you have a mouth, from now on, you can only be a silent gourd!"

When the young man heard Hua Xiaomai say that he needn’t eat the fake star anise anymore, the high anxiety in his heart began to fall little by little, but he then saw a piece of cinnamon thrust before him, which made his heart sour, almost to the point of tears. Not wanting to show weakness in front of everyone, he clenched his teeth tightly, stepped back twice, and desperately gestured to Hua Xiaomai with his hands.

Hua Xiaomai’s face changed, and she flicked the piece of cinnamon in her fingers towards him, which landed with a smack at his feet, "You don’t even dare to eat the spices sold in your own shop, which shows the kind of business you usually run, cheating people to earn unscrupulous money, utterly shameless!"

Before she crossed timelines, she’d heard of selling fake food ingredients or substituting inferior goods for good ones, but she never expected that in this seemingly simple and honest era, such deception would occur. It made her unavoidably angry, as the reputation of the food industry was ruined by these scoundrels!

Old Master Zhao was so infuriated that he was left puffing and panting. At this moment, another clerk from the dried goods shop came over, apologizing with a smile and a submissive tone, "Old Master Zhao, and this young lady, uh... the two of us are just clerks working in the shop, earning some money to support our families. We really don’t know what kind of goods the boss is selling, this..."

"Hmm, is that so?" Hua Xiaomai glanced at him disdainfully and said with a cold laugh, "Just before you were boasting that everything in your shop was of the highest quality, but now when you see the tide turning, you’re quick to wash your hands of the matter, which of your statements are we supposed to believe? Fine, even if you two are just following orders in the shop, the fact that the boss has entrusted you with such a big deal shows that you must be very capable assistants on normal days, right? If you want to clear your names, you’d better spill everything about this matter now!"

The two men knew they could not escape their predicament that day, their morale was gone, and they hung their heads listlessly, remaining silent.

"You little scoundrels, spit it out! You dared to swindle my money; it seems you’re sick of living!" Old Master Zhao was so angry that his beard trembled. Forgetting manners and decorum, he blurted out a curse. After catching his breath, he turned to Hua Xiaomai, speaking warmly, "Miss, I am truly grateful for your help today. If it weren’t for you, I would have suffered a great loss! As for these two, I’ll take them to the County Government tomorrow. Once this is settled, I will definitely prepare a generous gift and personally pay you a visit to thank you!"

"You’re too kind," Hua Xiaomai said, also sighing in relief, with a slight smile, "I just happen to have an interest in culinary arts and know a little bit. I believe that even if another expert were here today, they would not stand idly by. You don’t have to thank me, but my older sister is currently waiting at Lianshun Escort Agency, and as it’s getting late, if there’s nothing else, I’d like to take my leave."

Old Master Zhao agreed repeatedly, while also calling to a servant nearby, "Hurry and escort this young lady out properly!"

The two clerks from the dried goods shop had already been restrained, and it seemed unlikely there would be any physical altercations. Ke Zhenwu thought for a moment and then turned to Meng Yuhuai, "Yuhuai, you go back to the Escort Agency with Xiaomai. Arranged for two men to escort her and Miss Hua back to Fire Knife Village."

Meng Yuhuai was slightly stunned, seemingly at a loss for a moment. He glanced at Ke Zhenwu, his eyebrows lightly furrowed, but eventually, he followed orders and moved behind Hua Xiaomai, clearing his throat, "Let’s go."

Ugh... That feeling as if needles were pricking her back returned... Hua Xiaomai stealthily stuck out her tongue and quickly nodded, briskly running outside.

Walking from the back door of Zhao’s residence to the front yard, one passed through a garden. In the early spring, most of the flowers were not yet blooming, but the tender buds had sprouted, the fresh yellows and greens were adorable from afar.

To avoid awkwardness, Hua Xiaomai only focused on walking quickly, leaving Meng Yuhuai behind. But no matter how fast she rushed, his footsteps always followed unhurriedly five steps behind her.

"Miss Xiaomai," after a while, Meng Yuhuai suddenly called out to her.

Hua Xiaomai turned around, "Hmm? What’s the matter?"

"I wanted to ask you..." Meng Yuhuai said, smiling awkwardly, "those fake spices, are they really that poisonous?"

"How could they be!" Hua Xiaomai shook her head incredulously, "That fake cinnamon, I have no idea what it’s made of, how could I know if it’s poisonous? As for that fake star anise, it does have some toxicity, but it’s also a medicinal herb, so it’s not easily fatal. Those two guys didn’t say a single true word, so I had to scare them a bit, right?"

She raised her chin proudly, and Meng Yuhuai followed with a slight smile. They walked on for a few more steps, and then, out of the corner of her eye, Hua Xiaomai suddenly caught a glimpse of green in the roadside flowerbed and exclaimed, "Eh," bending down to take a closer look.

It was a plant in a pot, with extremely fine soft hairs on the stem and slightly pointed oval leaves. If one got close enough, one could smell a faint spicy scent, so weak that it was not easily detected.

This... this is chili pepper?!

There was a female teacher at the Chef School who, in her leisure time, took great pleasure in gardening. Unlike others who cultivated flowers and grass, she had a penchant for planting vegetables. Hua Xiaomai had seen chili plants in her garden, so when she laid eyes on them now, the recollection instantly struck her.

My goodness... Since the time she’d time-traveled, Hua Xiaomai had been vexed by the absence of chilies when cooking, only to surprisingly discover them here today! Master Zhao had planted this chili in the flower bed, which meant he regarded it merely as an ornament?

Well, although ripe chilies are indeed vibrantly red and beautiful, Hua Xiaomai still felt as if the words "wasting natural resources" were stuck in her throat, unspoken and suffocating.

What a waste of heaven’s gifts!

"What’s the matter?" Seeing her suddenly squat down, Meng Yuhuai initially thought she had a stomachache and hurriedly followed her, but when he saw her fixated on a green "plant," he smiled and said, "That’s chili."

"You recognize it?" Hua Xiaomai turned and looked at him abruptly.

"I did not at first, but I learned of it when I accompanied Uncle Ke to the Zhao Family on a visit a while ago," Meng Yuhuai nodded. "It’s from foreign lands. A distant relative of Master Zhao gave him two pots. Master Zhao said that in June or July, they would bear red fruit that looks very pretty... Why are you staring at it? Is something amiss?"

"No, not at all!" Hua Xiaomai was very excited, suddenly standing up and blurting out, "This... chili, I’ve seen it once before. Its fruit has a very spicy taste, and I think, it could possibly be used in cooking!"

"You like it very much?" Meng Yuhuai glanced at her face.

Hua Xiaomai nodded vigorously, but then sighed heavily, "I do like it, but I know that not only is this thing expensive, it’s simply unobtainable, even with money—out of reach for common folk like us. I can only look at it... Let’s go."

Having said this, she took one more reluctant look at the chili plant and walked away.

...

The two shop assistants from the dry goods store of Lingxiu Prefecture were sent to the County Government by Master Zhao the next day. Upon investigation, it was found that not only were all the spices fake, but the so-called "fish maw" was the lowest grade of inferior goods. Although Master Zhao had been deceived, fortunately, he sustained no financial loss. He sighed and lamented for a long time, then decided to drop the matter altogether.

About half a month later, a messenger from the grand Zhao Family residence in Fuzhe County arrived, stating that Master Zhao was hosting a banquet at home and inviting Hua Xiaomai’s family to partake in the "Spring Wine" as a gesture of gratitude. To show sincerity, the messenger also brought many gifts such as silk fabrics and tea leaves as a thank you present.

Hua Xiaomai was reluctant to have too much interaction with such a wealthy family and made the excuse that, being a young lady, it was inconvenient for her, so she sent Jing Taihe to attend the banquet while she, along with her mother, rummaged through the house for several large urns.

She had planned before the new year that come spring, she would make several varieties of sauces at home. Firstly, it would enhance the flavors of their dining table, and secondly, it could let Pan Ping’an inquire in the restaurants of the Provincial City if there was interest in buying, potentially bringing an additional source of income to the family. Taking advantage of the good weather, they collected well water to thoroughly clean the urns and planned to gather tender peach leaves from the low woods outside the village in a couple of days to start making the "Fairy Sauce".

Jing Taihe only returned home in the evening close to "Shen" time, seemingly having consumed quite a bit of alcohol. His body reeked of liquor, his face was flushed red, and his steps were a bit unsteady. Hua’s mother helped him into the house and handed him a cup of tea. He then chuckled and called out loudly to Hua Xiaomai, who was picking vegetables in the kitchen, "Little sister, Yuhuai is outside. He says he’s got something for you!"

"For me?" Hua Xiaomai poked her head out of the kitchen.

Meng Yuhuai looking for her, what could it be about? Why hadn’t he come in?

She frowned slightly, dried her hands, swiftly untied her apron, and ran out, only to see Meng Yuhuai standing outside the courtyard, hands clasped behind his back, looking off into the distance with an air of awkwardness.

"Meng Family elder brother, you were looking for me?" Hua Xiaomai ran up to him and asked with a puzzled look.

"Uh, yes, something." Meng Yuhuai turned around, nodded, and said, "Uncle Ke mentioned that the Escort Agency plans to hold a Spring Wine banquet in a few days. He’d like to invite you to take charge of the cooking then. I’m here to see if you’re available and to ask in advance. Also..."

He extended his hand from behind his back and presented it to Hua Xiaomai: "This is for you."