Chef Hua
Chapter 532: Episode 286: Swindler_2

Chapter 532: Episode 286: Swindler_2

It’s not that Hua Xiaomai indiscriminately defends her disciple out of bias; however, since she has taken on this disciple and has been with her for so long, basic trust must exist.

Therefore, the real purpose of these two people here today is indeed difficult to determine at this point.

Pan Ping’an was already annoyed by the woman tugging at his sleeve, and now seeing Hua Xiaomai arrive, he hastily shook off her hand and said loudly, "Who’s deceiving you? This is our legitimate employer! This Sauce Garden and the Daoxiang Garden you visited today, they all belong to her! If you don’t believe it, just go ask around in the village and see if we’re just brushing you off!"

Hua Xiaomai also nodded, "That’s right, I am the owner of Daoxiang Garden. If you have something to say, talk to me."

Upon hearing this, the woman became agitated and pulled the man up, pointing at his stomach, "Just look, look at this! A person in perfectly good health, who doesn’t even sneeze once all year round, has now become like this just because he ate something from your stall at the door; you must give me an explanation! With such big shops as yours, I know you have silver, and you might even know many nobles, but I’m not afraid of you!"

"What’s all the fuss?" Hua Xiaomai scanned the man’s face disinterestedly and smiled, "If I really didn’t intend to deal with you, do you think you two could’ve made such a scene here for so long? Look at the workers in my shop; there are more than the two of you. If they really were determined to throw you out, could you have stayed calmly until now?"

The Great Saint chuckled, "Indeed! I say, sister-in-law, you really can make a scene. The shop is right here, it can’t run away, I really don’t understand why you’re shouting so loudly, afraid that others won’t hear you?"

The woman turned and glared at him, then turned back to face Hua Xiaomai, "Since you’re going to deal with it, give me an explanation. What exactly do you plan to do today?"

"What do you want to do?" Hua Xiaomai smiled at her, "There’s a doctor in the village; shall I send someone to fetch him right now to take a look at this gentleman? Don’t worry about the consultation fee and the cost of medicine; I’ll cover it."

"I don’t need a doctor!" the man sitting on the ground immediately shook his head like a rattle-drum, "You’re all from the same village, needless to say, you must be covering for each other; can I get fair treatment?"

"Indeed, if I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t feel at ease either," Hua Xiaomai nodded in agreement, leaning in slightly as if with great concern, "But brother, aren’t you suffering badly? Just enduring it like this, isn’t that a problem?"

"Ah, don’t you worry about it!"

Before the man could respond, the woman beside him pulled on Hua Xiaomai.

"We are just small traders, working from dawn till dusk, barely earning enough to put food on the table, nothing compared to you. This trip was meant for delivering goods, but now we’ve wasted so much time here in your village, and it looks like we can’t deliver the goods on time. You need to compensate us! You... give me ten taels of silver, and we’ll consider this matter settled, and we won’t come looking for you again!"

Ha, ten taels? If this isn’t extortion, Hua shall be written backwards!

Hua Xiaomai smiled faintly and turned to Pan Ping’an, "Uncle Ping’an, I came here in a hurry and didn’t bring any money. Please cover it for the shop first, and I’ll have someone send it over later, so the account can be settled."

Pan Ping’an frowned slightly, leaned in a bit, and whispered, "Xiaomai girl, you better think this through. If we give this money, we may as well be admitting to today’s incident, that..."

"Regardless of whether we give the money or not, she will have a say; let’s just send them off first," Hua Xiaomai also whispered.

Pan Ping’an agreed and went to find the cashier. Soon after, he actually came running back with a money box.

Hua Xiaomai picked out two strings of cash from inside and offered it to the woman, "I don’t have ten taels, only this much is available. You can either take it or not expect a single coin; it’s up to you."

The woman seemed somewhat reluctant, glanced back at the Great Saint and a few young workers behind her, muttered something under her breath, but ultimately accepted the money.

"I’m not one of those unreasonable people. Seeing as you still show sincerity... it’s just our bad luck!"

"Then thank you," Hua Xiaomai politely said to her, then her tone changed as if offhandedly, "By the way, sister-in-law, you mentioned earlier that you and this gentleman are in business together? Is it just the two of you as a couple?"

"Isn’t that obvious?" the woman replied without thinking, "Small business barely feeds a few mouths at home; where do we have extra money to hire help? We are not like you with two big shops; pulling out even a single hair from your shop is thicker than our waists!"

"Oh, earlier, it seemed I heard you say that this trip was for delivering goods; having been delayed so long in our village, then... where are the goods?"

Hua Xiaomai said blandly.

Right from the moment she entered the gate of Zhenwei Garden, she had observed carefully—though these two were dressed as traveling merchants, they were empty-handed; not to mention any goods, they didn’t even have a single piece of luggage with them.

Running a business with bare hands, this was indeed the first time she had encountered such a thing in her life; how eye-opening!

Upon hearing this, the woman suddenly looked stunned, and the man sitting on the ground also instantly gaped.

After a good while, the two of them put on an impatient look and said gruffly, "What’s it to you? Where we put our goods is none of your business! As long as we don’t come to bother you in the future, that’s all there is to it!"

Before the sound of their words had faded, the man was already getting up from the ground in pain, being supported by the woman. They left the courtyard hunched and bowed, disappearing in a flash.

Hua Xiaomai sneered and beckoned, calling over the little rascal.

"Go, follow them, and see where exactly they’re headed." (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket, monthly ticket; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)