Chef Hua
Chapter 534: Episode 287 Unfinished_2

Chapter 534: Episode 287 Unfinished_2

Sun Wukong nodded, "That’s why I asked you if you had offended anyone recently. The more I think about it, the stranger it seems."

"Who could I possibly offend?" Hua Xiaomai replied without thinking, sighing, "Great Saint, do you not understand? I barely have the chance to even go to the city, and ever since Daoxiang Garden reopened, I’ve been tied up with business at the shop all day, and haven’t..."

Wait a moment.

She suddenly stopped.

Could it be that the problem lay precisely with the word "business"? As Daoxiang Garden grew larger, had it gotten in the way of certain people’s interests, causing them to look for an opportunity to give her a hard time?

"In any case, you should still be more careful lately."

Sun Wukong saw that she had stopped mid-sentence and guessed that she might have thought of something. He did not probe further but earnestly instructed, "Considering your current inconvenience, you must not be too stubborn when encountering issues. When Yuhuai returns, talk to him about it. He handles matters judiciously and has a clear head. With him taking care of things, you can relax quite a bit. If you need help, just say the word."

Hua Xiaomai smiled and thanked him, "Then I’ll head back to Daoxiang Garden first. When Little Rat comes back later, Great Saint, please tell him not to dawdle and to come straight to the shop to find me."

Sun Wukong heartily agreed, "You can count on that," and after seeing her out, he went to Sauce Garden to get busy.

...

Little Rat was nimble and quick on his feet. Entrusting him with the task of tailing the man and woman was a most fitting choice.

After Hua Xiaomai returned to Daoxiang Garden, only enough time for a meal had passed when the boy came running back, panting heavily as if he had run quite a distance. Upon entering, he rushed to the teapot on the table and fiercely gulped down the tea in one breath.

Under normal circumstances, without Hua Xiaomai even needing to say anything, Chun Xi would have certainly scolded him, but today she could not afford the distraction. She let him drink the teapot dry and immediately grabbed him to ask, "How did it go, where did those two go?"

Little Rat wiped his mouth and looked at Hua Xiaomai with furrowed brows, "Those two are quite alert. After leaving the entrance of our Sauce Garden, they walked around for a bit before sneaking out of the village. And they didn’t head onto the official road but left through the west entrance of the village."

The west entrance? So, does that mean they entered the city?

The conjecture Hua Xiaomai had earlier became even more convincing with Little Rat’s statement. She couldn’t help grinding her teeth fiercely, "How long did you follow them?"

"How dare I come back without figuring out where they went?" Little Rat spread his hands as if proud of his achievement, then suddenly seeing Hua Xiaomai’s face looking like a storm was about to break, with no intention of joking with him, he stuck out his tongue.

"Following behind them, I entered Fuzhe County. They went straight into Tiancheng Street, and in the midst of the crowd, they dodged and weaved... and then... disappeared..."

"Smack!" Chun Xi had no qualms about slapping him on the forehead, "You made me think you had the whole thing figured out, but it turns out you’re still half-baked! Tian Sheng Street is so big, where do you expect us to start looking for people?"

The little wretch winced in pain and quickly shrank back, a face full of grievance: "How would I dare to brush off something the boss has tasked me with? If I could have followed them all the way, I would have, no question about it! But... there are just too many people around the Tian Sheng Street area, jostling and bumping into each other, and with one wrong glance, I lost them..."

Chun Xi was too annoyed to scold him again, but Hua Xiaomai held her back.

"That’s enough, sister-in-law, the little wretch is still young, he’s done his best, it’s not his fault." She advised softly, then bit her lip.

Tian Sheng Street is the most densely-packed area for the food industry in the whole of Fuzhe County. Not only is Zhao Laoye’s Chunfeng Restaurant located there, but several other well-known eateries are also situated in that vicinity. The fact that that man and woman headed straight for Tian Sheng Street was telling in itself.

If her guess was correct, those two were just hired help. Today’s incident was probably the doing of industry peers who couldn’t stand to see her taking the limelight and making money. They must have come specially to send bad luck her way!

Picking exactly the time when Lady Magistrate Tao was visiting to cause trouble, their hearts were truly vicious!

She was absolutely livid, her anger reaching the top of her head, feeling like her crown chakra was about to split, and she wished she could rush out right then and there, pull those scheming in the shadows out into the open, and give them a good kicking. But... the little wretch was right, Tian Sheng Street was vast, with so many eateries; how could she know who was tripping her up from behind?

This was truly... as the saying goes, one isn’t afraid of the thief stealing, but of the thief thinking, and if it had just been once or twice, she might have let it be. But what she feared was them not succeeding this time, feeling resentful, and then coming up with new ways to cause trouble!

"You go back first," she instructed the little wretch and sent him on his way. She then sat by the table, brooding, feeling like a huge stone was stuck in her chest, unable to dispel the turbid qi inside her no matter what.

Meng Yuhuai’s mother had been sitting to the side, listening to the conversation with pricked ears. Seeing Hua Xiaomai in such a state, she chuckled and rolled her eyes, "Such a minor issue, and you’re fretting over it like this? I know you’re not capable, but my son is not a pushover. He wouldn’t just stand by and do nothing, would he?"

Hua Xiaomai glanced at her.

Of course, she had to discuss the matter with Meng Yuhuai and not keep it from him, but... with the Escort Agency’s business already keeping him busy, how could she expect him to step in and fight her battles every single time?

"Yun’er." She thought for a moment, then turned to look at Zhou Yunyun who was still somewhat shivering and looking pitiful, "Today’s incident has nothing to do with you. You shouldn’t be so jittery. You are still in charge of the takeaway stall at the door, and with supper time nearing, you should go and start the preparations. As for the others..."

Her gaze swept over the faces of the employees in the shop, and with a grave voice, she said, "In the coming days, I ask everyone to be more careful, not to make mistakes and give people a handle on us. If there’s an incident like today or if any other suspicious situations arise, you must tell me immediately, understood?"

The one plotting against her was hiding in the shadows while she was plainly out in the full sun. Before figuring out who was behind these tricks, what else could she do but be more cautious and careful?

And indeed, Hua Xiaomai’s worries were not unfounded—this affair was far from over. (To be continued. If you like this work, please feel free to go to Qidian (qidian.com) and cast your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users can visit m.qidian.com to read.)