Chef Hua
Chapter 544: Episode 292: Expressing Gratitude with Courtesy

Chapter 544: Episode 292: Expressing Gratitude with Courtesy

Meng Yuhuai did not respond immediately; he glanced at Hua Xiaomai’s face, pondered with his head lowered for a moment, and then nodded.

"This indeed might be a good method, to avoid a direct confrontation with Sun Zhengkuan and still keep him in check. This is safer for you, and I can go to the city early tomorrow to handle some of it for you first. But..."

A slight smile appeared at the corner of his lips, "What do you mean by ’the bigger the fuss, the better’?"

"You don’t need to worry about that," Hua Xiaomai narrowed her eyes, looking profoundly mysterious, "Anyway, I will have to properly thank Sun Zhengkuan when the time comes. He has gone to great lengths to advertise for me free of charge, the poor man!"

Regardless of how Meng Yuhuai mixed gentleness with sternness, she simply refused to reveal more.

Meng had his reservations, but since he had promised to let her handle this matter herself, it was inappropriate for him to keep pestering her. He could only repeatedly and earnestly remind her not to be overly aggressive, and that had to suffice.

"Let’s hurry up and eat, and after that, I’ll take you to see something new," Hua Xiaomai smiled at him and turned into the kitchen to help Mother Meng bring the dishes out.

The family hastily gobbled down dinner, and immediately after, Hua Xiaomai and Meng Yuhuai made another trip to Zhenwei Garden.

Ordinarily, at this time, the shop would have already closed, and the workers who lived nearby would have gone home. Those like the Lei An couple who came from other places would also have settled in, locked the courtyard doors, and prepared to rest.

However, today the courtyard was brightly lit, torches flared all around, and Pan Ping’an led a group of workers back and forth in the courtyard, arranging the sauce jars that had just been retrieved from the County, ready for inspection.

Hua Xiaomai and Meng Yuhuai entered leisurely and saw Lei An coming towards them; she waved at him and smiled, "How is it, Master Lei, anything amiss?"

But Lei An’s face was a mix of laughter and tears, as he casually picked up a jar and brought it to Hua Xiaomai, shaking his head, "Take a look, I really don’t know what to say."

The people who came to make trouble today probably didn’t expect that Zhenwei Garden would actually ask for the sold sauces to be returned, and they were somewhat flustered. Those who had jars at home hurried back to tamper with them, while the rest rushed to Gui Lin Inn and randomly carried a few jars back home, inevitably adding some ingredients to make do.

Sun Zhengkuan thought to use these commoners to find trouble with Daoxiang Garden, stirring up peace occasionally, which wasn’t wrong in principle; however, he overlooked one thing.

With more people, more variables arise. Those who took his silver to make trouble were only doing so vigorously because of the money, not out of any loyalty to him; once they had another choice, why would they still cling to him?

Perhaps such actions are uncouth and not sufficiently loyal?

Stop kidding, wake up, who will recognize you once you leave the doors of Gui Lin Inn?

Hua Xiaomai looked over the jars that Lei An handed her, and couldn’t help but snort in laughter, stuffing them into Meng Yuhuai’s hands and stepping aside to hold her stomach, laughing uncontrollably.

The wisdom of the masses is indeed infinite!

In such a short period, they could come up with so many tricks, quite an achievement!

The sauces initially had no issues, but to make them appear "problematic," some tampering was necessary. Some added a vigorous amount of soy sauce and vinegar, others mixed in water, and yet others, most likely, swept up a clump of ash from their own doorsteps and dumped it in.

The dozens of jars of sauce retrieved from the Provincial City were truly a myriad of curious and entertaining variations, how could one not admire their creativity?

Meng Yuhuai casually picked a few jars to inspect and also shook his head continuously, sighing, "Isn’t this just ridiculous?"

An employee then brought over a piece of paper and said to Hua Xiaomai, "Boss, take a look. After taking the sauces from each household, we asked the person of the house to press a thumbprint beside their name, they can’t deny it."

Hua Xiaomai took it over, glanced through it briefly, nodded lightly, and then turned and smiled at Pan Ping’an, "Uncle Ping’an, everything here has been properly arranged, could I trouble you with it tomorrow?"

Pan Ping’an clearly understood her intentions and readily nodded, "Alright, isn’t it just filing a complaint? Just stay home at ease, girl. If I can’t handle this small matter, then I don’t have the face to manage things at Zhenwei Garden anymore!"

In this era, there are many taboos for women going to the Government Office to file complaints. If Hua Xiaomai were to handle this herself, it would be somewhat inconvenient; it would be simpler and more reassuring to leave it to Pan Ping’an.