Chef Hua
Chapter 73: Episode 60: The Scholar is Really Shabby_2

Chapter 73: Episode 60: The Scholar is Really Shabby_2

Standing by the stove, Grandma Sun didn’t say anything, but continued to smile kindly. She scooped a bowl of red bean and coix seed soup from the big bucket behind her, heated it in the pot, ready to hand it over to Wen Huaren. Hua Xiaomai couldn’t stand it anymore and swiftly stood up, striding over in a few steps, she pressed down on Wen Huaren’s hand that was about to hold the bowl.

"How can you be like this?" she looked up at the young scholar standing before her, without a second thought she blurted out, "You have the nerve to accept!"

Wen Huaren was slightly stunned, looking down at her hand: "Well... Miss, there should be no physical contact between men and women who are not related..."

Hua Xiaomai followed his gaze and immediately drew her hand back as if burned by fire, huffing: "Do you think I want to touch you? Grandma Sun is so old and the weather is so cold. She sets up a stall and does a small business. As a grown man, how can you take advantage of her for just one cent?"

"It’s not, it’s not like that..." Wen Huaren felt a bit embarrassed and hurriedly waved his hands to explain, "Miss, I’m not trying to take advantage of Grandma Sun. I really don’t have that much money! Look, I only have these five cents..." As he spoke, he truly spread his palm to show Hua Xiaomai.

Hua Xiaomai was unmoved, speaking coldly: "You can choose not to eat."

"It’s no trouble at all, Miss, no trouble at all." To the side, Grandma Sun reached out a hand, gently patting Hua Xiaomai on the shoulder, "It’s just one cent, who hasn’t faced difficult times? To see this young man with such tight finances, still thinking of coming to eat a bowl of my sweet soup, I’m actually quite pleased."

As she spoke, she waved to Wen Huaren, "Go sit and eat it while it’s hot, it won’t taste as sweet if it cools."

Since the stall owner had spoken, Hua Xiaomai couldn’t keep arguing, she glared fiercely at Wen Huaren, then turned and walked back to Guan Rong’s side, sitting down grumpily and stirring in her bowl with a spoon.

"Sister Xiaomai, don’t be angry," Guan Rong said, shaking Hua Xiaomai’s arm gently, speaking softly, "I understand you’re well-meaning, but Scholar Wen is also not having an easy time. Since Grandma Sun has agreed, let’s not waste words over it."

Hua Xiaomai didn’t reply, just shoveled a spoonful of taro paste into her mouth, and as she raised her eyelids, she saw Wen Huaren sitting near the riverside table. He too was bringing a spoonful of red bean and coix seed soup to his mouth, uttering a satisfied sigh.

"Alas, red beans that are as big as the seeds of the amaranth and white as jade, so smooth they nearly slip from the spoon, filling the room with fragrance!"

He... he actually had the nerve to recite poetry?

Hua Xiaomai indignantly threw her spoon back into the bowl.

If in the future, she really set up a stall like this one, she certainly hoped not to encounter such a type of customer!

That night, Guan Rong didn’t bring up the topic of Meng Yuhuai’s marriage proposal to Hua Xiaomai again; both of them finished their sweet soup and bid each other farewell. When Hua Xiaomai returned home, Hua Erniang had already moved the big pot used for steaming pumpkin off the stove.

Hua Xiaomai handed over the two bowls of sweet soup she brought back to her second sister, asking her to rest early in the east room while she herself busied in the kitchen for most of the night. She mashed the very soft steamed pumpkin, fried it until it was thick, added a bit of Plum Soup and Red Flower Soup, along with some flour. After cooking it down several times, she dished it out to cool outside the house.

The old pumpkin, now dyed purplish-red and frozen solid, when sliced and sprinkled with sugar, looked indistinguishable from real Hawthorn Cake. Three days later, Pan Ping’an came to pick up the goods and was overjoyed; he praised that Hua Xiaomai’s Fake Haws Cake was realistic enough to deceive anyone. He was sure it would be popular if sold at restaurants in the Provincial City.

Crispy Yellow Turnip, Almond Crisps, and Fake Haws Cake each totaling thirty catties, plus ten catties of chicken floss, came to a total of one thousand six hundred copper coins. Pan Ping’an cheerfully paid the money to Hua Xiaomai but did not rush off. Smiling broadly, he said, "Miss Hua, I have mostly inquired about the market prices of various sauces these past two days. If you’re free now, shall we discuss it further?"

Hua Xiaomai anticipated that he wouldn’t easily give up on this matter, so she nodded with a smile. The two sat in the courtyard, exchanging words till late in the day, eventually settling on the prices.

The dried fermented black beans sauce would cost twenty-five cents per catty, and the single recipe sauce would be thirty-two cents per catty. For these two sauces, Pan Ping’an would take forty catties each; as for sesame and fairy sauces, mostly used for cold dishes, Pan Ping’an offered thirty cents per catty for only twenty catties. In total, the amount came to three thousand four hundred and eighty cents.

Although these prices still could not compete with the top-quality goods from the old and established sauce shops in the Provincial City, they were still more than acceptable in a lower-tier market. Hua Xiaomai was quite satisfied in her heart, so she saw no point in haggling any further with Pan Ping’an. They made a quick agreement, as before drew up a contract, and decided that Pan Ping’an would pay two strings of coins upfront, with the remaining one thousand four hundred and eighty cents to be paid upon delivery.

With the anticipation of a substantial new income for the household, both Hua Erniang and Jing Taihe were very happy, and Hua Xiaomai herself couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. However, she understood that making the deal meant that in the months ahead she would be extremely busy. Not only did she have to finish making the sauces promptly, she also had to find time to thoroughly plan for setting up her stall.

How much would it cost to buy the necessary cookware and furniture, where the most suitable location for the stall would be, and what kind of food she should sell — all these matters were both trivial and complicated and needed careful consideration. Moreover, she didn’t know whether Hua Erniang would agree to her plan; she may well have to waste her energy in persuasion.

But before that, there seemed to be one thing she had long considered that ought to be dealt with first. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it with recommendation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

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