Chef Hua
Chapter 79: Episode 63 Exploded_2

Chapter 79: Episode 63 Exploded_2

Jing Taihe sat quietly by her side for a moment, sighed deeply, and slowly said, "Little sister, there are some things that others can say, but you can’t. Aren’t you just making your second sister feel upset?"

Hua Xiaomai frowned and looked at him. "Brother-in-law, I really didn’t mean that, I just..."

"I understand, after living together for so long, I know what kind of person you are." Jing Taihe reassured her with a smile, "You and your second sister are both impulsive, and when your temper flares, you can’t control what you say. Even though your intentions are good, you end up doing bad things. Well, I will talk to your second sister. For the next few days, don’t provoke her and don’t bring up the matter of setting up the stall again. Let’s wait until she cools down."

Hua Xiaomai obediently muttered "Okay," glanced at the food on the table, and secretly sighed.

...

From that day on, Huaniang completely turned against Hua Xiaomai, not calling her to get up in the morning, nor speaking to her. After finishing various chores around the house, she would shut the door and retreat to her room, not giving Hua Xiaomai a single glance, acting as if she didn’t exist.

What was even more urgent was that the medicine brought back from the county, she truly refused to eat even a single bite, even if Jing Taihe prepared the medicine and placed it in front of her. She ignored it completely, letting the medicine cool down. After this happened a couple of times, Jing Taihe, afraid of wasting resources, dared not brew the medicine anymore, only sighing heavily with worry.

Aware that she had made a mistake, Hua Xiaomai didn’t dare to easily provoke her own second sister. After sulking in her room for two days, she thought about the sauces she had to deliver to Pan Ping’an next month, and had to pep herself up to make several trips to the low forest, bringing back five or six baskets of fresh tender peach leaves.

The last time she returned from the low forest, it was nearly dusk. Hua Xiaomai listlessly entered the courtyard and looked up to see Huaniang feeding the chickens in the corner. Possibly hearing the noise behind her, she didn’t turn her head but dropped what she was holding and headed into the house.

This cannot go on like this!

Hua Xiaomai anxiously scratched her temple, seeing Huaniang about to go inside and shut the door, she quickly mustered the courage to take a few steps to catch up, calling out, "Second sister."

Huaniang neither turned her head nor responded, but her steps faltered.

Hua Xiaomai walked up behind her, tapped her shoulder gently, and cautiously said, "Second sister, are you still angry? Isn’t it enough that I admit my mistake?"

She then heard Huaniang sigh, and then she turned around, glaring at her for a long while, and finally said coldly, "What did you do wrong?"

Willing to talk? That makes things much easier!

Hua Xiaomai quickly put on a humble expression, earnestly faulting herself, "I’m ungrateful, mistaking kindness for a donkey’s liver and lungs. You’re always thinking of me, yet I spoke carelessly and hurt your feelings."

Huaniang snorted and turned her head away.

"But, you should also try to understand me!" Hua Xiaomai continued, "I’ve always been inferior to you in every way since I was young, I’m slow, and all these years, the only thing I can be proud of is my cooking skills. Do you think everyone is as beautiful and as smart as you?"

"Tch!" Hua Erniang rolled her eyes.

... Sucking up really doesn’t seem to work, huh!

Hua Xiaomai gave it a bit of thought, then straightforwardly took two more steps forward, stepping onto the stone steps, and gently tugged at Hua Erniang’s sleeve: "You know full well that what I said had no other meaning. In the end, I’m just afraid you’d hastily set me up for marriage again. Haven’t I already told you? There’s no rush..."

"So it turns out it’s my fault now?" Hua Erniang retorted with a cold laugh.

"No no, it’s absolutely not your fault, the problem lies entirely with me." Hua Xiaomai quickly waved her hands and then sighed, "Here’s the truth, the reason I plan to set up a stall, besides wanting to earn money, is also to use my cooking skills to do more. You have no idea how satisfying it is to see people devour the dishes I cook with gusto—this satisfaction makes me happier than anything else."

Pausing for a moment, she continued: "As for setting up the stall, if you don’t agree, I won’t act recklessly. We can discuss it slowly, but you keep ignoring me. What am I supposed to do then?"

Though Hua Erniang remained silent, her expression had softened a bit.

Hua Xiaomai struck while the iron was hot: "You can be angry with me all you want, but you can’t just skip your medicine. We’ve already bought it, and it would be a real waste of money if you don’t drink it. Even if you really won’t take it, at least wait till next month! Also, although I did pick peach leaves today, I still need to buy ingredients like dried fermented black beans, soy paste, and sesame paste. All the money is in your hands. If you keep ignoring me, it will truly be too late!"

"You..." Hua Erniang opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by Hua Xiaomai raising her hand.

"Moreover, hasn’t the plot of land behind our house been turned over already? I see the weather has been warming up these past few days, and many people in the village have already started working in their fields. Shouldn’t we also hurry up and buy some vegetable seeds to plant? It’s time to sow my chili peppers, and when they bear fruit, you’ll know just how great that stuff is!"

"You..." Hua Erniang stared at her like she was a monster for a good while, frowning and said, "How can you be so thick-skinned?"

Hua Xiaomai burst into laughter: "Who am I if not your little sister?"

"Bah!" Hua Erniang spat at her, "I think you need a good spanking every three days or you’re climbing on the roof, itching for a beating! Alright, alright, I’ll hold off on arranging your marriage for now, setting up a food stall, let me think over it some more... In the end, you’re just angling for money today, right? Tomorrow morning, we’ll go into the village to buy the ingredients, okay?"

"Are you not angry anymore?" Hua Xiaomai sighed with relief, gazing at her eagerly, "If so, can we add some meat to our dinner tonight? I’m almost dying of craving!"

"That’s all you care about. If I were to be angry with you about everything, there’d never be an end!" Hua Erniang glared at her, a smile finally emerging on her face.

The squabble finally seemed to be over, and the next day Hua Erniang led Hua Xiaomai to buy the ingredients for the sauces and picked out a few types of vegetable seeds.

They reserved a corner of the vegetable garden behind the house for the chili peppers. Hua Xiaomai herself opened the dried chili peppers, poured out the seeds, and soaked them for half a day before painstakingly dispersing them into the soil and then diligently watering them according to Meng Yuhuai’s "Planting Instructions," hoping dearly that they would sprout soon. Besides making sauces, she nearly spent all her time in the vegetable garden.

Fortune seemed to smile upon them, as the weather became warmer each day. Soon, the villagers had shed their winter clothes for spring attire. About six or seven days later, Hua Xiaomai rushed to the back garden one morning and, to her surprise, discovered that tender shoots were sprouting from the soil. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote at Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)