Chef Hua
Chapter 84: Episode 66 Agreed

Chapter 84: Episode 66 Agreed

Chun Xi and La Mei had been sitting in the Jing Family’s courtyard for a long time, eating quite a few melon seeds and fava beans, and chatting about so many things that their lips had swollen up. Initially, Hua Erniang found it interesting, but as time passed, she grew a bit impatient. Given their usually good relationship, she couldn’t just kick them out the door, so she had to sit there reluctantly, her smile growing increasingly stiff.

Hua Xiaomai was sent back to the western room with nothing to do, so she sat at the table playing with her fingers, bored. In her mind, she memorized recipes.

She wondered, "When will those two sisters-in-law leave? Jing Taihe will be back from the smithy soon, and I need to start preparing dinner." There was still a piece of pork in the house, half fat and half lean. Should she chop it up and stuff it with a lump of pork fat to make hollow meatballs, or mix it with fried rice flour and bean paste to steam as steamed pork with rice flour?

The more she thought about it, the hungrier she felt, ending up drooling and with her stomach growling. She hastily diverted her thoughts and recalled the conversations she had with Chun Xi and La Mei.

It seemed, Meng Yuhuai had indeed had a big fight with his mother. Their house was so noisy last night; did it disturb Guan Rong next door? Was she secretly pleased, or even more worried and tied in knots?

Ah well, why bother with other people’s business?

Hua Xiaomai’s thoughts merely grazed the issue before drifting far away.

As the sun set, the two young wives in the courtyard finally realized it was rather late. One exclaimed, "I need to rush back to feed the baby," and the other kept saying, "Oh no, I’ve missed the time to start cooking," as they hurriedly said goodbye to Hua Erniang and scampered off.

Only then did Hua Xiaomai regain her freedom. She crawled out from the western room, giggled at the helplessly standing Hua Erniang in the middle of the courtyard, and darted into the kitchen.

After dinner, Hua Erniang, as usual, drank the medicine Jing Taihe had prepared for her. While washing the dishes, she slowly relayed today’s conversations with Chun Xi and La Mei to Jing Taihe, carefully omitting their comments about "figure" and only mentioned that this time, both mother and son were probably very upset. She suggested Jing Taihe talk to Meng Yuhuai when he had the chance.

"It’s someone else’s business, naturally none of our concern, but Big Brother of the Meng Family has always been on good terms with you, and he has helped your sister several times. You talking to him is just our way of showing we care. What he thinks is his business, but anyhow, his mother surely cares deeply for him and has his best interests at heart. The two of them have depended on each other for so many years; why should they fuss at each other like enemies?"

Jing Taihe smiled and agreed, saying he would definitely talk to Meng Yuhuai whenever he saw him. However, from that day onwards, Meng Yuhuai did not return to Fire Knife Village for a long time.

The vegetable patch behind the house gradually sprouted tender shoots; Hua Xiaomai’s prized chili plants had already grown several new leaves, looking more robust. Although she wasn’t as overly excited as when she first saw the chili plants sprout, she still didn’t slack off at all. She pulled out weak seedlings and trimmed bad leaves, busily and happily working; in a few days, she brought back some bean cake residue to mix into the soil, taking great care of them.

The big jars and small pots in the Jing Family’s courtyard gradually emitted a rich aroma of soy sauce, and life was as calm as water. One morning, Hua Xiaomai got up and was about to check on her chili plants as usual but was stopped by Hua Erniang.

"Your brother-in-law only told me last night that the Guan Family’s young daughter is sick," she said slowly. "Her father went to the smithy yesterday to repair some farm tools and mentioned it while chatting with your brother-in-law. Your brother-in-law said he seemed quite worried."

"Guan Rong is sick?" Hua Xiaomai was genuinely surprised, frowning, "How long has she been ill, and is it serious?"

"It’s been about ten days now," Hua Erniang shook her head and sighed. "According to her father, her asthma is especially severe in the spring. One night, she accidentally caught a chill, and since then, she has been bedridden and hasn’t improved. She even started running a fever in the past few days. I thought, considering how close you two are, maybe you should go and see her?"

Hua Xiaomai pondered for a moment, then bit her lip and said, "I should go and check on her, but with her running a fever these last few days, her family must be frantic. If I go now, it would just be another distraction for her parents to deal with, making more trouble for them. I might as well wait a couple of days until she’s feeling a bit better, then go and chat with her to cheer her up."