Chef Hua
Chapter 89: Episode 68 Visit_2

Chapter 89: Episode 68 Visit_2

But having not seen her for over half a month, she looked like she had lost a whole circle of weight, with messy hair and a deathly pale complexion, even her lips had lost their color.

The room was filled with a strong scent of Chinese herbs; presumably, they closed all the windows tightly to prevent her from catching a cold draft, not even leaving a slit, which made the room feel somewhat stuffy.

"I heard your voice the moment you came in," Guan Rong coughed twice, smiling hoarsely, "I thought you had forgotten about me!"

"How could I?" Hua Xiaomai quickly replied earnestly, "I’d wanted to come see you sooner, but I heard from my brother-in-law that you had a fever. I thought your family must be in chaos those days. Not only would I not be able to help if I came, but I might have even caused them more trouble, so I forced myself to wait a couple more days — to say I’m heartless would be too harsh!"

"I was just teasing you, why take it seriously?!" Guan Rong’s eyes crinkled with laughter, patting the bedboard beside her, "Although I fell a bit worse this time, it’s not contagious, come over here and sit!"

Indeed, Hua Xiaomai did as told, walked over, and presented the bowl of water boiled from loquat leaves from the food container in front of her: "I heard you’ve had an asthma attack again, so I used old loquat leaves and rock sugar to boil some water. This concoction is a home remedy from my hometown, not a real medicine, but it’s quite effective for coughs and asthma. The taste might not be great, but for your health, you’ll have to hold your nose and drink it down. Later, I’ll show your mother how to make it, so you can have a bowl before bed every night to relieve some discomfort."

Guan Rong was very touched and immediately took the bowl and drank most of it, then gripped Hua Xiaomai’s fingers, earnestly saying, "Little Sister Xiaomai, you are so kind to worry about my illness like this. I’ve been bedridden for over half a month, and you’re the first person to visit me at home!"

"Why be so formal?" Hua Xiaomai smiled and winked at her, "But speaking of which, how did you fall so ill?"

Guan Rong let out a long sigh, her eyelids drooping, "This asthma of mine always flares up once in the spring and fall, I’m used to it, it’s not a big deal, but the fever was purely my own carelessness. I couldn’t sleep at night and sat up blankly, not even realizing I needed to put on a jacket, and just like that, I caught a chill on top of my illness, and the next morning I was too faint to get out of bed. Sigh, my illness almost scared my mother’s soul out of her..."

In the middle of the night, not sleeping and getting up to daydream? Could it be that she had something on her mind?

Hua Xiaomai pondered in her heart but did not ask outright, only patting Guan Rong’s hand, "You’re right, the one who worries the most about your weak constitution is your mother. I noticed earlier that she seems to have lost quite a bit of weight too!"

Guan Rong silently nodded her head, then said with a smile, "What have you been busy with lately? Are all those sauces ready? I’d thought of finding a day to go with you again to Old Lady Sun’s sweet soup stall, but falling ill like this, I’ve fallen behind on everything. She must have already gone to another village by now, hasn’t she?"

Since she hadn’t officially started selling food yet, Hua Xiaomai didn’t want to blurt it out too rashly. But today, seeing the wonderful cooking equipment Jing Taihe had made for her, she was especially happy and, without much thought, blurted out with a grin, "Old Lady Sun has indeed left the village already, but from now on, if you want to eat something at night, you won’t have trouble finding a place."

After a pause, she leaned in a little closer, whispering with mystery, "I’m planning to set up a food stall in the village."

"You..." Guan Rong gasped upon hearing this, sitting up straight in surprise. She gasped for breath too quickly due to the sudden movement, scaring Hua Xiaomai into quickly patting her back while urging, "What’s the rush, take it easy!"

Guan Rong’s face turned instantly red, hurriedly drinking the last of the loquat leaf water in one gulp, slowly catching her breath: "You’re going to set up a food stall in the village?"

"Yeah." Hua Xiaomai nodded, "I begged my second sister for ages until she finally agreed. Now my brother-in-law has finished making all the cooking gear for me, I can start any time. So, you better get well soon, I’m counting on you to try my cooking!"

"Wow, congratulations then, everyone in the village, young and old, knows you’re a great cook, once you start that stall it’s sure to be bustling with customers." Guan Rong laughed too, "But what tasty treats do you plan to sell?"

"To start with, I plan to sell noodles, and if the business goes well, I’ll add other snacks and dishes and then..." Hua Xiaomai became excited talking about it, chattering away before realizing Guan Rong seemed somewhat distracted. She nudged her gently, "Rong Sister?"

"Oh..." Guan Rong snapped out of it, smiling somewhat sadly, "It’s great, you’re younger than me, yet you’re already helping your family with their worries. Unlike me, I only cause my parents concern. Don’t worry, when your stall opens, I’ll definitely be the first to support you, and if you dare to fob me off, I won’t pay!"

Hua Xiaomai happily agreed, chatted with her for a while longer, and seeing that she seemed somewhat tired, she said her goodbyes. After describing the method for brewing the loquat leaf water to Guan Rong’s mother, she turned and headed back to the west side of the village.

Two days later, Great Saint Sun bought the stove and tables and chairs needed for the stall, Jing Taihe borrowed a cart to bring all the household items back to the Jing Family’s courtyard, and afterward, Hua Xiaomai dragged her second mother to the County to pick out several stacks of simple and clean bowls and plates.

"Is...everything almost ready?" That evening, looking at the neatly arranged household items in the courtyard, Hua’s second mother couldn’t help but rub her hands together, glancing at Hua Xiaomai somewhat nervously.

"Yeah." Hua Xiaomai felt a bit excited too, looking up at her second sister, "Tomorrow, we can start business." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)