Chef Hua
Chapter 90 - 69: Grand Opening

Chapter 90: Chapter 69: Grand Opening

The next evening, as darkness was about to fall but had not fully descended, a few early stars twinkled in the dusky blue sky.

Many diligent farmers had just set down their work in the fields to head home, carrying their hoes. Passing by the riverside, they discovered a new small food stall.

There were three or four tables and chairs, a pair of sturdy charcoal stoves, a tung oil lantern placed beside the chopping board. In the corner, neatly stacked were greens, green onions, ginger, and other items, and on the ground were several soup pots with lids, so one couldn’t see what was inside.

The stall looked tidy and efficient, and a few especially curious folks stopped in their tracks, craning their necks to look over.

Hua Xiaomai heated a pot of water, took a piece of rested dough from the basin, and quickly rolled it out into a thin pancake with a rolling pin. With a few "chop chop chop" motions, she sliced it into fine noodles and tossed them into the boiling water. She then moved a wok to another stove, stoked the fire to make it more vigorous, and ladled some soup stock from a pot behind her into it.

Hand-pulled noodles cooked quickly, boiling up almost immediately and then served into bowls. The fire under the broth roared, bubbles gradually simmered up in the wok, and the rich aroma swiftly dispersed in all directions.

Perhaps attracted by the scent, the crowd around the stall grew. Hua Xiaomai glanced at the crowd and continued pouring the soup over the noodles, sprinkling a handful of finely chopped green onions on top, then turned her head to call over her sister, who was busy wiping down tables and chairs, "Hua Erniang."

"Erniang, you eat first. We left early today and didn’t have time for dinner; how can we work on empty stomachs?"

Hua Erniang straightened up and threw the rag on the table, strolled over with a slow pace, looked into the bowl of noodles, and grumbled, "How can I feel like eating at this hour? You made some for me to try last night, and I know it tastes really good. Let’s wait for your brother-in-law to come, and we can eat with him."

As she spoke, she also lowered her voice to complain, "Why are they just staring? They think just by looking they will get full? Really..."

Hua Xiaomai didn’t respond to her words, just smiled and pushed the bowl of noodles closer to her, while making a very subtle gesture with her mouth toward the crowd and winking at her.

Hua Erniang seemed to catch on, took the bowl obediently, sat down at the edge of the table facing the onlookers, and slurped up the noodles in a few big bites. Turning to Hua Xiaomai, she laughed and shouted, "I don’t know if it’s because I was so hungry, but the noodles taste even better than last night."

People out and about at this time generally hadn’t had the chance to go home for dinner yet. Seeing Hua Erniang enjoy the noodles so much, and with the enticing aroma wafting into their noses, their throats involuntarily swallowed, and they licked their lips, moving a couple of steps closer. Although they had not yet made up their minds to patronize the business, whispered conversations had started to buzz.

One said, "Isn’t that Jing Taihe, his wife, and his sister-in-law? What are they doing setting up a stall by the river? Thinking of copying Old Lady Sun’s business because it’s doing well?"

Another remarked, "No wonder when I passed by their house the other day, I smelled such a strong savory aroma. So they were preparing the soup base!"

A third person, who happened to have tasted Hua Xiaomai’s cooking at Li Sange’s house-raising day, nudged the person next to him with his elbow and said, "That sister-in-law of Jing Taihe’s is really skilled in cooking. I’ve tried it. The flavor of the soup I had at noon was still swirling around my mouth by evening!"

While the bystanders chattered away, they still hesitated to step forward. Hua Erniang started to grow anxious, picking up the bowl of noodles and washing it in a basin on the ground, muttering under her breath, "If I had known it would be like this, I would have told Chun Xi and La Mei to bring some people along, even just to fill the place."

After a few words, she turned back and scolded Hua Xiaomai, "I told you this business wouldn’t be easy. Now what? You just had some spare change, and you couldn’t wait to spend it. You won’t be satisfied until you’ve lost it all!"

The more she scolded, the more heated she became. She wiped her wet hands on her clothes and hurried over to twist Hua Xiaomai’s ear.

Hua Xiaomai ducked and dodged while laughing, blocking her hand, "Erniang, if you hit me here, they’ll really just have a show to watch!"

Hua Erniang exclaimed, "Ah," quickly withdrew her hand, and angrily went back to washing dishes, still muttering to herself.

The sky darkened a little more, and someone walked along the village path, coming straight to the stall with a heh-heh laugh, "Madam Hua, Xiaomai, I heard from brother Taihe that you were setting up a stall here today, so I came to have a look."