Chef Hua-Chapter 685: Episode 362: Intention (Part One)_2
Today, Daoxiang Garden is well-known throughout Tong’an Prefecture, and many people are aware that this restaurant is famous for using chili in its dishes. The pungent and spicy flavor is intense and addictive, leaving an unforgettable taste. Other restaurants, eager to imitate, find it hard to purchase chili at the moment. After much inquiry, they learn that many families in Fire Knife Village grow it, and they rush to buy seeds or the chilies themselves to cook with. Over time, not only has the Meng family sold all their chilies, but almost the entire village has smoothly sold out their stock.
Neither Hua Xiaomai nor Meng Yuhuai rely on chili for their livelihood, yet they still feel happy for everyone else and have chun xi remind the villagers not to forget to keep some seeds for themselves. Once they finish this task, the couple calls over Zheng Yakuai to discuss the purchase of land. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮
During the agricultural offseason, Zheng Yakuai indeed had quite a few fertile fields to his name, roughly dozens of acres. Meng Yuhuai followed him to look at the fields twice and eventually decided to buy thirty acres to the south of the village, with half as paddy fields and half as dry fields. He promptly hired workers, intending to plant a first crop of winter wheat in September or October, and then plant early rice when spring arrives the next year.
Time went by in a flurry of busyness, and before long it was July 20th.
Hua Xiaomai had been looking forward to this day for a long time. She informed Meng’s mother a few days ago that she would be busy at Daoxiang Garden for the entire day. Waking up early in the morning, after feeding Little Walnut she rushed to the shop.
The kitchen contained many of her treasured stores, kept for an entire year and mostly in jars and pots. Not wanting any help, she moved everything herself to the garden located behind the house.
July brought beautiful scenery to the fields, attracting many visitors early in the morning with their families to enjoy the view. The sounds of children’s laughter and adults’ conversations mixed together, creating quite the bustle. However, she seemed not to hear it at all, finding an out-of-the-way place to bury herself in her work, hiding in the garden all morning without showing her face.
A few days ago, Hua Xiaomai had agreed with Wen Huaren and others that they would only open for half a day. After noon, the shop became gradually quiet. It was then that she moved her things back into the kitchen and bustled around chopping intently, obviously delighted with her work.
Wang Zhanrui and Master Tan were pleased to have a relaxed half day. After eating at the shop, they each went back to their own rest. Zhou Yunyun, who lived at Daoxiang Garden long-term, finished with her takeout stand and ensured Zhenwei Garden’s meals were well arranged. Finding herself with nowhere to go, she turned around and saw Chun Xi and La Mei winking and whispering to each other, pointing towards the garden. She thought for a moment and then joined them.
"Sisters, why haven’t you gone home yet?" she followed their pointing gaze and asked, puzzled, "Didn’t my master say we’re not open for business this afternoon? I saw Master Wang and the others have left..."
"What’s the hurry?"
La Mei, busy talking and laughing quietly with Chun Xi, showed impatience when interrupted and waved her hand, saying, "We’re free anyway this afternoon; going home later isn’t urgent. Aren’t you still here too? Oh— Don’t you have somewhere to be, right? Don’t worry about it. You can tidy up your home with Scholar Wen, grind ink for him while he writes, wouldn’t that be nice too?"
"La Mei sister!" Zhou Yunyun immediately blushed a deep red.
Ever since the affair between her and Scholar Wen was settled, people at the shop had been teasing them relentlessly, especially these two sisters-in-law. Perhaps because they were married and had children, they were particularly unrestrained with their words, daring to say anything once they started, without end.
What’s worse, Scholar Wen didn’t seem to mind much. Every time he heard the teasing, he just chuckled twice and let it go. Zhou Yunyun was embarrassed by everyone’s jokes, and after complaining to Hua Xiaomai a couple of times, she found that her own master also didn’t deal with it and didn’t stand up for her. Instead, alongside Chun Xi and La Mei, she joined in teasing her, making her neither angry nor amused until she could only hide in the kitchen.
"Why? I’m doing this for your own good, giving you ideas, and you’re not happy about it?"
La Mei looked at her with a smile: "Exactly, your master is so busy in the garden, clearly indicating that our shop is going to be of great use tonight, wouldn’t you be in the way if you stayed? But if you don’t want to listen to us talk about you, that’s fine too... or you can come with us to see what your master is up to?"
"That... wouldn’t that be inappropriate?" Zhou Yunyun was slightly hesitant, "She’s the boss, she can do whatever she wants in the shop, can we really interfere?"
"Who said anything about interfering? We’re just taking you to enjoy the excitement together! If you just come with us, in a while, I will take you home, and you can have dinner at my house, okay? Otherwise, we won’t look after you!"
Chun Xi pitched in to help persuade her.
Zhou Yunyun, unable to do otherwise, was grabbed by the arms by the two of them and had no choice but to follow them hesitantly into the garden. They wandered around a large circle before they found Hua Xiaomai busy in the small kitchen in the bamboo grove.
At that moment, Hua Xiaomai was busily engaged with her back to the three of them, intently pouring an unknown liquid from a jar into a large pot and throwing in a whole slab of pork belly.
Another pot was steaming as well, but from a distance, it was unclear what was inside; one could only faintly smell a bean-like fragrance.
"Is the master cooking?" Zhou Yunyun whispered to Chun Xi, puzzled.
"Isn’t she?" Chun Xi snorted laugh, "Tonight, someone is in for a treat."
...
Meng Yuhuai remembered he had an agreement with Hua Xiaomai, and so he cleared his schedule of any important matters for the day. By the late afternoon, just before the end of the afternoon period, he left Lianshun Escort Agency and rode swiftly back to Fire Knife Village.
This was truly a case of bypassing his own doorstep without entering. He went straight past his own house and headed directly to Daoxiang Garden, only to abruptly stop at its entrance.
It wasn’t even dark yet, but the restaurant was already lit up, from the main hall all the way to the second floor, yet it was empty and silent, not a single person in sight. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with the monthly ticket at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)
