They were so good with words, taking turns grilling her until they got an answer. Hua Xiaomai couldn’t withstand such an onslaught, and given that she lived with them, she could avoid them today but not tomorrow. She eventually let slip a few details, then said seriously, "Sisters-in-law, you’ve always been quite discerning. There’s no need for to elaborate—you should understand well enough that this matter hasn’t been settled yet. We mustn’t go around gossiping about it recklessly. Also, don’t tell my second sister about ng Da coming today."
Though Chun Xi loved to spread and pry into petty gossip, she wasn’t unaware of the situation. She scoffed and gestured dismissively, "What do you take us for? Even if we’re a bit loose-lipped, we wouldn’t spill the beans on everything; we understand that much. But the way ng Da showed up today, I’m afraid we won’t need to bother—as she’ll likely make it known throughout the whole village. Let’s get one thing straight beforehand, though—you better not bla us when that happens."
La i nodded in agreent, "Don’t worry, Xiaomai dear, we won’t reveal a word. But are you sure you don’t want to inform your second sister about today’s incident? That ng Da is like a rock in a cesspit—stinky and hard. When it cos down to it, in the whole Fire Knife Village, only your second sister, Erqiao, can barely handle her. If she’s co once, she’ll co again. If you don’t let Erqiao know sooner, you’ll have more trouble on your hands!"
"Trouble it may be, but what can I do?" Hua Xiaomai sighed and said, "What’s my second sister’s current situation—need I spell it out? After she and my brother-in-law tried for so long, they’ve finally managed to conceive. The fetus hasn’t even reached three months... The old immortal doctor from the County said it’s still unstable! With her temperant, when she starts quarreling or fighting, she has to use her hands and feet, and would leap three zhang high if she could. If I tell her this and she gets too upset and goes to settle scores with ng Da, and sothing goes awry, we’ll be too late even for tears!"
"That’s true..." Upon hearing this, Chun Xi let out a long sigh as well, then quickly glanced over at Hua Xiaomai’s face and probed, "To tell you the truth, though ng Da is irkso, and people dodge her at sight, she sohow has no sway over the Yuhuai brothers. There’s no need for you to worry about you and them; it’s surely going to happen. But that Guan Family girl..."
She stopped speaking there, her eyebrows knitting as if she was truly worried.
La i, too, fell silent, absentmindedly picking up a cloth from the counter and rubbing it between her fingers.
Hua Xiaomai hadn’t paid much attention to Guan Rong that day. Seeing the two won’s expressions, she was perplexed and glanced at their faces, raising an eyebrow, "What’s the matter? She didn’t have the upper hand today, right? She even got scalded by boiling water—I almost laughed out loud several tis. Why are you two so worried all of a sudden?"
"You didn’t see..." La i pursed her lips, "While you were talking to Old Da ng, Guan Rong was standing by the table, right? Chun Xi and I were looking over from the kitchen and could clearly see the expression on her face. Her visage was... the veins on her forehead were bulging, looking like she wanted to eat soone alive..."
"Like she wanted to eat soone? Like how my second sister gets?" Hua Xiaomai couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing, but looking up she saw Chun Xi and La i both looking grave, and quickly stuck out her tongue, "Go on, keep talking."
"I’ve seen that man-eating look on your second sister as well. To say hers is like desperately wanting to swallow soone whole, then the expression on that Guan Family girl’s face was as if she wanted to slowly chew your flesh piece by piece. It’s truly chilling to see such a genteel and delicate-looking girl show such an expression! As for her feelings for the Yuhuai brothers—everyone in our village knows. I think she’s grown to hate you quite a bit; you better be careful," Chun Xi interjected, "Her secret sches are nothing new. Once or twice, you might find them suspicious, but after a while, annoyance is all you feel."
Guan Rong had been involved in underhanded dealings before, not just once or twice. Initially, it might cause doubts, but over ti, annoyance is all that remains.
Hua Xiaomai bowed her head in thought for a mont, then turned to the two won with a smile, "Sisters-in-law, you needn’t worry too much. I’m with you all day long, so even if she wants to do harm, she’ll hardly find the opportunity. Compared to her troubleso sches, I’m more concerned about the business in this restaurant..."
As she spoke, she nodded towards the empty hall with her chin, "Look, it’s almost noon, and my place doesn’t have a single custor yet. Although it’s only the second day since I opened, and I shouldn’t be so anxious, I just can’t help but feel unsettled, and it’s hard to focus."
Running a restaurant is indeed different from setting up a street stall. Back when she sold noodles by the river, she had never encountered the situation where nobody ca to eat, and even if there were no custors, she could simply push everything back to the Jing Family yard—the loss wasn’t significant. But the restaurant, after all, occupies such a large space, and the annual rent had already been paid, she couldn’t help but worry!
Seeing her like this, Chun Xi patted her on the shoulder and inevitably offered her a couple more words of comfort, going over the sa old reassurances, advising her not to overthink. After a few words, they sohow glossed over the matter.
...
In the following two or three days, everything at Hua Xiaomai’s restaurant remained calm. Guan Rong hadn’t appeared since that day, as if a stone had been thrown into a pond, causing a slight ripple before fading away without a trace.
However, what she didn’t know was that on the southern side of the village, the situation was entirely different.
That morning, old Madam ng left ho after eating, saying she wouldn’t return until the evening. ng Yuhuai was alone at ho, feeling too lazy to entertain visiting neighbors, so he shut the courtyard door and rested comfortably inside his house.
Not long into the afternoon, as the farrs in the village were all heading out to work in the fields, a sudden rush of urgent knocking sounded from outside.
ng Yuhuai walked out from the house in a few strides, opened the door, and saw Guan Rong’s mother, panic-stricken, rushing up to him and grasping his sleeve.
"Yuhuai, it’s so good you’re at ho. Please co and help look; my daughter Rong, she won’t respond no matter how much I call for her!" (To be continued. If you like this work, we invite you to vote for it with a recomndation ticket, monthly ticket at Qidian (qidian). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to read.)
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