He suddenly brought this up, and Hua Xiaomai felt slightly surprised. She glanced at his expression and cautiously said, "You... don’t like it?"
This matter was indeed important to her, but she was so busy currently that she hardly had ti to think far ahead. In other words, "opening a restaurant in the Provincial City" was Hua Xiaomai’s "career plan," a goal to strive for, needing to be approached step by step. At least for now, she wasn’t ready.
However, this matter had ultimately taken root in ng Yuhuai’s heart, hadn’t it? No wonder his face seed a bit gloomy that day when she was competing in cooking with Han Fengzhi—it was because of this! Then, what was his actual opinion on this matter? Was there any need to guess?
ng Yuhuai didn’t respond to her. He simply sat quietly, his dark eyes hiding a glint of fire, lifting the small bowl filled with Hangover Soup to his lips and taking another sip.
The room was very quiet. Suddenly, the old lantern on the counter cracked, making a soft "pop" sound.
Hua Xiaomai couldn’t bear the silence. She tried smiling at him, attempting to speak in a cheerful tone: "Honestly, this matter is indeed a thought in my heart, but it’s still far off. I’m not even considering it at the mont. The small restaurant business has only just started to do well these few months, and the Sauce Garden is even more in its initial stages. I don’t have the leisure to think about anything else. Moreover, cooking isn’t like other trades. If the foundation is too weak, you can’t even stand your ground in that bustling big city. I’m nowhere near that level yet!"
While speaking, she grabbed his arm and shook it gently, speaking softly, "Why keep it to yourself? You said it yourself, we’ve slept on the sa mat for quite so ti now, what can’t we talk about? If you have thoughts, why not tell ?"
ng Yuhuai put down the bowl in his hand on the table, pondered for a mont, and spoke gently, "It’s not that I have any thoughts. I just feel, with the good inco from the small restaurant and the Sauce Garden, and my decent salary from the Escort Agency, our family has enough silver to spend, even quite ample. Why bother exhausting yourself with sothing else? Opportunities in the Provincial City are indeed many, but so are the competitors. You already tire yourself managing a small restaurant; if you went there, wouldn’t it wear you to the bone?"
Hua Xiaomai gave a reluctant smile, still speaking in a soft, gentle voice, "I’m not just doing it for the money... anyone in the food business has a bit of stubborn ambition, hoping their skills can be tasted and recognized by more people."
Seeing that ng Yuhuai didn’t speak, she lowered her eyes and said, "Let’s not talk about distant matters. Just look at old Mr. Song from Taoyuan House and old Mr. Han from Biyue Pavilion. Their businesses are already doing very well. If it was purely for money, why would they still insist on cooking themselves? And Old Master Zhao, his Chunfeng Restaurant in Fuzhe County is second to none, thriving abundantly, the silver piling into his arms. Could changing the chef really affect it that much? But why can’t he just let go of Fatty Wei who always causes him trouble? Simply put, for anyone truly passionate in this trade, what they seek is the word ’excellence’."
She had said all this in one breath, felt a bit thirsty, and went to the counter to pour herself a cup of tea. When she returned, she saw ng Yuhuai frowning again.
"Could it be that you still plan to do this for a lifeti?" he said faintly, "My mother is only getting older. She looks strong now, but who knows what her state will be in a few years. Moreover, we’re going to have our own children soon, then you..."
He didn’t finish his sentence, just sighed very softly.
Hua Xiaomai was stunned, suddenly feeling choked up, and quickly withdrew her hand from his arm.
So, after such a long detour, this was what he really wanted to say?
Villagers, unlike those wealthy city folk, didn’t care much about whether a girl should show her face in public, so it was common to see young won and brides everywhere in the fields. Yet even so, the most prevalent belief in Fire Knife Village, and indeed throughout this era, was that once a woman was married, she should stay at ho and devote herself to her husband and children.
n going out into the world was recognized as "a real man being at ease everywhere." If the sa situation was applied to a woman, eight out of ten tis, it would be labeled as "abandoning husband and children for no good reason."—And that was a light accusation. If it ca to worse, even if soone imposed the harsh label of "indiscretions" on you, you would utterly lack the ans to argue. ng Yuhuai’s thinking had no fault in this era, but why did it make her feel so uncomfortable?!
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