She shouted with such vigor that it shocked the mountains and rivers, abrupt and sudden, giving ng’s old lady such a start that her shoulders shuddered, she snapped as she turned around, "Yelling first thing in the morning, are you afraid there’s soone in the village who doesn’t know I’m your mother-in-law? Always startling , I really don’t know what’s wrong with Yuhuai’s eyes, overlooking all those gentle and graceful girls and setting his sights on a da like you!"
After catching her breath, she lifted her eyelids, "Has Yuhuai left?"
"Mhm, saw him off the village," Hua Xiaomai squat beside her with her usual smile, reaching out to fuss with the mushrooms in the winnowing basket, "These wild mushrooms sll so good after they are dried, just the scent of them is pleasing."
"Tsk, keep your hands to yourself," ng’s old lady sharply swatted her hand away, showing no patience, "What are you skulking around at ho for? Isn’t that little diner your lifeline? Why aren’t you there watching over it?"
"I’m going, but it’s okay if I go a bit later." Hua Xiaomai grinned at her, "Mom, why don’t you co with ?"
At that, ng’s old lady’s face turned cold, she put down the winnowing basket on the table, and glared at her, "Why should I go? Aren’t you afraid that I would take over your little shabby business? I’d have to be stuffed to the brim to shalessly wedge myself in! Go do what you have to do, don’t bother with your presence."
"I never said that, please don’t wrong , Mom!" Hua Xiaomai said with a pitiful face, pouting her lips.
"You didn’t say it, but your man spoke enough for the both of you, did he not? Aren’t you lucky to have married soone who cares for you? Had it been any other family, they would have kicked you out long ago!"
Ever since the quarrel that erupted two nights ago, ng’s old lady had been in a constant state of irritation indeed still angry about the incident, Hua Xiaomai chuckled and nodded her head, "Mhm, Yuhuai is good to , I’m well aware of that, but how is he enough? I also wish for Mom’s affection!"
", feel affection for you? Why don’t you go look in a mirror, or better yet, glance into the water jar——how co your skin is so thick?"
"Indeed, my skin is quite thick, why don’t you give it a pinch, Mom?"
ng’s old lady was utterly speechless, gaping, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing, fixing her gaze on Hua Xiaomai’s face, "You... your father... your mother... your second sister..."
Hua Xiaomai felt quite smug, raising her eyebrows, "Alright, just give a straight answer, are you going or not? If we wait any longer, I really will be late!"
"Not going!" ng’s old lady abruptly turned away, refusing to look at her, muttering under her breath, "Your diner is always bustling with noise, crowded with people, and getting stead up by the kitchen heat, everywhere is stuffy, would it not suffocate ? Besides, what could I possibly do there? If you lose sothing, you’ll just bla it on , and how would I clear my na?"
"That’s because it’s so busy that I want you to help watch over it!" Hua Xiaomai wasn’t the least bit discouraged, persisting in her persuasion, "You don’t know, the queue for takeout at the door gets long around noon, all sorts of people co by, there are always a couple of queue jumpers, almost every day at noon there’s so commotion over this. If Mom you’re willing to go, just standing by the door would deter anyone from causing trouble, wouldn’t that save a lot of hassle?"
"Get off my back! Fancy that, you’re sweet-talking into being your doorman?" ng’s old lady, eyes bulging in anger, spat on the ground, "You’re not scared of shortening your own life, are you?"
"If you don’t want to, that’s fine, you can just rest in the upstairs private room, and if you find that boring, you can still go out and wander around, and at noon and in the evening, I’ll bring the als right up to you. But think it over, the weather is getting hotter, and the food I cook in the morning might spoil by noon, and getting sick from it would be a real problem, whereas at the little diner, things are very different. Sauce Garden just released a batch of new sauce, not to ntion the ats and stews, the fragrance—is irresistible—so what do you say? Are you going or not?"
Hua Xiaomai smiled with no hint of aggression, carefully observing ng’s old lady’s complexion, and saw her involuntarily swallow her saliva, yet she was still unwilling to concede, "I said I’m not going and I ant it, why keep asking, it’s so annoying! Get out of my sight, just seeing you makes uncomfortable!"
"Shall I go then?" Hua Xiaomai, unhurried, acted as if she regretted leaving, quickly tidying up a bit in the house, and indeed she was out the door in no ti, heading straight to the east side of the village.
...
ng’s old lady usually had nothing to do, and had a decent relationship with the neighboring Guan Family, being able to chat together. Now that their relationship had also soured, she had even less to occupy her. She wandered around the house, feeling hungry, lifted the lid to the pot for a look and stepped back.
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