ng’s mother glanced at him, "I didn’t ask you, because firstly, I know you are headstrong, and I can’t stop you. Secondly, this issue has to be resolved, dragging it out isn’t a solution. Now it seems, you don’t appreciate my turning a blind eye, upsetting your wife like this?"
"I know she’s angry, and it’s my fault for misspeaking, but..." ng Yuhuai let out a long sigh and sat down by the table.
"In these days, you and your wife haven’t even spoken a single complete sentence, have you?" ng’s mother said crossly, "We live under the sa roof every day, do you think I’m blind, that I can’t see it? Hmph, that wife of yours, she’s full of faults, sotis I really feel like giving her a thorough scolding, but just because she sides with , I can endure everything. Do you need to tell you how hard it is for her, carrying your child every day? Don’t say I didn’t warn you, if she keeps holding in her anger, the kid that’ll be born will certainly turn out to be troubleso, and you can just wait to be worn out by it!"
"Today I went to pick her up with the intention of having a proper conversation, but as soon as she heard the word ’uncle’, she exploded, and I simply..."
ng Yuhuai rubbed his temples, "That thing I said a few days ago, I know it hurt her feelings, but it was unintentional, just words spoken in haste. She drove away her uncle and his family to stand up for , not for her own sake, how could I not know that? But now... I really don’t know what to do."
"What else can you do, you have to coax her!" ng’s mother glared at him fiercely, "A few words should do the trick, can’t you be a bit more thoughtful? With your clumsy tongue, the more you talk, the worse it gets. If you don’t show so sincerity, how can you expect her to step down gracefully? Go, go, go back to your room and think it over yourself, don’t expect to solve this for you!"
With that, she pulled ng Yuhuai out of the chair and pushed him towards the door, and then...
She slamd the door shut.
ng sat in the courtyard for a while, strong and sturdy, he didn’t feel cold, only full of worry.
He of course knew his wife needed to be coaxed, but the question was, how to coax her?
...
In the twelfth lunar month, as various rchants started to make arrangents for their New Year’s Eve banquet, Daoxiang Garden’s business beca increasingly prosperous.
The rchants who ca here for year-end feasts, of course, had more than just a lively celebration in mind. Most of them were ready to utilize the opportunity to build relationships, striving to lay a solid foundation for next year’s business. Thus, they were willing to spend generously, not blinking an eye when ordering expensive ingredients, ensuring that the feast looked presentable.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Daoxiang Garden made a tidy profit. While it wasn’t an overwhelming success, it was certainly a reason to celebrate. Although Hua Xiaomai didn’t do much in the kitchen, she still ca every day on ti, making sure the cooks and waitstaff handled everything perfectly, without the slightest mishap.
With no lack of money at ho, ng’s mother was not as tight-fisted as before. New Year goods were continuously brought into the house, shopping without end, thoroughly enjoying the shopping spree. Sotis, she would also take Hua Xiaomai with her, not ntioning the dispute with ng Yuhuai in front of her, just chattering about trivial matters.
That day in the afternoon, she again caught Hua Xiaomai to accompany her strolling in the village. They returned before evening, but as soon as they stepped into the restaurant’s main hall, Hua Xiaomai imdiately caught a whiff of the scent of dishes.
It’s just the "flavor" of the dishes, hardly "fragrant," unlike what wafts from a restaurant kitchen. It’s more like an odd, intermittent scent drifting from the garden, carrying with it a strange air.
As soon as Chun Xi and La i saw her, they burst out laughing, Zhou Yunyun was more reserved, but she also couldn’t help it, covering her mouth and snickering. Wen Huaren, Qing You, Ji Xiang, and the others turned their faces to look out the window, their shoulders, however, were shaking uncontrollably.
Hua Xiaomai was full of confusion, sizing everyone up, then examining herself, finding nothing amiss, she clicked her tongue.
"Are you all sick? Do I look so funny? Also, where is that cooking sll coming from? Who is ssing around in the garden?"
"Right?"
Chun Xi burst into laughter, hurriedly stepped forward, and took hold of her arm, "I also slled a whiff of food, shall we... go check out the garden together?"
Hua Xiaomai glanced at her face, feeling sothing was off, seeing her so eager, she beca less hurried, settling down into a chair, "That’s originally your job, you go if you want. I’m tired from walking and want to rest for a while."
Chun Xi gestured to Zhou Yunyun, who imdiately ca over and tugged at Hua Xiaomai, "Master, let’s go have a look together, I’ve been learning to cook for so long and never knew dishes could have such a sll. Aren’t you the least bit curious?"
"Not curious." Hua Xiaomai shook her head without a second thought, "This sll, you can tell the cook has no foundation just by slling it, going to look would be a waste of ti. Since none of you are in a rush, I suppose you know who it is already, and I have no interest in crowding around."
The atmosphere in the hall turned a bit stiff, and after a short while, La i suddenly rushed over, grabbed her without a word, and pulled her toward the garden.
"Co on, co on, as the owner, you’re the one who makes decisions about everything in this garden. Even if soone needs to be dismissed, you have to be the one to do it!"
She talked as she dragged Hua Xiaomai through the bamboo grove and stopped at the doorway of the little kitchen.
"You go in, I’ll wait for you out here, okay?" She pushed Hua Xiaomai forward and then stood in the open space, refusing to move.
Hua Xiaomai was no fool and had an inkling of what was going on. She stared at the kitchen door for a while, impatiently glancing at Chun Xi, then stepped through the door.
The kitchen was shrouded in smoke, and nothing was clear. As soon as she stepped in, she was imdiately engulfed and stepped back three paces, exclaiming loudly, "What are you doing? Stop ssing around, will you?!"
A tall figure gradually erged from the billowing smoke, donning an apron and holding a spatula, he gave her a crooked smile, "I just wanted to give it a try." (To be continued. If you like this work, welco to Qidian (qidian) to cast your recomndation ticket, monthly ticket, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian to read.)
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