At this mont, she was wearing a new sumr dress in the color of ’Forget--Not’ blue that she had made after returning from the Provincial City. It was her first ti wearing it, the lively color made her appear even more charming and vibrant. However, her hair was not yet fully dry, and droplets of water falling from it left damp rings on her shoulders.
For so reason that she couldn’t quite fathom, she felt unusually restless today, with her hands clasped behind her back. She tentatively approached ng Yuhuai with a question, "So... did you finish eating before coming over?"
"As long as you haven’t placed the food in too obscure a location, I’ve already eaten it, and I’m quite full right now, about seventy to eighty percent," ng Yuhuai curved his lips into a smile, "What are you standing there for? Co here."
As expected, Hua Xiaomai shuffled over but still muttered under her breath, "Seventy to eighty percent full? But there are still several dishes I’ve prepared, you..."
Before she could finish her sentence, ng Yuhuai enveloped her in a firm embrace, and looking down at her, laughed, "Is this the way you’ve thought up to thank ?"
"You don’t like it?" Hua Xiaomai suddenly widened her eyes, raising her hand to his chest, "But... apart from cooking, I don’t know what else to do..."
"You’re not doing business tonight either?" ng Yuhuai continued.
"Yes," Hua Xiaomai nodded, "Tonight this shop is open just for you. Master Wang and Chun Xi went ho to rest at noon, I’ve done everything myself, even hung up the lanterns on my own, I..."
"Don’t be in such a hurry to take credit," ng Yuhuai held back his laughter and said seriously, "Now let ask you, if there is no one in the shop except for the two of us, and the restaurant’s doors are wide open, aren’t you inviting thieves?"
"Ah?"
"Moreover, you’ve lit so many lanterns by the fishpond. What if they set the lotus flowers on fire and it all burns to the ground? What would you do?"
"Oh no!"
Hua Xiaomai stamped her foot and turned to run, but ng Yuhuai caught her in his grasp.
"I’ve fixed everything for you, and yet you..." He shook his head as if exasperated, "You say you want to thank , but then leave to clean up the ss behind the scenes. Is this how you manage things?"
"... after a whole day of busyness, can’t I get a single word of praise from you?"
Hua Xiaomai felt quite aggrieved as she wriggled free from his embrace, stomped over to the table, sat down, and turned her face away, refusing to look at him.
Why was this person like this?
Just to show her feelings to him, she hadn’t had a mont’s peace all afternoon. It took an enormous effort just to hang a silly lantern, and when she was placing the lanterns in the fishpond, she nearly fell in... Well, never mind all that, she wouldn’t ntion the other troubles. Just these dishes alone, though they might look ordinary, were sothing not even well-known restaurants in Tong’an City could necessarily provide!
And yet, here he was, not saying a single kind word and instead reprimanding her upon his arrival. All her good intentions were utterly wasted!
ng Yuhuai had originally wanted to tease her, but unexpectedly she got so upset that she refused to speak. Hurrying over, he sat down beside her and casually pointed at a dish of at, "What is this?"
"at, what else could it be?"
Hua Xiaomai rolled her eyes and didn’t even turn her head.
"How is it made? Why does it look so different from the usual?" ng Yuhuai asked with infinite patience, still smiling.
His question poked the hornet’s nest. Hua Xiaomai sprang up, "You want to know? Fine, I’ll tell you! There’s nothing special about this at, what’s unusual is the water I used to cook it. In Fire Knife Village, it rarely snows in winter. Last winter, we had only two or three snowfalls, so I put a jar outside and collected snow for several days to fill it up. I layered it with salt, pressed it down tightly, sealed the jar and buried it under a tree. Only today did I dig it out to cook the at. Do you know what this is called? It’s called ’Pickled Snow.’ The at cooked with it naturally has a beautiful color and an exceptional taste..."
"Xiaomai," ng Yuhuai hadn’t expected her to be genuinely angry. He reached out to pull her back, but she bounced away from him.
"Didn’t you say you don’t like foods with too much seasoning? The dishes at restaurants are inevitably heavily seasoned, and at ho, mother has a strong palate, so I definitely have to cater to her a bit. These dishes today, however, are made especially for you, without any seasoning. They may look simple, but were quite a hassle to make. I was wholeheartedly looking forward to celebrating your birthday today, and yet this is the attitude you greet with, nagging at the mont you arrive. You..."
ng Yuhuai was shaken. He stood up, pulled her close without another word, and said in her ear, "I was just playing with you... The mont I arrived at the entrance of Daoxiang Garden, I knew all this was specially made by you for . I was overjoyed and didn’t have ti to find faults. Think about it, do I usually pick at things this way?"
Hua Xiaomai glanced at him, half believing and half doubting, "Then why... did you say I left the shop door open, that lighting the lanterns could burn down the fishpond, and that you had to clean up the ss for ..."
"Nonsense, who else if not ?" ng Yuhuai said seriously, "I’m your man, it’s right for to do this kind of thing. I wouldn’t be happy if soone else offered to help!"
"Pfft!" Hua Xiaomai couldn’t hold back a laugh and pulled him over to the table, pushing the dish of at towards him, "Then you eat all of it."
"Okay." ng Yuhuai agreed without hesitation, picked up the chopsticks and began eating.
What sort of joke was this? If it were an inedible al, he might hesitate, but his wife was a renowned chef from Tong’an Prefecture. What was there to refuse?
After stuffing two pieces in his mouth and seeing Hua Xiaomai’s expression lighten up, he paused, "Xiaomai, I’m really happy you did all of this for , but... today isn’t actually my birthday..."
"I know."
Hua Xiaomai wasn’t at all surprised and gave him a look, "Tomorrow is the actual day! I think birthdays should naturally be celebrated with mother. What would it look like if we ran off by ourselves? That’s why we’re celebrating a day early—last year on your birthday, I was pregnant with Little Walnut and just didn’t have the energy to prepare anything. This year, I had it planned out early. Who knew that you, such a serious person, would suddenly start joking around with today?"
The two pieces of at in ng Yuhuai’s mouth suddenly beca hard to swallow.
Growing up in a not-so-well-off household where his busy parents could only manage to cook an egg for him on his birthday was already a treat; when he got older and joined the Escort Agency, even less importance was placed on the day by the tough guys there.
This was the first ti soone took such a serious effort to celebrate his birthday for him.
(The story continues. If you like this work, please head over to Qidian (qidian) to throw in your recomndation ticket, monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian to read.)
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