Hua Xiaomai's heart sank violently upon hearing those words.
Indeed, where in the world could a fake pass undetected? She hadn't inherited the memories of this body, and when Hua Erniang first brought her into the house about ten days ago, she could cover it up by pretending to have been overwhelmed by hunger, cold, and fear. But now, anything she did was likely to give her away!
"I..." She panicked, glanced at Hua Erniang quickly as she raised her head, ready to speak, but the woman suddenly slapped the stove and burst forth with curses.
"I knew that Hua Dashan was no good, shameless bastard, daring to treat his own sister like that! He deserves a horrid death and to be fried in oil a hundred times in Hell!" Her voice was loud and piercing. Abruptly, she grabbed Hua Xiaomai's arm, "You lived in Hua Dashan's house with him and his wretched wife, didn't they make you work all day? Back when I was still at home, you couldn't even peel a radish properly. If it weren't for his endless demands, how could you have learned such great culinary skills? It must have been forced on you!" Before she could finish, her eyes turned red.
There were three siblings in the Hua Family, with Hua Dashan being the eldest. With the parents long gone, Hua Xiaomai had lived with her brother and sister-in-law before the famine in her hometown.
When Hua Xiaomai arrived at Hua Erniang's house, she bore old wounds, clearly inflicted by beatings. Although she didn't know why the "original" her had run all the way to Fire Knife Village to seek refuge with her second sister, she had guessed in her heart that Hua Dashan and his wife were probably not kind to their younger sister, who faced beatings frequently. As for laundry, cooking, feeding pigs, and herding cattle, those were just considered part of daily life.
Seeing Hua Erniang so angry, she didn't know how to console her. Fearing saying too much might lead to mistakes, she simply closed her mouth and kept quiet. Hua Erniang felt even more that her sister had suffered. Ordinarily fierce and aggressive, she now let tears fall and, fearing Jing Taihe and the others in the main room might hear, she pulled Hua Xiaomai into her embrace, whispering and sobbing in her ear, "If I had known it was like this, I would have taken you with me at any cost..."
Hua Xiaomai knew Erniang's distress wasn't truly for her. Nevertheless, her heart was unavoidably sour, and she patted her back and was about to say some comforting words when she heard Jing Taihe's voice from the main room.
"Erniang, there's a jar of fine old wine in the low cabinet in the kitchen. Bring it out, tonight Meng Yuhuai, Sun Dashen, and I shall drink our fill!"
Seizing the opportunity, Hua Xiaomai wriggled free from Hua Erniang's embrace, wiped her face with a smile, and said, "Go quickly, second sister, your husband is calling for you. Leave the kitchen to me, I will make sure everyone is satisfied."
"But..." Hua Erniang was slightly hesitant, "Are you sure you can manage? What if you get burned or something?"
"Oh, just relax!" Hua Xiaomai fetched the jar of wine from the cabinet, handed it over, and smiled crookedly, "If you really don't trust me, just watch from the side later. If I do anything wrong, you can remind me right away, wouldn't that solve everything?"
Still doubtful, Hua Erniang didn't say another word and indeed took the jar to the main room. Hua Xiaomai sifted through the vegetable basket, selected a block of tofu, a handful of bean noodle strips, and about a pound and a half of lean and fatty pork. She scooped up some dried mustard greens from a stand and made do with the ingredients on hand, preparing Pan-Fried Tofu and Chinese Cabbage with Bean Noodle Soup. By the time Hua Erniang returned, the stove was left with only a simmering dish of Braised Pork with Dried Mustard Greens.
Home cooking possessed the most natural and unpretentious flavor. There was no need for intricate plating, knife skills could also be overlooked, each taste was simple and unadorned. Taking a sip of old wine, followed by a mouthful of either rich or light dishes, was the most authentic taste of life, filling one's heart with a sense of security and warmth for no reason.
The people of Fire Knife Village liked strong flavors, so because there was a dish of Chinese cabbage soup on the table, Hua Xiaomai made a small dip bowl with soy sauce and vinegar, and sprinkled a layer of finely ground Cornelian Powder on top.
In just over ten days since arriving here, she had noticed that, in this era, the seasoning materials used by every household were already quite comprehensive. Some families' ancestral sauce-making methods were incredibly authentic, producing fragrant and thick sauces with lingering aftertastes. The only downside was the lack of chili peppers — more precisely, because they were rare and expensive, common folks couldn't afford them yet. When cooking, households sometimes used Cornelian, which had a spicy taste but still lacked a certain freshness.
This was indeed a problem, but at least for now, it wasn't something Hua Xiaomai could solve on her own.
With the meals fully prepared, Hua Erniang, with a shocked expression, carried them into the main room one by one. Hua Xiaomai washed her hands and also came out of the kitchen, only to see everyone sitting at the table waiting for her without touching their chopsticks.
"You all... eat," Hua Xiaomai knew her low status as a woman and was somewhat overwhelmed by the regard.
"Let's eat together," Meng Yuhuai, sitting at the head of the table, simply threw out these words.
"Start with the chopsticks, start with them." Seeing Hua Xiaomai also sitting down at the table, Hua Ermu greeted with a smile, "Why be so formal among neighbors and friends? The food today was all prepared by my little sister!" As she spoke, she cast a proud glance at Sun Great Saint.
"Oh?" Meng Yuhuai seemed a bit surprised as well, turning his head to look over at Hua Xiaomai. However, instead of looking directly at her face, he glanced at the bowl and chopsticks in front of her. Then he took a bite of a wheat cake, his eyebrows suddenly raised, his eyes shone brightly, and he chewed at an incredibly slow pace, as if savoring every aspect of the bite.
"You made this?" He looked at the young girl in front of him, who was only fourteen or fifteen, with a bit of disbelief.
"Yes, how comes?" Hua Xiaomai was always confident in her cooking skills, tilting her head slightly as she replied.
Meng Yuhuai nearly smiled involuntarily, nodding gently, "It's very tasty."
Then he saw Hua Xiaomai's eyes bend into crescents, her lips curled into a wide smile, and her eyes suddenly sparkled with delight.
It was only then that Hua Xiaomai realized for the first time that being praised by someone who had eaten her cooking could fill one with an immense sense of satisfaction from deep within. This feeling was incomparable to graduating from Chef School with excellent grades or even interning at a five-star hotel.
"Is it really that good?" Sun Great Saint, paying close attention to Meng Yuhuai's expressions, also grabbed a wheat cake, biting a huge chunk off, and immediately heaped praise, "Wow, this is genuinely impressive! The aroma of green onions, the taste of meat and the freshness of shrimp, it's got it all! Hey, little sister, the eggs in your wheat cakes aren't just mixed into the filling, right? How come they are so smooth and tender? We've never had this kind of dish in Fire Knife Village before!"
As he spoke, he took another big bite and patted Jing Taihe on the shoulder, "Brother, from now on, you're really in for a treat. With Hua Xiaomai's excellent culinary skills, you won't have to put up with what you used to..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Hua Ermu, sitting across from him, coughed and rapped her chopsticks warningly against the bowl's rim, lifting her lips in a cold voice, "Big Brother Sun, are you implying that Taihe suffered eating the food I made before?"
"No, no, how could I dare?" Sun Great Saint shivered and hastily waved his hand, "Who doesn't know Madam Hua is famously dexterous and thoughtful? I... I was just thinking..."
Hua Ermu hummed dismissively, gave him a withering glare, and on the other side, Jing Taihe raised his cup to Meng Yuhuai with a forced smile, "Brother Yuhuai, today I really owe it to you and Great Brother Sun for the help. That money for the bricks, can I pay you back in a few days when things are a bit easier for me?"
A cartload of bricks was only worth one to two taels of silver, but in Fire Knife Village, that amounted to two to three months' worth of living expenses for a household. Not to mention that Jing Taihe simply didn't have that much money right then, even if he did, it would hurt to pay out all at once.
Meng Yuhuai didn't seem to think much of it, saying indifferently, "It's just a few bricks, not a big deal. You can give it to me when it's convenient for you later. However..."
He looked at Jing Taihe's face, "Have you been under financial strain lately?"
"Well, not much." Jing Taihe rubbed his hands awkwardly, "It's just that business at the blacksmith shop has been slow recently, and neither Ermu nor I have any farmland, so..."
"Hmm." Meng Yuhuai nodded, "If I remember correctly, you have to give two hundred wen to your parents every month. Now that there's an extra mouth to feed, it must be tight. Let me think about it."
He tapped his temple with his finger, suddenly recalling something, and abruptly looked at Hua Xiaomai, then tentatively said to Jing Taihe, "Our Lianshun Escort Agency has recently lost its cook. The brothers have nowhere to turn for their three meals a day, and the boss is quite worried about it. If your little aunt is willing to give it a try, she might be able to make some money. Then, you and Ermu could live a bit more comfortably."
Hua Ermu had been quite unhappy, feeling that his words hinted that Hua Xiaomai was a burden, but considering his reputation in Fire Knife Village, she had forced herself to hold back to give him face. Now, seeing him actually suggesting Hua Xiaomai work as a cook for the Escort Agency, she exploded, fearing that Jing Taihe might actually be tempted, and loudly slammed the table, shouting, "No way!"