CHAPTER 616: EPISODE 328: TRUST

"For me?"

Hua Xiaomai’s heart instantly filled with hesitation as she took the letter, only to see her name written on the envelope in a graceful script.

She was startled for a moment before remembering that she "should" be illiterate and somewhat awkwardly flashed Zhao Laoye a smile, "It’s really strange, who would write to me? I can’t even understand it."

Fortunately, she was a cook, and on normal days, she didn’t need much opportunity to read and write. Moreover, her husband was a warrior; otherwise, her secret would have been exposed sooner or later!

Zhao Laoye chuckled, "It’s from Boss Song, who just sent it over to me yesterday—you not knowing how to read isn’t a big issue. I suppose there’s nothing between you and Yuhuai that can’t be spoken out loud. Why not let him read it to you? Isn’t that convenient?"

Boss Song... Does he mean Song Jingxi?

Considering the elegant and cultured handwriting, it really seemed to be from the hand of a woman, and given Zhao Laoye’s years-old friendship with Song Jingxi, helping to deliver a letter did not seem odd at all.

The question, however, was why she had suddenly received this letter from Song Jingxi, especially since they hadn’t met since the Eight Treasures Conference years ago?

"I’ve been watching with concern. After the Eight Treasures Conference two years ago, there seemed to be some misunderstanding between you and Boss Song. It wasn’t my place to ask you, and she wouldn’t say; I’ve been in the dark about what actually happened."

Zhao Laoye still smiled pleasantly, "But after all, everyone is in the same line of business. Even if there were some small unpleasantness, is it worth holding onto in your heart? In my view, Boss Song sincerely admires you. Didn’t she once entertain the idea of inviting you to her Taoyuan House as the head chef? Now that you’ve started your own eatery, that plan may no longer be feasible, but interacting with one another is always beneficial, don’t you agree?"

His words seemed to alleviate the past slight discomfort between him and Hua Xiaomai. The latter half earnestly advised with good intentions.

However...

That Song Jingxi, where was she playing fair in business?

Hua Xiaomai shook her head secretly and looked up to give him a grateful smile, "I appreciate you bringing me this letter and for speaking such kind words. Rest assured, I shall figure it out. The catering business is not to be taken lightly—a friend in hand is always better than a foe, after all."

Zhao Laoye nodded in satisfaction, smiled, and stepped aside, clapping Ke Zhenwu on the shoulder as he began to chat with him.

...

Men get endless when they start drinking. They stayed in Chunfeng Restaurant until the late afternoon and still were not content. Li Yingchun even bought a few more jars of good wine from a liquor store, claiming that since the Escort Agency had nothing going on in the afternoon, they might as well drink their fill.

With such high spirits, Meng Yuhuai naturally had to stay with them. Hua Xiaomai, however, couldn’t linger outside too long with Little Walnut, so after telling him, she hired a ride back to Fire Knife Village. She first stopped by Daoxiang Garden to see that all was in order, then went home, handed Little Walnut over to Old Mother Meng, and went to her room in the backyard. She opened the letter to read it alone first.

The letter was indeed from Song Jingxi. What was surprising was that it contained nothing of importance, but merely mundane matters.

In the letter, Song Jingxi congratulated her on the opening of Daoxiang Garden, apologizing for only recently learning about it due to her own busyness. She then mentioned Wang Tonghe, seemingly quite curious about Hua Xiaomai’s connection with the Divine Chef, hinting that everyone in the Provincial City’s food and beverage circle was discussing it.

The letter was composed like casual chatter, exuding warmth as if the dispute they once had existed only in Hua Xiaomai’s imagination.

So, what was Song Jingxi’s purpose in writing this letter?

Hua Xiaomai was baffled. She read the letter over and over again but couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Just as she was fretting, she heard Old Mother Meng calling from outside.

"Xiaomai, come quickly, your Aunt Feng is looking for you!"

Hua Xiaomai called back, carefully put away the letter as it was initially, intending to discuss it with Meng Yuhuai in the evening and hurried to the front courtyard.

Aunt Feng came with her daughter-in-law, sitting in the front courtyard sipping tea with Old Mother Meng. Seeing Hua Xiaomai come out, she waved to her with a smile, grabbed Hua Xiaomai’s wrist eagerly, and said "Xiaomai, last year we bought some chili seeds from your family, which we planted last month. They sprouted smoothly, but these past few days, why do the leaves look so yellow? The whole field looks so distressingly yellow. What are we to do?"