Chef Hua

The night before, Mother Meng had specially boiled a pot of thick soup with brown sugar, sliced ginger, and dates, instructing her to drink a bowl heartily, then to wrap herself in her quilt and sleep until daylight. Come morning, she arose drenched in sweat, headed to the bathhouse for a thorough wash from head to toe, and immediately felt refreshed and invigorated.

On the day before the full month celebration, there were two important tasks that had to be done—taking the baby outside and shaving his head.

The so-called "taking outside" meant carrying the one-month-old baby out for a stroll to bask in the spring sunshine. It didn’t need to take long; the objective was simply to let the little one see the sun and for the mother, who had just finished her postpartum recovery, to breathe some fresh air. Thus, Mother Meng would have the house to herself, to meticulously clean and tidy up the rooms that had been stuffy for a month.

Having not visited Daoxiang Garden for two whole months, Hua Xiaomai, once she gained her freedom, wrapped her little walnut up without hesitation, and headed to the eastern part of the village. She picked a time in the morning when the shop was not busy, and as soon as she stepped through the door, Chun Xi and La Mei greeted her with beaming smiles.

"Look, what did I tell you? Little Mai has been cooped up at home for so long, I knew she’d make a beeline for our shop the moment she was out of confinement. And what did I say? Was I right?"

As Chun Xi spoke, she turned to point at Qing You and half-jokingly said, "You rascals, taking every chance to slack off when the boss isn’t around—don’t say I didn’t warn you. It won’t be long before she’s back managing the shop, and your easy days will be over. You’d better straighten up, or when she starts tallying up new and old accounts, you’ll have it tough!"

After finishing, she laughed, lowered her head to look at the little walnut, pursed her lips to make him laugh, and muttered, "You’ve raised this little walnut so well, he looks so bright and clever, one can’t help wanting to kiss him. But a month-old baby is still very delicate, and we’re covered in grease and smoke all day long; I wouldn’t dare hold him. It’s best just to look. I’m a mother too, I understand!"

Wen Huaren also nodded in agreement, saying, "My hands are covered in ink; it’s best if I don’t touch him either," then smiled at Hua Xiaomai, "Little Mai, if you want to start educating the little walnut later on, I could teach him to recognize words."

Hua Xiaomai had this in mind and didn’t hesitate to thank him, and then turned to give Qing You a half-smiling, half-mocking glance, which made the young man shrink his shoulders and run towards the backyard.

Zhou Yunyun and Master Tan heard the commotion and came running out of the kitchen, joining in the laughter, but Wang Zhanrui was nowhere to be seen.

"Him?" Chun Xi arched her eyebrows, "Did I not tell you earlier? He’s gone back to Lingquan Prefecture to get some new tea before the Grain Rain festival to restock the shop. He left half a month ago and should be back around the mid-month."

Hua Xiaomai wasn’t surprised and instead looked at Master Tan, "Does that mean the kitchen affairs are now being taken care of solely by Master Tan and Yun’er? Can you manage?"

Master Tan chuckled, rubbing his hands together, "It’s been alright. Things have been quite busy lately, but Yun’er is quick and helpful, and we can cope. But with just the two of us, we inevitably end up doing extra work, so there’s no time to go home—I haven’t seen my kids in a while, I... I really miss them."