Chef Hua-Chapter 580: Episode 310: Got Confused

There was a moment when Hua Xiaomai doubted her own eyes.

In this era, men were the main force in the culinary field. When cooking, to avoid staining their clothes, it was only natural to wear an apron— yet she had never seen anyone wear an apron quite so attractively.

The aprons at Daoxiang Garden were uniformly made, not tailored by any seamstress, just a few pieces of dark fabric quickly sewn together by Chun Xi and La Mei.

The kitchen was greasy, and even though the aprons were laundered daily, they inevitably retained some old grease stains after long-term use. Hua Xiaomai had already started to dislike them, thinking it might be time to make some new ones to ensure the guests wouldn’t think them unclean. However, at the sight of Meng Yuhuai, she almost immediately dismissed the idea.

It was just the same apron she and Wang Zhanrui, Master Tan, wore every day, so how could it look so different on him?

It might have been because of his tall stature, the apron seemed a bit small on him, tightly stretched across his shoulders and chest, yet not overly snug, instead making him appear even more broad-shouldered and upright.

As usual, the guy was only wearing a single layer of clothing, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, exposing his muscular and well-defined forearms. Having been in the kitchen for a while, he inevitably got a bit warm, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, tracing a wet line down his temples and slowly sliding into his neck, making his wheat-colored skin shimmer.

Even that ladle, in his hands, seemed to wield the momentum of dancing swords and roaring tigers, making one feel that it wasn’t meant for cooking at all, but was truly an invincible weapon...

Hua Xiaomai unconsciously took a step back, tapping her forehead somewhat puzzled.

Wake up, Hua Xiaomai; this is your husband, whom you’ve shared a bed with every night for over a year. And still, you’re starry-eyed over him, getting all hot and bothered just because he’s wearing an apron; isn’t there something wrong with that?

"...What are you doing?" she composed herself and tried to look annoyed, "The kitchen is the heart of Daoxiang Garden, not just anyone can come in here, who allowed you to cook? As you can see, this row of houses is made of wood, what if you accidentally set it on fire? It’s minor if there’s damage, but what if it scares the guests?

"It won’t." Meng Yuhuai gave her a small smile and reached out to take her hand, "I know I have to make it up to you and show some sincerity, but I’m not good with words. I’m afraid the more I say, the angrier you will get, so I just decided to cook a few dishes. I’ve never cooked before, but seeing my efforts in learning from Wang and Master Tan, at least give it a taste."

As he said this, he suddenly paused, took Hua Xiaomai’s hand, and looked at it: "You’re hot? Why are your palms so sweaty?"

"You... mind your own business!" Hua Xiaomai quickly shook his hand off, "No, isn’t it about trying your cooking? Just bring it here and let me see!"

Meng Yuhuai gave her a puzzled look and indeed turned around to head back to the stove. Hua Xiaomai quietly sighed with relief, only then taking the opportunity to survey the state of the kitchen.

Just as she thought, those first-timers in the kitchen could never be counted on to make things easier.

The small kitchen was a complete mess, with pots where bowls should be, cabbage tattered and strewn about, vegetable stems scattered on the floor, the large basin for washing dishes dotted with grease, and the stove covered in slick black oil stains—it looked as if it had been burglarized.

The bluestone floor near the stove was wet, likely from Meng Yuhuai walking back and forth, leaving dirty footprints everywhere... cooking to please the wife was indeed a good idea, but the question was, who would clean up this mess afterward?

"You’ve also made the kitchen too dirty!" Hua Xiaomai forced her gaze away from his back and said crossly, "I don’t care, you’ll have to clean it up later; I’d be too embarrassed to bother Chun Xi and sister-in-law La Mei with cleaning up your mess."

"No trouble, no trouble!"

La Mei’s cheerful voice came from outside, "Helping clean up a bit, what harm is there, we..."

Her words suddenly cut off, as if someone had covered her mouth and dragged her away.

At this point, Meng Yuhuai had already brought over three plates, swinging them before her like a treasure: "Look, just these few things took a lot of effort, I never knew until now that cooking is more tiring than practicing stick fighting in the yard for an hour!"

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