CHAPTER 651: CHAPTER 345 DECIDED_2

Hua Xiaomai sneered, "Sister-in-law, what do you plan to do? They are the local big shots of Tong’an City. If we go knocking on their door to reason with them, can we expect anything good?"

Although very reluctant to admit it, there were some realities in front of her that could not be ignored.

"Are you stupid?" Chun Xi slammed the table. "I’m not asking you to go and risk your life! Song Jingxi doesn’t want you to attend the Eight Treasures Conference, it is clear that she feels threatened. She had wanted to poach Master Wang before, and now she’s tripping you up like this. If you have any spine, you should show your face at the Eight Treasures Conference! We don’t need to aim for anything else, just to intimidate her and press her down, to take a good breath!"

The others echoed in varying degrees of agreement, and the table became chaotic for a moment, until suddenly there was a loud "bang". A wine cup was smashed heavily onto the table.

Everyone looked around and saw Wang Zhanrui stand up abruptly.

The fellow, perhaps having had too much to drink, had eyes that were bloodshot, glaring at Hua Xiaomai and saying, "The Eight Treasures Conference is not to be missed, both in reason and sentiment. If you really don’t want to go, then let me take the name of Daoxiang Garden and see it through, how about that?"

Hua Xiaomai looked up at him, then turned back to see everyone at the table eagerly looking at her.

It was time for her to make a decision...

"Then we will go," she exhaled a long breath from deep within her chest, her voice not loud, but each word resounded with resolve. "Old Master Xue left his address with me the last time he was here. Qing You, you go to the Provincial City tomorrow, tell him that Daoxiang Garden has decided to participate in this year’s Eight Treasures Conference, and ask for all the details. As for the trivial matters, like how many people we’ll take and what dishes we plan to prepare, we’ll discuss it slowly after Qing You comes back."

...

With the matter settled, everyone was jubilant, rubbing their hands together in excitement, as if they could hardly wait to go to the Provincial City right away to compete against other restaurants.

Hua Xiaomai and Meng Yuhuai, worried about their little walnut at home, didn’t linger too long at Master Tan’s place. After a round of lively banter, Meng Yuhuai had a couple more drinks with the men, then left ahead of the others, braving the heavy rain as they walked back to the east of the village.

The Eight Treasures Conference had been on Hua Xiaomai’s mind for a long time, and now that she had finally made a decision, it felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Chun Xi was right in saying that this trip to the Eight Treasures Conference wasn’t about aiming for anything particular. She would do her best, of course, but she wasn’t overly concerned about the outcome. Most importantly, she might not be able to do anything to Song Jingxi, but she planned to settle accounts with that woman openly and squarely at the Eight Treasures Conference.

With the matter decided, they felt instantly lighter. Once they got home, they washed and changed into clean clothes, chatted with Old Lady Meng for a bit, then took little walnut back to their room.

The baby was sleeping sweetly, his little white and tender face looking incredibly peaceful.

Hua Xiaomai carefully laid him on the bed, her gaze fixated on his sleeping face for a long time, insufficiently sated. She then turned and flashed a smile at Meng Yuhuai.

"I really don’t want to brag, but tell me, how can Little Walnut be so adorably clever? Now I fully understand the feelings of a mother—In my eyes, all the children in the entire Fire Knife Village can’t hold a candle to him! I won’t be able to leave him behind when I go to the Provincial City in July, I must take him with me. I’ll need your help to speak to Mother about it, okay?"

"Why not just take Mother with us?"

Meng Yuhuai came closer to peek at Little Walnut’s face and also smilingly said, "I’ve thought it over, Mother doesn’t need to attend the Eight Treasures Conference, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea for her to come with us to the Provincial City. Having her take care of Little Walnut would put our minds at ease. If she has free time, she could also enjoy touring the city—after all, it must have been over a decade since she last visited the Provincial City’s vicinity. We might as well treat it as a family outing, isn’t that also quite nice?"

He had previously harbored grudges against Old Lady Meng and had been running around from place to place all year round without once considering taking his own mother out for a trip, a tour. But now... this could be considered progress, right?

Hua Xiaomai narrowed her eyes in a smile and went up to hook his arm, "I’m just afraid that accompanying me to the Provincial City might delay your work with the Escort Agency..."

At this point, she suddenly remembered an important matter, raised her eyebrows, and tightened her hold on him, "Right, earlier at Master Tan’s house, you said Han Hu went to Tong’an City to handle business for the Escort Agency, but wasn’t there already an outcome to that matter a few days back? It truly was Shenglong Escort Agency’s men who were causing trouble, wasn’t it?"

Meng Yuhuai lowered his eyelids and spoke softly, "Indeed. Those two are still detained at the Escort Agency. I’ve sent Han Hu to ask Dong Deyou and Lv Bin from Shenglong Escort Agency to come and collect them, and if not, to directly bring them to the County Government. The message has been delivered, and I reckon in the next two days, they should appear."

Hua Xiaomai’s eyes widened in surprise, "You want to resolve this issue face to face with them? Wow, can I go and watch when it happens?"

"What for?"

Meng Yuhuai had not anticipated such a reaction from her. Seeing her eager and excited expression as if she was looking forward to it, he couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and exasperation, "This isn’t something to be treated lightly, are you thinking it’s a street spectacle?"

"I won’t cause you any trouble!" Hua Xiaomai put on a serious face, tugging insistently at his sleeve, "I’ll just watch from the side, and when I find the chance, I’ll spit at them a couple of times and run away. With so many people at the Escort Agency, they couldn’t possibly cause me to suffer a loss, right? Let me go with you, okay? We’ve been married for so long, and I’ve hardly seen how you handle things at the Escort Agency, so let me have an eye-opener this time, please?"

While speaking, she threw caution to the wind and wrapped herself around him using both hands and feet.

Meng Yuhuai, who was never particularly good with words, was helpless with her clambering all over him recklessly, furrowed his brow in thought for a moment, then said helplessly, "You can go, but no matter what happens, you must not get involved, and stay in a secluded spot..."

"I’ll hide, guaranteed." Hua Xiaomai, having secured his agreement, beamed a toothy grin, planted a loud kiss on his face, and then immediately rolled onto the bed, settling down peacefully under the blankets. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets, Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)