CHAPTER 661: EPISODE 350 REMINDER_2

At this point, he lowered his voice and glanced at Hua Xiaomai, "Be more careful."

Hua Xiaomai was taken aback, "...You couldn’t be referring to that Song..."

"Not just her."

Han Fengzhi shook his head and with a side glance, he scanned the entire hall of Dong’an Inn.

"I don’t know why you suddenly decided to come to the Eight Treasures Conference, but most people here are not here just for fun. Everyone is eying the top position fiercely. How can you tell who is honest and who has ulterior motives? To achieve their goals, they will resort to any means. I’ve seen too many tactics over the years; not every place is as carefree as your Daoxiang Garden in Fire Knife Village."

Hua Xiaomai certainly understood this reasoning. She believed she had mentally prepared herself before leaving home, but his words still made her feel somewhat jittery. She nodded earnestly, "I understand, I’ll remember what you’ve said."

"I came today specifically to see how you were doing. I’ll leave soon and won’t see you again until the Eight Treasures Conference is over. If you want some peace, try to see fewer people. If there’s nothing urgent, just stay in your room and think about cooking, to avoid people coming to reminisce."

Han Fengzhi then instructed her again, drank up the wine in his cup, and changed the subject to something insignificant, making small talk and sharing laughs with the three of them, enjoying a pleasant conversation. After finishing the meal and sitting for a short while, he quickly excused himself and left.

Hua Xiaomai and Meng Yuhuai saw Han Fengzhi out of the inn’s door and then went back to their rooms to rest. They inevitably discussed what he had said, both feeling somewhat emotional.

Soon after, Meng Laoniang and others joyously returned from the city, laden with goods. They called Hua Xiaomai over, laying out the items one by one for her to see, and detailed everything about the city to her.

"It’s been many years since I last visited, and Tong’an City has really changed! Even the cloths they sell look more fashionable than those in Fuzhe County. I was so dazzled, I didn’t even know what to choose!"

Meng Laoniang showed her two pieces of fine cloth, "Look at these colors, so bright and fresh, how appealing are they? If we take them back and make clothes for little Walnut, it will let the villagers know that we have been to the Provincial City and own some fine things!"

Hua Xiaomai’s mind was elsewhere. She smiled and responded perfunctorily before taking little Walnut from her, quickly excusing herself and returning to her room to speak with Meng Yuhuai.

In the afternoon, Qing You came back from outside and immediately rushed to Hua Xiaomai to relay everything he saw and heard.

Tomorrow was the start of the Eight Treasures Conference. Because there were too many participants this year, to avoid people from different restaurants losing their way around Huayin Pond and being unable to find their pavilions which could delay their work, the organizers had specially allowed each restaurant to send one person to familiarize themselves with the environment ahead of time.

Qing You, who had only ever helped at home before working at Daoxiang Garden, had never seen such a spectacle; once he started talking, he could hardly stop, talking himself dry, yet still unwilling to cease.

"The pavilions allocated to each restaurant, at a quick glance, there must have been forty or so, showing how many competitors we will face tomorrow. That guy...he circled around the lotus pond tightly, just looking around made me nervous, winning won’t be easy!"

Zhou Yunyun and Xiu Miao kept pestering him with questions, as if they wanted to know exactly how many lotus flowers were in Huayin Pond. Hua Xiaomai quietly listened by the side, barely interrupting, and waited until Qing You had talked himself dry before slowly standing up.

"Everyone, we need to stay alert," she looked at the few people before her, speaking calmly, "Don’t drink tonight, don’t wander around, and rest early. Like I always say, we just need to try our best, don’t overthink the rest."

After she spoke, she returned to her room, and indeed she did not go out again that night. Before the hour was late, she and Meng Yuhuai turned off the light and went to bed, waiting for tomorrow to arrive.

...

The next day was bright and sunny, just as dawn broke, the cicadas in the trees began to cry hoarsely, as if desperate to release all their passion before summer ended.

The entire city of Tong’an was baking under the sun, the roads were scorching hot, the thin soles of summer shoes burning the soles of feet, as if they were about to be injured. In such weather, it was not ideal to be outdoors, yet the streets were crowded from early morning.

Meng Laoniang stayed at the inn with little Walnut while Hua Xiaomai, accompanied by Meng Yuhuai and Wang Zhanrui, left after breakfast. The streets were extremely congested, and it took considerable effort to finally reach Huayin Pond, instantly awed by the scene.

Large and small, lavishly or simply decorated carriages filled the entrance door tightly, surrounded by groups of people. Acquaintances meeting each other inevitably greeted loudly, the bustling noise filling the area and making heads buzz.

In such a situation, to enter the garden, one could only squeeze through the crowd sideways, and if one was not careful, stepping too wide could easily step on someone else’s foot. Meng Yuhuai led the way, not caring about appearances, tightly gripping Hua Xiaomai’s arm as they made their way through the crowd. It took them nearly the time of a cup of tea to finally get to the gate, where he took a long breath of relief.

Not wanting to encounter Song Jingxi at this time and spoil her mood, Hua Xiaomai kept her eyes down the whole way, focusing only on her own feet. But now, with the gate right in front of her, she looked up inside, then turned around to size up the group behind her.

"Everyone, let’s go in." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to cast your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)