"Sister Hu." Ji Ying stepped forward to knock on the door. These past few days, Ji Ying had brought soup, money, and had seen Hu Aimei several times. She said, "Sister Hu, we came especially to see how you are doing."
Ji Ying raised the gift in her hand, saying, "I brought some malted milk that the kids love, and some local specialties my son brought back from Ningbei."
"There’s no need." Hu Aimei’s uneasy voice came from inside the house. She said, "You’ve already given plenty, there’s no need to bring more."
Hu Aimei herself thought that what Li Jianbin had done was quite excessive.
The Xu Family had, on account of this incident, not only spent money at the hospital but also brought nutritional soups, money, and gifts, easily amounting to five or six hundred yuan.
Who spends that much money on diarrhea?
You could spend a few yuan on medicine, which would be quite all right, but most times people would just find some herbal remedies to eat at home.
If it really were because of their chili sauce, that would be one thing, and one could consider it compensation. But Hu Aimei knew very well why Li Jianbin’s stomach was upset; she couldn’t be clearer, and faced with the good-natured Xu Family members and the warm and concerned Ji Ying, every time Hu Aimei saw Ji Ying, she felt guilty!
"Sister Hu, we also have with us this time Xu, a reporter from South City, who came specifically to ask about the situation," Ji Ying continued explaining, "Over in South City they’re spreading rumors, saying that our chili sauce has killed someone, so we’re asking for your help, Sister Hu, to clarify the facts with the reporter Xu."
"A reporter?" Hu Aimei, already feeling guilty, felt even less like opening the door upon hearing about a reporter.
"Yes, just tell the facts to the reporter Xu and that will be enough," Ji Ying offered an explanation. "Also, some guests from South City are here. They bought our chili sauce and are now returning it. Hearing that the reporter Xu was coming, they also made a special trip to see for themselves what the situation really is."
In the house, there was a deathly silence. Hu Aimei had responded just a moment ago, but now she didn’t say a word, and despite Ji Ying’s kind words, she couldn’t get Hu Aimei to open the door.
Seeing this, Xu Nian’an stepped forward and said loudly, "Auntie Hu, I am Xu Nian’an. The Good Mama chili sauce is made by my mother. We’re only here to understand the truth of the matter. Why won’t you open the door? Could it be that his discomfort wasn’t really caused by eating our family’s chili sauce?"
Xu Nian’an’s words alarmed Hu Aimei, and she hastily denied it with an anxious voice, "Yes, that’s right."
"I am at home with the kids, it’s not convenient," Hu Aimei scrambled for an excuse.
Xu Nian’an persisted, "We’re only here to ask about the situation. Besides, your neighbors are all here too. We won’t be a bother to you."
"And not to mention the reporter Xu from South City, as well as many customers of our Chili Sauce Factory from there. We’re just trying to understand the situation."
Xu Nian’an’s tone was even, but insistent, not giving Hu Aimei any chance to refuse.
"Maybe he’s feeling guilty?"
"Who knows, how could anyone get diarrhea from such a clean chili sauce factory?"
The elderly men and women from South City couldn’t restrain themselves from speaking out. The Xu Family, after all the kind words and bringing gifts, as the old saying goes: ’A hand extended in friendship cannot be spat upon.’ They came bearing gifts, yet the person inside hemmed and hawed about opening the door.
With these remarks, Hu Aimei had no choice but to open the door. As soon as she did, Ji Ying warmly handed in the gifts she brought, and suddenly everyone bustled into the already crowded little courtyard, filling it to the brim.
Reporter Xu held a camera and kept snapping pictures. The kitchen was just in the corner of the courtyard, clearly visible without even needing to step inside, capturing the disordered state of the kitchen in one sweeping glance.