Chapter 25 (2/2)
Seeing that her grandmother was preoccupied, Yu Xiaocao saw an opportunity and quickly placed pieces of meat into her mother's, older brother's, Xiaolian and s.h.i.+tou's bowls. Although she didn't like to eat fatty cuts of meat, it didn't mean the other members of her family were the same! The Yu Family considered themselves lucky if they could eat meat once or twice in the year. Therefore, they appreciated the fatty pieces of pork the most.
When Liu Muyun saw that her youngest daughter was too thrifty to eat meat (Author's note: You're thinking too much, she simply doesn't like to eat it!) but braved her grandmother's poor temper to place meat into her own bowl, the piece of meat became hard for Madam Liu to swallow. However, if she tried to put it back, her mother-in-law would definitely scream at her if she was found out.
Noticing that her mother was hesitating, Xiaocao softly whispered into Madam Liu's ear. ”Mother, I don't like being yelled at, please eat the meat faster…”
Suddenly, she noticed her grandmother lifting her head from her food. Yu Xiaocao hurriedly gave her grandmother a couple of dry fried string brings. She smiled sweetly, ”Grandmother, have some string beans dry fried in lard. They're almost as delicious as meat! You're old so you should eat more!”
”You're such a crafty brat, how come you're not telling me to eat more meat? Our whole courtyard garden is filled with string beans. There's nothing special about these!” Madam Zhang had never mastered the art of filtering her words and always blurted out what was on her mind, no matter how unpleasant it was for others to hear.
During this exchange, Madam Liu and her other children had all bolted down the meat that they rarely got to eat, even during New Year's celebrations. Since Yu Xiaocao successfully completed her mission, she neatly grabbed a couple servings of dry fried green beans and wrapped them in a pancake. She ate the wrap with lively delight.
The dark green string beans glistened with a light coating of oil. The fragrant aroma of lard had infused into each string bean, such that every bite was flavorful without feeling greasy. Even Madam Zhao grabbed a couple of extra servings of the vegetables.
Little Doudou sat at the dinner table like a small adult and kept his mouth wide open, waiting to be fed. The simmered fish stew was as white as cow's milk and was full of savory flavor. The meat of the fish was delicate without any bones to ruin the texture and complemented perfectly with the rich broth. The little boy's mouth smacked with delight as he happily drank the soup.
This little fellow had a picky palate, and Madam Zhao had gone through many trials to get him to eat more. She even would be willing to cut off her own flesh if it made her son want to eat more food. This time, her son was eating voraciously. If she was slow in feeding him, he even started opening his mouth wide and made little 'ah...ah…' noises begging for more. The sight of him eating with a hearty appet.i.te made her feel incredibly happy.
Since, Yu Xiaocao had simmered the delicious soup that her son liked to eat, Madam Zhao's demeanor towards the little girl improved perceptively. Other than Yu Caidie, Yu Xiaocao was the only other person in the entire Yu Family that Madam Zhao deigned to converse with.
Madam Zhang's entire face folded into a brilliant smile as she watched her youngest grandson. ”Grandmother's sweet grandson likes to drink fish soup, so grandmother will leave her bowl for you…”
Madam Zhao looked at her with a bland expression and sweetly said, ”Doudou usually doesn't eat a lot of home. I don't dare to feed him too much in the event that he might get bloated…”
Hearing that, Madam Zhang dropped the subject and merely smiled while watching Little Doudou eat his fish. She was so preoccupied that she forgot to eat her own food.
Xiaocao glanced at her little brother who was slurping fish soup next to her. Little s.h.i.+tou was only a little bit older but he was also Madam Zhang's grandson. However, the difference in treatment between the two little boys was blatantly obvious. It really made her heart ache for her little brother.
On the other hand, Little s.h.i.+tou had long become accustomed to his grandmother's cold treatment. He was solely preoccupied with eating his own meal. The food today was astoundingly sumptuous and luxurious, more so than usual. His second sister had better culinary talent than mother. Without his cousin, Heizi, there to fight for food, he needed to take advantage of the circ.u.mstances and eat more!
The men at their own table also ate with great gusto. Even Old Yu ate two more pancakes than usual. Yu Hai seized the opportunity to complete his youngest daughter's mission and suddenly stated, ”The vegetables today are pretty much as tasty as the meat. Father, do you think the same too?”