Chapter 5: Shrimp is far from her, and she cannot reach it

Jiang Xia did not know that after eating a meal with everyone on her first day as the original owner, she had refused to come out to eat again, and Zhou Chenglei had always delivered her meals to her room.

Not having the original owner's memories was troublesome, but having experienced so much in her past life, she had long since trained herself to calmly smile and handle any situation.

Facing everyone's gaze, Jiang Xia asked with a smile, acting as if nothing was wrong: "What's the matter?"

"It's nothing. Sit down and eat," Father Zhou said.

Zhou Chenglei reached into the corner, pulled over a bamboo chair, and added a seat. Everyone consciously shifted their positions to make more room.

Zhou Chenglei gestured for Jiang Xia to sit first.

Only then did Jiang Xia realize there hadn't been a seat for her; it must have been because the original owner never ate with them, so they hadn't set a place for her.

She sat down calmly beside little Zhou Zhou.

Zhou Chenglei sat down next to her and glanced at the pickled vegetables and greens in front of her.

Zhou Zhou called out timidly, "Little Aunt."

Jiang Xia smiled and patted her little head: "Zhou Zhou is such a good girl."

Zhou Zhou stiffened, not daring to move. She was a bit afraid of this Little Aunt, having seen her slap her uncle in the face before.

Seeing her fear, Jiang Xia withdrew her hand.

The Zhou family's dining table was a long table made of two low-legged eight-immortal tables pushed together. At this moment, the eldest son's family of six, Father Zhou, Mother Zhou, the third son's orphan Zhou Zhou, and Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei were all seated—eleven people in total, just enough to fit.

Zhou Chenglei’s second brother and sister-in-law worked in town and lived there, so they didn't come back for meals.

Zhou Chenglei also had an older sister who was already married, so there were only eleven people eating.

Jiang Xia glanced at the dishes on the table: flower crabs, sea shrimp, a mixed fish stew, greens, pickled vegetables, and a seaweed egg drop soup.

The Zhou family's food was indeed as good as described in the book.

The Zhou family lived in a small fishing village very close to the sea. They owned a fishing boat, and Father Zhou would take Zhou Chengxin and Zhou Chenglei out to sea at three or four in the morning every day, so the Zhou family never lacked seafood.

Father Zhou shouted, "Let's eat!" No sooner had the words left his mouth than the chopsticks of the four brothers from the eldest branch all reached for the plate of shrimp at the same time, each picking the largest ones.

In an instant, the biggest shrimp were gone, and it felt like half the plate was missing.

Tian Caihua scolded them, but didn't stop them. She grabbed a handful of shrimp for herself and then picked the largest mudskippers from the mixed fish stew for her sons.

If they didn't eat more, would she let outsiders benefit?

In front of Jiang Xia were only the greens and pickled vegetables, with a large bowl of egg drop soup blocking the middle, making it difficult to reach other dishes. It was clear how unwelcome she was.

Jiang Xia picked up her chopsticks and took a piece of green vegetable as if nothing were amiss.

Just then, a peeled shrimp was placed in her bowl.

Jiang Xia looked at Zhou Chenglei and smiled: "Thank you."

Zhou Chenglei didn't look at her; he picked the largest mudskipper from the stew, removed the bones, and gave her the fish meat: "Eat carefully, I'm not sure if there are any bones left."

She had choked on a fish bone during her first meal at the Zhou house, and the meals he usually brought to her room always had the bones removed.

Jiang Xia felt quite embarrassed. She thanked him again and told him to eat his own food and not worry about her.

Zhou Chenglei went to grab another shrimp, peeled it, and placed it in Jiang Xia's bowl as well.

The shrimp were far away, and she couldn't reach them.

Mother Zhou glanced at her youngest son and sighed. If she had known, she wouldn't have moved that plate of shrimp; now her son wouldn't get a single bite.

Father Zhou ate his meal silently, as if he knew nothing.

Tian Caihua rolled her eyes secretly. Her sons had been eating fish without needing the bones removed since they were four. How delicate, how pretentious!

They were about to get a divorce anyway, so why treat her so well?

Jiang Xia looked at the plate of shrimp; it was already empty.

There was a saying that growing boys could eat their parents into poverty, and it wasn't without reason.

The four brothers ate as if they were in a competition, not even peeling the shrimp shells, and they had wiped out the plate in a flash.

Seeing that little Zhou Zhou beside her hadn't gotten any, Jiang Xia placed that shrimp into Zhou Zhou's bowl.

Zhou Zhou seemed surprised, turned her head to look at Jiang Xia, and whispered, "Thank you, Little Aunt."

Jiang Xia smiled and shared half of the fish meat with little Zhou Zhou beside her.

Zhou Zhou said timidly again, "Thank you, Little Aunt. Little Aunt, you should eat, don't worry about me. Zhou Zhou can spit out fish bones; I'm not afraid of them."

She didn't understand why her Little Aunt was so gentle today; it was a bit scary.

Mother Zhou also peeled a shrimp for Zhou Zhou and gave her a mudskipper. This fish had few bones and tasted good, and Zhou Zhou loved it.

She said to Jiang Xia: "Xiao Xia, just eat your own food. Zhou Zhou knows how to eat fish herself, don't worry about her."

Today, this daughter-in-law seemed a bit normal; there was a smile on her face, unlike before when she looked like the whole world owed her money.

It was a pity that she was abnormal most of the time.

She couldn't stay!

Jiang Xia said "okay" and began to eat.

It had to be said that this wild seafood was truly exceptionally fresh and delicious.

The shrimp meat was bouncy and sweet.

The mudskipper meat was firm and flavorful.

The flower crabs were also incredibly sweet.

It was clear that these seafood dishes were simply steamed or boiled with a bit of salt, yet they were all delicious.

The other dishes were quickly finished by the Zhou brothers. No one ate the flower crabs; the brothers all complained that they were too much trouble and had no meat, but Jiang Xia loved eating crab.

Seeing that she loved them, Zhou Chenglei peeled them for her.

Seeing Zhou Chenglei finish peeling shrimp and then crab for Jiang Xia, Tian Caihua couldn't help but say to Zhou Chengxin: "Look at how much the Fourth Brother dotes on his wife. I've been married to you for so many years and have never seen you peel a crab or shrimp for me."

Zhou Chengxin retorted irritably: "Didn't you say flower crabs aren't worth anything and have no meat, and that you don't like them? Even the villagers throw these things away when they find them; only Zhou Zhou likes them."

When she ate shrimp, she ate them shell and all, saying peeling them was a waste of time and would mean eating fewer, so the sons were just like her!

Zhou Zhou: "..."

She loved them because she couldn't compete with her brothers for the other dishes; only the flower crabs were considered too much trouble for her brothers to fight over.

Tian Caihua: "..."

She had married a block of wood!

Just looking at him made her angry!

Zhou Chengxin finished eating and walked away.

Jiang Xia was surprised that flower crabs weren't worth anything; in the modern era, these were more expensive than some fish.

Zhou Chenglei didn't speak, silently picking the meat out of the remaining crabs for Jiang Xia and his little niece.

By the time everyone else had finished and left the table, Zhou Chenglei was still there peeling crabs for her and Zhou Zhou.

Father and Mother Zhou left as soon as they finished.

Seeing Jiang Xia eating with such relish, Tian Caihua ate a crab too, but she lacked the patience. She ate shrimp shell and all. She stood up and took the opportunity to say: "Fourth Sister-in-law, you're the slowest eater. Since you're finished, why don't you wash the dishes?"

Since she was well enough to get out of bed and eat, why shouldn't she do housework?

"Alright." Jiang Xia didn't argue. Someone else had cooked the meal, so it was only fair that she wash the dishes.

Seeing her being sensible, Tian Caihua couldn't help but push her luck and assign Jiang Xia more work: "Dad and the others are heading out to sea around four in the morning tomorrow. Remember to get up at three to prepare breakfast and the lunch they need to take with them. I've been doing it every day for the past few days."

Everyone was a daughter-in-law of the Zhou family; housework should be divided and shared.

Why should Jiang Xia do nothing while she worked herself to the bone serving the whole family, and then had to serve her too?