At noon, as Changle wished, they ate crabs. Being a thoughtful daughter, she naturally didn't forget her father, picking out the two largest ones and having Xu Zheng deliver them.
"Tell father that although the wine is delicious, considering he's dealing with official business, I won't send him any."
Xu Zheng suppressed a laugh, "I'll convey your message to the master word for word."
Changle waved her little hand in satisfaction. She couldn't forget her father when it came to good things, but she also couldn't resist teasing him a bit.
"You might as well not send him anything!" Lady Zhang said as she helped the Old Madam sit down, tapping the little mischief-maker's forehead with amusement.
"But I can't just let him smell it, can I? It would ruin father's image of being wise and mighty!"
Changle blinked innocently. Seeing Qiuli come in, her eyes lit up and she went to greet him, "Wow, Qiuli, you're wearing new clothes!"
Lady Zhang quickly turned to look, "Does it fit well?"
"It fits perfectly," Qiuli cupped his hands and bowed. "Thank you."
"It's just a piece of clothing. If anyone should be thankful, it's us," Lady Zhang said, her eyes darting back and forth. Unable to bear it any longer, she pulled her daughter away from circling Qiuli. "Where's Ziming?"
"He went to bathe. He might have been rolling in the mud earlier, he came back covered in dirt, haha!"
"You're the one who's been rolling in the mud. I can hear you throwing dirt on me from a mile away."
Dingding entered the room, still unconsciously tugging at his clothes. Lady Zhang hadn't played favorites; she had made clothes for both of them. However, she couldn't replicate the Beggar's Sect style, and Dingding felt quite uncomfortable in these fine clothes.
This was her adopted son, and although they hadn't been together long, Lady Zhang treated him somewhat differently from Qiuli. Seeing him constantly pulling at his clothes, she went forward to adjust them for him. Dingding immediately froze like a clay statue.
"I made these with the fabric we brought from home. I rushed to make one set each, and they both seem to fit well," Lady Zhang stepped back to look, quite satisfied. She then looked at Qiuli and smiled, "Shall I make two more sets in this size?"
Qiuli immediately expressed his gratitude, showing no intention of refusing.
Dingding both wanted the clothes and felt they were too good, making him uncomfortable. But under his adoptive mother's smiling gaze, he nodded before his brain could catch up. He... he would try not to tear a few holes in them. If he really couldn't resist, he'd tear the inside where it couldn't be seen.
Sipping tea, smelling the wine's aroma, and listening to their conversation, the Old Madam almost wanted to invite Madam Xu to see what a proper mistress of the house should be like, lest her abilities fail to grow while her ambition threatens to blow the roof off.
When Zhu Changning arrived, almost everyone was present. After they all took their seats, Changle shook her head and sighed, "When big brother gets better, I'll go to sea and catch the biggest crabs for him."
"Aren't the ones we bought good enough for you?" Lady Zhang gave her a reproachful look, placing the largest crab on top in her mother-in-law's bowl.
"It's more sincere if I catch them myself. I always feel like I'm secretly eating good things behind big brother's back," Changle said happily as she took a large crab. So big! For mother!
"You don't look the least bit guilty about eating good things in secret," Dingding habitually retorted. When he saw her put another crab in Qiuli's bowl, his eyes widened, and he immediately pointed at his own bowl.
"Don't you have hands?"
Hiding his hands behind his back, Dingding said very righteously, "They're busy."
Changle rolled her eyes at him but decided to humor him at the dinner table. Really, he was becoming more and more like a little tail.
Afraid that her second brother might also turn into a little tail, Changle very conscientiously got one for him too.
The Old Madam watched the back-and-forth at the table with smiling eyes. She didn't let the servants help, wiping her hands and using the scissors herself. Lady Zhang glanced at Dingding, then turned back and said, "There's no need to serve here. Changle brought back plenty, you all go and have a taste."
Lady Li smiled and thanked the fourth young miss on behalf of all the servants, then led everyone out.
The room suddenly felt much more spacious, which made Dingding feel more at ease. Of course, only Zhu Changning hadn't noticed his discomfort; hadn't he seen how even Changle was going along with him?
Changle wasn't very interested in crabs, or more precisely, she wasn't interested in anything from the sea. After all, during her two years on the island, she had eaten pretty much everything edible in the area in every possible way, and had grown tired of it.
She squatted next to her grandmother, who was skillfully peeling the crab, each part peeled perfectly without losing a bit of meat.
"Grandmother, have some yellow wine. I've tasted it, it's very smooth and not too strong."
The Old Madam picked up the cup and took a small sip. Indeed, it was easy to drink. "Our little Changle even understands wine. Is there anything you don't know?"
Pretending to think for a moment, Changle shook her head, "Nope, nothing."
Dingding, gnawing on a crab leg, grunted twice. He wanted to paste the words "shameless" on Changle's forehead.
As if knowing what he was thinking, Changle raised her chin at him, looking smug as if to say "what can you do about it?"
Dingding decided to let her save face in front of her grandmother and mother.
"Oh, second brother, if second sister-in-law asks why we didn't invite her to eat crabs, you'll have to explain for me. It's not that I didn't want to invite her, I do know that women shouldn't eat this during the postpartum period."
Zhu Changning's chewing paused for a moment. This was something that didn't need explanation; he hadn't even thought about it in that direction. But Changle's deliberate mention of this showed both her distance from Hanmei and her distrust in him as her brother.
"She can't eat what you're eating either. There's no need to say anything about this," he paused, then added, "Don't worry about her. Just be yourself at home, like you've always been."
After placing a plate of crab meat in front of her grandmother, Changle moved closer to her mother, saying in a voice that everyone could hear despite her attempt to whisper, "Mother, look, second brother has been tamed by me."
Lady Zhang wanted to laugh, but held back when she saw her second son's darkening face.
"Zhu Changle!"
"I hear you, I hear you!" Changle raised her smiling face. "Don't rush, let me finish peeling for mother first, then I'll peel for you."
The awkwardness in his heart instantly dissolved at these words. Zhu Changning didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Who asked you to peel for me?"
When it came to the skill of seizing an opportunity, Changle could claim second place with no one daring to claim first. She raised one hand as if taking an oath.
"Understood, no need to peel for second brother."
And she really didn't peel for Zhu Changning. After peeling for her mother, she went to Qiuli's side. Seeing the intact crab in front of him that hadn't been touched at all, and the person sitting motionless, she rolled her eyes and said, "Qiuli, you... you don't know how to peel a crab, do you?"
Qiuli nodded very comfortably. He didn't know how, and he had no intention of learning.
"Have you eaten it before?"
"Yes."
So he must have been served by others, Changle thought. She pretended to roll up her sleeves, "Today, I, Lady Zhu, shall serve the young master his crab!"
"What about me?" Dingding raised the crab with half-eaten legs in his hand.
"This young master will have to try his luck next time."
Lady Zhang listened and silently ground her teeth. What kind of talk was this? On the contrary, the Old Madam's lips curled up in a smile. She loved seeing her granddaughter so carefree and lively.
