The Shrimp Was Too Far Away for Her to Reach

Jiang Xia did not know that after the original owner had eaten one meal with everyone on the first day she married in, she had refused to come out to eat again. Zhou Chenglei had always brought her meals to her room.

Not having the original owner's memories was troublesome, but she had experienced much in her previous life and had long trained herself to face any situation with a calm smile.

Facing everyone's gazes, Jiang Xia smiled as if nothing were amiss. "What is it?"

"Nothing. Sit down and eat." Father Zhou spoke.

Zhou Chenglei casually pulled a bamboo chair over from the corner and added another seat. Everyone shifted over of their own accord, making more room.

Zhou Chenglei gestured for Jiang Xia to sit first.

Only then did Jiang Xia understand that there had been no seat for her. The original owner must not have eaten with everyone before, so no one had saved her a place.

She calmly sat down beside Little Zhou Zhou.

Zhou Chenglei sat beside her and glanced at the pickled vegetables and greens in front of them.

Zhou Zhou timidly called out, "Little Aunt."

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

Zhou Zhou's body stiffened, and she did not dare move. She was a little afraid of this Little Aunt. She had seen her slap Little Uncle across the face.

Seeing that she was afraid, Jiang Xia withdrew her hand.

The Zhou Family's dining table was a long table made by pushing together two low Eight Immortals Tables. At that moment, it seated the six members of the First Branch, Father Zhou, Mother Zhou, Zhou Zhou—the orphan left behind by the Third Branch—as well as Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei. Eleven people in total, just enough to fill the table.

Zhou Chenglei's second older brother and Second Sister-in-law worked in town and usually lived there, so they did not come back for meals.

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

Jiang Xia looked over the dishes on the table: Flower Crab, sea prawns, Mixed Fish Stew, greens, pickled vegetables, and a seaweed egg-drop soup.

The Zhou Family's meals really were 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 every morning at three or four, Father Zhou took Zhou Chengxin and Zhou Chenglei out to fish. Thus, the Zhou Family's table never lacked seafood.

Father Zhou called, "Eat," and before his words had even faded, the four Guang Zong Yao Zu brothers all shot their chopsticks toward the plate of prawns, each grabbing for the biggest ones.

In an instant, the largest prawns had all been taken, and it felt as though half the plate had vanished.

Tian Caihua cursed under her breath but did not interfere. She grabbed a handful of prawns herself, then picked the biggest Mudskipper Fish from the Mixed Fish Stew and gave them to her sons.

If they did not eat more, were they supposed to let outsiders benefit? In front of Jiang Xia were nothing but greens and pickled vegetables, with a huge bowl of egg-drop soup in the middle blocking her from reaching the other dishes. It was clear just how unwelcome she was.

Jiang Xia casually picked up her chopsticks and took a piece of green vegetable.

At that moment, a peeled prawn was placed in her bowl.

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

Zhou Chenglei did not look at her. He picked the largest Mudskipper Fish from the Mixed Fish Stew, removed the bones, and gave her the Fish Meat. "Eat carefully. I don't know if there are any fish bones left."

The first time she had eaten with the Zhou Family, a fish bone had gotten stuck in her throat. Usually, whenever he brought food to her room, he removed the bones from the fish first.

Jiang Xia felt rather embarrassed. She thanked him again and told him to eat for himself instead of worrying about her.

Zhou Chenglei picked up another prawn, peeled it, and placed it in Jiang Xia's bowl as well.

The prawns were too far away for her to reach.

Mother Zhou glanced at her youngest son and sighed. If she had known, she would not have moved that plate of prawns away. Her son would not get a single bite.

Father Zhou silently ate, as though he knew nothing at all.

Tian Caihua secretly rolled her eyes. Her sons had not needed their fish bones picked out since they were four years old. So delicate, so pretentious! They were about to divorce, so why was he still treating her so well?

Jiang Xia looked at the plate of prawns. There were none left.

There was a reason they said half-grown boys could eat their fathers poor.

The four Guang Zong Yao Zu brothers ate as though they were snatching food from one another. They did not even peel their prawns, and in no time at all, they had swept the entire plate clean.

Seeing that Zhou Zhou beside her had not managed to get any, Jiang Xia put her prawn into Zhou Zhou's bowl.

Zhou Zhou seemed surprised. She turned to glance at Jiang Xia and quietly said, "Thank you, Little Aunt."

Jiang Xia smiled and gave half of her Fish Meat to Little Zhou Zhou beside her.

Zhou Zhou timidly said again, "Thank you, Little Aunt. You should eat it yourself. You don't need to worry about me. Zhou Zhou knows how to spit out fish bones, so I'm not afraid of them."

She did not understand why Little Aunt was so gentle today. It was a little frightening.

Mother Zhou also peeled a prawn for Zhou Zhou and gave her a Mudskipper Fish. 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. You don't need to worry about her."

This daughter-in-law seemed a little more normal today. There was a smile on her face, and she no longer looked as if the whole world owed her money.

Unfortunately, she was abnormal most of the time.

She could not stay! Jiang Xia answered, then began eating for herself.

It had to be said that wild seafood really was exceptionally delicious.

The prawn meat was springy, fresh, and sweet.

The Mudskipper Fish was firm and flavorful.

The Flower Crab was especially fresh and sweet as well.

It was obvious that this seafood had simply been steamed or boiled with a little salt, rough and direct, yet it was all incredibly delicious.

The other dishes were quickly finished off by Zhou Hai and his brothers. No one ate the Flower Crab. Zhou Hai and his brothers thought it was too troublesome and had too little meat, but Jiang Xia especially loved crab.

Zhou Chenglei saw that she liked it, so he peeled it for her.

After seeing Zhou Chenglei peel prawns for Jiang Xia and then start peeling crabs for her, Tian Caihua could not help saying to Zhou Chengxin, "Look at how well Fourth Brother dotes on his wife. I've been married to you for so many years, yet I've never seen you peel a crab or prawn for me."

Zhou Chengxin snapped, "Didn't you say Flower Crab was worthless, had no meat, and that you didn't like it? Villagers throw this stuff away when they pick it up. Only Zhou Zhou likes it."

When she ate prawns, she ate them shell and all. She said peeling prawns wasted time and meant eating fewer of them, so naturally her sons were all like her!

Zhou Zhou: "."

She liked them because she could not compete with her Older Brothers for the other dishes. Only Flower Crab was not snatched away because her Older Brothers found it too troublesome.

Tian Caihua: "."

She had married a blockhead! Just looking at him made her angry! Zhou Chengxin had also finished eating and simply walked away.

Jiang Xia was rather surprised that Flower Crab was not valuable. In modern times, this was more expensive than some fish.

Zhou Chenglei said nothing. He silently picked out the meat from the remaining crabs for Jiang Xia and his little niece.

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

Father Zhou and Mother Zhou went out as soon as they finished eating.

Seeing Jiang Xia eat with such relish, Tian Caihua ate a crab too, but she truly lacked the patience for it. She even ate prawns with their shells on. Rising to her feet, she took the chance to say, "Fourth Sister-in-law, you eat the slowest. When you're done, wash the bowls and chopsticks while you're at it!"

Since she could get out of bed and eat, why should she not do housework? "All right." Jiang Xia did not argue. Others had cooked the meal, so it was perfectly normal for her to wash the dishes.

Seeing that she knew her place, Tian Caihua could not help pushing her luck and assigning Jiang Xia more work. "Tomorrow, Father and the others are going out to sea around four in the morning. Remember to get up at three and prepare breakfast and the lunch they'll take with them. I've been doing it every day these past few days."

They were all daughters-in-law of the Zhou Family, so the housework had to be divided and handled together.

Why should Jiang Xia not have to do anything while she herself worked herself to the bone serving the whole family—and still had to wait on her?