"Grandpa."
"Dad."
"Third Uncle."
The three little ones appeared from who knew where, chattering away as they gathered around the adults' feet.
The older of the two boys was eleven. His name was Wei Ning, and he was the eldest brother's son.
The younger was ten. His name was Wei Hai, and he was the second brother's son.
There was also a little girl, Wei Yuanyuan, who was six and was the second brother's daughter.
"Grandpa, did you bring me anything yummy?"
It was Wei Hai who spoke. He was high-spirited and the naughtiest one in the family.
The other two little ones didn't speak, but their bright eyes were full of anticipation.
Wei Guoqing pulled a handful of candy from his pocket, and all three children's eyes lit up at once.
Wei Donglai had meant to sneak the things they had kept into the kitchen, but Li Yue'e spotted him anyway.
"What have you got in that bucket?"
"Big Brother and Second Brother said to save it for the family to eat tonight."
Seeing Wei Donglai's eyes dart away, Li Yue'e leaned closer and took a curious look.
"Conger eel and pomfret? You brought these home to eat instead of selling them? You've only made a little money, and you're already squandering it like this?"
As she spoke, Li Yue'e had already grabbed Wei Donglai by the ear.
"Mom, ow, ow, ow!"
"So you know it hurts? Bringing these back instead of selling them for money-I think your skin's itching for a beating."
"Mom, it's not every day we sell more than eighty yuan's worth of seafood. Let's just have a taste."
"Don't we eat enough seafood? Can't you eat crab? Can't you eat filefish and scad? A taste, you say? There are plenty of fresh things in the sea. Do you want to try every single one?"
After breaking free of Li Yue'e's grip, Wei Donglai quickly rubbed his ear a few times, and only then did the pain ease.
"Mom, wasn't I thinking of letting you have a taste too?"
Li Yue'e rolled her eyes at him. "Don't use me as an excuse."
"My sisters-in-law and the kids have to eat too. Think of them, and you won't begrudge it so much."
"I think you're just greedy."
"Yes, yes, I'm greedy. How about you take pity on your son just this once?"
Looking at Wei Donglai's shameless manner, Li Yue'e was somewhat speechless.
"Your brothers have a hard time making a living at sea, and they have a whole family to support. You still need to be frugal where you can."
"Frugal, frugal. I'll definitely be frugal from now on."
Xue Li and Chen Fengying had heard the conversation outside loud and clear. When they saw Wei Donglai come in, they couldn't help covering their mouths and laughing.
Wei Donglai looked aggrieved. "Sisters-in-law, I've suffered terribly today so you could indulge your appetites."
Chen Fengying didn't believe a word of his nonsense. "You're the greedy one. Stop dragging us in to take the fall."
"Ah, one person takes the blame, and the whole family enjoys the reward. Yet no one understands my sacrifice."
"You and that glib tongue of yours."
"I don't just talk. I can cook too. Tonight I'll whip up a few good dishes for you, guaranteed to be so tasty you'll bite your tongues."
After lunch, the two women were no longer opposed to Wei Donglai's cooking.
Xue Li was curious about how he planned to prepare it that evening. "Donglai, are you going to red-braise this eel?"
"Didn't Dad get a piece of pork belly for tonight? I'll cut some off and make red-braised conger eel. I'll steam the pomfret, and then make some pan-fried crab."
The two women's mouths watered a little as they listened.
"Then hurry up and get started. Big Sister-in-law and I will help you."
"No problem!"
"What's a problem?"
"That's English. It means there's no problem."
Chen Fengying felt that her brother-in-law was a little different today. She couldn't say exactly what it was, but he seemed much livelier.
"You know English too?"
"What, are you looking down on me? I can reach up to the nine heavens to pluck the moon and dive into the five oceans to catch turtles."
Seeing Wei Donglai like this, the two women couldn't help chuckling.
Chen Fengying's tone held a hint of teasing. "Where did you pick up all those fancy turns of phrase? Just look at how capable you think you are."
"With my brains and talent, they just roll off my tongue."
The banter didn't interfere with Wei Donglai's cooking in the slightest. He kept his two sisters-in-law laughing as he turned the fresh seafood in the bucket into dishes that looked, smelled, and tasted wonderful.
"Xiao Ning, Xiao Hai, time to eat!"
The two growing boys instantly darted out of their room.
Seeing them head straight for the table, Wei Donglai held out an arm to stop them. "Go find your grandma and wash your hands first."
Wei Ning obediently did as he was told, but the tempting aroma made it hard for Wei Hai to move his feet.
"Wei Hai, if you don't wash your hands, watch out or your mom will spank you later."
Hearing that, Wei Hai grew a little worried. After hesitating for a moment, he obediently ran off to wash his hands.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to call out a reminder to Wei Donglai.
"Third Uncle, you're not allowed to sneak any food."
When he reached Li Yue'e's side, Wei Hai couldn't help asking, "Grandma, what yummy food did you make today? It smells so good."
"You've got the best dog's nose of all."
Li Yue'e answered as she washed Wei Yuanyuan's hands.
Hearing "dog's nose," the little girl's eyes filled with curiosity. "Grandma, is Big Brother a dog?"
The question stumped Li Yue'e.
Wei Hai protested loudly, "I'm not a dog!"
The little girl didn't understand and asked the question on her mind in a clear, childish voice. "Then why did Grandma say you have a dog's nose?"
"Because, because..."
Wei Hai's head was in a muddle. He kept saying "because," but couldn't come up with an explanation.
Wei Ning spoke up from the side. "There's an idiom: a human face and a dog's manner."
Wei Hai glanced at Wei Ning, suspecting that he was insulting him in a roundabout way.
The little girl still didn't understand. She turned to Li Yue'e, still curious. "Grandma, what does 'a human face and a dog's manner' mean?"
"Your Third Uncle has a human face and a dog's manner."
Wei Donglai was somewhat speechless. He'd been shot while lying down, hadn't he?
He scooped up Wei Yuanyuan, whose hands were already clean, and rubbed a finger over her little nose. "Don't listen to your grandma's nonsense. Your Third Uncle is a dragon and phoenix among men."
"I know that one."
"Then tell Third Uncle about it."
"At New Year, Grandma gave me dragon-and-phoenix soup. It was really yummy."
Well, now her Third Uncle had become soup.
Everyone was torn between laughter and tears. Wei Donglai pinched the little girl's plump cheek. "You little glutton."
After the boys' hands were washed, everyone took their places at the table.
"Grandma, I want this."
"Grandma, me too."
"All right, all right, I'll get it for you."
Before long, all three little ones' bowls were full.
Seeing the unfamiliar dishes on the table, Wei Fangchun was a little surprised. "These dishes are a bit different today."
"Donglai cooked them himself today."
At his wife's words, Wei Fangchun reacted as though someone had grabbed him by the throat. The chopsticks he had just reached out with instinctively withdrew.
His eldest brother, Wei Fanghua, was no better. He did exactly the same thing as Wei Fangchun.
The javelin incident had clearly left quite a shadow over both of them.
"Donglai's cooking is something else now. He made lunch too."
"Really?"
"Go on, it's fine!"
Only after seeing their parents, their eldest sister-in-law, and Wei Fangchun's wife pick up their chopsticks did the brothers dare to have a taste.
After tasting a piece of eel, Wei Fangchun finally relaxed completely.
"I have to say, this tastes good. Third Brother, when did your cooking get so good?"
"After three days apart, you should look at a man with fresh eyes. How long has it been now?"
"What, do we have to dig our eyeballs out to look at you now? Don't let knowing how to cook a few dishes go to your head."
"Mom, can you stop shooting me down all the time?"
Li Yue'e glared at him. "No. A person won't amount to much without discipline, and a tree won't become useful timber without pruning. If I don't keep you in check, you'll think you're the Jade Emperor letting out a fart-no ordinary sound, unlike anything in this world."
Pfft!
A discordant sound cut in.
"Grandma, Big Brother just farted."
Wei Hai explained, his little face red, "I didn't mean to. Third Uncle's cooking was so good that I was actually thinking of praising him just now."
Black lines appeared on Wei Donghai's forehead, and he nearly ground his teeth to pieces.
"Thank you for that resounding praise!"