"Er Lang, you’re so unreasonable. Don’t you even know the importance of respecting your teacher?" Bai Yibo asked with a mocking smile.
Everyone at the table was embarrassed for a moment. Mr. Xie was just being playful, why did you take it so seriously?
Bai Ruozhu, who was listening attentively, saw the awkward silence and hurriedly brought over a large plate of cooked crabs, smiling as she said, "The crabs are here, everyone, please dip them in ginger vinegar sauce. We only have this one pair of tongs and small scissors available due to limited resources, so please don’t mind."
The tongs were found by Bai Ruozhu on the spot, and the small scissors were also specially found for this purpose. The scissors they usually use at home are large, it would be quite strange to bring them to the table. Hence, these tools were far inferior as compared to those from wealthy families.
Bai Yibo was not pleased that Bai Ruozhu had interrupted, muttering, "Why does Ruozhu always interrupt elders when they’re talking?"
Bai Ruozhu looked at him guiltily, "I was just thinking of serving everyone with some hot dishes. I didn’t mean to interrupt you, uncle. I’m just not tactful at all."
Bai Yibo didn’t expect Bai Ruozhu to talk . She’s being overly courteous. He was so stunned that he didn’t immediately respond.
However, Yu Hongxiu suppressed a giggle and said, "Ruozhu, you’re too modest. If you, who is so insightful and observant say you have no tact, then where does that leave the rest of us?"
Bai Ruozhu silently applauded Yu Hongxiu in her heart. Isn’t she implying that Bai Yibo is tactless? Yu Hongxiu understood the situation well, defending her and speaking up for her. But considering Bai Ruozhu had been busy cooking in the kitchen and only came out to serve dishes, for her to be accused of "always interrupting elders" was rather extreme.
The old man gave Bai Yibo a look, indicating him to stop talking. Bai Yibo was very unsatisfied, but he quieted down.
Bai Ruozhu observed all of this. Apparently, Bai Yibo was determined to curry favor with Mr. Xie.
When the crabs were brought to the table, everyone was intrigued. Bai Ruozhu volunteered to explain to everyone, "These are female crabs which are the best to eat at this period due to their plentiful roe. Those are male crabs, their crab paste is also delicious. But they will be even better after a few more days. I was told by the crab-seller that eating both together is better for health."
Ancient folks believed in balancing Yin and Yang, hence, Bai Ruozhu brought four of each type of crab. She had originally intended to let each guest have a pair of male and female crab, and the remaining ones were for the family to taste. Not everyone likes crabs, including her mother.
Seeing the steamed red crabs, Yu Hongxiu couldn’t help but beam, but as a guest, she couldn’t take the initiative to grab the first piece. So, she signaled Bai Ruozhu to help her pick out two crabs. Bai Ruozhu snickered and picked up a female crab with the serving chopsticks, placing it on her plate.
"Sister Hongxiu, please try first." Bai Ruozhu said with a smile.
Just as she was about to pick a second male crab, the old man sternly said, "Where are your manners? How dare you address Mrs. Xie so casually? You are being rude to our guests!"
Yu Hongxiu appeared embarrassed. She put down the crab she was about to eat and said with an awkward laugh, "Master Bai, don’t scold Ruozhu. It’s me who asked her to call me sister. I’m only two or three years older than her, it would be too formal to call me Mrs."
The old man wasn’t expecting Yu Hongxiu to stand up for Bai Ruozhu and was momentarily caught off guard. At last, he said, "Madam is so kind, but we can’t let Ruozhu get away with being so disrespectful."
Well, every single one of them liked to say that she, Bai Ruozhu, had no manners. Bai Ruozhu kept her silence, playing the put-upon victim for the day, enduring it.
"Master Bai is modest. Miss Ruozhu is knowledgeable and a wonderful cook, I’m thinking of acknowledging her as my sworn sister," Yu Hongxiu added.
Upon hearing this, Bai Yibo became worried and countered, "That would be inappropriate. It would jumble up our family hierarchy."
At this point, Mr. Xie’s face wore an awkward expression, making him look as if he was past his prime.
Yu Hongxiu didn’t say anything. She wanted to give some respect to Bai Zepei’s relatives. As the guest, she also didn’t want to cause any awkwardness between them. She hoped the conversation would come to an end and not interfere with her eating the big crabs.
To prevent Bai Yibo from dragging the conversation on, Bai Ruozhu picked up a male crab for Yu Hongxiu, smiled at her and said, "This one is for you too."
Perhaps Bai Yibo wanted to save face for the old man, so he again picked on Bai Ruozhu’s actions: "Ruozhu, why must every dish be placed at the table? This disgusting and lowly food, resembling demons and ghouls, can’t be used to offend the guests."
The corner of Bai Ruozhu’s mouth twitched. She had always thought Bai Yibo was not smart enough, which was why he couldn’t rival her family. But now, she felt that Bai Yibo was downright foolish! She had planned to watch Bai Yibo make a fool of himself, but she didn’t want Bai Yibo to go so far as to embarrass the guests.
As expected, looking at Yu Hongxiu, her face was slightly flushed. Despite her good upbringing, she could no longer hold her smile.
In Jiangnan, people loved to eat crabs. How could that be considered as vile food? With the mention of demons and ghosts, wasn’t he embarrassing Yu Hongxiu? Especially so when Yu Hongxiu was about to cut the leg of the crab for the second time, ready to remove the crab shell.
Mr. Xie, being aware of his wife’s preferences, also showed his disapproval. He was a very straightforward man and corrected Bai Yibo. "Brother Yibo, you’re mistaken. Eating crabs is a custom in Jiangnan. Furthermore, crabs are delicious. Even I, having tasted them, could not resist. Now, they are a common dish served at banquets held by wealthy families in the Capital."
He pointed at the plate and said, "Miss Bai has really put a lot of thought into this. She added chrysanthemums. In Jiangnan, enjoying chrysanthemums while eating crabs is considered a refined practice among scholars. There are even poetry conferences based on this theme."
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but think of a scene in "Dream of the Red Chamber" where Jia Baoyu and others ate crabs and wrote poems. The practice was indeed considered refined by wealthy families. This made her feel that Bai Yibo was all the more ignorant.
"Mr. Xie’s too kind. I wanted to entertain you and your wife with chrysanthemums, but due to limited resources, we could only adorn the platter with wild chrysanthemums from the countryside," Bai Ruozhu responded humbly. She initially intended to celebrate their esteemed guests’ arrival with chrysanthemums and fat crabs, but couldn’t find any potted chrysanthemums for sale.
Seeing her husband defending her, Yu Hongxiu gave him a loving smile. She knew very well that Mr. Xie, being a northerner, was not particularly fond of crabs.
As Yu Hongxiu said, "My husband is right. Being from Jiangnan, crabs are my favorite. Ruozhu best understands my tastes. This presentation also has its own charm. It’s no wonder Miss Ruozhu is so thoughtful," she regained her composure.
Bai Yibo’s face turned red as he stuttered, "I guess I was short-sighted...."
The old man’s expression darkened. He was annoyed at Bai Yibo for his bluntness. On the other hand, he was also worried because Bai Yibo was losing face. He cast a disapproving glance at Bai Ruozhu, thinking that she must have known about Mrs. Xie’s preference for crabs in advance and had intentionally prepared crabs without informing them, just to make them a laughing stock.