"..." Grandpa Lu gave an awkward smile, "There’s still some in the pot, why don’t you two have a little more?"
Normally, they didn’t eat . It was only on rare occasions, and now they had been caught, making it seem as if he was sneaking food behind his son and daughter-in-law’s back. Grandpa Lu’s face turned a bright red with embarrassment.
"No need, I had bean noodles for lunch." Zhang Changchun deliberately emphasized what he had for lunch.
Shen Mianmian detected a trace of sourness in his voice.
Grandpa Lu became even more embarrassed, holding the noodles in his hand, unable to take another bite.
Seeing this, Lu Siyuan’s expression darkened slightly. He could tolerate a few remarks directed at him, but he couldn’t stand to see his grandfather unhappy.
Seeing that the mood was off, Lu Dagang stealthily glared at Zhang Changchun, signaling her not to talk nonsense, and quickly changed the subject, "Mianmian, were your parents satisfied with the winter melon?"
"They were." Mianmian said with a smile, putting down her bowl and chopsticks, and then taking out a dollar she had prepared, "Uncle, we were planning to give you the money after we ate, but since you’re here, I’ll just give it to you now, okay?"
"Oh my! Look at this, how embarrassing, actually, we just came to see how my dad was doing." Zhang Changchun quickly took the money before Lu Dagang could, changing her attitude by a hundred and eighty degrees and hurriedly explained that she didn’t come this time for the money.
She had always felt uneasy not having received the money for the goods sold, but now her heart was truly put back in place.
Lu Dagang’s hand, which had been extended, grasped nothing, and he withdrew it somewhat awkwardly, "Do you still want to order winter melon in the future?"
Mianmian gave a sweet smile, "No worries, Auntie, our plan was actually to deliver the money."
She then turned to Lu Dagang, "Uncle, we still want winter melons, do you have any left?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Zhang Changchun was utterly delighted. She had just asked casually, not really expecting a positive answer since Shen Mianmian had just taken eight big winter melons that day and probably hadn’t finished them. But to her surprise, they really did want more.
"We still have about ten or so at home, and we could sell you about seven or eight."
"Right." Lu Dagang nodded along, "The winter melons are just as good as the ones you took today."
"All right, I’ll have a look after we eat," Shen Mianmian spoke, pausing for a moment before adding, "If you have chili bean sauce and dried bamboo shoots and eggs, we’ll take those too."
"You want chili bean sauce and dried bamboo shoots as well?"
Zhang Changchun was beside herself with excitement. They didn’t have any eggs at home, so she automatically ignored that part.
They did have plenty of chili bean sauce and dried bamboo shoots at home, which they had prepared for relatives to eat over the New Year, but they couldn’t eat that much themselves. If they could exchange it for money, what did it matter if they ate a little less?
"We do." Mianmian nodded, "The dried goods are a bit more expensive than the winter melons." Content orıginally comes from 𝕟𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕝·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝕟𝕖𝕥
Gao Changchun was so happy he couldn’t stop smiling, and no longer begrudged Mianmian for eating wheat flour noodles, "You go ahead and eat. After the meal, I’ll take you to our place to see. I’ve dried quite a lot of bamboo shoots, and they’re all wild."
In their mountains, a lot of bamboo grew. When the season came, everyone would go up to the mountains to dig for shoots. What they couldn’t eat, they’d all dry into bamboo shoots, and they had stored up a good fifteen pounds at home.
Keeping three or four pounds would be enough for the New Year’s meals.
Mianmian agreed, then continued to eat her noodles calmly and unhurriedly.
Now, whenever Zhang Changchun looked at Shen Mianmian, it was like looking at a piggy bank—the more she looked, the more pleasing Mianmian became to her eyes. She couldn’t help but praise how pretty and sensible Mianmian was, saying that for such a young girl, she already knew how to help out the family.
Seeing his daughter-in-law so happy, Grandpa Lu’s mood also improved, and a smile gradually appeared on his face.