Grandpa Tang was naturally just making a joke, teasing the little clever girl, but to his surprise, Shi Mei seemed a bit distressed and said, "Grandpa Tang’s gift, oh..."
Grandpa Tang burst out laughing, "Look at this little girl, Grandpa is just kidding you."
Grandma Shi couldn’t help but chuckle as well. "You’re so grown up, yet you’re still teasing a little girl."
"That’s right," Granny Tang joined in, and then stood up, "Let’s go inside for a cup of tea to warm up, it’s been really cold these past few days."
"Yeah, it’s so cold," Shi Mei followed suit to change the subject, and bent down to rummage through her little purse, "But I brought a gift for Grandpa Tang!"
Shi Mei pulled out a vacuum-packed bag of beef jerky and handed it to Grandpa Tang. "Do you , Grandpa?"
Grandpa Tang’s eyes lit up slightly when he saw the item. "I love it!"
Granny Tang saw it and said, "Grandpa can’t eat that, his health isn’t good."
"Don’t listen to your Granny Tang, it’s fine to eat, it’s fine," Grandpa Tang took it right away, pointing out the words on the package to Granny Tang, "No salt, no sugar, a healthy nutritional product."
Granny Tang took a look and saw that it was indeed the case, so she followed along.
Granny Tang took Grandma Shi inside the house, while Shi Mei intentionally lagged behind, sneaking up to Grandpa Tang and whispering mysteriously, "I have more!"
Then, she opened her little purse wide, "There are little squids, little beef, little lamb, and little rabbit meat."
Grandpa Tang’s eyes shone brightly. He quietly pulled Shi Mei to the side and whispered, "This is what you brought, don’t let Granny Tang find out."
Shi Mei also ’shushed’ softly, "Yes, it’s a gift for Grandpa Tang. Do you like it?"
"I love it, I love it," Grandpa Tang whispered back, "Let’s go inside first."
"Oh, okay," Shi Mei snuck inside, watching Granny Tang and Grandma Shi talk while she secretly slipped the beef jerky to Grandpa Tang, "All for you."
Grandpa Tang was somewhat surprised and happily accepted the whole lot.
After Shi Mei had stuffed a full bag of snacks, she whispered secretly, "Don’t eat too much, and don’t get caught."
Grandpa Tang, looking at Shi Mei’s face full of mystery, suddenly had another face flash across his mind.
Xiao Wu used to do the same thing; she liked to buy him snacks and then would also quietly instruct him: don’t let Granny find out, don’t eat too much, or I won’t buy them for you next time.
But Tang Wu had an expression full of sternness mixed with resignation, whereas Little Shimei’s face had an air of utmost seriousness, which combined with the fact that she only had the intelligence of a five-year-old, made it seem like a child playing at being an adult.
"All right, all right." Grandpa Tang was very cooperative, smiling wryly.
After hiding the ’contraband’, Grandpa Tang then sat down next to his wife with a serious demeanor, "Isn’t she here to listen to music? Let’s have some tea and listen to it; it’s warm inside."
Grandma Shi had also been waiting for quite some time; Elder Mrs. Tang’s skill with the lute was not for casual playing, and the pieces she had composed over the years were each more brilliant than the last.
It was having such a grandmother that allowed Tang Wu to be so outstanding and impressive.
"Is granny going to play the lute?" Shi Mei asked, peeking her head in, "Shi Mei can dance!"
Grandpa Tang became interested and asked, "What dances can you do?"
Shi Mei said cheerfully, "Classical dance!"
"Ah," Grandma Shi seemed quite surprised, "Since when can you dance?"
"I’ve known how to dance for a very long time! Shi Mei is very good at it!"
Shi Mei herself was a dance student admitted through special recommendation. Although Tang Wu was not very interested in dancing and hadn’t specifically practiced, having been immersed in it since childhood, she didn’t feel the slightest bit insincere when she made this claim.