Chapter 39: Late-Night Chat in the Dorm

Chapter 39: A Clever Response

Seeing this, Gan Juhua’s face darkened. The fish on her table was something no one dared to touch. In this era, fish and meat were both extremely expensive. Now that there were meatballs and meat patties, people generally avoided eating fish, saving it for when guests arrived. After all, it was winter, so there was no worry of it spoiling. In fact, if the broth from the braised fish was left to cool, it would set into a fish aspic, which was also quite delicious. Gan Juhua had already planned to save these two plates of fish for the New Year, but she never expected Zhu Yanyi to start eating it right away. Her plans were thus thwarted. With a stern expression, she snapped, “Were you just released from a starvation prison? All you know how to do day and night is eat, eat, eat.”

“Mother.” Zhu Shunyao’s expression also soured this time. You are her grandmother, after all; how could you speak to your granddaughter like that? If you can say such things, it shows you don’t truly consider Zhu Shunyao’s child as your own flesh and blood.

“What are you yelling for? Trying to summon my soul?” Gan Juhua looked utterly unreasonable. After all, in this household, she was the most powerful figure after the old man, so even if she threw a tantrum, no one dared to say anything.

“What’s wrong, Grandma? Isn’t today the birthday banquet? Why do you look so angry? Is there no food left?” Zhu Yanyi asked with a look of innocent curiosity.

Zhu Shunyao, who had been too angry to find the right words, nearly burst out laughing. Although it was a normal sentence, the way Zhu Yanyi said it gave it a particularly pointed meaning. If you said she meant it that way, she was only a five-year-old girl who didn’t fully understand the nuances of certain phrases. But if you said it was unintentional, it perfectly voiced Zhu Shunyao’s thoughts. It was you who had invited everyone to celebrate the birthday; how could you now forbid others from eating?

Gan Juhua felt as though Zhu Yanyi had come to collect a debt; she found her particularly annoying. “Eat, eat, eat. What else do you know besides eating?”

“I also know how to recite poetry. Yesterday, my grandfather taught me a new one. Grandma, I’ll recite it for you.” Zhu Yanyi put on an innocent expression, leaving Gan Juhua with nowhere to vent her anger. “‘When the sun is high at noon, the farmer hoes the grain. Sweat drops fall beneath the stalks. Who knows that every grain in the bowl comes from hard labor?’” Zhu Yanyi finished reciting, swaying her head proudly. “See? I can recite it now.”

“Does An’ni know what this poem means?” Yao Jinsheng asked, trying to ease the tension.

“I do.” Zhu Yanyi nodded seriously. “It means that the farmers work very hard in the fields. From morning till night, especially in the hot summer months, their sweat drips down as they toil in the fields. Therefore, those of us who eat must cherish our rice. Every single grain is the result of hard work. Grandpa, am I right?”

“Hmm, you’re right. An’ni is very smart,” Yao Jinsheng praised.

“So, today we must finish all the food in front of us. Leaving leftovers is wrong and wasteful. So, Grandpa and Grandma, please eat more quickly. We must cherish the food before us, for every grain is hard-earned.” As Zhu Yanyi spoke, her eyes lit up. “See? I can apply what I’ve learned flexibly. Tomorrow, when I go to Grandpa’s house, I’ll tell him, and he’ll surely praise me again.”

While Zhu Yanyi was delighted, Gan Juhua and Zhang Qiaolian beside her were not. Leftovers could be reheated and eaten the next evening, and uneaten fish could be stored for a few more days. But if everything was finished, it would make both the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law feel a pang of heartache. How could they allow it to be all eaten? Gan Juhua grew furious. No, this absolutely could not continue. If it did, it would be a direct challenge to her authority. So, she marched over, grabbed the plate of fish, and splashed it directly onto Zhu Yanyi. “Eat! Eat! You debt-collecting ghost, eat until you’re full!”