Chapter 447: then translation of title

The children played and played until they were tired, and they all fell asleep at the same time.

Then Amei one by one held the children and placed them on the cool mat under the tree shade to nap.

Fortunately the children are still small and not heavy, so she can still hold them now, but in a few years she may not be able to.

She suspects that it's because over the past two years, living in Jiashuyuan, she has eaten well and drunk well but hasn't exercised much, so her strength is not as great as when she lived in the countryside.

If she were sent back to her hometown to work now, she could do it, but she would probably suffer a bit.

All right, finally this little horde of troublemakers has fallen asleep; she must hurry to prepare the dishes, otherwise when Grandpa Lu and the others return, there will be another bout of chaos.

The clams have been kept in the basin for two nights; they've probably expelled most of the sand by now, right?

Then soak them again in the basin, adding a spoonful of sesame oil.

The crabs are truly large, with plenty of roe and meat, and they're still lively.

But Amei isn't afraid; even if she grabs the crab's back tightly and lets its claws flail about, they can't pinch her flesh.

Next, pry open the crab shell, remove the apron, then lift the carapace and discard the gills.

The crab's heart in the center is the worst part—a white mass that must be thrown away immediately.

Using a brush, scrub the cleaned crab's abdomen, claws, and even the crevices of its nails, then rinse with water and set aside for later use.

After processing about ten crabs like this, she stopped.

These crabs are coated with flour and egg liquid, deep-fried, then stir-fried in hot oil to make spicy crab, which both elders and children can eat.

Aunt Manman loves this dish the most, which is why Aunt Pei specifically asked to buy crabs.

There are still about ten crabs left, which will be simply steamed later.

Preparing fresh crab is quite simple: after scrubbing it clean, just place it in a steamer basket and steam until cooked.

Generally, timing it around 15 to 20 minutes is best; too long and the crab meat becomes unpalatable, too short and it may not be fully cooked.

Then prepare a dipping sauce with seasonings; everyone's taste differs—some prefer plain vinegar, others add chili, garlic, etc., so it's up to each person.

Moreover, considering Aunt Pei cannot get out of bed, but everyone else is enjoying good food, how could we leave her without a share?

So she paid out of her own pocket and ordered a bass from Xiao Hai.

This bass is suitable for steaming, quite rare and hard to obtain; after waiting several days, Xiao Hai finally delivered one this morning when he brought over the supplies.

Now she can really show off her skills.

Steamed bass is her specialty; the next time she sees Xiao Hai, she'll ask him to try to get another one, and then she'll make it for Aunt Manman as well.

Next there are mantis shrimp, sea shrimp, whelks, cat's-eye snails, and several common sea fish.

By the time she had cleaned all these ingredients, three hours had passed.

At that moment, Grandpa Lu and Grandpa Pei returned first.

Grandpa Lin, Grandpa Zhao, and about seven or eight other old men came in carrying buckets, closely following them.

Seeing Amei alone panting and working by the well, they couldn't help thinking, 'This girl is really industrious!'

"Grandpa!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Grandpa Lu's feelings of shame and anger stemming from the air force instantly vanished.

"Manman, my dear granddaughter, when did you come back?"

"You came back without telling Grandpa—have you eaten? Have you rested?"

Grandpa Lu truly cared for his granddaughter, examining her closely and thinking, 'Has my granddaughter gotten a bit plumper?'

"Is that right?"

Travel fatigue and mental tension left Shen Man speechless about her weight gain—"Is that right?"

Also, Grandpa's expression was too obvious, so she angrily turned away and went to speak with her master.

"Master, I miss you so much, as well as Uncle-Master and all the grandfathers…"

When Shen Man wants to coax someone, she absolutely resorts to pinching and grabbing.

In her previous life, she was silent and reticent due to the trauma of her family of origin, which left her unable to let go.

Therefore she used silence to avoid her parents' strictures, to evade their pressure to marry, and to dodge their various troublemaking tactics.

But in this era, she has loving grandparents, elder brothers and sisters-in-law, a husband, children, friends, and many good colleagues.

Unconsciously, her weak disposition that wanted to escape and avoid confrontation is changing.

Knowing mishaps yet not being mishap-prone, experiencing smoothness yet remaining completely innocent.

Perhaps for a while she cannot be that outgoing and smooth, but given some time she will surely overcome her timidity and become someone who dares to express her true thoughts.

"We came back at noon, and Amei made us seafood noodles, which we all ate; then Amei also prepared bathwater for us, we bathed, and then we took a good midday rest…"

"Yeah, he woke up around three in the afternoon, then returned to the unit to report work, and we expect him to be back tonight to eat with us."

"The children—Little Mantou is still sleeping in Grandpa's room, right? As for Little Nuomi, she just woke up not long ago and is now playing by the back door."

"Tangyuan discovered two little kittens, which are quite adorable; several kids and several cats are playing hide-and-seek in the backyard."

"Never mind them—we bought lots of gifts in the Capital to bring back for you all; everyone gets a share, so come pick and have a look…"

Shen Man greeted all the elders, had them sit down, then opened the packages.

Five roast ducks, twenty packs of 'donkey roll' pastries, twenty packs of mung bean cake, and red bean cake.

Several dozen large folding fans, with the front bearing that person's welcoming-spring poem—'he laughs amid the thicket'—and the back showing a picture of the Great Wall.

Almost as soon as Shen Man opened the fans to display them, the elders snatched them all away.

This is just like those dozen elders, who share a common idol; they openly expressed their love for the idol's merchandise and then grabbed it.

Shen Man had anticipated this outcome, so when buying these items at the memorial hall she did not bother to pick different patterns; instead she took only one design, but in quantities of a dozen or so, so the elders wouldn't start fighting over them.

She set aside another two fans, those were for Section Commander Duan and Regiment Commander Han.

Besides these, Shen Man bought a calendar for next year at the memorial hall.

Because the elders actually hold high positions, they are not lacking in food and drink, their pensions are ample, and their children are very filial, so there really isn't anything they lack that they would want.

The reason they eat, drink, and have fun at his house, rushing to grab things back and forth, is simply to have a good time, to look out for each other, and to snatch things for fun.

When she pulls out the calendar, everyone again gets itchy, wanting to grab it.

This calendar is from 1979; he bought twenty copies, worried there wouldn't be enough to share.

Of course, we only give it to those we're close to; there's no need for those we aren't close to waste this money, right?

Seeing that it's a calendar, the old gentlemen lose any special urge to grab it.

This is unlike a fan: calendars can be shared, but fans cannot.