The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 522 - 521: Crab Feast

Chapter 522: Chapter 521: Crab Feast

Yu Hong said with a smile, "It’s medicinal wine, for dispelling rheumatism. They say if you use it to soak your feet every night, it can dispel cold and invigorate blood."

"Auntie Cui is really thoughtful," Shen Mingzhu complimented subconsciously.

Yu Hong’s husband was a lotus grower, and every winter, he had to go into the ponds to dig for lotus roots, so both of them suffered from severe rheumatism. When the wind blew, it rained, or the seasons changed, they would experience intense flare-ups.

The medicine wine Cui Lianying sent might not be very expensive, but it was very practical.

The three of them chatted and busied themselves in the kitchen, talking about Cui Lianying.

Before long, Pei Ke brought Cui Lianying to the kitchen to greet her.

After the greetings, Cui Lianying rolled up her sleeves and wanted to help, but was persuaded to leave by Pei Wenping with much talking.

"Madam, she’s a diligent person. In the future, Pei Uncle will be fortunate," Yu Hong teased softly as she saw Shen Mingzhu sizing up Cui Lianying’s retreating figure.

Shen Mingzhu just smiled.

She didn’t care whether Cui Lianying was diligent or not, but compared to their last meeting, Cui Lianying had changed a lot.

Her hair was curled, and she wore jewelry around her ears and neck. She was dressed in a yellow and black printed dress, paired with black flat leather shoes.

Cui Lianying was thin, and wearing a cheongsam gave her a kind of delicate charm.

Perhaps because she began to pay attention to self-care and was nourished by love, her complexion looked much better than before, her cheeks were fuller, and she had applied a light makeup.

The whole person looked almost ten years younger.

Suddenly, Shen Mingzhu felt that her previous judgment based on appearance was rather narrow-minded.

When it was time to serve the dishes, and Cui Lianying stepped forward to help, Shen Mingzhu praised the other’s attire with a smile.

"Auntie Cui, you’ve become prettier since I last saw you."

Cui Lianying blushed with the praise, nervously fiddling with the hem of her dress, "It was my daughter who arranged it, I don’t know how to do these things."

No wonder she had a different air about her.

Shen Mingzhu said with a smile, "It looks very nice like this. You should always dress this way, women should always dress beautifully. Right, Pei Uncle?"

Pei Ke nodded his head cheerfully, also thinking that Cui Lianying looked quite attractive like this, and he liked it.

Cui Lianying’s face turned even redder, and she didn’t know where to place her hands and feet.

Seeing her discomfort, Shen Mingzhu lightened the mood with a laugh, "We can start dinner now, let’s all go wash our hands."

Zhao Yun had been anxious to eat and cheered, running off to the restroom the moment he heard dinner was ready.

Zhao Dafa was away on a business trip in Jin City, and with Zhao Yun alone at home, she called him to join them for the meal.

There were eight raw marinated crabs in total, each weighing around seven to eight taels.

Shen Mingzhu lifted the crabs out, cracked the shells, and cut them in half with a knife.

The cut marinated crabs, five were directly drizzled with the marinade and served on a plate, while the remaining three were steamed for the children and those who weren’t accustomed to eating raw crabs.

Although everyone was looking forward to the crab feast that evening, when a large plate of raw marinated crabs was placed on the table, they all hesitated.

Eating crabs was nothing special, but eating raw crabs was a first.

Pei Wenping was skeptical, "Mingzhu, won’t these raw crabs cause diarrhea?"

Zhao Yun was eager to try, "Aunt Mingzhu, how do we eat these raw crabs?"

Shen Mingzhu first picked a small piece of female crab for Pei Wenping, poured a bit of the marinade over it, and put it into Pei Wenping’s bowl.

"Big sister, try the crab roe first. If you don’t like it, I can steam it for you," she said.

Hearing this, Pei Wenping picked up a piece of crab roe the size of a fingernail with her chopsticks, sniffed it, and then tentatively put it into her mouth.

"How does it taste?" Pei Yang asked impatiently.

Pei Wenping slowly swallowed the crab roe, smacked her lips, and said, "It doesn’t taste good, you guys shouldn’t eat it."

Confused, everyone looked at each other for a moment, without doubting Pei Wenping’s words.

Raw crabs, how fishy they must be; it would be strange if they tasted good.

But then, they saw Pei Wenping take the half-crab in her bowl and start slurping up the roe greedily.

As everyone watched her, she said while eating, "Can’t let it go to waste, these crabs are so expensive, just let me eat them."

Zhao Yun was the first to catch on, "Auntie Ping is tricking us!"

Everyone else suddenly realized.

Shen Mingzhu also let out a sigh of relief.

She knew it, how could the raw marinated crab sauce she made not be delicious?

She picked out half a juicy crab piece for both Cui Lianying and Pei Ke, and then for Pei Yang.

Zhao Yun took matters into his own hands and grabbed a big one for himself.

It was his first time eating raw crab and he wasn’t scared at all, as he slurped up a big mouthful of crab roe, smearing his face with sauce and roe, an expression of excitement for a new world discovered on his face.

"This is tasty!"

Seeing him like this, Pei Yang also reached out for a piece.

Guoguo, with her short hands and legs, was so eager she nearly climbed onto the dining table.

"I want some too, Mom, I want to eat the big crab!"

Shen Mingzhu grabbed her daughter’s tender little claws, "You can’t eat this, yours is in the pot."

Guoguo puffed up her face, her two black eyes round and bulging.

"Everyone else can eat, why can’t I, hmph!"

Shen Mingzhu patted her soft little belly, "You are still young, with weak immunity. Eating raw crab will give you a tummy ache, and you might even get worms."

Guoguo was frightened by what she said, staring at the almost empty plate of raw marinated crab for a long time, when she suddenly realized that Ziheng next to her didn’t eat the raw marinated crab either, immediately a look of surprise appeared on her little face.

"Brother can’t eat it either? Will it give him a tummy ache and worms too?"

Only then did Shen Mingzhu notice that her son hadn’t gotten any yet.

Pei Ziheng looked at her and replied softly, "Yeah, brother will have the cooked crab with you."

That was great; she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t eat it.

Guoguo’s mood improved considerably.

But Shen Mingzhu didn’t want her son to feel left out, as she had promised him last night that he could try the raw marinated crab today.

Thinking this over, she stood up to check if the steamed crabs in the kitchen were ready as an excuse to take her daughter away from the dining table, looking back and giving her son a knowing look as she walked.

Eat quickly.

Pei Ziheng got the message.

Only after the mother and daughter entered the kitchen did he pick out a smaller piece of female crab to taste.

The crab, soaked in the marinade, had much of its fishy taste removed, leaving behind an ultimate sweetness, along with a texture smoother than that of lychee flesh.

With each suck and sip, the crab roe and crab cream melted in his mouth, and the taste was simply divine when followed by a sip of the rich Huadiao wine.

A plate of raw marinated crab was quickly polished off, everyone’s appetite still unsated.

Luckily, there were three steamed marinated crabs left to satisfy their cravings.

However, after tasting the delectable flavor of the raw marinated crab, the cooked crabs seemed less impressive.

Guoguo was still small and couldn’t eat too much crab, so Shen Mingzhu picked only a little crab roe and meat, mixing it into porridge for her to slowly spoon up and eat.

The meal wasn’t even over yet, and Pei Wenping was already thinking about the next one.

"Mingzhu, when will you make raw marinated crab sauce again? I want two crabs," she said.

Zhao Yun, not to be outdone, raised his hand, "Auntie Mingzhu, I want two, no, four. My dad can eat at least two by himself; he loves eating crab."

Shen Mingzhu smiled and prodded for more information, "When is your dad coming back?"

"Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, he said he would be back to spend it with me," Zhao Yun replied.

Shen Mingzhu said with a smile, "Well then, invite your dad over for the Mid-Autumn Festival, and we’ll have big box crabs."

"Sure!"

She would also invite Shen Hongmei over to the house at that time; it was time to test what Zhao Dafa was really thinking.

Shen Mingzhu nibbled on the crab pieces left by her daughter, pondering to herself.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.