Of the two men, one was the dejected older father she had met yesterday, and the other was an unfamiliar younger man. The latter looked rather frivolous, resembling a punk. Overall, his first impression wasn’t great.
Of course, you couldn’t judge a book by its cover. Perhaps he just looked frivolous and was actually a decent person.
"Holy crap, what smells so good?!" the frivolous young man exclaimed. He closed his eyes and took a deep sniff of the rich aroma permeating the air.
Well... Gan Lan didn’t want to deal with him for the moment. Smiling warmly, she handed a tissue to the dejected older father standing beside the frivolous youth, whose face was slightly flushed and sweating.
"Uncle Guo, you’re here. Hurry and wipe your sweat. I just finished making a plate of Ugly Shrimp. It seems you and this Garlic Ugly Shrimp are destined for each other~" Gan Lan joked playfully, then pulled up what looked like the sturdiest chair in the shop for the dejected older father. She pressed down on it to test it—not bad, it was very stable.
"What about me?" The frivolous youth pointed at himself. "Can’t you see I’m sweating too?! What kind of service attitude is this!"
Before Gan Lan could retort, Guo Daixuan slammed her hand on the table in anger. The table wobbled precariously from the strike, nearly falling apart. She quickly steadied it with one hand while pointing at the frivolous youth with the other. "Guo Dacheng, do you not have hands? Can’t you get it yourself!? And watch your tone! If you don’t want to eat, then get out!"
"Your eldest sister is right. If you’re not going to eat, get out," the dejected older father agreed with a nod as he took his seat.
"Fine, I’ll get it myself! No need to be so fierce!" The frivolous youth, Guo Dacheng, grumbled. "Telling me to get out—do you want to hog it all for yourselves? I’m not leaving! I’m going to eat until you’re broke!" He found himself a chair and forcefully plopped down.
Gan Lan reached out to stop him, but the young man was too fast. He had already fallen flat on his back, his limbs flailing in the air, nearly kicking over the table in the process.
Gan Lan turned her head and covered her mouth, her shoulders shaking violently. They really were from the same family. Even their falling postures were incredibly synchronized and entirely identical!
Now Gan Lan was entirely certain. They were all family—blood relatives!
Guo Daixuan laughed the loudest and most uninhibitedly. "Hahaha! Guo Dacheng, that posture suits you perfectly. Simply brilliant!" She slapped her thigh, bursting into another fit of laughter.
With a PFFT, Mr. Guo also started laughing. It was the first time he had seen his unfilial son take such a miserable and comical tumble.
The usually dejected older father wasn’t dejected at all today; instead, he was laughing quite heartily.
Seeing her second brother fall, Yuanyuan quickly ran over to help the young man, who was lying on the ground looking as if he had lost the will to live. She strained until her face turned red but couldn’t pull him up. Giving up, she crouched beside him and held his hand. "Second Brother, Second Brother, does your butt hurt? Yuanyuan will blow on it, and it won’t hurt anymore~"
With a swift GULU, Guo Dacheng scrambled into a sitting position and hugged the only person who cared about him. "Yuanyuan, my adorable Yuanyuan! You’re the only one whose heart aches for your second brother. Unlike certain people laughing at me over there, your second brother didn’t dote on you in vain. WAAH..."
Mr. Guo caught the pointed remark his second son made. He cleared his throat and reminded him, "That’s enough. You’re hugging Yuanyuan so tightly she can barely breathe."
Only then did Guo Dacheng release Yuanyuan. He kissed her little cheek. She truly was his precious darling; how could she be so cute?
Yuanyuan frowned, pouted, and wiped the spot he had kissed with a look of disdain. She ran straight to Gan Lan, grabbed her pant leg, and looked up at her with teary eyes. In a soft, sweet voice, she said, "Sister, eat shrimp. Yuanyuan wants to eat shrimp."
Gan Lan had been standing to the side, thoroughly enjoying the show. Every time a member of the Guo Family arrived, it was quite a spectacle, and she watched with keen interest. She wondered who would be next—it should be Mrs. Guo. Why was she suddenly looking forward to it?
Looking down at the ridiculously adorable little Cutie, Yuanyuan, she quickly agreed, "Okay, okay, we’ll eat shrimp."
Gan Lan placed a large platter of Garlic Ugly Shrimp on the wobbly table, then served the two latecomers each a bowl of vegetable porridge, paired with a piece of steamed rice cake.
"You guys go ahead and eat. I’ll go cook the Spicy Ugly Shrimp; it’ll be ready shortly." After attending to the family, Gan Lan turned back to the kitchen to prepare the Spicy Ugly Shrimp.
Mr. Guo looked at Gan Lan’s retreating back with a hint of gratitude. Their family hadn’t sat down for a meal together in a long time, yet a young girl they had just met was the one to give them this opportunity.
Though the dishes on the table weren’t lavish, their aroma was incredibly rich, filling anyone who smelled them with a sense of joy.
Mr. Guo scooped up a spoonful of vegetable porridge. The moment it entered his mouth, a faint, refreshing fragrance instantly took over. As it flowed into his stomach, a warm, fuzzy feeling spread, making the corners of his mouth involuntarily curve upward.
He took a bite of the white pastry that looked somewhat like a cake. It had the unique fresh scent of rice, complemented by a hint of sweetness and milkiness, with a delightfully chewy and springy texture. This was entirely new to him. The simple mouthfeel was unexpectedly delicious. He found himself preferring this slightly sweet pastry over regular cake.
Immersed in the delicious food, Mr. Guo was brought back to reality by his youngest daughter’s sharp voice.
"Daddy, Daddy! Help me peel the shrimp! I want to eat shrimp! Big Sister won’t help me, and Second Brother is an idiot who doesn’t know how to peel them!"
The "idiot" second brother flushed red while clutching an Ugly Shrimp. Who said he didn’t know how to peel them? He was just... just starting to learn! Who knew how to do it right away? For his precious darling to call him an idiot—that hurt too much. Was her sympathy for him earlier all fake?
"Alright, Daddy will peel them for you." Mr. Guo picked up an Ugly Shrimp and skillfully snapped off the head. He reflexively sucked the broth from it and was instantly captivated by the non-spicy but deeply fragrant flavor. He really liked this taste too.
He deftly peeled the shrimp for Yuanyuan and placed the meat into her bowl, speaking gently. "Once you finish this, Daddy will peel another one for you." He then picked up another shrimp, sucked the head, peeled it, and popped the meat into his own mouth with a look of pure enjoyment. So it wasn’t that Ugly Shrimp tasted bad; it was just that the people making it didn’t know how!
"Dad! Peel a shrimp for me too~" Guo Dacheng whined coquettishly, seeing how skilled his old man was.
He had already devoured his vegetable porridge and pastry, but he genuinely didn’t know how to peel Ugly Shrimp. This was also his first time eating shrimp; he usually never touched them. But seeing his eldest sister, his dad, and Yuanyuan eating so happily, he suddenly really wanted some. Besides, that aroma was simply impossible to resist.
"Do you not have hands? If you don’t know how to peel them, you can eat them with the shell. Just chew it thoroughly; it won’t affect your health. The shells of the shrimp have a very high nutritional value. It just affects the texture a bit, that’s all. Good luck, son!"
Guo Daixuan, who was completely engrossed in peeling and eating shrimp, suddenly let out a PFFT and burst out laughing. She had never known her dad could be so humorous.
"If the shrimp shells are so nutritious, why aren’t you eating them? Why peel them off and throw them aside?" Guo Dacheng looked at his dad with obvious suspicion and distrust. Did he take him for a fool?
"What? You don’t believe me?" Mr. Guo couldn’t stand anyone doubting his authority. He directly pulled out a stack of documents from his Space Ring and tossed it onto Guo Dacheng’s face. "Read it yourself!"
Guo Dacheng peeled the documents off his face and actually began reading them seriously. When he reached the section about the Ugly Shrimp shells, it turned out his dad was right—they really did have a high nutritional value.