Reborn as the Villain's Wife, I Shine in 80s-Chapter 452 - 437 Mommy, can you get me some water caltrop to try? (2)
Tian Sangsang cursed silently—if the little treasure can’t have water caltrop, he might just stay in her belly and refuse to come out!
Wouldn’t that make him suffocate? She must fulfill her little treasure’s wish!
She wandered around the marketplace but couldn’t find anyone selling water caltrop.
Dragging her stomach-growling body, Tian Sangsang returned home.
Meng Shuyan saw his mom’s despondent look but was already quite used to it.
He instinctively asked, "Mom, are you hungry again?"
"Whatever you want to eat, ask Chun Zisu to make it for you."
Waaah, waaah, waaah~
Tian Sangsang both loved and hated her son as she ruffled his fluffy head. These days, did everyone think she was just a foodie? Ah, the melancholy.
Zhao Chun, who had just stepped out of the kitchen carrying a plate of food, heard Meng Shuyan’s question. He hastily placed the dishes on the table and asked with theatrical seriousness, "Sangsang, what do you want to eat? Just tell me, I can make it for you right now. There’s no way we can let my dear treasure be wronged."
Tian Sangsang grinned slyly, "Oh, nothing much, it’s just that he suddenly wants to eat water caltrop." 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Zhao Chun froze. "What?" He thought she’d want Little Chili instead, since she’d been craving spicy and sour flavors lately. Even with plain rice, she’d insist on adding crescent-shaped red chili to mix it up.
He was already considering adding a batch of Little Chili for dinner, but water caltrop? That’s unexpected!
"What’s water caltrop?" Meng Shuyan scratched his head, his voice soft and innocent.
Whenever mom or his sister wanted to eat something, he’d always try his best to get it for them. But what on earth was water caltrop? In his four years of existence, the word "water caltrop" had never entered his dictionary. It was truly stumping him. Suddenly, he felt so dumb, clueless, and shallow—how had he lived this long without even knowing what water caltrop was?
Tian Sangsang curled her lips and pinched his small chubby cheeks. "Oh, my son, let mommy tell you: water caltrop is also called water chestnut. It’s a highly nutritious delicacy, and it tastes amazing. Its skin is crispy, its flesh is tender, and you can eat it straight after peeling. It can even prevent many diseases and has anti-cancer properties. Eating water caltrop occasionally doesn’t just nourish the body; it strengthens it too."
Meng Shuyan blinked in confusion, but he still couldn’t picture what water caltrop looked like.
Tian Sangsang then switched gears, describing the outer appearance of water caltrop.
"Water caltrop is pitch black, with two pointed edges. Its shape can be likened to bull horns or a gold ingot. Picture a gold ingot lying on the ground—its sides puffed out and its two edges sharply pointed. That’s what water caltrop looks like, understand?"
Meng Shuyan nodded thoughtfully. "So, it’s a black gold ingot with two sharp edges, like bull horns, right?"
Tian Sangsang smiled approvingly. "Exactly right! Just as you imagined it!"
At this point, it wasn’t just mom and the little sister who wanted to eat it—he wanted to eat it too, okay? Such a cute thing, and he’d never seen it before! And so, mother and son simultaneously turned their eyes toward the frozen Zhao Chun.
Don’t look at him like that—those pitiful eyes were too much for him to bear.
Zhao Chun swallowed hard and chose to ignore their imploring gazes. He was a man of principle, after all. Pitiful looks had their limits and couldn’t cross his bottom line.
"Sangsang, why don’t you all pick something else? Water caltrop is such a thing—black and filthy, jagged and aggressive. Eating it will leave not just your hands, but your face, clothes, and table completely smeared in black. Plus, its edges might poke your hands accidentally. It’s just so black, ugly, and not tasty at all."
"Who says so? Water caltrop is only tough on the outside. Inside, it’s tender, sweet, and delicious." Tian Sangsang pursed her dry lips and added hoarsely, "Lately, I’ve been hearing a little voice—’Mommy, please get me some water caltrop to try.’ I just can’t bring myself to refuse."
"Wait, it can talk now?" Zhao Chun’s eyes lit up as he stared directly at her belly.
Her belly still looked completely flat—she wasn’t even three months along yet, and already it could talk?
This was a groundbreaking discovery.
"Wait, it can talk now?" Meng Shuyan, already nestled in Tian Sangsang’s arms, cautiously leaned his little ear toward her stomach. He thought he did hear something, and his big eyes lit up with excitement.
"Yanyan, did you hear anything?" Zhao Chun asked.
Meng Shuyan nodded eagerly, his voice crisp and sweet, "He said he wants to eat water caltrop!"
Ah, a true son indeed. Tian Sangsang looked at Zhao Chun with a smile. "If you don’t believe me, you can come listen for yourself."
Zhao Chun clenched his fists and coughed into his hand, refusing to let his desires cloud his judgment.
"It’s not happening." He furrowed his brows. "Sangsang, anything else is fine, but not water caltrop. It’s just way too black. You should pick something white—like milk."
Tian Sangsang groaned in frustration. "Do you have some sort of allergy to black? Or are you just obsessed with white?"
Zhao Chun shrank back, admitting sheepishly, "I’m not allergic to black. I have a phobia of black."
He hesitated before emphasizing weakly, "Don’t forget, you’re in a special condition right now. Remember how your face used to be so dark, almost like water caltrop—except you weren’t as skinny as it! You’re really better off drinking milk instead of eating something so black. Otherwise, what if we end up with a little black marble..."
That last remark left Tian Sangsang feeling a tad uneasy. She muttered, "That shouldn’t happen. Water caltrop is black on the outside but white inside."
Zhao Chun countered, "We’d much rather have white on the outside and black inside than black on the outside and white inside. Black on the outside is such a loss! If the outside looks black, people will judge it poorly, and if its insides turn out naive, it’ll live a life of bullying."
"Also, water caltrop mostly grows in East Sea. Here in Beijing, it’s rare to see water caltrop. Besides, it’s not even the season for it right now. You’d have to wait until mid-autumn for the best water caltrop—when they’re plump, delicious, and sweet." Zhao Chun explained passionately, trying to reason with her.
His words made Tian Sangsang reconsider, but ultimately, her body couldn’t overpower her spirit. She still craved water caltrop—she wanted it so badly she felt like she was losing her mind! Suddenly, she remembered she had an alternate plan. She entered her personal space and searched every supermarket she could find, but there were no fresh water caltrop. This left her utterly disheartened.
Desperate, she switched to her phone, opened the Tmall app, and typed "water caltrop" in the search bar.
Local specialty water caltrop rice—a dried product.
Wild fresh water caltrop—looks like an owl, suspected to be artificially tampered.
Carefully selected old water caltrop—a plump meat texture in the pictures, but it’s far away, from H province.
Tian Sangsang clicked "Buy" and left a note: Dear seller, urgent craving, please ship quickly!
After clicking buy, the items couldn’t leap out of her screen immediately. The wait was both torturous and exhausting.
By noon the next day, unable to bear her hunger and thirst, Tian Sangsang charged into the kitchen. Zhao Chun, wearing an apron, was slowly slicing tomatoes. Watching him, Tian Sangsang’s heart suddenly skipped a beat—her pulse raced uncontrollably, and she nearly started drooling.
