After the hot pot restaurant was renovated, it didn’t start operating until half a month before New Year’s. In the early days second brother helped with operations. The opening day was packed, and they stayed busy until the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month before Sun Jingfei finally made time to invite the whole family to gather at the hot pot restaurant.
Mother Sun wanted to purse her lips but held back—they should have been invited on opening day, dragging it out until now.
They sat in a private room. From the moment they sat down sister-in-law’s head was buzzing. On the left the children were clamoring to order this and that, on the right Mother Sun was using an even louder voice telling them to keep their voices down.
Sun Jingfei simply cleared another table in the main hall, having Ke Yu and Yuyi lead the younger brothers to eat in the hall. The kids were delighted, saying you think we’re noisy? We also think you love controlling us!
Yesterday sister-in-law had just returned with Yuyi and Yuyan from Hainan, playing for five or six days—it was quite nice. Sun Jingfei was a bit envious, constantly saying she’d take Ke Yu out, but in the end they didn’t go anywhere.
“Let them go out to see the world early while school still has winter and summer breaks. Later when they’re working there won’t be time.” Sun Jingcheng added.
“Next year then.” Sun Jingfei looked toward sister-in-law, “Next summer vacation let Yuyi and Ke Yu go out, anywhere is fine.”
“Okay.” Sister-in-law agreed.
Over there second sister-in-law chatted with Zhou Yu, recommending several mother-baby brands with good reputations in all aspects. Originally when she was pregnant she went shopping and couldn’t resist buying a few pink little outfits ahead of time, thinking she’d give them to her later. But the words reached her mouth and she stopped them in time, saying nothing.
She had found out about the deformity and had the abortion—some things better left unsaid, saying the wrong thing could make people uncomfortable. She turned her face to look at the belly just starting to show under her sweater, saying she’d also found out it was a daughter, then withdrew her gaze and lowered her head to eat.
The second brother as if with telepathy held her hand. She suddenly felt inexplicably annoyed, pulled it out and slapped the back of his hand hard. The sound was so crisp everyone looked over.
The second brother bent down, picked up the dropped spoon, asking the server to bring another. Everyone didn’t think much of it and continued eating and chatting.
Second sister-in-law felt guilty and said nothing.
The second brother scooped a chopstick of meat for her, then reached out a hand to pat her back. Second sister-in-law lowered her head to eat the meat. Eating and eating, her elbow propped on the table, her fingers scratched her eyelid, imperceptibly wiping away tears.
Zhou Yu pretended not to see any of this, picked up the beef tripe from the plate and was about to put it in the spicy pot. Sun Jingcheng nimbly took the beef tripe and dumped it all into the mushroom soup pot.
Sun Jingfei said his hands were meddlesome—Mom and Dad don’t even eat beef tripe, why put it in the mushroom soup?
Zhou Yu put down her chopsticks, instantly losing her appetite. She just wanted to eat spicy, only wanted spicy. She looked at Sun Jingcheng—if not for considering the occasion, she would have taken action already. During this period her temper was very explosive, she wouldn’t waste words with you or talk much—if she could use her hands she wouldn’t use her mouth.
Sun Jingcheng was sensible, scooping the beef tripe from the mushroom soup pot back into the spicy pot. When it was cooked, he scooped it into Zhou Yu’s bowl. He saw Zhou Yu had been suffering from excessive internal heat these past few days.
Zhou Yu also calmed down, ladled a small bowl of mushroom soup and placed it in front of her, scooping from the spicy pot then rinsing it in the mushroom soup bowl before eating. Recently her tastes were very finicky—only seeing spicy food gave her an appetite.
Sun Jingcheng saw she’d eaten about enough, poured warm water for her, and got strawberries to cleanse her palate.
Zhou Yu finished eating, took the toothpick Sun Jingcheng handed over and covered her mouth picking her teeth. She wanted to praise him for being more and more perceptive, but thinking it might make him proud, she said nothing.
After taking care of her, Sun Jingcheng scooped a few chopsticks of meat to eat, casually like a worm in her stomach, saying quietly: “Don’t praise me, just don’t cause trouble.”
……
Zhou Yu scratched her eyebrow with the toothpick, not responding to him. Seeing something had fallen on his sweater, she reached out to pick it off.
Over there Mother Sun seemed to remember something, took five hundred yuan from her purse to give to Zhou Yu, saying it was from the relative who took Grandma’s nursing bed.
Of course Zhou Yu wouldn’t accept it, telling her to keep it to buy groceries, saying she never planned to take money for the nursing bed.
“Alright then.” Mother Sun didn’t refuse, putting it back, “I was thinking that family also has it quite hard, didn’t plan to take money, but their son came to the clinic and insisted on giving it, threw down the money and left.”
Sun Youping felt the dining table was becoming more and more lacking in manners—how could you take out money while eating? Mother Sun ignored him and continued criticizing Sun Jingfei. First saying since she opened the hot pot restaurant, she’d been cutting it close coming to weekend family meals; second about her dating.
She learned about her dating by eavesdropping on her chat with sister-in-law. She couldn’t say it directly, so she beat around the bush, saying why is it difficult for men and women to date nowadays? Because they all want ready-made.
“Why do they all think so beautifully? Where is there a perfect partner waiting in place for you to find them? How does gold come out? Panning for gold panning for gold… it’s panned out bit by bit from the sand. It’s not a big gleaming lump sitting there under the sun waiting for you!” Mother Sun looked at Sun Jingfei who’d rolled up her sleeves with no feminine appearance, standing there only busy scooping vegetables, and turned the conversation to Jack Ma.
Sun Jingfei saw her talking about Jack Ma, familiar as if Jack Ma lived across from her, and asked while eating vegetables, “Mom, you know Jack Ma too?”
Mother Sun said: “He’s on TV all the time.” Thinking she was listening to everything, she continued nagging, “Before Jack Ma became the richest man, who could tell he would become the richest man, so people still need to interact more to understand…”
“Mom, your information is outdated. Jack Ma isn’t the richest man anymore.”
“Who is then?”
“You wouldn’t know even if I told you.” Sun Jingfei turned it back on her, “The variables are so big—last year’s richest man isn’t this year’s.” As she spoke she served her a few slices of lettuce stems, “You should just take care of the vegetables in your own bowl.”
“Mom doesn’t eat lettuce stems.” Sun Jingcheng reminded her. Then seeing the lotus root in the pot was cooked, he used serving chopsticks to put two slices in Mother Sun’s bowl.
Mother Sun glanced at her, moved the lettuce stems aside, picked up the lotus root, dipped it in sauce, and put it in her mouth crunching.
Sun Jingfei gave up, looking toward Sun Jingcheng. He like a great filial son held the strainer scooping brain from the pot, first placing it in Sun Youping’s bowl, then scooped a piece into second brother’s bowl.
In the family Sun Youping and second brother loved eating brain the most. Usually it was eldest brother who did this, he would scoop it out for their father first, then scoop some for second brother.
She was angry that these past two months Mother Sun kept finding fault with her but didn’t mention Sun Jingcheng at all. Usually the siblings implicated each other—as long as one got scolded, the other definitely didn’t escape.
She had originally wanted to expose Sun Jingcheng for stealing the gold bracelet and ruining it by having it made into couple rings, but in the end said nothing, pulled down her sleeves and sat down to eat.
Second brother sat very close to their father, not knowing what they were chatting about. Sun Jingcheng was chatting with Zhou Yu on one hand while peeling sweet garlic with the other. After peeling he pinched a few cloves into his parents’ small dishes, then wiped his hands asking if they wanted to eat noodles.
Sun Youping asked him what time the family photo was scheduled.
Sun Jingcheng checked his watch, saying no rush, scheduled for three o’clock.
Sun Youping ate slowly. After finishing he called to pay the bill, and of course Sun Jingfei wouldn’t let him. He took out money, unhurriedly saying: “Just opened for business, for good luck. Next time we come to eat I won’t pay.”
Sun Jingfei accepted it as given, saying nothing.
Sun Youping and Mother Sun led the way, leading the Sun sons and daughters back. Tomorrow was New Year’s Eve, the streets were all festive.
The group arrived home and the photographer had also arrived. Sun Jingcheng and second brother moved out armchairs.
The front row was still Hu Suying and Sun Youping as a couple, with four grandchildren standing on each side respectively: Sun Yuyi and Sun Yuyan siblings; Sun Jiaxing and Sun Jiarui brothers.
The next row was daughters-in-law and daughter: Xu Weihua, Lin Jing, Zhou Yu, Sun Jingfei; the last row was the sons and grandson: Sun Jinghui, Sun Jingcheng, Ke Yu.
The background was “Sun Youping Clinic” and the big plane tree in front, with a sign on the clinic wall: No. 159 South Street, Xingfu Lane.
This time different from the past: Sun Yuyi held her father Sun Jingyue’s photo in her arms; Zhou Yu was carrying a child, in a sense adding one person.
Even more so, a complete family.
A total of fifteen people.