Hua Xiaomai had never seen her son eat with such ravenousness in her entire life.
At the dining table, little Walnut ate as if he had been starving for three days straight, clutching the bowl in front of him and refusing to let go. He tried all five dipping sauces one by one and finally settled on a little dish of sesa oil with fernted bean curd and pickled mustard grains, his chopsticks busily summoning the lamb from the hotpot.
Sister-in-law Qin was taking care of the three children and was so dumbstruck by little Walnut’s tornado-like speed that she didn’t want to speak up, but she couldn’t hold back. She gently tapped him and softly persuaded, "Eat slower, no one is fighting you for it. Eating so recklessly, you’ll have a stomachache later."
She murmured softly to herself, "A child raised in a honey pot, never having suffered, how can he be so hungry?"
Little Walnut couldn’t care less about chatting; he shoved his small bowl into Hua Xiaomai’s hands, "Mom, I want so soup."
At the dining table, except for him, everyone else had forgotten to lift their chopsticks, staring at him blankly.
A mother naturally rejoices when her son eats well and enjoys his food so much. Hua Xiaomai let out a long sigh of relief. Yet, at the sa ti, a faint sense of guilt surfaced in her heart.
Little Walnut had been duped by her and ng Yuhuai working together, two adults "bullying" one child—how glorious indeed!
Youzi and Chengzi’s eyes were wide open, staring intently at little Walnut’s every move and quietly tugging at Hua Xiaomai’s sleeve.
"Mom, how can brother eat so much? It’s kind of scary..."
"It’s okay." Hua Xiaomai smiled reassuringly at her two daughters and patted little Walnut on the back, placing a bowl of soup in front of him. "Take a break with so soup. If you keep eating with such gusto, you’ll burst your belly."
Turning her head towards ng Yuhuai, she half-jokingly said, "As his father, haven’t you been feeding him properly these past few days?"
ng Yuhuai smiled and was about to reply when he saw little Walnut put down his bowl and wiped his mouth.
"Don’t bla dad."
He looked at Hua Xiaomai, "I’ve realized sothing."
"What is it?" Hua Xiaomai pursed her lips, lifting her eyebrows.
"I’ve always eaten the food mom made from a young age; without comparison, I didn’t know what truly good things were. After spending three days in the County, I understood that there aren’t many people whose cooking is better than mom’s. But... no matter how good the food mom makes, I can’t eat it for a lifeti, so from now on, if I can eat more, I will eat more."
Hua Xiaomai: "..."
"Oh my, such words sohow make one feel bittersweet," Auntie Hua tutted ruefully, "How old are you to have so many thoughts in that little head of yours? Your mom loves you three to the bone, no matter when, if you want to eat sothing, wouldn’t she still make it for you?"
Little Walnut looked down for a while without a word, then finally lifted his head and said to Hua Xiaomai with a serious face, "Mom, I used to be picky. I won’t be anymore."
"Good..."
Hua Xiaomai felt a twinge in her nose, cursing herself for her weakness as she hugged little Walnut.
"Whatever you want to eat in the future, just tell and I’ll make it for you." She looked back at Youzi and Chengzi, "And the sa goes for you two. Our ho isn’t short on food; what’s most important is that you eat happily three tis a day, and that would be best."
...
That evening, Hua Xiaomai and ng Yuhuai went back to their room, inevitably talking about little Walnut, marveling at his cleverness and thoughtfulness, which was both relieving and heartwarming.
The following day, on the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, the family of six gave Sister-in-law Qin and her husband a holiday and took their own carriage all the way to Tong’an City, ready to celebrate a proper new year there.
A middle-aged couple usually looked after the house in Provincial City. Hearing that the family was coming for the new year, they had tidied everything up neatly in advance. Because of concerns about difficulty buying stuff during the new year period, ng Yuhuai had bought plenty of groceries beforehand, and filled another carriage with the children’s favorite things to take to Tong’an City.
This was the first ti the three children were going to spend the new year in Provincial City, and their excitent and anticipation were obvious. Throughout the entire day’s journey, Youzi was singing and dancing excitedly, occasionally throwing herself into Hua Xiaomai’s arms to giggle, while Chengzi, being more introverted, also showed her delight with a blush, sticking to the little window to watch the scenery passing by. She asked childlike questions that made Hua Xiaomai laugh heartily. Even Old Lady ng couldn’t keep her usually stern face, taking Chengzi on her lap and pointing out the flowers and trees outside the window to her delight.
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