(1)
At the end of the slope, sunlight dyed the sky crimson bit by bit. The streetlights also seemed to dim little by little. Shadows of everything changed length in the light, as if dancing to welcome the morning sun.
“It’s rising—”
“Not yet.”
“Haah—” Zhu Ying yawned sleepily, stretching her back like a kitten. When she opened her eyes again, the sun that had just been below the horizon had already risen high.
“Huh? So fast? It rose that high in an instant?”
“Mm, it rose all at once. You didn’t see it?”
“Yeah, huh—so fast, I completely missed it!”
“Who told you to stretch…”
“I thought it would take a long time to rise slowly!”
“Then we’ll have to watch it next time…”
“What a shame.” Zhu Ying felt a little regret, but soon raised the corners of her mouth again. “But—it’s not bad either. This feeling.”
“What feeling?”
“The feeling that something unexpected happened. Maybe I’ll remember this sunrise more vividly.”
“A sunrise like a fried egg… huh, I’m hungry again.”
“Me too!”
“Shall we go back to eat?”
“Sure, let’s have breakfast~!”
—
Grandma and Grandpa woke up very early. It was only just past five, and they were already busy in the house.
Grandma was cooking porridge and tea eggs, while Grandpa was busy lighting a fire—he held a bottle of cola left over from yesterday and was gulping it down with great pleasure.
“Grandpa, drinking cola so early in the morning?”
“I won a bet with your grandma.” Grandpa’s face was full of pride.
“What was the bet?” An Jing was curious.
“We bet on whether you two would still be in your room when we got up.”
An Jing and Zhu Ying exchanged glances and couldn’t help laughing together.
“Your grandpa and grandma have a good relationship too, huh.”
“Yeah.”
“Was their marriage arranged or a love marriage?”
“I really don’t know about that. I’ve never asked…” An Jing scratched her head, then repeated Zhu Ying’s question in the local dialect, which made Grandpa laugh heartily.
“Look at the old man, getting happy about something again.” Grandma smiled and shook her head.
“Ha ha—” Grandpa laughed cheerfully twice, carefully studying Grandma’s face. “Old lady, even though you’ve aged, you still bear some resemblance to your younger self.”
“What is your grandpa laughing about?” Zhu Ying poked An Jing’s arm, eagerly wanting her to translate.
“Grandpa said that he and Grandma had an arranged marriage. At that time, the two families had a matchmaker, and the parents agreed before arranging for them to meet.”
“Then, didn’t they object at the time?”
“Actually, they were both a bit unwilling at first—anyway, Grandpa said he was very reluctant, but when they met, he found that the other person’s appearance perfectly matched his aesthetic, and her personality and temperament were good, and she was playful and cheerful when talking—so it was love at first sight. He immediately agreed to the marriage a hundred and twenty percent.”
“Pfft, so they were lucky, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“What did your grandma think?”
“Let me ask…”
So An Jing chatted with her grandparents in the local dialect for a while. Whenever they talked about their youth, they seemed to have endless stories to tell, their faces glowing, as if they had suddenly become several years younger.
“My grandma said that she was also quite satisfied back then. She really liked my grandpa. She said he was handsome and tall, seemed a bit honest and shy, but could suddenly come out with some particularly humorous comments.”
“Wow—so both of them fell in love at first sight?”
“That’s about right.”
“That’s really the best-case scenario for an arranged marriage.”
“If they weren’t that close, they wouldn’t have so many offspring, right?”
“Xiao Jing, did you just say something outrageous?”
“Cough, cough!” An Jing coughed heavily and quickly changed the subject. “Grandma said the tea eggs and porridge are ready. We can have breakfast.”
“Anything else besides tea eggs?”
“Some pickled vegetables and stuff—ah, right, the potatoes that Sister Huihui put in the stove to roast yesterday haven’t been taken out yet!”
“Huh?”
An Jing hurriedly asked Grandpa a few questions. He immediately poked around in the stove with iron tongs and finally pulled out a few pitch-black potatoes. They had almost been burned to charcoal and clearly were inedible.
“We forgot to eat them yesterday.”
“To be precise, actually it was today—early this morning, we completely forgot.”
“Let’s just have some tea eggs. Oh, right, we also have zongzi today.”
“What filling do the zongzi have?”
“Preserved fruit and salted pork zongzi.”
“Such a weird filling…”
“Want to try it?”
“If I can’t eat it, you’ll have to finish it, Xiao Jing.”
“I don’t mind. I’ve eaten this kind of zongzi since I was a child.”
“Sweet and savory—won’t it taste strange?”
“No, actually it enhances the flavor, so the salted pork isn’t too monotonous.”
“I see…” An Jing tilted her head and asked Grandma for a zongzi, then turned to Zhu Ying. “Xiao Ying, Grandma asks if you want it pan-fried?”
“Sure!”
So, in the early morning kitchen, it became lively again with the sizzling sound of oil.
—
The car cabin, which had been heated by the sun all morning, was sweltering. As soon as An Jing sat inside, she felt like an ice pop about to melt. Meanwhile, Grandpa and Grandma were still stuffing the vegetables they had grown and homemade local specialties into the small space behind the back seats.
The Dragon Boat Festival had passed a while ago, but they couldn’t just throw away the extra zongzi, so they were stuffing large bags of them into the car.
Although there were many children and grandchildren, Grandpa and Grandma’s house still seemed to have endless local specialties, and they had an attitude of not giving up until the car was completely full.
One moment they would say the zongzi could be frozen; the next they would say the loquats were something Yu Minghui liked and they should take more; then they would say to take another bottle of bayberry liqueur—Yu Mingfei loved that. When Yu Mingfei said she only liked yellow wine recently, they immediately brought out an unopened jar of yellow wine that weighed about thirty or forty jin, insisting on stuffing it into the car…
Fortunately, this was a hatchback without a large trunk—just a small space behind the back seats for storing things. Otherwise, there would probably be even more stuff to cram in.
“Later on, Ming Shui and Ming Xian will be coming back for summer vacation too. Leave some for them, or we’ll take everything.” Yu Mingfei waved her hand, finally stopping a large pumpkin. “Besides, the car really can’t fit any more.”
“No problem, we have plenty at home!”
“We really don’t need them, they’ll go to waste… and I don’t like pumpkins—that kid An Jing doesn’t like them either, right!”
“I don’t really mind, as long as we don’t have pumpkin porridge every day…”
“Hey, hey, the car’s already full. You kid, refuse a bit!”
“Here, take this too.” Grandpa carried a cardboard box and quickly walked down the steps. His thin arms were surprisingly strong; he could lift it easily with just one hand—it was a whole case of canned cola.
“Why take this? Grandpa, you drink it yourself.”
“These are canned. Once opened, you have to finish them in one go. It’s inconvenient. Take them for yourselves. I still have plenty, more than enough!”
“Buying cola in the city is very convenient. Besides, drinking too much cola isn’t good…”
“Take it, take it. It’s just a waste here. Give it to little An Jing to drink.”
“We really don’t need it. You can save it and give it to others later.”
“Yeah, Grandpa, the car can’t fit anymore.” Yu Minghui also smiled helplessly and nodded.
After going back and forth refusing several times, they finally managed to dissuade them from stuffing more things into the car.
Yu Minghui and Yu Mingfei also got into the car and gently waved from inside the window.
“Now it’s convenient to come back. Come back often when you have time!” Grandpa shouted loudly from the bottom of the steps. “We grow a lot of things, can’t finish them. When you’re done, come back and get more!”
“Drive slowly on the road.” Grandma also smiled with wrinkles all over her face.
Yu Mingfei replied something casually, then urged Yu Minghui to hurry up and drive—as if afraid they might bring out something else to stuff into the car.
An Jing leaned half her body out the window and waved vigorously. Zhu Ying rested her chin on top of An Jing’s head and joined in the farewell.
Not sure what Grandpa said, but An Jing’s face suddenly turned bright red.
“What’s wrong?”
“Cough… nothing…”
Yu Mingfei narrowed her eyes and grinned mischievously. “Grandpa just said for you two to have the banquet first when you turn eighteen, and you can get the marriage certificate later.”
“Huh, can you do that?”
“Well, there’s such a custom in the village. But by then, it will probably let the relatives know that little rascal is a girl, although using a different explanation.”
“I think it’s fine! By then, I’ll say—even though I know Xiao Jing is a girl, I still want to marry her! Maybe the older generation won’t object either!”
“If it’s Grandpa’s personality, it’s hard to say…”
An Jing mumbled and nodded, then suddenly realizing something, started stammering. “W-wait, X-Xiao Ying is already thinking about those things?!”
“Of course! Dating without the intention of marriage is just playing around! Don’t you want to marry me, Xiao Jing? Heh heh—”
“If I were still a boy, I wouldn’t mind. But in this situation… I feel like many people would oppose or say something about me. Ah… just thinking about it gives me a headache.”
“Don’t care so much about other people’s eyes, you little rascal. I support you!”
“We can invite fewer people at that time, so it won’t be as awkward.” Yu Minghui also chimed in with a smile.
“I think we should not only hold it but make it a grand affair! Let everyone know, that’s the best! Don’t hide it, so people won’t speculate wildly with just a little information.”
“Maybe… maybe that’s right. Not running away is the best…”
“Not running away, huh…” Yu Mingfei suddenly let out a meaningful sigh and lowered the window a bit more, letting the cicada chirping under the scorching sun and the wind crash into the car together…