Divorced woman with child travels through time

After wrapping all the rice, Chen Wenfang counted and found she had wrapped about 120 zongzi. Chen Wenfang liked small and cute ones, so she wrapped them small too, one could be eaten in a few bites. A pot of zongzi was already cooked. Chen Wenfang picked out a string of them, peeled one open, and a fragrant aroma filled the air. Chen Xuanyu had been drooling for a long time. He waited by the stove with his bowl in his arms.

Chen Wenfang placed the peeled, translucent zongzi into a bowl. In the steamy kitchen, in the June weather, both of them were covered in sweat. The aroma of the zongzi filled the air, and with each bite, a sense of happiness, a feeling of having finally tasted something special, welled up inside them.

"Mom, Mom, add some sugar," Chen Xuanyu urged.

"Add some syrup. We don't have any white sugar." Chen Wenfang poured some syrup into the bowl. She dipped the rice dumpling in it.

"Mmm, mmm, so delicious!" Chen Xuanyu picked up a rice dumpling with his chopsticks, stood it upright like a club, and ate it with great enjoyment. Chen Wenfang also peeled one for herself, and the two of them ate from the same bowl as Chen Xuanyu. They dipped their food in each other's bowls. After a while, they got a little tired of it. Chen Wenfang finished two, and Chen Xuanyu, with his impressive appetite, ate two and still wanted more. Chen Wenfang wouldn't allow it. She took two strings of steaming hot rice dumplings, tied them up, put them in a basket, and asked him to take them to Shi Tou's house. She also reminded him that Shi Tou's house had some savory rice dumplings that he could eat.

Chen Xuanyu, thinking there were other options, readily agreed and ran off with the zongzi. Chen Wenfang picked out the cooked zongzi, packed them away, and continued cooking. No need for lunch. They weren't finished cooking until the afternoon. Chen Wenfang took all the zongzi out and hung them on the wall.

Chen Xuanyu returned from Aunt Liu's house with ten savory rice dumplings, saying that Aunt Liu invited them to her house for dinner the next day to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival.

Chen Wenfang ate a savory rice dumpling, and it tasted pretty good. It was a little salty, and that's how her busy day went.

The next day, before Chen Wenfang could even leave the house after breakfast, Shi Tou arrived and called out as soon as he entered, "Xuanzi, come on, let's go to my house for dinner."

Chen Xuanyu was about to run out in his slippers when Chen Wenfang stopped him. He changed into his shoes, turned around, and said, "Mom, I'm going now."

Before Chen Wenfang could answer, he ran off with Shi Tou.

Chen Wenfang sighed, took a piece of meat, two more fish (she still had three left from last time), and ten zongzi (sticky rice dumplings). She carried the things to Aunt Liu's house.

As soon as she entered, she saw a bunch of children playing wildly in the yard; they must be Aunt Lanhua's kids. Aunt Lanhua was actually several years younger than Aunt Liu, and she married relatively late. Then, she went through those things and wasted her life, making her look older. But now she looked much more energetic; she guessed the straw sandals were selling well, and the family's financial burden had eased. Chen Wenfang thought to herself as she walked.

As soon as she entered the house, before she could even speak, everyone greeted her, "Madam Chen is here. Please have a seat."

Even from afar, Aunt Liu heard the voice but couldn't see anyone. "Fang'er is here, come and sit down."

Uncle Liu Hai also greeted, "Sister Chen is here! Come and sit down."

. . . . . .

Stepping inside, a door next to the main house led to the kitchen. Aunt Lanhua and her family were there. The three elderly women were sitting in the main house. Aunt Lanhua was helping Aunt Liu prepare vegetables, while her husband's family was tending the stove. Uncle Liu was preparing fish. Aunt Liu was cooking meat on the stove.

Chen Wenfang greeted Uncle Tian with a smile as she walked. "Are your straw sandals selling well, sir?"

Uncle Tian grinned from ear to ear, "The sales are great, all thanks to you, Madam Chen. Thank you so much, Madam Chen."

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "You're too kind, sir." She went inside and put the things in the kitchen, then went to the stove to look at the pot. "Braised pork?" Aunt Liu said somewhat embarrassedly, "I don't know how to make your braised pork. This is braised pork in soy sauce. I made it myself. Can you try it and see if it's cooked through?"

After saying that, he used a spatula to scoop a piece of meat into a bowl and handed a pair of chopsticks to Chen Wenfang.

Chen Wenfang was both amused and exasperated. "I'm not a child anymore," she thought, but she still obediently took the bowl and started eating. "Hmm, it tastes pretty good! It's savory and flavorful, and not too mushy."

Chen Wenfang gave a thumbs up and praised, "Delicious! Aunt Liu's cooking is really good!"

Aunt Liu was very happy and said with a smile, "Then eat more later." She added, "Don't bring so much food next time you come. If you do, I won't invite you to eat next time."

Chen Wenfang said with a smile, "Okay, okay, I'll come empty-handed next time. I'll come every day, and you can stew meat for me every day."

Aunt Liu smiled and said, "Sure. As long as you come."

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "Then I won't be your daughter."

Aunt Liu said, "I am so lucky to have a daughter as big as you."

Chen Wenfang said, "Wouldn't that make you sound old?"

Aunt Liu said, "I'll accept it even when I'm old."

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "That won't do. I don't want you to get old. I want you to stay young forever."

Uncle Liu interjected, "She's always young. What about me? Who'll want me when I get old?"

Aunt Liu said reproachfully, "So what if you're old? It doesn't matter if you're an old man."

Uncle Liu Hai said, "That won't do, you won't get old and I won't get old either."

The two of them argued endlessly... Chen Wenfang realized that Aunt Liu had become childish after spending time with her. Haha.

When it was time to eat, the children sat at one table and the adults at another. Aunt Liu stewed a pot of braised pork with green beans, made loofah and egg soup, stir-fried some eggplant, and roasted a chicken. She also fried two carp, which Uncle Liu Hai had apparently bought from Wangjiazhuang. He said that Chen Wenfang had prepared the fish so well last time that there was no fishy smell at all, and it was especially delicious. Aunt Liu wanted to try it too. Chen Wenfang tasted it and thought it was alright, but it was clearly not as oily as Chen Wenfang's cooking, so the taste was still a bit inferior to Chen Wenfang's. However, for a poor family, it was already a very good meal. Judging from how Uncle Tian's family ate it, they didn't find it unpalatable.

Two more bowls of zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) were placed there, one savory and one sweet, along with a dish of syrup. The children clearly loved sweets; Chen Xuanyu took the lead and forked two zongzi with his chopsticks, followed by Shi Tou and the others, each grabbing two, and then there were none left. Chen Wenfang thought to herself, "Perfect, five children, two for each. Otherwise, it would be difficult to divide them." The adults didn't say anything either, letting the children eat.

Chen Wenfang said to Aunt Liu somewhat embarrassedly, "I didn't know Uncle Tian and the others were coming, otherwise I would have brought more zongzi. Now none of you have had any of the zongzi I made."

Aunt Liu laughed and said, "It's no big deal, it's alright. It's just my fault for not telling you."

Aunt Lan Hua laughed and said, "It's alright, Madam Chen. I have to thank you for the straw sandals last time. We've used the money from the sale to pay off our debts first. If we sell more later, we'll give you 10% of the proceeds."

Chen Wenfang waved her hand and said, "No need. You've finally paid off your debts, so there's no need to share with me. To be honest, I don't need that little bit of money. As long as you're doing well, that's enough. It's worth it for me to have known Aunt Liu for so long."

Seeing this, Aunt Lanhua looked at Aunt Liu, who said, "Let's listen to Fang'er. It's not much money, so let's just forget about it. If you really want to, make a few more pairs of shoes for her."

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "That works! I love wearing straw sandals."

Aunt Lanhua nodded and said, "I'll send Fang'er a few more pairs of shoes later."

Chen Wenfang then called out, "Alright, alright, everyone, let's eat! I'm starving."

Aunt Liu and Uncle Liu Hai also called out, "Come on, everyone, have some food."