Chapter 8: Delivering the Meal

Cheng Junguo carried a carrying pole, with steamed buns on one end and a thermos and a stack of bowls filled with cool boiled water on the other. Throughout the journey, he kept recalling Su Li’s words: “So many people have to see you, and all must praise you.” The thought energized him, and he strode briskly to the fields where the Cheng family cultivated corn.

At noon, every household came to deliver meals. The Cheng family was no exception, peering out to see what was for lunch. Usually, it was just potatoes; no one cooked at home, and the old lady preferred steaming potatoes to get by.

“Isn’t that Cheng the Fifth? I thought you wouldn’t come today,” a few young men, about Cheng Junguo’s age and sun-darkened, teased him. “What are you doing here? Your mother must be letting you off work.”

Cheng Junguo, with a great sense of humor, retorted, “My mother’s just being kind to me. You’re the ones jealous!” Then, turning around, he shouted loudly toward the field, “Big Brother, Third Brother, Fourth Brother—lunch is here! I’ve brought you food! Mom made big steamed buns for you!”

His loud calls caught attention under the shade of the trees, where people resting and eating glanced over curiously. “Junguo, your mom made big steamed buns with potato filling, right?” someone asked.

“Ha! Not at all. Old Lady Su is so stingy with money she’d split a penny in two before spending it. How could she afford to make big buns?” another laughed.

“No way! Dream on,” someone else teased. Cheng Junguo just snorted and called out a few more times.

One by one, the Cheng family members emerged from the fields and gathered near the shade. Cheng Junguo shouted even louder, “Big Brother, Sister-in-law, come eat! This thermos has sugar water to quench your thirst, and here are the big buns. Mom said since you’re tired from work, you deserve something good.”

He spoke carefully, not wanting others to laugh at the Cheng family. Deliberately lifting the cloth covering the buns, he revealed a neat pile of golden buns stacked like a small mountain. Everyone under the tree could see them clearly.

Cheng Junguo picked the top bun and handed it directly to his eldest brother, Cheng Jundong. “Big Brother, hurry and eat, Mom made these really delicious!”

Cheng Jundong nodded and bit into it, swallowing almost without chewing. “Delicious!” he declared.

The teasing died away, replaced by the aroma of their meal. Yet, inside, the Cheng family and the villagers alike wondered if the old lady was acting strangely today.

That midday meal of buns left the Cheng family full, and others looked on enviously. Cheng Junguo strutted past the young men who had teased him earlier, carrying the now empty pole with pride.

“Strutting for what? A grown man who doesn’t do any work,” one sneered.

“Exactly, no wonder he can’t find a girlfriend.”

“Who’d want to settle for a guy who lives on thin air?”

Cheng Junguo didn’t hear them; he raced home like the wind.

At home, the makeshift kiln was already lit, slowly drying. Su Li watched the fire carefully, worried it might crack if too big.

“Mom—I’m back!” Cheng Junguo called cheerfully. Su Li turned to him with a smile.

“My fifth son is really capable,” she praised.

“Of course,” Cheng Junguo said confidently as he sat down. Just as he was about to go out for a walk, Su Li said, “Good timing. Watch the fire for me; I’m going to the village chief’s place. When I come back, I’ll make mooncakes for you.”

She patted his head, leaving him no chance to refuse, then turned and left.

Cheng Junguo held a stick of firewood, gazing puzzled at the kiln fire. Something wasn’t quite right.

Meanwhile, the second brother’s family finished a small bowl of coarse porridge.

“Husband, I want to eat big buns,” said the second brother, Cheng Junnan, sipping his diluted porridge without wasting a grain.

“What can we do? You want to work? Mom’s just teasing us. That was the only batch of buns—she won’t make anything else. You know how stingy she is; tomorrow we’ll be back to whatever’s on the table,” he replied.

“Really? I feel so uneasy not having eaten any buns,” Li Lanhua said, smacking her lips. Thinking of the buns made her mouth water, and the two kids grew hungry, too, not just hungry but analyzing.

“Mom, this isn’t right. They didn’t give you milk, so how could they not give us? We’re the big grandsons!”

“Yeah, they usually give us eggs, but today they didn’t even look at me. I didn’t even get a chance to cling to Grandma’s leg,” Li Meilan chimed in. The three women looked at Cheng Junnan.

He held his bowl, deeply pondering, his bald shadow cast on the bottom.

“Hmm... it must be an act. Tomorrow it’ll be fine,” he concluded.

The three women suddenly understood and looked at Cheng Junnan with admiration. Their head of household was really something.

At that moment, Su Li came out of the village chief’s house holding a small jar of honey.

“Thank you. If I make it tonight, I’ll bring you two pieces to try,” she said gratefully.

“That little honey? No need,” the chief replied.

Su Li smiled, waved it off, and headed home with the honey.

Back home, she got busy again, preparing white sugar, honey, baking soda, and beaten egg. Mixing them in one direction until the mixture turned pale and thick, she added cooked oil and continued stirring until it reached a salad dressing consistency.

Then she added flour, folded the dough without kneading, and let it ferment for about twenty minutes while preparing the filling.

Calling into the kitchen, she said, “Fifth son, have you finished rolling the peanuts?”

“Done!” Cheng Junguo appeared carrying a glass jar in one hand and a bowl filled with freshly crushed peanuts.

“You’ve got the strength—look at how well you crushed these peanuts. Mom can’t do it that well,” Su Li praised, pointing to some pumpkin seeds nearby. “Fifth son, shell those pumpkin seeds for me; I’ll use them for the mooncakes.”

“Still at it?” Cheng Junguo was truly exhausted, and Su Li noticed, looking at him with sympathy.

“Tired? It’s just that Mom didn’t see it and wants to make mooncakes as gifts for you. You can just leave it and let me do it myself.”

Cheng Junguo swallowed his reluctance. If she was going to make mooncakes for him and deliver them as favors, it wouldn’t look good if he didn’t help.

“No problem!” he said and went to shell the pumpkin seeds.

Su Li smiled softly and got back to work.

The filling was a mixture of five nuts: roasted peanuts, pumpkin seeds, sesame, some walnuts gathered from the mountain, and a bit of melon seeds. They had no raisins or the like. Finally, she added honey, sugar, cooked oil, and a bit of toasted flour, mixing everything evenly.

Once the filling was ready, she unwrapped the dough, pressed it into molds, shaping the mooncakes, ready for baking.

She was so busy that it wasn’t until the third daughter-in-law, Yu Xiaohui, came home with the children to cook that they noticed the kiln built from yellow clay.

“Nana, what’s this?” the children asked.

“Mom, what’s this for?” Yu Xiaohui joined their curiosity.

Su Li didn’t hide anything and answered plainly, “Mid-Autumn Festival is coming. I’m making some mooncakes for you. We don’t have tickets to buy them, but we have skill.”

Hearing about mooncakes, the children couldn’t help but drool, licking their lips.

If Su Li’s reputation hadn’t been so formidable before, the children would have swarmed her, chattering eagerly about when they could eat them.

Yu Xiaohui suddenly remembered her mother-in-law’s skill but worried they hadn’t made mooncakes in years and hoped she wouldn’t waste the grain.

“If you finish them, take some back with you to your family,” Su Li said.

Yu Xiaohui looked up sharply. “Really?” she asked.