Volume 1: Gathering Winds of Splendor Chapter 4: Mother Su Su

  Walked slowly in the direction of home with a bit of anxiety, mother must be angry again.

  It was almost dusk when I arrived home, the sun still lingered in the sky and refused to leave. The whole mountain was filled with warm colors, and the peaceful village was surrounded by wisps of smoke from cooking fires. The calls of parents summoning their children for dinner were endless.

  Smelling the fragrance of food coming from all directions, An Xin's mouth corner revealed a warm smile, this life is really good. Rubbing his slightly hungry belly, An Xin walked into that small wooden house, which was his home, where there was his loving mother.

  "Mom, I'm back! I'm so hungry, is dinner ready?" An Xin exclaimed loudly as soon as he stepped across the threshold.

  Her mother's maiden name is An SuSu. She often told herself that the most important thing in life is to be at peace until old age, so she named her An Xin.

  "It's ready, come and have some." A beautiful woman wiped her hands and walked out of the kitchen. Although Ansu was over thirty, she still looked like a flower, time had left no mark on her pale face, and she still looked like a young girl in her early twenties.

  Ansu saw Anxin's dirty clothes at a glance, and her beautiful eyes widened in anger. "Anxin, I've told you several times already! This is the new set of clothes that was just made for you today, and it's only been half a day, but you've already ruined them like this!"

  An Xin stiffened and forced out a dry smile, shrinking her neck as she said, "Mother, isn't this an accident? If you make me another new set of clothes, I guarantee that within half a day, I absolutely won't tear them." An Xin looked at An Su Su's face which had calmed down somewhat and added another sentence, "At the very least, they can last for one whole day without getting damaged." She knew that although her mother sometimes got angry, she had never hit her, and rarely scolded her.

  Ansu was a bit numb from being gassed, and with an unparalleled resentment, she glared at Anxin before turning around to serve dishes in the kitchen.

  With a gentle and soothing gaze, he looked at the woman's back. In the first few days she came, she was filled with indifference and confusion in this strange world, silently like a wooden puppet every day. It was this woman who awakened her with her tenderness and love, bit by bit, letting her become that slightly rogue An Xin again.

  Watching his mother put two plates of dishes on the wooden table in the living room, he composed himself and said loudly, "Wow, it looks delicious! Mom, I'm not being polite." He was about to grab the food with his hands before he even finished speaking.

  With a "slap", An Su Su patted her small hand, gave her a slanted glance, and although there was blame and helplessness in her eyes, there was also thick doting, "Change your clothes, wash your hands, and then come eat."

  She smiled and got up to change her clothes in the bedroom. Her clothes had been made by her mother over the years, from the previous ones with threads to the current ones with dense needlework, she remembered clearly how much hard work and how many needle eyes had been pricked on her fingers.

  Anxin put on a new clean and tidy dress, although the fabric was not very good, but it was comfortable and fit.

  Having seen many people, An Xin had long since discerned that her mother should be a young lady from a wealthy family. Her every word and action, every frown and smile, all carried the elegant and noble air of an aristocrat. Since her mother was unwilling to speak, she didn't ask further. Everyone has their own past, not willing to be known or inquired about by others.

  Sit back down at the dinner table, mom has already arranged all the dishes, two dishes and one soup, minced meat eggplant, farmhouse stir-fried pork, and a bowl of tomato egg soup. Although simple, it's not lacking in flavor, and it's made very delicately, smelling so fragrant that it makes you want to dig in.

  An Su looked at An Xin with bright eyes, staring at the dishes in front of her. She shook her head and smiled, serving An Xin rice while saying "Come on, eat quickly, little glutton." After finishing, she placed the served rice in front of An Xin.

  She picked up her chopsticks and directly clamped down on the minced meat eggplant she loved, Ansu's mouth corners hung with a faint smile, sitting elegantly on another wooden stool, gracefully picking up her rice.

  A mouthful of eggplant slipped down her throat, and the fragrance filled her mouth. She savored the taste with relish, "Mother, your cooking is getting better and better, it's comparable to the chefs in town." In these five years, An Su had only taken her to the town market once, and that was when she begged her mother to take her there, originally wanting to see what an ancient market looked like.

  Unfortunately, Mother had bought some daily necessities and was about to return home when she was detained by An Xin and couldn't get away. She had no choice but to take her to a restaurant for a meal, which cost them two years' worth of food. For that year, their meals were almost devoid of any oil or meat, and they could only make do with the cabbage from their own vegetable garden. Normally, Mother wove and sold cloth to make a living, although it was not wealthy, but it was enough to support the two of them in terms of food and clothing, as long as there was no extravagance.

  At that time, my mother's craftsmanship was not so good, so after eating at the wine building, she had been yearning to go again, but unfortunately, in order to enjoy a meal, she would have to eat cabbage for a whole year, and she reluctantly gave up this idea.

  After these years of tempering, Mother's craftsmanship has become more and more sophisticated, comparable to the master chefs in town, with an added warmth that makes An Xin no longer want to go to the restaurant.

  "You're just a kid, my humble cooking skills can't be compared to those of a master chef." An Su Su ate slowly and deliberately, only speaking after she had fully chewed and swallowed her food.

  Don't worry about what to eat or drink, just gobble down the food and speak vaguely. "Mom, it's true, your cooking skills have improved a lot in recent years, they really weren't that good a few years ago."

  An Su put down her chopsticks with some helplessness, looking at this chatty daughter, "Don't talk while eating, can't you learn to be a proper young lady?"

  She kept her mouth full of food to avoid spraying it on her lovely mother's face, so she just muttered and continued to attack the food in front of her.

  In this remote and secluded place, what can be learned from the elegant ladies? No matter why Mother came to this small mountain valley, she had to adapt to local customs. After all, she didn't want to humiliate herself by learning ancient etiquette that didn't interest her at all.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mother adopting a lecturing posture, and my hand, which was about to take another bite of rice, paused. I wanted to use going to the bathroom as an excuse to escape, but unfortunately, my stomach wasn't full yet, so I swallowed the food in my mouth and turned to say to Mother with concern, "Mother, hurry up and eat, or it'll get cold."

  Ansu didn't want to transfer the topic, seeing her smiling face, Ansu also didn't want to say these things while eating, picked up chopsticks, Ansu continued to eat quietly.

  Feeling relieved, the food tasted even better, and the chopsticks in her hand kept clattering against the bowl, causing An Su to furrow her brow repeatedly.