Bonnie saw the familiar seaweed house, and her wrinkled grandmother in the yard; tears welled up in her eyes.
"Grandma, I miss you."
Bonnie felt that the most helpless thing in the world was natural aging. She knew it was irreversible, but she couldn't help wanting to do something to change it.
"My Bonnie's back! Are you hungry? You've lost weight!"
Grandma's hands were rough but warm; holding them in your hand still gave you a sense of security.
"Grandma, you've already eaten and are back. You're not hungry yet."
Bonnie pulled Grandma down to sit. She looked older than before, with deeper lines on her face.
Liu Jiu and San Qi chatted with Grandma, trying to make her happy. Er Bao and Qiao Qiao joined in. The old lady ate the pastries that Liu Jiu brought out with a smile. As the sun set, the orange afterglow shone on her face, making the word "happiness" a tangible reality.
That evening, the Lin family, consisting of more than a dozen members, gathered together, creating an unprecedentedly lively atmosphere.
“Bonnie, Liu Jiu and San Qi have grown into big kids. If you saw them on the street, you wouldn’t recognize them.”
Looking at Liu Jiu and San Qi, Aunt Bao Ni realized she was truly getting old; her grandchildren were all growing up. They were still very happy, though, because their parents-in-law were still alive, and they felt the family had a pillar of support.
"Third Aunt, not to mention the two of them, Lin Hui's child is also this big. This is the first time I've seen such a child. They've all grown up."
Bonnie was also quite moved, the Lin family was large, with more than ten children of all ages in this house.
"That's right, Lin Shan's wife is also pregnant, less than three months along, and it's a bit unstable, so we didn't dare let her come over."
Bao Ni's third uncle has three sons. The first two are married, and the youngest was admitted to university last year. According to her third uncle, perhaps it's because their ancestral graves are emitting auspicious energy, but their Lin family has produced several scholars who have passed the imperial examinations.
Bonnie did the math, and it was true. Including Lin Shan, the worker-peasant-soldier college graduate, her third uncle's family only had two. Her younger uncle's family had a junior college degree, and Lin Feng's admission to military medical university was a sure thing.
In her family, Lin Bo and his wife are college students, their eldest child got into a junior college, and the rest of their children are still young, but they are all doing well in their studies.
Bonnie looked at her smiling grandparents; they must be the happiest people at that moment. Their children were all filial, and their grandchildren were all successful—could there be anything better?
"We've almost finished eating. Let's clean up and go home. Bonnie must be tired after such a long drive. We'll talk again in a few days. Bonnie's been staying a long time this time."
Grandpa spoke up, and everyone pitched in to remove the table and clean up.
"Mom, the children can work now, you can take a rest."
Bonnie pressed her mother down to sit, and asked Liu Jiu and San Qi to clear the dishes.
"I'm worried about whether the children can manage to pack it up."
Bao Ni's mother looked restless. She was used to doing things herself and was always worried, afraid that the children would break a bowl or make a mess...
"It's alright, Liu Jiu and San Qi are watching over us, they're very skilled at it."
Bonnie felt that her mother should change her mind about not letting men and boys go into the kitchen. The Lin family's daughters-in-law all had jobs and went to work, so why didn't the men do housework?
Bao Ni's mother didn't hear any unusual noises, so she gradually relaxed and took a rest. She really couldn't deny getting old; she used to cook a whole table of food with ease. Now, her back and waist ached.
After tidying up, Bao Ni's third uncle and eldest brother all went home, leaving only Lin Bo's family of three and Bao Ni's mother and two others, who all went back to their respective rooms.
Bonnie has been married for so many years, and her parents have kept her room intact, with nothing inside changed, just like it was over a decade ago. Bonnie never feels like she's lost her family; her parents have always kept a home for her.
Liu Jiu and San Qi also have a place to sleep; there are plenty of rooms in the house. They said they wanted to come back, and their mother had already prepared everything in advance.
That night, listening to the long-lost sound of the waves, Bonnie slept soundly.
Six-nine and three-seven get up on time for their morning exercise.
"Why are you up so early? Are you hungry?"
When Bao Ni's mother got up to make breakfast, she saw Liu Jiu and San Qi and assumed they were hungry.
"Grandma, we're not hungry. My sister and I are going for our morning exercise. We get up at this time every day, it's a habit. We'll run for a while, and then we'll be hungry when we get back. Grandma, I want to eat your pancakes."
After Sanqi finished being affectionate with his maternal grandmother, he ran out with his sister.
"Did Liu Jiu and San Qi go out?"
Bonnie's dad also got up and heard Sanqi's voice.
"Yes, they say they're practicing something, but they practice every day at home. These two kids are resilient; they'll definitely amount to something in the future."
"Yes, she looks like our daughter."
Bonnie's dad summed it up perfectly in one sentence: all her strengths are just like his own daughter's.
Bonnie was fast asleep, unaware that her parents had given her all the good things.
When Liu Jiu and San Qi returned after running around the island, the unique aroma of pancakes wafted into their noses, and their stomachs growled even louder.
Bonnie got up too and saw the two children covered in sweat. She told them to wash up quickly and get ready for dinner, as she was hungry too.
"Grandma, the pancakes we make at home just don't taste the same. Grandma's cooking is the best."
After eating a pancake, Sanqi's stomach stopped rumbling, and he started praising his maternal grandmother.
"They're all the same, except that the flour and cornmeal you use at home aren't grown on the island, so they taste different."
Although Bao Ni's mother said it was because of the materials, she couldn't hide the smile on her face.
"Really? The flour is different, but Grandma's cooking skills are really good too. Mom, when we go back, let's take some of Grandma's flour and corn flour to make pancakes for Dad. He loves them too."
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