Chapter 288 Love Needs to Flow
Not only did they let them eat, but they also packed it up in advance, neatly putting a little of each item into bags, and asked them to take it with them when they left.
Every time I sympathize with her hard work and ask her to do less, she says it's no problem. But when she sees her grandchildren eating less or refusing to take her food, she blames them and gets unhappy.
But as long as you go there with an empty stomach and eat whatever food you want, it's best to ask her for something when you leave. She will be smiling all day long.
It seemed that as long as these grandchildren enjoyed their meals, she herself would also be able to enjoy the happiness brought by the food.
I remember my second aunt didn't like spicy food. But then my eldest uncle caught a lot of small, palm-sized whitebait from fishing, so he gave some to every family. No one knew what else to eat except fried fish, so everyone fried them. The sight of the fish made both adults and children want to vomit.
As a result, the second aunt had a sudden idea and made a pot of fermented black beans and fermented lees fish. It looked very flavorful, not to mention that it was covered with a thick layer of red oil. The children rushed to eat it and even ate the fried fish bones.
Second Aunt smiled happily, and took all the uncooked small fish from other families to make another pot.
From then on, my second aunt’s snack for entertaining guests during the Chinese New Year became small fish with fermented rice wine. Later, seeing that the children were not afraid of spicy food and liked it the spicier the better, she changed it to a spicier version and even made her own replica of fried chili peppers, which I don’t know whether it was from Hunan Province or Guizhou Province.
But the children from other families were just like Su Yuchen. Although they were extremely greedy and liked the food very much, they were repeatedly and seriously warned by their families not to eat too much of Second Aunt's food. Second Aunt's family was not well off, and if you ate it, she would have nothing to eat. They could only try it out of token consideration.
As time went by, there were more and more leftovers at my second aunt's house, and she smiled less and less. Gradually, she stopped going when anyone invited her, and rarely went to these relatives' homes for dinner. Every year when I went to her house to pay New Year's greetings, she didn't seem as enthusiastic as before.
Later, when relatives came to Su Yuchen's house, she overheard their conversation. They said that her second aunt's child was growing up and had more and more attacks, and her life was becoming increasingly difficult. She had to stay at home all day long, so she hoped she wouldn't get sick. Everyone should visit her more often when they have time, even if it's just to lend a hand.
So during that period, all the relatives rushed to the second aunt's house. People like Su Yuchen's father, who was busy but had some spare money, refused the second aunt's refusal and gave her money.
It was not until the second aunt got angry, closed the door, refused to see anyone, refused to accept anyone's kindness, and avoided relatives when she went out that the relatives began to feel confused. Was it wrong to help them?
Later on, the only contact between these relatives and my second aunt was that every Chinese New Year, the children would go over to pay their respects and simply sit for a while, and the distance between the two sides became increasingly greater.
But my second aunt still makes small fish with fermented rice wine and fried chili peppers every year. When I visit her, she still smiles with wrinkles on her face and pushes the plate in front of her, "Eat! Eat!"
Today, Zhao Xiaojing asked Third Grandma, "Can you still eat?" Su Yuchen felt a sudden surge of emotion. Seeing Third Grandma grinning, revealing a mouthful of teeth that had been lost and few remaining, all the doubts in his head vanished.
Grandma San obviously couldn't eat these hard desserts, but every Chinese New Year, she would get up early and make a bunch of them. In the end, her grandchildren would eat and take them away, and she would get nothing, as if all her efforts were in vain.
Second aunt prefers light meals and especially doesn't like spicy food, but she made a spicy version of fermented fish with lees and strong-flavored fried chilies. She spent several hours cutting and cleaning the fish, and she smiled as she watched everyone's mouths and hands covered in oil, but she didn't even take a bite herself.
Third Grandma always said that she was old and would be buried soon, so any delicious food or drinks would be a waste. She was reluctant to drink the tea brought by her third cousin, and refused to go to the hospital to get dentures. But when she was not asked to work, she said that she was very strong and making a few pounds of hemp candy was nothing, it was just getting up early and going to bed late, an easy job.
Second Aunt always said that she had no hope in this life and could see the end at a glance. No good things meant anything to her. After eating, drinking and using them, what would be left? But she always found ways to collect good things and then presented them to the younger generation like treasures. Seeing the younger generation's curious expressions, her eyes always sparkled.
Third Grandma's appetite has been getting worse in recent years, and she just eats perfunctorily. However, her skill in making snacks has become more and more sophisticated. Every time Su Yuchen goes to her place, she eats and takes away food, and then calls her to come for dinner at noon. At the dinner table, she is happy to listen to Su Yuchen's sweet praise for her delicious cooking, and she can always eat half a bowl of rice more.
In recent years, the fish cooked by Second Aunt has become spicier and spicier, but the portions have become smaller and smaller. This is because the children have grown up and become more sensible. They come to her house to eat her food less and less, and only taste a little. They also bring her food and give her money. Second Aunt's enthusiasm for the younger generation has gradually turned into unfamiliarity. She no longer even attends the younger generation's twelfth birthday party or the full-month party for their children.
The moment Third Grandma grinned and said to Zhao Xiaojing that she couldn't bite it, the images of the two stubborn female elders overlapped in Su Yuchen's mind, and all doubts disappeared.
Third Grandma and Second Aunt have the same love for the younger generations, Mom and Dad care and love for Third Grandma and Second Aunt are the same, and the younger generations love Third Grandma and Second Aunt the same.
But love needs to flow.
As for my third grandmother, because she lived a wealthy life with many children and grandchildren, she was just lonely. So my parents thought it was okay for her to move around or make snacks, and they never stopped her from loving the younger generations.
But at my second aunt's house, living conditions were difficult. Her son, who was born with epilepsy, needed constant care, and her husband was repeatedly sentenced to jail for fighting. Her parents felt that her life was too hard, and while they tried their best to help her, they prevented her from giving back and also stopped all her love.
Love could not flow and became a stagnant pool in her heart. She began to reject any influx of good intentions and sought a psychological balance of equality.
It cannot be said who is wrong, because everything is done with good intentions. The overbearing love of the parents' generation for the second aunt is unrequited, so they forcefully control the younger generation. The second aunt's love for the younger generation is also selfless. She does not need the younger generation to be sensible, she just wants to give them what she can.
So when the relationship between the two sides reached a deadlock, many years later, Su Yuchen brought Zhao Xiaojing to the house and ate half a bucket of fish from Second Aunt in one breath. Only then did Second Aunt speak with tears in her eyes and her voice became much louder.
Because her love finally began to flow, someone received it, and in return, she received a bag of her favorite assorted hemp candies that she hadn't eaten for a long time.
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