"Xiao Miao said she's having dinner with Xiao Heyi's parents next Wednesday," Jin He said, still sitting in the bathtub that evening. "We only have less than a week left. How should we entertain them? Should we treat them to dinner? What should we eat? I heard his parents are both native Haicheng residents. Should I treat them to Shanghainese food? Would that be too insincere?"
While helping Jin He rub his back, An Yi also had to listen to his incessant nagging.
"I don't have much experience in treating people to meals. I usually eat out at business dinners, but treating my parents to a meal is different. I wonder if they will look down on me for not being highly educated."
An Yi: "..."
"Then I'll have to take you with me, since you're highly educated."
An, Master of Music.
"You... went to meet their parents, and you even brought me along?"
“Yeah.” Jin He had just finished showering and was snuggled in bed, smelling wonderful. Her eyes darted around. “I was thinking that if I brought you along, maybe they would think more highly of me and Xiao Miao.”
"Are you trying to intimidate me by borrowing my power?"
Jin He looked at An Yi and pouted, "If you don't want to, then forget it. I can go by myself."
"Oh, oh, I'm going." An Yi lowered his head and kissed him. "Then you'll come with me to the hospital tomorrow for a check-up to see how your recovery is going and when you'll have the surgery."
"Can."
Fasting is required for hospital check-ups, but Jin He gets dizzy if she's even slightly hungry, which makes the check-up very troublesome. So An Yi carried a small backpack containing Jin He's usual emergency medication and some soda crackers.
After a series of blood tests, cardiac angiography, electrocardiogram, and gastroscopy, Jin He was so exhausted that he fell asleep as soon as he got back to the car. Seeing that he was sleeping restlessly, An Yi reclined the passenger seat and turned up the air conditioning temperature.
As soon as the car door opened, Jin He groggily opened her eyes and asked, "Hmm, what smells so good? Are they shepherd's purse wontons?"
Jin He had just vomited after his gastroscopy. An Yi reached out and touched his face to make sure he didn't have a fever, then said, "Do you want to eat shepherd's purse wontons? Then let Aunt Shu make some for you when we get back?"
"Don't put meat in it."
“Okay.” An Yi pulled him up to sit up, let him lean on his back, and carried him on his back, saying, “No meat, no meat.”
So Aunt Shu made some vegetarian wontons for lunch. When An Yi brought the bowl of wontons to him, Jin He picked up a spoon and took a bite.
"What's wrong? You said you wanted food?" An Yi said, "I specially packed this for you, don't waste it."
"They added lard," Jin He said with a bitter face.
“I made some wontons with only shepherd’s purse before, but they had a strong earthy taste. I was worried you wouldn’t like them, so I thought I’d add a little lard to season them. I didn’t expect you to taste it right away.” Aunt Shu stood to the side, at a loss. “Oh dear, it’s my fault. I didn’t realize Xiao He doesn’t have a good appetite right now.”
An Yi sat down next to Jin He and patted his chest. Jin He just shook his head and said, "It's okay, it's not your fault."
"If you can't eat anymore, then don't eat. Give me the rest." An Yi took his bowl. "Go back and take a nap. I'll make you some steamed egg custard."
"Stop it." Jin He was uncomfortable from the endoscope tube and various probes, so he naturally had no appetite. An Yi was worried about his listless appearance, so while he went back to rest, he asked Aunt Shu to prepare some home-cooked snacks and take them to the next room.
"Hello."
On the weekend, dressed in casual clothes, she stood at the door and looked at An Yi very kindly, "Is there something you need?"
"I'm sorry to bother you now. Were you cooking at home just now?"
"Yes, I made some small wontons with shepherd's purse and egg filling. They're so delicious! Have you and Xiaohe eaten yet? Would you like some?"
Anyone could tell this was just a polite remark, but An Yi really had to be shameless today: "To be honest, Xiao He wasn't feeling well after coming back from the hospital today and couldn't eat anything. Just as he got off the bus, he muttered that the shepherd's purse wontons smelled good. I made some for him when we got home, but he still wouldn't eat them."
"Oh, is that alright?" Zhou Mo asked with a worried frown.
“This is an old problem of his, and in principle, he shouldn’t be bothering you with something like this, but… he still needs to recover before having surgery.”
"Tch!" Zhou Mo waved his hand dismissively, "What's the big deal? Come in and wait a bit."
Over the weekend, I took some wrapped wontons out of the refrigerator and gave them to An Yi. "Take these home and cook them for Xiao He. If Xiao He still doesn't have much of an appetite for dinner, she can come and find me."
How could he possibly trouble them again? An Yi put the gift on the ground, thanked them, took the wontons, and went home.
Jin He couldn't sleep either, so she sat on the bed watching a movie. When she saw An Yi bring in a bowl of wontons, she said somewhat reluctantly, "I already told you I don't want to eat."
"This was made by the neighbor next door over the weekend, you should try it."
Upon hearing this, Jin He hesitated before taking the bowl, blowing on the wontons to cool them down, and then putting them into her mouth. In an instant, a fresh and delicious flavor filled her mouth. The fragrance of shepherd's purse and the tenderness of the eggs combined perfectly, and even the oil in the filling was fragrant.
"How about it?"
Before Jin He could even speak, she scooped up another one and put it in her mouth.
"How about it?"
"Delicious!" Jin He was almost in tears. Over the years, he had gotten used to the feeling that the first bite of any food was boring and the second bite made him feel nauseous. He had eaten at so many famous chefs and Michelin-starred restaurants, but none of them suited his taste. Now, he actually felt that this small bowl of wontons was not enough!
An Yi was also surprised: "It tastes so good!"
Jin He nodded vigorously: "It's really delicious!" He scooped up a spoonful and put it to An Yi's lips: "You should try it."
It was rare for Jin He to have an appetite, so how could An Yi possibly take it from him? "You eat it. I just ate two bowls of wontons that Aunt Shu made."
Aunt Shu probably didn't expect Jin He to eat much, so she cooked very little, about five or six wontons in a bowl. The wontons were small and could be finished in one bite. After eating five or six, Jin He was actually a little full, but he still felt it wasn't enough.
"Give me some more."
“If you eat too much, you’ll feel unwell again. Eat the rest tonight.” An Yi refused the request.
"Then add a spoonful of chili sauce for me tonight." Jin He didn't insist; it was fine if she didn't want it.
"Can."
In fact, Jin He still didn't get to eat the leftover wontons by dinner time, because he had come to the house for the weekend. He was wearing an apron around his waist, as if he had just come out of the kitchen.
"I cooked too much at home, so I'm randomly picking two people to go out to eat with me." Holding a rice paddle, he said, "It'll be the person who doesn't like to eat and has become so skinny!"
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