Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Grandma, is it tasty?”
Nodding repeatedly, her grandmother replied, “Yes, it is.”
For her grandmother, who was used to the flavors and cooking methods of Jiameng, the fast-food served on the train and the Zhajiangmian clearly didn’t taste like what she was accustomed to.
2
However, being habitually thrifty, her grandmother would never waste food. So, even if the food wasn’t appetizing by her standards, she’d still persevere and slowly finish it, not wasting a single morsel.
Only people who’ve suffered and labored understand the value of food.
Treasuring every grain of rice and every stalk of vegetable.
“Grandma, in the future, when I have money, I’ll buy you lots and lots of delicious food; food that you’ve never tasted before.”
3
Smiling, her grandmother nodded, looking especially kindly with her gently arched brows and warm eyes.
“Grandma, about that house in our hometown. Let’s not sell it just yet. Keep it. Maybe one day my mother will come back!”
When Ye Tianxin mentioned her mother, her grandmother’s eyes immediately darkened.
“Tianxin, I too believe that your mother will return one day. When that happens, the three of us will be happily reunited.”
So many years had gone by, and still her daughter hadn’t come home. Grandma surmised that her daughter probably met with some mishap or passed away.
“Grandma, my mother will be fine. I want to believe that there’ll be a miracle.”
3
When the grandmother and her granddaughter finished eating their Zhajiangmian, they sat and rested a bit in the noodle house.
“Ma’am, how much do we owe you?”
“Twenty dollars.”
Ye Tianxin handed twenty dollars over to the proprietor. Accepting the money, the proprietor asked, “Young lady, are you here for the interviews at the Film Academy?”
“Ma’am, how did you guess?”
At that question, the proprietor replied, “Young lady, I’ve run this noodle house near the Film Academy for many years now and have many movie stars as regular customers. Look up at that wall. Do you know Chunxue? When Chunxue came in for her interview at the Academy, she also ate Zhajiangmian at our shop. Then she got accepted. Now, since you’ve eaten our Zhajiangmian, you’ll also make it…”
“Then we hope that your prediction will come true,” Grandma commented after she heard what the proprietor said.
“Old madam, your granddaughter is very pretty. She’ll most definitely become a movie star. When that happens, you can expect to live well too.”
1
“Live well. Yes, live well.”
Ye Tianxin and her granddaughter spent some time chatting with the proprietor. When the woman, a nice and friendly person, found out that Ye Tianxin and her grandmother had traveled here a long way by train, she recommended a hotel to them.
“Young lady, go to the bookshop on the next street and look for the proprietor Madam Du. If you’re not fussy, you and your grandmother can tough it out and sleep in the loft above the bookshop for tonight. We can work something out after the first interview tomorrow…”
The wind in Capital City was a little chilly.
Ye Tianxin’s cheeks stung a little as the wind blew against her face.
With their luggage bag in one hand and her grandmother’s hand in the other, Ye Tianxin noticed that the nightscape in Capital City was breathtakingly radiant.
She and her grandmother were now a part of the populous crowd of Capital City.
“Grandma, once I’m done with the interviews, let’s go climb the Great Wall…”
2
Her grandmother nodded happily. She had never left Jiameng in entire her life and had no idea that the world outside was like this.
As it turned out, there were so many high-rise buildings in Capital City. So many high-rise buildings that it was possible to count them.
“We’re here!”
Ye Tianxin and her grandmother stood in front of the entrance to the bookshop. The shop looked a little dilapidated. The steps at its front door were adorned by many flowerpots of different sizes and were filled with purple and red flowers in full bloom that danced gently in the night wind.
1
“Excuse me, is Madam Du in please?”
Walking to the front of the bookshop, Ye Tianxin pushed open the wooden door, causing the wind chime behind it to ring crisply and melodiously.
