Compensation

Feiniao shook her head. She had indeed never eaten Chinese food prepared by Xia Mo.

After all, egg rolls are something that every country has.

Xia Mo thought for a moment, then stood up: "Okay. But we don't have many ingredients at home, let me see what we can make."

He went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and rummaged through it, then opened the pantry and poked his head out, saying, "Fried rice, fried dumplings, Mapo tofu. How about that?"

Hua Hua jumped up from the sofa: "Is this enough to eat? Should I go buy some other food?"

"That's enough, you can just sit down." Xia Mo's voice came from the kitchen. "By the way, do you want it spicy or not?"

Hua Hua thought for a moment: "Only children make choices; adults want it all!"

"Then bring some of everything."

"Okay! Medium spicy!"

As summer drew to a close, I tied on my apron and turned on the stove. The sounds of the wok heating up and peanut oil sizzling filled the air.

Feiniao watched him cook from the kitchen doorway. Xia Mo cracked a few eggs into a bowl and whisked them, stirring them quickly with chopsticks until the egg mixture swirled into a golden vortex.

On the preparation table were several small bowls containing chopped scallions, minced garlic, minced ginger, and a small dish of chopped char siu.

Next to the cutting board were several green glass bottles—fermented broad bean paste and sweet bean sauce for Mapo Tofu, and soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil for dumpling dipping sauce.

Feiniao had only ever smelled this aroma before when her mother was cooking.

The caramelized sweetness of soy sauce and sugar stir-fried together, the spiciness of ginger and garlic sautéed, and the heat of peanut oil gliding across the bottom of the pan.

They mixed together and became something indescribable, like someone drawing a map in the kitchen, stretching from Katsushika Ward all the way to a very, very far place.

"Do you have any chili peppers?" Hua Hua poked her head in from the kitchen doorway. "Mapo tofu without chili peppers isn't Mapo tofu."

"There's fermented soybean paste."

"Alright then."

Hua Hua happily shrank back.

In late summer, first fry the dumplings in a pan.

Pour oil into the pan, place the dumplings in one by one, and fry over medium heat until the bottoms are golden brown. Then pour in half a bowl of water and cover the pan with the lid.

Steam rose from the edge of the pot lid, making a bubbling sound.

On another stove, a wok was used to stir-fry scallions, ginger, and garlic until fragrant. The beaten eggs were then poured in and quickly scrambled with chopsticks. The eggs puffed up in the hot oil, turning into soft, golden-yellow clumps.

Add the diced char siu and stir-fry, then add the rice. Break up a large clump of cold rice with a spatula and mix it thoroughly with the char siu and egg.

The soy sauce was poured along the edge of the pot, and with a "sizzle," the aroma of the soy sauce exploded instantly.

Hua Hua sat on the sofa, swinging her legs back and forth. The aroma wafted from the kitchen. She took a deep breath and then let out an extremely affected "Mmm—", as if she were filming a delicious meal.

"Xia Jun, if you can't find a job in the future, you can open a restaurant," she shouted towards the kitchen.

Xia Mo wiped her hands on her apron, scooped out the fried rice and put it on three plates, then turned around to make Mapo Tofu.

Heat oil in a wok, sauté minced garlic and ginger until fragrant, then add fermented bean paste and stir-fry until the oil turns red, instantly enhancing the aroma.

Hua Hua took a few deep breaths of the air through her nose.

"It smells so good, Asuka-chan!" she exclaimed in a low voice. "It smells so good I can't stand it! I have to come and see!"

She actually ran to the kitchen doorway to watch. Feibiao made room for her, and the two of them leaned side by side against the doorframe, watching Xia Mo make Mapo Tofu.

Cut the soft tofu into small cubes and put them neatly into the pot. Stir-fry for a few seconds, then add soy sauce, sugar, and a small spoonful of vinegar. Thicken the sauce with cornstarch.

The dumplings are ready too.

As summer drew to a close, the pot lid was lifted. The water had almost evaporated, and the bottoms of the dumplings had turned golden brown. They were stuck together, sprinkled with chopped green onions and sesame seeds, and served on a plate. The crispy skin was glistening.

Three dishes were placed on the table: a plate of golden Chinese fried rice, Mapo tofu stewed in a deep red sauce, and pan-fried dumplings with golden-brown bottoms sprinkled with black sesame seeds.

At the end of summer, three bottles of chilled oolong tea were taken out of the refrigerator and placed next to each person's plate.

Hua Hua stood by the dining table, her hands resting on the surface, and bent down, scanning each dish from beginning to end like a security scanner.

"I'm starting to eat—" She clasped her hands together and reached for the fried rice with her chopsticks.

Her eyes lit up after the first bite.

"So delicious!!" Hua Hua's voice boomed in the living room. "This fried rice smells amazing! Every grain of rice is perfectly separated, and the char siu flavor is all infused into it. Xia Jun, you're the best fried rice maker I've ever seen!"

As she spoke, she shoveled another large mouthful into her mouth, her cheeks bulging like a hamster storing grain.

Seeing her satisfied expression, Feibiao couldn't help but smile, then picked up a dumpling with his chopsticks.

She rolled the dumpling in the dipping sauce, put it in her mouth, and her eyes lit up.

The dumpling wrappers were fried until crispy, and when you bit into them, there was a "crunch" sound. The filling inside was still hot, with the fresh flavor of pork and cabbage mixed with the slight spiciness of minced ginger. The ratio of vinegar and soy sauce in the dipping sauce was just right.

"These dumplings are delicious," Feiniao said, her tone much calmer than Huahua's, but the speed with which she reached for the second dumpling betrayed her.

Hua Hua took a couple more bites of fried rice before finally opening her mouth to reply, "The fried rice is absolutely amazing! Asuka-chan, you should try more of the fried rice!"

"The dumplings are delicious." Feiniao picked up another one.

"fried rice!"

"dumpling."

"Fried rice! Fried rice! Fried rice!" Hua Hua shouted three times, pointing her chopsticks at the plate of fried rice, as if to say, "Today you must admit that fried rice is the champion."

Feiniao didn't reply, but her chopsticks reached for the dumplings again.

Hua Hua ate two plates of fried rice, and the plates were empty. Only the red sauce remained on the bottom of the plate of the Mapo Tofu.

There were only two dumplings left in the plate—Feiniao's chopsticks had already reached for them, but Huahua glanced at them, didn't grab them, and silently shoveled the last grain of rice from the fried rice plate into her mouth.

The three of them ate for almost half an hour. Hua Hua leaned back in her chair, patted her stomach, and said sincerely, "I'm stuffed. But it was worth it."

"I'm full too," said Feibiao, her plate was completely empty of dumpling crumbs.

The two looked at Xia Mo; the plate in front of him was clean, with only the bottom of the bowl remaining of rice.

The three of them looked at each other and smiled at the same time.

"What? It looks like a starving ghost reincarnated."

After laughing, Hua Hua stood up, patted her stomach, and said, "I'll go see what else you have in your fridge to drink. I've finished the oolong tea."

She walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. On the top shelf were eggs, milk, several unopened boxes of tofu, and a bottle of leftover miso soup from yesterday.

The bottom layer contained vegetables and food storage containers. Hua Hua's eyes swept over the row of containers—pickled radishes, houttuynia cordata, and a box of kimchi from who-knows-when.

Then her hand stopped.

Inside the innermost part was a transparent food storage container, with the contents lying quietly at the bottom.

It's transparent, crystal clear, like a jelly; within the translucent gel, there are several thin, long, coiled strands...

insect.

Hua Hua's hand froze in mid-air.

Her mouth opened, closed, and opened again. Her eyes were wide open, her pupils reflecting the thin, elongated worms that were faintly visible through the transparent gel in the food container.

"……ah."

Her voice was very soft, like a breath that hadn't even had a chance to scream.

Then, as if she had lost all power, she took a step back, her leg bumping into the refrigerator door, and she stumbled and almost fell.

"Hua Hua? What's wrong?" Feiniao's voice came from the living room.

Hua Hua retreated from the kitchen to the living room doorway, her hand still pointing towards the refrigerator, her lips trembling. Her face was as white as a sheet.

"Xia Jun...you have...you have..." She couldn't finish the sentence.

Xia Mo glanced at her, stood up, walked into the kitchen, and took the food storage container out of the refrigerator.

Feiniao followed, and upon seeing the contents of the food container, she sprang to the edge of the sofa, her back against the armrest, her eyes fixed on the container.

"Late summer." Asuka's voice remained relatively calm, but her speech was much faster than usual. "What's that?"

"Tusun jelly," Xia Mo said. "A Fujian snack."

"Fujian snacks?" Hua Hua's eyebrows furrowed, her voice carrying a wary tone that seemed to say, "Are you kidding me?" "What kind of Fujian snacks would look like this?"

"Late summer," Feiniao peeked out from behind the sofa, "that bug..."

"Sandworm. Its scientific name is Sipunculus nudus, a marine mollusc found in the mudflats of Fujian, and it has high nutritional value."

Xia Mo spoke calmly, as if she were reciting a text.

Hua Hua's eyes widened again, and her voice shattered: "A bug?! It really is a bug?!"

Feiniao buried her face in the sofa cushions, her voice muffled: "Xiamo, could you move it away? I don't want to see it."

"You're not allergic to it, are you?" Xia Mo glanced at her.

"I'm not allergic, but I don't want to see it!"

Hua Hua jumped up from the sofa, pointing at the food storage container, her fingers trembling slightly: "How come you have something like this in your refrigerator?"

"Eating snacks, drinking soda, and admiring insects—is this a hidden trait of you Chinese people?"

Xia Mo closed the lid of the food container and put it back in the refrigerator, saying in a calm tone, "My mother made it. She's from Fujian and has been eating it since she was a child. She probably wanted us to try it too."

Hua Hua plopped back down on the sofa, her hands gripping the edges of her shorts, her knuckles white. She took a deep breath, then exhaled, as if performing some kind of mental restorative deep breathing.

"No," she finally spoke, her voice still trembling with a hint of relief, "Next time I come to your house, could you please put away... that kind of thing... in the fridge beforehand? Or at least tell me in advance so I can decide whether or not to open the fridge."

Xia Mo glanced at her: "Didn't you just eat two plates of fried rice?"

"Fried rice is fried rice, and bugs are bugs! They're two different things! Besides, the fried rice was so delicious, I almost ate the plate, but that frozen..." Hua Hua shivered.

"I refuse."

Feiniao sat up from the corner of the sofa, tidied her hair, crumpled up the tissue in her hand, and threw it into the trash can.

At the end of summer, three cups of iced barley tea were taken out of the refrigerator and placed in front of everyone.

"Does your family eat this when your mother makes it?" Asuka couldn't help but ask.

"I've eaten," Xia Mo said.

"The taste is not bad."

Hua Hua picked up the barley tea, took a big gulp, and put the cup on the coffee table with a "thump".

"Xia Jun," she said in a very serious tone, "if you're going to eat that, could you please not let me see it?"

"...I didn't say I wanted to eat now."

"You'd better be."

Feiniao also picked up her barley tea and took a sip. The delicate aroma of the barley tea spread in her mouth, washing away the various indescribable associations that had lingered on her taste buds for the past few seconds.

She looked down at the ice in the glass slowly melting, and suddenly realized that her reaction was indeed a bit too strong. Then she thought, anyone would react the same way if they saw several worms crawling in the refrigerator.

"But seriously," Hua Hua put down her cup, her tone returning to normal, "how's your ensemble practice going? Can I really come and watch?"

Feiniao nodded and said earnestly, "Yes, there should be a performance next semester. You must come then."

"I'll definitely go," Hua Hua said. "And I'll sit in the front row and applaud you all."

"I don't want to look you in the eye," Xia Mo muttered.

"It's easy to make mistakes if you get distracted."

"I'm going to make eye contact with you!" Hua Hua said, hands on her hips. "I'm just staring at you! Let's see if you get distracted!"

Xia Mo didn't say anything more; he turned his gaze to the window as a sign of his surrender.

Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the blinds, casting golden stripes on the living room floor.

The May wind billowed the curtains, making them billow like a gentle sail.

Feiniao sat on the sofa, holding a cup of barley tea, watching Huahua and Xiamo bicker. The bag of potato chips on the coffee table was empty, the marbles from three bottles of Ramune soda lay quietly at the bottom of the bottles, and there were two small pieces left at the bottom of the watermelon platter.

The food storage containers have disappeared from view in the kitchen—they were probably tucked back into the deepest part of the refrigerator at the end of summer.

"Late summer," Asuka suddenly spoke, "is the sea worm jelly delicious?"

Xia Mo glanced at her: "You want to give it a try?"

"No," Asuka replied quickly.

Xia Mo didn't ask again. But Hua Hua noticed that when Fei Niao said she didn't want to, her finger lightly touched the rim of the cup.

The afternoon sun shone in through the west-facing window, casting long shadows in the living room.

The three chatted for a while longer—about the ensemble, about school, about summer vacation—then Huahua looked at her phone and said, "It's about time to go back," and stood up to get her bag.

Feiniao checked the time and stood up as well.

Xia Mo escorted them to the entrance. Fei Niao put on her shoes, stood up, and glanced at Xia Mo.

"Next week," she said, "my mom said she'd pack an extra portion of coconut chicken in your bento box."

Xia Mo shook her head: "No need to trouble yourself—"

"She's in charge, you're not." After saying that, Feibiao turned around and walked out the door with Huahua.

The entryway door closed behind them with a soft "click".

The evening breeze of May blew in through the corridor windows, carrying the coolness of the evening.

The bird suddenly turned around and glanced at the door that was already closed.

Then it turned back.