Morning
Today, my second uncle, second aunt, fourth aunt, fourth uncle, youngest aunt, and even Huanhuan are all planning to come to my house for a visit.
I remember bringing a bag of wheat gluten powder home earlier and have been thinking about improving my homemade gluten skewers. Taking advantage of my parents going out to buy food for the afternoon and evening, I poured out half the bag of wheat gluten powder to give it another try.
Noon
When the relatives arrived at noon, little Huanhuan came too. I drove fourth uncleâs car, taking Manman and Ningning to pick up Huanhuan. The streets were so crowded that I couldnât find a single parking spot, so I had no choice but to turn back and park in the parking lot.
Right next to the parking lot was a supermarket, so I decided to take Manman and Ningning shopping. And thatâs where the nightmare began. After Manman and Ningning took forever to finally pick out what they wanted, it was time to check out. Manman cheerfully said, âMy uncle will pay for me!â Like an idiot, I replied, âSo how are you going to repay me?â What I actually had in mind was tricking Manman into helping me grill the gluten skewers later.
Unexpectedly, Manman got angry right away. She ran over, put the items back, and started crying. Nothing I said worked. Thankfully, Iâve dealt with situations like this before, though I was still a bit flustered. I said everything I could think of, then decided to just stand by and wait for her emotions to settle on their own. Meanwhile, Huanhuan was patiently comforting and coaxing her the whole time. Ningning, on the other hand, stayed very calmâshe didnât join the tantrum, didnât say anything, and didnât run around, just waited quietly beside us.
After about thirty or forty minutes, when Manman realized this wasnât getting her anywhere, she started asking for Huanhuan to hold her. Seeing this, I figured things were okay now, so I handed her the stuff Iâd just bought and went to get the car. Manman took the things from me, and that was that. In a way, Manman gave Huanhuan a little lesson too.
Evening
In the evening, I saw some mulberry leaves and suddenly remembered a video Iâd watched about frying them. So I took the kids to pick some leaves, then made a batter with eggs, flour, and salt to fry them. Personally, I found them a bit greasyâprobably because the batter wasnât prepared well and absorbed too much oilâbut everyone else thought they were delicious, and we finished every last piece.
After dinner, Huanhuan and I took Manman and Ningning for a walk before sunset. The laughter along the way and the feeling of being close to nature were wonderful.
When we got back, I prepared to grill my gluten skewers. I gathered whatever ingredients we had at home and made a simple version of chili oil. Using a portable gas canister, I lit the remaining charcoal and started grilling slowly. This time, the gluten skewers were a hit with everyone, and even I thought they tasted greatâmuch better than the deep-fried version Iâd made before.
Night
My dad, mom, and sister all have birthdays in late March. After finishing the grilled gluten skewers, I asked Manman to bring over the cake Huanhuan had ordered from Shenggu Cake. Manman made three birthday cake hats for them, and I handed the cake-cutting knife to Dad. It was his first time cutting a cake, and he didnât seem awkward at allâit was perfect.
Everyone chatted away, each person happy in their own way. Today was a truly wonderful day.