Dumplings People and Love2

After entering the university, thousands of miles away from home, I can still remember the first big event in our class is making dumplings, to celebrate the Mooncake festival, which for most of us, means the first time being away from parents and having brand new life here. That night was crazy. Distinctive shapes of dumplings, varying from the north to the south, among different families, or just some instant creations, gave us tremendous joys which made us feel like having known each other for ages. I bet, at that moment, the dumplings stood for a wish or a belief, that we would spend the eight years all-together like brothers and sisters. Indeed, six years later we were awarded with the best group prize from our university. Then it’s time for me to say goodbye.

Now I am here, even further from home. From time to time, some friends would still arrange some gatherings to make dumplings. For us, it’s a good way to update everyone’s recent stories and also treat ourselves with some hint of home flavor. More than often, the huge pack of frozen dumplings standing in Chinese supermarkets would fulfill some of our desire temporarily, however, for sure it can never catch up with the homemade one, or we call “mum brand”. I used to think my mum’s the best, however after trying some of my friends’ mum’ s, could only comment as most Chinese mums are super dumpling-makers. May be it’s because that they stay in the kitchen long enough to be good at it. However, only after reading some news did I get to know I was absolutely wrong.

It’s an interview on the most popular dumpling restaurant in the town. When the journalist asked the boss, an ordinary middle-aged woman whether she has any secret recipe to make her dumplings super yummy, she answered with a very big smile only shining on mum’s face, “my only son’s favorite is dumplings made by me, but he is too busy to have them often. So my running this small restaurant is special for him, whenever home my dumplings are always hot on the table.”

Well, with so many stories and memories, I admit that I have begun to miss dumplings, as well as those related people and feelings.