Late June 1992, somewhere in Shencheng.
Though the sky hadn’t completely darkened, the neon sign at the entrance of Chunfeng Inn was already lit – flashing blue background with yellow characters spelling “Accommodation”.
Lin Xiangxiu had just returned from grocery shopping, carrying a small bamboo basket containing two eggs, tomatoes, and scallions. She hurried into the two-story building.
Her daughter Lin Xiao was waiting at the front counter. Spotting her mother, the little girl popped her head out and rubbed her stomach. “Mom, I’m hungry. What are we eating today?”
“Qingguo Noodles. Would you like that?” Lin Xiangxiu said.
Lin Xiao nodded eagerly.
Just then, the proprietress Hong Jie also emerged from behind the counter, greeting them with a smile. “Back from shopping, Xiao Lin? Still using our kitchen to cook today?”
“Yes, I’ll pay the kitchen fee along with the room charge,” Lin Xiangxiu replied, frowning slightly as she thought of her dwindling savings.
Hong Jie’s thin blue-green tattooed eyebrows arched slightly. “I’m not rushing you for payment! I’m just worried about you. You’ve come all the way from Northeast China, and it’s been several days already. Haven’t you found Xiao Xiao’s father yet?”
“The cost of living in Shencheng keeps rising. I’m concerned about how you and your daughter will manage if you can’t find him soon.” Hong Jie shook her head and returned to her seat behind the counter, her eyes fixed on the bulky television.
This year, the TV drama “The Migrant Girls” was immensely popular, being broadcast repeatedly. Hong Jie watched it with great interest every time.
Lin Xiao also wanted to watch TV. After staring at the screen for a while, she quickly followed her mother into the inn’s kitchen when she saw her heading there.
In the kitchen, Lin Xiangxiu had already composed herself and started cooking.
Knowing Xiao Xiao didn’t like cooked tomatoes, she diced the tomatoes finely and sliced the scallions diagonally, setting the white parts aside separately.
The beaten eggs sizzled as they hit the hot oil, the edges immediately puffing up where the oil soaked through.
“Mom, the eggs turned into clouds,” Lin Xiao said, sitting on a small stool far from the oil pan, propping her chin with both hands and smiling.
The childish remark made Lin Xiangxiu’s lips curve upward.
After scrambling the eggs until golden and setting them aside, she fried the scallion whites in the oil to make scallion oil. Then she added the diced tomatoes with some salt, cooking them with the eggs to make tomato sauce before adding water. Once the water boiled, she added hand-pulled noodles, simmering them into a rich egg broth.
When the hand-pulled noodles softened, the Qingguo Noodles were ready. As she lifted the lid, an irresistible aroma wafted out.
Lin Xiangxiu served the noodles into two enamel mugs she had brought, handing one to her daughter.
Lin Xiao eagerly accepted it, clumsily picking up two noodles with her chopsticks. After blowing on them, she put them in her mouth, her bright eyes instantly squinting with pleasure. “Mom, it’s delicious!”
The ingredients for Qingguo Noodles were simple, with the umami flavor mainly coming from the scallions – the hot oil having released the fresh aroma of the scallion whites.
The little girl slurped up one noodle and immediately picked up another chopstickful, puffing her small mouth to blow on it repeatedly, wishing she could devour the noodles all at once.
As steam rose from the noodles, Lin Xiangxiu didn’t start eating. Instead, she held the enamel mug, lost in thought.
Just a few days ago, she had brought her daughter Lin Xiao from their hometown in Northeast China to Shencheng for one purpose only – to find her childhood sweetheart husband, Lin Shuping.
Abandoned by her parents since childhood, she was taken in by her grandmother and became Lin Shuping’s child bride. At nineteen, under family pressure, she married Lin Shuping.
After marriage, Lin Shuping continued his studies until the year Xiaoxiao was born, when he was admitted to a university in Shencheng. He then left Northeast China for Shencheng and never returned.
If not for the occasional letter and money he sent back, the family would have thought he was dead.
Even with the money her husband sent, Lin Xiangxiu’s life was difficult.
Her mother-in-law was harsh and critical, and Lin Xiangxiu herself was not meek. The two argued daily until a major quarrel two days ago led to her mother-in-law driving them out. Lin Xiangxiu brought Xiaoxiao to Shencheng and had been staying at Chunfeng Inn, leaving before dawn each day to search for Lin Shuping.
With little money left, she grew increasingly anxious, knowing they would be left homeless if she failed to find him soon.
Fortunately, there were fellow villagers in Shencheng. After inquiring with several and searching on her own, she finally learned about Lin Shuping’s recent situation.
It was said that Lin Shuping worked as a teacher at a nearby high school—a stable job with a decent salary. Lin Xiangxiu planned to take the child to find him the next day.
Before arriving, she had envisioned a hopeful future: Lin Shuping, now a university graduate with a stable job, would reunite with them, and the family of three could build a life together.
But Lin Xiangxiu no longer thought that way.
While grocery shopping earlier, she had experienced something like a dream—yet not quite a dream. The scene before her shifted abruptly, like watching a film, more like a premonitory vision.
In that vision, she saw herself taking Xiaoxiao to find Lin Shuping, only to discover he had started another family and refused to acknowledge their marriage.
Worse, Lin Shuping deceived her into staying to work as a nanny for his pregnant wife.
In the dream, Lin Xiangxiu agreed for her daughter’s future, but that future never materialized. Xiaoxiao dropped out of high school, fell in with a group of blond-haired delinquents, and died instantly in a motorcycle crash.
The vision ended with Lin Xiangxiu kneeling beside her daughter’s body, weeping uncontrollably and repeating the word “regret.”
She regretted becoming Lin Shuping’s nanny, regretted subjecting her daughter to that distorted family dynamic, and most of all, regretted not divorcing him sooner.
Even after the vision faded, the profound fear and loss lingered in her soul.
Lin Xiangxiu was still lost in these memories when a knock at the door startled her.
She looked up to see Hong Jie standing at the kitchen doorway, sniffing the air appreciatively. “Something smells wonderful,” Hong Jie remarked with a wink.
Seemingly cheerful, Hong Jie announced, “Xiao Lin, your husband is here.”
She stepped aside to reveal the man behind her.
Lin Xiangxiu uttered, “Lin Shuping?”
It was indeed her husband, Lin Shuping. His expression was stern, displeased, and distant.
Hearing his name, Lin Shuping gave a faint nod without a word.
Hong Jie, sensing the tension between them, tactfully said, “I’ll leave you to talk. I’ll be upfront if you need anything.”
She left, and the kitchen held only the family of three.
As soon as the others left, Lin Shuping’s eyebrows furrowed deeply. He couldn’t be bothered to pretend anymore and said bluntly, “What are you here for? How long are you planning to stay? I’ll buy train tickets in a couple of days to send you back. Don’t cause me any trouble here.”
“What trouble have we caused you when we just arrived?” Lin Xiangxiu sneered.