Kitchen.
The golden meatballs just came out of the pot, and the aroma filled the air.
Qi Shaobai wanted to grab one, but Sheng Mumu slapped his hand away and glared at him.
"Did you wash your hands?"
Qi Shaobai's brows instantly furrowed as he said aggrievedly, "I already washed them earlier."
The old lady who was putting meatballs into the pot chuckled at this.
"Little one has been like this since he was small. I would fry these while he tried to steal bites. Can't blame him though, he ate so many but never got fat."
Seeing the old lady laugh, Sheng Mumu also laughed.
Qi Shaobai's lips tightened slightly, not laughing.
Hearing Grandma mention the past instantly sent him into recollection, and his eyes even grew somewhat wet.
The Qi family of the past was not well-off, just an ordinary family.
But he was raised by Grandma and never suffered any hardship.
Grandma loved to laugh and was kindly yet nagging.
She used almost her entire retirement pension on him.
He still remembered Grandma's most common phrase—"If other kids have it, our little one should too."
When he was seven or eight, there was a remote control car craze at school for a while.
He originally had one, but during a race with classmates, it accidentally fell into a ditch.
The engine got soaked and was completely totaled.
A genuine remote control car plus the engine was not cheap, and he didn't dare tell Grandma.
Yet a few mornings later, he saw a brand new one sitting on his bedside table.
Before third grade, he was on the skinny side compared to other students.
When the school ordered new uniforms, even if he got the normal size, what he received was always a little big.
Grandma would personally tailor and reinforce them with dense stitching.
He still remembered once when there was a parent-teacher conference at school.
He sat by a flowerbed on the sports field waiting for Grandma to come out so they could walk home together.
Some boys from the next class came by and mocked him maliciously,
saying he was the only one in school without parents there, that he was an unwanted child.
He raised his fist to hit back when his small head was suddenly covered by a pair of warm hands.
Grandma appeared behind him and sternly scolded the boys away with her cane.
The next day, those students' parents brought them to their home to apologize.
After that, no one mocked him again.
They knew that while Qi Shaobai did not have parents by his side, he had an even more formidable Grandma.
Qi Shaobai only recalled a little, and scene after scene from his childhood surfaced in his mind.
The Grandma before his eyes now was still the same as in his memories, with a kindly smile and lively spirit.
A warmth swept through his heart.
Qi Shaobai and Sheng Mumu flanked the old lady on either side.
Sheng Mumu was lending a hand.
Since Qi Shaobai couldn't help, he diligently ate.
The more fragrant and approving he was of the food, the wider Grandma smiled.
During this time, Qi Shaobai heard Sheng Mumu's phone ring.
She answered, spoke briefly, then hung up.
Then he saw Sheng Mumu make another video call to the same number.
Holding up her phone to record, she included Grandma and him in the frame.
With hands on her hips, she gleefully said to the person on the call:
"Look, Grandma's frying meatballs, so fragrant. Too bad you can't have any~ "
As she finished speaking, Grandma and he laughed.
Dad's low laughter could be heard from the phone.
Grandma glanced sideways at the screen and said, "Big guy, don't crave it. Grandma will freeze some for you in the fridge."
A gentle "Okay" came through the phone.
Qi Shaobai's mouth curled up unconsciously.
The fragrant kitchen.
Grandma frying meatballs happily.
The young stepmother filming with her phone.
Dad on the other end of the call, unable to eat the freshly fried meatballs.
Everything was so ordinary and tranquil.
He really liked this kind of uneventful, simple life.
Zhang Housekeeper tidied up the largest guest room.
During renovations, this bedroom was set aside for when Grandma came to stay.
The bathroom had handles everywhere, and soft pads lined the walls.
The mattress was an elderly spine-protecting kind.
Many landscape potted plants grew on the small balcony.
Inside was a calligraphy desk with racks displaying expensive brushes and ink sticks collected from various places.
Because they had learned during a previous video call that Grandma had recently enrolled in a tai chi sword class at a senior activity center.
Qi had specially found some tai chi swords handcrafted by artisans.
Early next morning.
Sheng Mumu was awakened by the melodious music drifting up from the courtyard downstairs.
Rubbing her eyes, she leaned over the balcony railing to look down.
Old Lady was dressed in a loose-fitting moon white long-sleeved shirt and pants, wielding a sword.
Bow stance, push hands, straight thrust, upward parry...
Each movement was practiced and structured.
Sheng Mumu suddenly remembered the promise she had made to Grandma earlier.
To record Grandma practicing tai chi sword and make a colorful electronic photo album for her to share with her senior center tai chi group, making her the coolest granny there.
Just as she was thinking this,
a crisp and powerful voice floated up.
"Mumu, come down and join me."
In a right bow stance, as Old Lady looked up, she saw her pajama-clad granddaughter-in-law yawning on the balcony upstairs.
So young yet already yawning after just waking.
Clearly lacking exercise day to day.
It was time to impart some moves.
Sheng Mumu smiled and waved downstairs, sweetly responding:
"Okay Grandma, I'll come right down!"
After washing up, Sheng Mumu changed into lightweight exercise clothes and shoes.
As soon as she arrived in the courtyard, a tai chi sword was shoved into her hands.
Grandmother and granddaughter faced each other, moving slowly to the music.
The grandmother over ninety was steady and composed, posture standard.
The granddaughter-in-law not yet thirty was unsteady on her feet, hands and feet in disarray.
Beside them, Zhang Housekeeper silently shook his head.
Seeing the young lady's extremely uncoordinated limbs, he wanted to laugh but did not dare.
Just managing to get somewhat proficient at the first eight moves out of thirty-two, Sheng Mumu was already drenched in sweat.
She waved her hand, sitting down on a nearby chair and taking a sip of water. She said,
"Grandma, I can't anymore, I need to rest a bit. Let me record you."
Upon hearing this, the old lady became even more spirited.
She tidied her collar and specially chose the front courtyard fountain as a backdrop.
Very seriously, she performed another set.
To capture the best effect, Sheng Mumu half-squatted, steadily filming.
Afterwards, she selected twenty to thirty of the best photos from the footage, filtering and editing until about fifteen remained. She made these into a digital photo album and sent it to Grandma's WeChat.
The old lady put the sword back in its sheath and placed it on the outdoor table.
She hurriedly drank a sip of the tea a servant handed her, then eagerly shared the photo album she had just received to the WeChat group titled "Tai Chi Sword Class 2 of the Senior Center".
Still feeling it wasn't enough, she had her granddaughter-in-law choose the best looking photo and posted it with a status update, changing it to her new profile picture.
Sheng Mumu very patiently operated the phone, speaking to the old lady with laughter in her voice:
"Grandma, look at the live background I set for you."
The old lady with silvery white hair leaned over, eyes curving into a smile.
"Ohoho, this is good, it moves too!"
Just as she was about to return the phone to the old lady, a "1 New Like" notification popped up on the screen.
Clicking in, it showed the person listed as "Big Guy" had liked the post.
