Do you still remember when you were a child, your mother had a small notebook with curled corners, filled with writings you couldn't understand?
And you also remember, your mother would occasionally take it out, flipping through its oil-stained, mottled pages. Sometimes, it would rustle in the kitchen, and occasionally, it would spin in the living room.
"How about sweet and sour ribs for today?" Sometimes, your mother would put the notebook down and ask her young daughter with a smile.
At moments like these, you would always laugh and say yes. Because sweet and sour ribs were truly delicious, and because they carried the flavor of your hometown—full of childhood memories, the kind time could never take away.
As you grew older, the little girl who would sit at the table waiting for her parents to bring food turned into a young woman cooking for others. You transformed from the one waiting for food to the one preparing it, and you found joy in this shift of roles.
