Volume 1 / Chapter 46: Mother's Birthday

Every year on October 16th was Mò Xuěyáo’s mother’s birthday.

The reason Xuěyáo had no real impression of this day was because, as far back as she could remember, they had never actually celebrated it.

Her mother rarely mentioned it either. It was as if birthdays didn’t matter—just another ordinary day.

Her father, constantly busy year-round, had even less time to mark such occasions.

Xuěyáo had always assumed that her dad didn’t even know when her mom’s birthday was. And as for her mom? She probably didn’t care.

Only today did she realize—her mother did care. She just never thought her own birthday was worth the fuss, or worth the money.

But now, looking at the table covered with home-cooked dishes, and the rough little birthday card Xuěyáo had made out of a cigarette box at the last minute…

…along with the simple “Happy Birthday” from father and daughter…

Her mother’s eyes welled up ever so slightly.

Though clearly moved, she still pretended to scold:

“What’s all this fuss? It’s just a birthday! Look at all these dishes—what, are we suddenly rich or something? So wasteful.”

“We never eat this well all year,” her father said with a grin, taking her arm. “Gotta treat ourselves once in a while.”

“Save the treats for when we’ve actually got money. And why are you grabbing my arm?”

“So you’ll sit down and eat.”

“I’m not sitting.”

“Aw, come on now,” her father teased half-seriously, “So many dishes, and it’s your rare birthday—why are you upset?”

Her mother, trying to keep a straight face, couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, alright! Let go—I’m just going to the bathroom. You wanna stop me from that too?”

“Ahem, go ahead, go ahead.” Her father quickly let go, then turned to Xuěyáo. “Why are you just standing there? Go wash your hands—it’s time to eat.”

“Pfft, I already washed them.” Xuěyáo had already plopped herself down eagerly. A dinner this lavish probably came once in a month—if that. Especially after her parents had borrowed money for her surgery, the family finances had gotten even tighter.

Most days, even when they cooked dinner, it was with the cheapest ingredients possible.

Vegetables, mostly—since they were cheap. Going a week without a single bit of meat was perfectly normal.

No matter how ceremoniously they tried to prepare those veggies, they simply didn’t hold a candle to actual meat.

Just the smell of fried chicken drumsticks was enough to make Xuěyáo’s stomach growl.

Still, since it was her mother’s birthday, she couldn’t start eating until the guest of honor was seated.

Not that Sūtáng, their cat, had any such courtesy. It was already digging into the little bowl of fish guts they’d scooped out for it, munching away in delight.

In this era, keeping a cat didn’t come with fancy rules.

Whatever the humans ate, the cat ate too. Getting to nibble on animal innards was considered a treat.

Most people believed cats should eat fish. Giving a cat the parts humans didn’t eat—like fish guts—was how you rewarded it. Giving a whole fish? That meant you really spoiled the thing.

That kind of treatment was rare, of course. People who pampered their cats like that were seen as borderline crazy.

After all, in these times, most folks couldn’t afford meat every meal for themselves—let alone for their pets.

Treating your pet like royalty was the kind of strange thing that people joked about.

Once her mother had finished washing up, she sat down beside Xuěyáo. Her father finally took off his apron and reached up to switch off the overhead bulb in the living room.

“Why’d you turn off the light?” Xuěyáo asked, puzzled. “It’s pitch dark, we can’t see anything!”

“It’s a birthday,” her father replied, “Of course there’s a birthday cake!”

“When did you buy a cake?” Xuěyáo licked her lips. “Does it have lots of cream?”

“Haha, not a cream cake. It’s fāgāo—steamed rice cake,” he said, holding a single candle in one hand and a sticky rice cake in the other. He set both in front of her mother.

“Come on, come on, time for the birthday girl to blow out her candle!”

“So fussy—why make such a big deal out of a birthday?” her mother “complained,” but her tone was clearly filled with joy. She leaned in, about to blow out the candle.

“Wait, wait!” her father stopped her. “We have to sing the birthday song first. And you have to make a wish before blowing it out.”

Then he launched into the English version of “Happy Birthday,” which caught Xuěyáo off guard.

Wait—since when was he so trendy?

“Come on, Xuěyáo, sing with me!” he encouraged.

“Oh, okay. Happy birthday to you~”

With the slightly off-key singing of father and daughter, her mother quietly dabbed the corners of her eyes, then folded her hands and made a wish in silence.

“Whoo—!” She blew and blew, finally managing to extinguish the flame after several huffs.

“What did you wish for?” Xuěyáo asked curiously.

Click. Her father flipped the light back on.

“Hey hey, you’re not supposed to ask what someone wished for. Otherwise, it won’t come true!”

“Superstitious nonsense,” her mother laughed. But even so, she didn’t reveal the wish. “Not like it matters—chances are, I’ll forget it myself by next year.”

“Haha, that means it probably came true!” her father said, grinning as he sat down. “Alright, let’s eat! Everything’s fresh off the stove—best time to dig in. If we wait until tomorrow, it won’t taste as good.”

"CHICKEN LEG!!, CHICKEN LEG!!"Xuěyáo exclaimed, grabbing one immediately and taking a giant bite, juices dripping down her chin as she ate with zero restraint. “Ahhh, soooo good!”

“Eat as much as you like. You’re growing, after all.” Her mother smiled.

“You eat too.” Her father picked up another drumstick and dropped it into her mother’s bowl, then poured himself a shot of baijiu.

“Mmm, delicious,” her mother nodded. “Better than that... whatever it's called, GFSH?”

“It’s KFC,” Xuěyáo corrected, mouth still full.

“Right, KFC. And hey, Xuěyáo, can you eat a little more gracefully?”

“What’s wrong with the way I eat?” she asked, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. “Chopsticks are so much hassle!”

“Well, even if you use your hands, at least roll your sleeves up. You’re wiping your mouth with your sleeve and getting it all greasy. You’re washing your own clothes, remember?”

"Ahem!" Upon hearing she'd have to wash it herself, Xuěyáo immediately sat up straight. “Fine, fine! I’ll roll them up!”

“Don’t do it yourself—have your dad help. His hands aren’t greasy yet.”

“Here, Dad, hurry up!” Xuěyáo thrust out one arm while still holding her chicken leg in the other.

“Haha, seriously, no ladylike manners at all,” her father chuckled, helping her roll up her sleeve. “Now the other one.”

“Here.” She swapped hands, offering the other sleeve. “I’m not a girl anyway!”

“Don’t talk nonsense. Of course you are,” her mother said, gently pinching her cheek. “You can’t go saying that kind of thing outside, you hear me? If people found out the truth, it’d be a whole mess.”

“Tch…” Xuěyáo muttered. “It’s all your fault, Mom. If I was born a girl, fine. Or born a boy, also fine. But this... in between nonsense?”

“Hey, be grateful we had you at all,” her mother said as she gently smoothed back Xuěyáo’s hair to keep it from sticking to the chicken. “Back when I was pregnant, your dad wanted to get rid of you.”

“Yeah, we were gonna. Even took birth control pills, but they didn’t work. By the time we were five or six months in, we didn’t want to anymore, so we kept you.” Her dad took a sip of baijiu. “We were young. Didn’t want kids. Thought there’d be plenty of chances later. Having one so early felt like asking for trouble.”

“Whoa, Dad. That’s… incredibly irresponsible.”

“Unborn kids don’t have rights,” he laughed. “Come on, cheers!”

His bowl had baijiu. Xuěyáo and her mom had cups of Sprite.

They’d splurged on a big bottle today—this rare indulgence was finally on the menu.

With greasy fingers, Xuěyáo clinked her cup with theirs, then chugged half of it down and let out a huge, satisfied burp.

“Look at you!” her mom sighed. “You need to mind your manners now. Things aren’t like before. You should act like a young lady—no burping at the dinner table!”

Xuěyáo simply ignored her and reached for another chicken leg.

Her appetite wasn’t usually this big, but the food today was just too good.

“Don’t just eat drumsticks—try the sweet and sour perch. It’s delicious,” her dad said, placing a boneless piece in her bowl.

The flavor was similar to sweet and sour pork, but the fish meat was even more tender and juicy.

Every dish on the table tonight leaned slightly sweet. Even the stir-fried pork intestines had a touch of red-braised flavor.

Though it was her mother’s birthday, Xuěyáo was the one who ate the most, to the point where she was too stuffed to stand.

“Uh-oh… I ate so much tonight. What if I gain weight?” she groaned.

“Gain weight? You?” her mom snorted. “More like you need to gain some. You’re all skin and bones!”

“Skin and bones? Are you kidding? Look at all this meat!” Xuěyáo slapped her thigh, leaving five visible finger marks.

“She doesn’t even weigh ninety pounds,” her dad nodded.

“Yeah, but I’m short!” Xuěyáo pointed at her head. “All thanks to you, Mom. I should’ve been taller, but your genes stole my height!”

“Being short and chubby is quite cute!” her mother said, barely holding back a laugh.

“Cute? More like a tiny Earth goddess!”

“I’d say… more like a bowling ball,” her father suggested.

“That’s even worse!”

And so, in the midst of all this laughter and bickering, the family began clearing the table…