What should I write today?

I repeat this question every day because every day in Chengde brings new experiences. So today, why not take a look at what I’m best at: “eating”!

The main reason is that I went to the city center today, and the result of “wandering and eating” was that my performance at dinner was less than ideal… But undoubtedly, my stomach hasn’t been idle for a moment since I returned to Chengde these past few days.

My grandmother’s cooking has been “number one” in my mind since childhood, and this position has never been shaken. Thinking about what I like, it’s actually just those few things: steamed buns (Baozi), dumplings (Jiaozi), stuffed pancakes (Xianbing), and fried noodles; when Grandma asks, my answer is usually one of those four. Considering that much of my childhood was spent with my grandmother, maybe what makes me linger is not just the taste, but also the sense of “home” in my heart!

Chengde is a small place, but my family is here. My father knows I don’t eat hawthorns, so he specially took us to eat Tanghulu made of frozen Chinese yam (is this even Tanghulu anymore?!); when everyone walked until they were “chilled to the bone,” my mother took us to drink lamb soup, the heat seeping from the tip of the tongue straight to the toes; my younger brother would shout “Brother, let’s swap and eat” while eating dessert to let me taste the sago (but he took away the double-skin milk!). The warmth amidst the ice and snow doesn’t just come from thick clothes.

Full and satisfied, the day ends.