Grandma's Dumplings · chapter 3 of 3
One Pot of Dumplings
一锅饺子
A whole Spring Festival of folding, one pot of dumplings for the family, and one moment when Grandma knows exactly who is sitting beside her.
Read what you hear
- Ajie “四，五，六……”
“Sì, wǔ, liù…”
“Four, five, six…”
- Grandma “……七，八，九。”
“…Qī, bā, jiǔ.”
“…seven, eight, nine.”
- Ajie 外婆跟着我数了起来。她的声音很小，可是很清楚。
Wàipó gēnzhe wǒ shǔ le qǐlái. Tā de shēngyīn hěn xiǎo, kěshì hěn qīngchu.
Grandma starts counting with me. Her voice is soft, but clear.
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of Grandma's Dumplings is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller and The Odyssey from start to finish.
- Grandma ……十七，十八。好了。
…Shíqī, shíbā. Hǎo le.
…seventeen, eighteen. There.
- Ajie 她笑了，好像刚才什么也没发生。
Tā xiào le, hǎoxiàng gāngcái shénme yě méi fāshēng.
She smiles, as though nothing had happened a moment ago.
- Ajie 那个春节，我没有回北京。我每天都跟外婆包饺子。
Nàge Chūnjié, wǒ méiyǒu huí Běijīng. Wǒ měi tiān dōu gēn wàipó bāo jiǎozi.
That Spring Festival, I didn't go back to Beijing. I made dumplings with Grandma every day.
- Ajie 有的时候，她叫我“小伙子”。有的时候，她叫我“老头子”，那是她以前叫外公的。
Yǒu de shíhou, tā jiào wǒ “xiǎohuǒzi”. Yǒu de shíhou, tā jiào wǒ “lǎotóuzi”, nà shì tā yǐqián jiào wàigōng de.
Sometimes she called me “young man.” Sometimes she called me “old man” — what she used to call Grandpa.
- Ajie 可是每一次，我都包十八个褶子。
Kěshì měi yí cì, wǒ dōu bāo shíbā gè zhězi.
But every time, I made eighteen pleats.
- Ajie 除夕晚上，一家人都回来了。
Chúxī wǎnshang, yì jiā rén dōu huílái le.
On New Year's Eve, the whole family came home.
- Ajie 这一次，饺子是我包的。
Zhè yí cì, jiǎozi shì wǒ bāo de.
This time, I made the dumplings.
- Mom 阿杰，这是……你包的？跟你外婆包的一模一样。
Ā Jié, zhè shì… nǐ bāo de? Gēn nǐ wàipó bāo de yìmú-yíyàng.
Ajie, you… you made these? They're exactly like your grandma's.
- Ajie 一锅饺子端上桌。外婆夹起一个，咬了一口。
Yì guō jiǎozi duān shàng zhuō. Wàipó jiā qǐ yí gè, yǎo le yì kǒu.
A whole pot of dumplings comes to the table. Grandma picks one up and takes a bite.
- Ajie 她吃得很慢，吃着吃着，停了下来。
Tā chī de hěn màn, chīzhe chīzhe, tíng le xiàlái.
She eats slowly — and then she stops.
- Grandma 这个味道……是我包的吗？
Zhège wèidao… shì wǒ bāo de ma?
This taste… did I make these?
- Ajie 不是，外婆。是您教我的。
Bú shì, wàipó. Shì nín jiāo wǒ de.
No, Grandma. You taught me.
- Ajie 外婆看着我，看了很久很久。
Wàipó kànzhe wǒ, kàn le hěn jiǔ hěn jiǔ.
Grandma looks at me for a long, long time.
- Ajie 然后，她伸出手，摸了摸我的脸。
Ránhòu, tā shēn chū shǒu, mō le mō wǒ de liǎn.
Then she reaches out and touches my face.
- Grandma 阿杰……你长这么高了。
Ā Jié… nǐ zhǎng zhème gāo le.
Ajie… you've grown so tall.
- Ajie 那一刻，外婆认出了我。
Nà yí kè, wàipó rèn chū le wǒ.
In that moment, Grandma knew me.
- Ajie 只有一会儿。可是一会儿，就够了。
Zhǐ yǒu yíhuìr. Kěshì yíhuìr, jiù gòu le.
Only for a little while. But a little while was enough.
- Ajie 现在，每年春节，我都包饺子。每一个，都是十八个褶子。
Xiànzài, měi nián Chūnjié, wǒ dōu bāo jiǎozi. Měi yí gè, dōu shì shíbā gè zhězi.
Now, every Spring Festival, I make dumplings. Every one of them has eighteen pleats.
- Ajie 外婆会忘记，可是她的饺子，我会一直记得。
Wàipó huì wàngjì, kěshì tā de jiǎozi, wǒ huì yìzhí jìde.
Grandma may forget. But her dumplings — I'll always remember.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- What does Grandma do when Ajie starts counting?
“外婆跟着我数了起来.”
- How does Ajie spend Spring Festival?
“我每天都跟外婆包饺子.”
- What does Mom say about Ajie's dumplings?
“跟你外婆包的一模一样.”
- What does Grandma say after touching Ajie's face?
“阿杰……你长这么高了.”
- What will Ajie always remember?
“她的饺子，我会一直记得.”