The Meadow Annual Literary Arts Journal 2022

The Meadow 189 “That must have been hard,” Ye managed to say. “Now that your dage’s tomb was built in accordance with feng shui principles, it will bless us all. Hua must be pregnant with a son,” Mother beamed as she looked at Hua. “Pregnant?” Ye turned to look at the slight bulge in Hua’s belly. “Two months,” she replied. “I hope it is a son,” Ye managed to sound sincere. “Thanks, dajie,” Hua said so as she tried to feed Taotao bone soup with a spoon. Taotao’s lips were closed tightly and turned her face away. “Open your mouth! It’s time to eat,” said Hua sternly. “Maybe she is not hungry,” Ye said. “It’s past lunch time. She must eat.” As Hua put the spoon to Taotao’s mouth, she pushed, and the soup spilled out of the spoon. “Pa!” Hua slapped her face, and Taotao cried. “Shut up! Stop crying or I will slap you again!” Hua hissed and raised her hand. Ye felt blood rush to her head and her chest felt rather tight, as if Mother had just slapped her. “You should be more patient. She is just a baby. I will take Taotao out for a walk, and you can have lunch,” said Mother. She picked up Taotao and walked outside saying “Mommy shouldn’t slap Taotao. Granny is here. Taotao is a good girl,” Mother walked out of the room and rocked Taotao gently in her arms. It was surreal to Ye that Mother doted on Taotao. Perhaps getting old made Mother better tempered. Ye slowly set her chopsticks down. She thought for a moment and said to Hua, “You know, the parent-child relationship we encountered in childhood is our model. This forms our character and determines how we will treat our children.” “What are you trying to say?” Hua raised her eyebrows. “I am saying that you don’t need to treat your daughter the

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