In the afternoon, bright sunlight spilled down onto the cement floor before the single-story house, onto the tea table, blending with the faint fragrance rising from the teacups.
Jiang Ning lay in his recliner with his eyes closed, trying to drift off.
Xue Yuantong, in the recliner beside him, was far less settled. She held several Pine Nuts, cracking and eating them one by one.
Inside the brown shells of the Pine Nuts, the kernels were naturally ivory white. They smelled far richer than sunflower seeds and had a crisp, refreshing texture.
After cracking several, Xue Yuantong came across one that had not split open at all. She had no idea where to start.
The shell was extremely hard. Xue Yuantong wanted to bite it open, but she was afraid of chipping a tooth.
She was deeply terrified of such accidents. There had once been an old man in the village with incredibly strong teeth, strong enough to open beer bottles with them! He had been immensely proud of it, but later, while attending a banquet, he chipped a tooth. The scene had been downright brutal.
Xue Yuantong was grown now. She was no longer a child whose baby teeth could grow back after falling out. If she lost a permanent tooth, it would be gone for good.
The thought of speaking with air leaking through her teeth and being mocked by Jiang Ning made Xue Yuantong completely abandon the idea of biting through the shell.
Besides, losing a tooth would affect her eating too.
Xue Yuantong turned her attention to Jiang Ning and gave a light cough.
Jiang Ning slightly raised his eyelids.
Xue Yuantong stopped eating Pine Nuts. She picked up her small teacup, held it up toward the sun overhead, and gently turned it, as though it