Chapter 41: The road to glory
Su Can played chess with Old Master Qian on the balcony while Tang Wu and her grandmother bustled about the kitchen. Before long, the food was ready, and the delicious aroma of braised spare ribs drifted onto the balcony on the cross breeze.
Between moves, Su Can remembered to look up. Visible wisps of steam billowed from the kitchen doorway as Tang Wu carried plates in and out. As the dishes gradually filled the table, his game with Old Master Qian drew to a close, and they got up and went into the living room.
Mu Qin was still complaining that the kitchen utensils Mu Xuan had equipped the home with were awkward to use, and that she had not even bought a better steamer insert. The insert in an ordinary rice cooker left even a couple of steamed buns soggy.
Looking at the two elders, Su Can inexplicably found himself thinking of the elderly members of his own family. They were all still in Xiahai and had not moved to Rongcheng with them. They came to visit when the opportunity arose each year, and his family occasionally went back to see them. Su Licheng, Zeng Ke, and Su Can had plainly become a source of pride they constantly talked about. Among all their relatives and siblings, Su Can's family was held up as an example to everyone.
A younger cousin of his father's had visited their Rongcheng home the previous year to ask Su Licheng for help with something. He had mentioned the elders in Xiahai: they were in good health, often spoke of them, and used Su Can, who was already studying at Nanjing University, as an example when lecturing the younger cousins of his generation in the Su Family.
Su Can's