By Yan Lingling

My dad passed away at 48,and my mom had accepted the fact,and her fate,in no more than one year.She dedicated herself to being the sole breadwinner for our family,the seven of us.

At the very beginning,my mom followed other peddlers to sell goods at the local market.Everything was going well,till one day when our house was burgled.She was deeply concerned about the safety of me and my younger brother,so a few days later,my mom decided to give up the peddling and opened a steamed bun restaurant at a nearby intersection so that she could be closer to home.

Making Preparations for the Shop

In order to pool money,my mom brought some family valuables to the front yard and sold them cheaply,and used the money she’d made from peddling at the local market.She paid three months’rent and got the key to a small roadside shop.After that,she had my elder brothers and sisters help renovate the place,giving it a whitewash,and setting up a table with a large chopping board.In one day,the little shabby shop became quite the cozy place.

My mom always had a knack for cooking,but years later she told us that there was another reason she opened the steamed bun shop.As we were at a fast-growing age,she feared that we might suffer from malnutrition.Opening such a shop meant that she had to buy pork all the time,which meant we could have pork rind to eat and bone soup to drink as a nutritional supplement.But of course,most importantly,she could look after me and my younger brother at the same time.

We were all thrilled about Mom’s decision of opening the shop.At that time,my elder sisters and brothers were grown up and thoughtful enough.Seeing that Mom had to work painstakingly from dawn to dusk every day,they tried all they could to help her.

In doing so,my mom’s business started.

The First Batch of Steamed Buns

My mom always got up at 5 o’clock sharp every morning,and after a simple washing and dressing,she’d put on a white apron,a pair of white sleeves,and a white hat,and rush to the restaurant with a basin of steamed bun fillings in her arms.Usually,she’d be fully occupied the whole morning.In the afternoon,when my brothers and sisters finished school,they would come to help her sell the buns if there were any left,and Mom would take the opportunity to buy raw materials in the market for the next day.At closing time,my mom would scrub all the utensils with the hot water in a cauldron before heading back home.She always kept the place clean and tidy,just like she was at home.

父親四十八歲時去世，媽媽在不到一年的時間里，完全接受了現(xiàn)實(shí)，接受了命運(yùn)，為了她的七個兒女能夠有食物糊口，她拼命地努力著，奮斗著。

開始，母親跟著別人去趕鄉(xiāng)街子（趕集），做小買賣，后來家里進(jìn)了小偷，她開始為我和弟弟的安全擔(dān)憂。幾天后，媽媽決定在離家不遠(yuǎn)的一個三岔路口開包子店，她想換一個方式來養(yǎng)活一家人。

籌備包子店

為了籌措資金，媽媽將家中一些物品搬到大門口賤賣，湊得幾個錢，加上最近幾個月她趕鄉(xiāng)街子積攢起來的都投資這個小食店。說干就干，她先支付了三個月的租金，拿到路口那間小屋的鑰匙；接著，她帶領(lǐng)哥哥姐姐們粉刷了鋪面，架起了大案板。一天時間，那個不起眼的小地方就收拾得清清爽爽。

做吃的一直是媽媽最拿手的事情。媽媽后來說，決定開一個包子店，還有一個原因，是她考慮到我們都處在成長的年齡，怕我們營養(yǎng)不良。店中賣包子，就要買肉，我們兄妹幾個就可以經(jīng)常有口肉皮、骨頭湯喝，可以給我們補(bǔ)充營養(yǎng)。當(dāng)然，最重要的，是她可以順帶照管我和弟弟，一舉兩得。

媽媽開店了，我們兄弟姊妹都萬分高興。那時候，大姐、二姐、四姐和五哥、六姐都很懂事了，看著媽媽每天起早貪黑拼著命地干，他們就盡可能地幫媽媽承擔(dān)一些事情。

就這樣，媽媽開始了獨(dú)立創(chuàng)業(yè)的生涯。

第一籠包子

她早上五點(diǎn)準(zhǔn)時起床，簡單地梳洗完畢后，系上雪白的圍腰、戴上雪白的袖套和帽子，手上端著大盆的包子餡，就匆匆前往小店。通常，從早上到中午，她一直在店中忙。下午，哥哥姐姐們放學(xué)回來，如果包子還沒賣完，他們會幫媽媽賣。媽媽趁此機(jī)會，趕緊去市場采購第二天的原材料。每天打烊，媽媽都要用大鍋里的熱水將所有用具刷洗得干干凈凈再把店面打掃完畢才回家。她愛干凈，在家也一樣。

After arriving home,she began to prepare the steamed bun fillings:boiling pork and red beans,and chopping bamboo shoots.None of them was difficult for her,and she could handle the task with great efficiency.The only difficult thing for her was kneading dough.Every night,she had to knead a large batch of dough in the basin and wait for it to ferment for a few hours so that it could be ready for use the next morning.To make the dough,she poured a few dozen kilos of flour into a big basin and constantly kneaded the mixture with both hands,while adding water and yeast from time to time.

I always bent over and watched her mixing dough,so I’ve known since childhood that it is a tough job making such a big mass of dough.

When the dough was ready,my mom would begin to mix the fillings until four big ceramic basins were filled up one by one.Usually,she had to work until midnight to finish the preparatory work,and she would fall asleep in bed immediately.Five o’clock in the early morning,she would be the first one in our family to get up when the alarm clock went off.After a quick washing,she would be busy carrying all kinds of basins,big or small,to her shop.

At 7.00 am,the first batch of steamed buns was ready.My mom’s steamed buns became popular the first day they came out.According to the customers,a mere glimpse of the buns would make their mouths water,and there was a pleasant lingering aroma after eating.The first batch of steamed buns would be sold out in no time.

When my younger brother and I woke up from a good night’s sleep and rushed to the shop,my mom would take out two big,white steamed buns from the bamboo steamer,and put them on two plates for us.

I preferred sweet stuffing,while my brother enjoyed a salty taste.So my mom always gave me a redbean paste bun or a sugar-stuffed bun,and my brother a meat bun.Afterward,we’d stay in the shop,sometimes playing on our own,and sometimes helping out.When someone came to buy our buns,and Mom was in the middle of something else,I’d stand on my tiptoes and lift up the big bamboo steamer lid,tonging out the buns they asked for on a piece of square brown paper that Mom had prepared before giving them to the customer.I’d take the money and give it to Mom,and she always praised me smilingly for being a good helping hand.

All the Family Pulling Together

Before and after school,all of my elder brothers and sisters would help Mom in carrying things,buying food materials,fetching coal,or washing.Every morning before daybreak,they’d get up soon after Mom,and carry the large basin of dough to the restaurant,help her chop wood,and fetch and boil water to steam buns.When time was up,they’d take a steamed bun each and head for school.

Every night,they’d finish their homework quickly and help Mom again.Under the dim lamplight,they mixed bean paste,chopped bamboo shoots,and trimmed vegetables.Sometimes they’d cut themselves or get burnt,but they’d simply bind up the wound with strips of gauze and keep on working,so all of them ended up with scars on their hands.In the cold of winter,they’d even get chapped skin,but none of them complained about it.Everyone seemed to live a life unbefitting of their age:early to rise and late to bed,and surrounded by smoky fire.But our whole family cherished such a life.With Mom being the pillar of the family,our life gradually got on the right track,and we all made it out of the sadness and helplessness of our father’s death.

That was the most unforgettable time for me and my siblings.During those days,we could stay with Mom all the time,share happiness and sorrows with each other,and never worry about going hungry.It seemed that when Mom opened the steamed bun shop,we all grew stronger as a result.

(FromMom and the Seven of Us,People’s Literature Publishing House.Translation:Zhu Yaguang)

回家后，一系列加工包子餡的準(zhǔn)備工作就開始了：煮肉、煮紅豆、剁竹筍。這些事，對她來說都沒什么困難，得心應(yīng)手。比較難的是和面，每天晚上她必須將一大盆面和好，利用夜間的幾個小時醒面，第二天早上正好合用。將十幾公斤面粉放在一只大瓦盆里，加水加面肥，用雙手不斷揉和。

我經(jīng)常扒著大瓦盆看媽媽揉面，從小就知道，揉面絕不是一件容易的事，更何況揉那么大一盆面。

面和好了，媽媽開始做包子餡，四個大瓷盆，一盆一盆地拌好放著。準(zhǔn)備工作常常到凌晨一兩點(diǎn)鐘才做完。媽媽疲憊不堪，倒上床就睡著了。凌晨五點(diǎn)鐘，鬧鐘一響，漆黑的夜幕中，她總是第一個爬起來，匆匆梳洗完畢，就忙著把大盆小盆的東西往小店搬。

七點(diǎn)整，媽媽的第一籠包子準(zhǔn)時出籠。從第一天開始，媽媽做的包子就很受歡迎，人們夸媽媽做的包子，一看就想吃，吃過后彌久留香。所以，第一輪包子很快就會被一搶而光。

我和弟弟睡足了覺，爬起來，跑到店里。媽媽就會從蒸籠里拿出兩個熱乎乎又白又大的包子放在兩盤子中，讓我們吃。

我喜歡甜的，弟弟喜歡咸的，我得的總是一個豆沙包或者糖包，而弟弟總得一個肉包子。吃完包子，我們就在店里玩，大部分時間都在包子店里待著。有人來買包子時，碰到媽媽正忙，我會踮起腳，掀開大大的蒸籠蓋，把包子夾出來放在媽媽準(zhǔn)備好的、方方正正的牛皮紙上遞給客人，然后收回錢遞給媽媽。媽媽總是笑著夸我能干。

子女齊上陣

哥哥姐姐們上學(xué)前和放學(xué)后都會幫著媽媽干活，如搬東西、買食材、拉煤炭、洗洗涮涮等。每天早晨天不亮，哥哥姐姐們都會緊隨媽媽身后起床，幫媽媽將那一大缸和好的面抬到小店，然后幫著劈柴、生火、挑水、燒水、蒸包子。到了上學(xué)時間，大家每人拿個包子往各自學(xué)校去。

每天晚上，匆忙做完家庭作業(yè)后，他們又幫著媽媽干起來。廚房昏暗的燈光下，拌豆沙、切竹筍、擇菜，有時會被切著、燙著，他們常常纏上紗布繼續(xù)干，哥哥姐姐們每個人的手上都有創(chuàng)傷。寒冬臘月，手凍裂了也不叫苦，每個人都在體驗(yàn)著與年紀(jì)不相稱的生活，早起晚睡，煙熏火燎，但這樣的日子一家人都分外珍惜。靠著媽媽這個主心骨，生活漸漸走上正軌，大家終于從爸爸逝去的悲痛和無助中解脫出來了。

那是我們兄弟姐妹最難忘的寶貴時光，在那段時光中，我們每天都能跟媽媽在一起，苦樂分享，不用愁餓肚子。自從媽媽開了包子店，我們好像一下子強(qiáng)壯了許多。

（摘自《母親和我們七兄妹》人民文學(xué)出版社）