A young boy from the 1970s, separated from his family, fled famine and led his younger brother into

The note was only the size of a thumbnail, and it was folded four times before being stuffed into the grasshopper's belly.

Su Nianci unfolded it carefully; the paper was so thin it was translucent, and the edges had wrinkles from being soaked in sweat and then dried.

There is only one line of text above.

Su An's handwriting was extremely small and cramped, with each stroke pressed firmly into the paper.

"Day 847, I want to eat my sister's pickled cabbage noodles."

Su Nianci felt a sudden, sharp pain in her nose, which came quickly and intensely, shooting from her nasal cavity all the way to the bottom of her eyes.

She held the paper strip between her fingertips. The strip was so small that it shook only slightly, but it shook very quickly.

Su An leaned against the desk, her long legs crossed, her chin slightly raised, looking indifferent.

"Actually, I put a note inside each of the grasshoppers."

He counted on his fingers.

"Some wrote that they wanted to eat braised pork, while others wrote that they wanted to drink pork rib soup."

He paused, and then pursed his lips.

One of them wrote that it wanted to hear you scold me.

Su Nianci didn't look up; her voice came out muffledly from her nose.

When did I ever insult you?

"You curse every day."

Su An counted on her fingers, her tone extremely serious.

"When I was six years old, I stole a steamed bun from the offering table, and you said I was a good-for-nothing."

"I broke my arm when I was twelve after falling over a wall, and you say I deserved it?"

"When you were sixteen, you got into a fight and the school called your parents. When you arrived, you apologized to the teacher first, and didn't say a word to me on the way back."

He sniffed.

"That time was the worst; I'd rather you scold me."

Su Nianci held the note in her palm, her voice muffled.

"What did you write on the first one?"

Su An's fingers paused for a moment.

He stared out the window for two seconds, his Adam's apple bobbing.

The first one said 'I'm scared'.

The study was quiet for a few seconds.

Su Nianci did not respond.

Su An looked away, a smile that looked more like a grimace than a cry.

"I wasn't afraid anymore after that."

"How did you get through the fear?"

Su An looked down at his fingers and rubbed the callus on his index finger with his thumb.

"Making grasshoppers."

His voice softened.

"When you have something to do, you're not afraid. That's what you used to tell me too."

Su Nianci bit the inside of her lip, folded the note back up, stuffed it back into the grasshopper's belly, and pinched the seam shut with her fingernail.

She placed the grasshopper next to the pen holder on her desk, alongside the tiger-head shoes.

A tiger with a crooked mouth and a grasshopper with a green belly stood side by side.

"Go, get out."

Su Nianci opened the study door and walked out. As she passed through the corridor, she took an apron off the wall and tied it around her waist. Without stopping, she went straight into the kitchen.

Su An followed behind and stopped at the kitchen door.

"Sis, what are you doing?"

Su Nianci had already slammed the cutting board onto the stove, pulled a sauerkraut out of the refrigerator, and started chopping it up with a knife.

"Make noodles."

"Now? It's almost dark."

"Didn't you want to eat it?"

Without turning her head, Su Nianci chopped the knife on the cutting board quickly and loudly.

"You haven't eaten for over 800 days, and you expect me to wait any longer?"

Su An's Adam's apple bobbed again. He grabbed the door frame, opened his mouth twice, but no sound came out.

"Don't stand in the doorway blocking the way."

Su Nianci scooped the chopped pickled cabbage into the basin, then bent down and pulled out a bag of flour from under the cabinet.

"Do you need my help?"

"What help are you? Last time you helped me knead dough, it turned out like cement."

Su An shrank back, looking aggrieved.

That was ten years ago.

"You can't right now either."

Su Nianci turned on the tap to wash her hands and shook off the water.

"Go sit outside, I'll call you when the noodles are ready."

After half an hour.

On the steps at the entrance of the courtyard, Su An squatted there, holding a large blue-rimmed bowl, her legs curled up together, her shoulders hunched, her whole body huddled together.

The same posture as when I was a child, except my legs are too long now, I can't squat steadily, and my knees hit my chin.

The bowl contains pickled cabbage noodles. The noodles are chewy, the pickled cabbage is finely chopped, the soup is slightly yellow, and chili oil floats on the surface in a small, bright red ring.

One-third of the amount is just right.

Su An picked up a mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed.

He picked up another bite with his chopsticks and swallowed it.

When the third bite of food entered his mouth, his cheeks puffed out, he chewed more slowly, and a muffled sound came from his throat.

Banxia had run over at some point, lay on his knees, and looked up at his face.

"Uncle, why are you crying while eating noodles?"

Su An took a deep breath and rubbed his face hard with the back of his hand.

"I didn't cry, the noodles were too spicy."

Banxia tilted her head, her expression very serious.

"Mom said she only used one-third of the chili peppers."

"That's sweat."

Su An shoveled another mouthful of noodles into the bowl and hid her face behind the rim of the bowl.

Banxia reached out and poked his cheek with her finger.

"Sweat is salty, but the sweat on your face is sour."

How did you know it was sour?

"I licked it."

Su An was completely speechless after being cornered by a three-and-a-half-year-old girl. He lowered his head, buried his face in the bowl, and his shoulders trembled slightly.

Hoshino squatted on the other side of the steps, remaining silent.

He was holding his small bowl, which contained a braised egg, added to it by Su Nianci.

He looked at the egg in the bowl, then at Su An's bowl of soup, which contained only noodles and pickled vegetables.

I thought for two seconds.

He reached into the bowl with his chopsticks, picked up the braised egg, and slowly and steadily transferred it into Su An's bowl.

The braised egg rolled twice and sank to the bottom of the sauerkraut soup.

Su An looked down and saw the egg; his chopsticks stopped in mid-air.

"this……"

Hoshino had already stood up with the empty bowl in his hand and patted the dust off his pants.

"Uncle, braised eggs are good for your health."

"Hoshino, you're still growing, you eat."

"I ate yesterday."

After finishing speaking, Hoshino walked away without looking back. Her short legs moved steadily, and after taking two steps, she turned back to look at Su An to make sure he had eaten the egg before continuing to walk into the house.

Su An stared at the braised egg in the bowl for several seconds, then picked it up with chopsticks, stuffed the whole egg into his mouth, puffed out his cheeks, and chewed for a long time before swallowing it.

The cosmos flowers in the yard were nearing the end of their bloom; their petals drooped listlessly and fell with a rustling sound when the wind blew.

Su An held the bowl and drank the last drop of soup clean, leaving the bowl upside down, not a drop left.

He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, looked up at the sky above the courtyard, which was covered with the glow of the sunset, and let out a long breath.

Su Nianci leaned against the door frame, watching his appearance, still clutching the spatula in her hand.

Lu Xingzhou appeared behind her at some point, his voice very low.

"Nian Nian".

Su Nianci did not turn around.

"Um?"

"Su An's instructor just called."

Su Nianci tightened her grip on the spatula handle slightly.

"What did you say?"

Lu Xingzhou's voice dropped another half degree.

He said there was a personal item that he needed to personally go back to sign for.

Su Nianci turned her head to look at him.

"What is it?"

Lu Xingzhou's gaze passed over her shoulder and landed on Su An, who was squatting at the gate of the courtyard.

"He obtained it from a local while on a mission."

He paused for a moment.

"A handwritten herbal medicine atlas."

Su Nianci's hand froze in mid-air, the spatula slipped through her fingers, bounced against the door frame, and fell to the ground.

"What did you say?"

"That's what the instructor said about the handwritten herbal medicine atlas."

Su Nianci bent down to pick up the spatula, and held it in her hand for a long time without moving it.

"What did he give in exchange?"

"They didn't say that on the phone, they just told him to go back and sign for it."

Su Nianci leaned against the door frame, her eyes fixed on Su An's back in the courtyard.

There were two long scars and a circular indentation on his back.

There were also more than a hundred grasshoppers stuffed with notes that she would never see.