8" Ten Ping (HA0006A)

It was the middle of December, and the harsh cold north wind was pounding our home through the broken window. After several shivering sleepless nights, my grandma finally decided to repair the window.
“Ten Ping,” Grandma said, “Why don’t you take your brother out to your friend’s house for the day? The window repairman needs the space, and our home is so small. Just remember to come back before dinner. Okay?”

Upon hearing our conversation, my little 3-year-old brother rushed to pull me out of our home. His eager face showed his enthusiasm. I reckoned that staying at home in the long winter months must have been boring. I grabbed his hand and together, we slowly walked into the streets of Shanghai.

On the way we encountered our neighbors, the Cheng sisters, playing my favorite game, jumping ropes; a game that I was notoriously famous in my neighborhood for my wild jumping skills.
The Cheng sisters paused when we approached. To my delight, they said: “Hello Ten Ping, want to join us? Please show us some of your moves!”

I didn’t need a second invitation; it was time for me to shine!
I kindly asked my brother to sit on a nearby barren rock.
“Sit quietly,” I told my brother. “It will only be a little while. After this, I will treat you to some candy, alright?”

As the saying goes: “Time flies when you are having fun.”
High jumps, low jumps, one-footed jumps, cross-legged jumps….; I was showing off all my many moves. The attention I received from the Cheng sisters’ was thrilling.
Under the Cheng sisters’ encouragement, I just couldn’t stop.
“Ten Ping, just 5 minutes more. Okay?” The Cheng sisters urged.
5 minutes became 10 minutes, 10 minutes became an hour. And before I knew it, it was already getting dark. Finally, it was time for everyone to go home.

As I looked back, I found my little brother still sitting in the same position as I had left him hours ago. His tiny hands and feet were turning blue from the freezing cold and his little eyes were on the verge of tears.
I immediately ran over and held his hands to provide him some urgent warmth.
“Little brother, I’m so sorry,” I apologized, “I’ve lost track of time, please accept my apology.”

Tears now started to pour down my little brother’s face as he started to cry. He was finally letting out his day’s suffering.
Filled with guilt, I pulled him close to me to give him a comforting hug and more warmth.
To my surprise, my little brother pushed me away slightly, and instead looked up at me; and cried: “Candy; candy; where is my candy?”
Oops! Now I remembered my promise.
As it was already dark, and all the candy shops were closed, where could I get the candy?
Instead, I held my brother’s hand tight and lead him home.
On the way, my brother seemed to want to tell me how painful his feet were but was not able to express them in words. Instead, all his miseries seemed to fixate on the just reward he was promised.
“Candy, candy” were the only words he demanded repeatedly.
I couldn’t be more ashamed of myself.

Once we reached home, I rushed into the kitchen and immediately made 3 little rice dumplings from the leftover rice cooking. Into each of these tiny little rice dumplings, I inserted a teaspoon of sugar and tried to disguise them as candy.
Nervously I brought my disguised candy to my brother.
To my surprise, my brother enjoyed the dumplings immensely. He chewed and chewed, savoring every little bit of the sugar before finally swallowing them all.
Yes! What a relief!