"The best moments are best spent with friends and family around. Make Tong Xin Delicacies a part of this. Join us in celebration of oneness and prosperity in this year's Mid-Autumn Festival." The commercial blared on the television to its two audience.
The large dining room seemed particularly empty with only two diners in it. They were Xiu Ling and her husband, Lin Kang. Elder Lin still had not returned from his business trip overseas and Mrs. Lin had gone on a holiday cruise with a bunch of her friends several days ago in celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Lin Xi was already asleep in his room, leaving Lin Kang and Xiu Ling to share this muted dinner. There were maids hovering in the shadows but like most maids, they made no sound in the master's presence, unless directly addressed.
Lin Kang noticed his wife's plate had remained largely untouched and he frowned. However, he did not ask out loud what was wrong with her appetite, instead he continued to watch her closely. Something that he found himself doing more and more lately.
Xiu Ling eventually placed her pair of chopsticks down to signal that she was done eating. She pushed the bowl aside and leaned forward towards the plate of mooncakes the maids had left in the centre of the table as dessert.
In Lin Kang's recollection, his wife did not have much of a sweet tooth so he was curious why Xiu Ling would abandon the dinner directly for dessert.
To his surprise, Xiu Ling did not munch on the flaky dessert, instead she placed it in her palm as if to admire it. She twirled it around, looking at the details on the mooncake skin, sniffed at its nutty smell before placing it back on the plate.
Xiu Ling then slumped in her seat and sighed. Lin Kang was confused by her series of action.
Lin Kang was not privy to this but Xiu Ling's mother would make homemade mooncakes every Mid-Autumn Festival. It was not easy making a mooncake and it was already considered a lost art.
Xiu Ling tried learning from her mother once but the steps were too complicated and like many a pampered child, she would just leave the hard work to her mother and taste the reward when it arrived.
Mrs. Xiu would send Xiu Ling a box of her mooncakes whenever Mid-Autumn Festival arrived annually no matter where she was, be it at work or at the university. This would be the first year she did not receive the box of sweet delicacies from her mother. Mrs. Xiu probably did not want to remind the members of the Lin family of her supposed offense and so she did not mail any mooncake to Xiu Ling that year. Xiu Ling understood the difficulty her mother faced but this did not mean that she could stop herself from missing Mrs. Xiu.
Xiu Ling picked up the mooncake because she wanted to compare them to the ones made by her mother. She knew they were store bought because obviously no member of Lin family was going to go into the kitchen to bake mooncakes themselves. She doubted they even knew how to make a mooncake.
Some of the maids might but they definitely did not dare to use their employer's kitchen for such a purpose. Therefore, the mooncakes served had to be store bought.
Xiu Ling noticed the difference easily. For one, the commercial mooncake had a shinier and thicker gloss. They probably added some chemicals into the egg wash to increase the shelf life of the cakes.
In comparison, Mrs. Xiu only used a thin layer of eggwhite wash before sending them into the oven. This meant that the mooncakes would not be able to be kept for long but they never did survive that long after arriving in the mail anyway.
For another, the commercial mooncakes did not have the toasty smell that was unique to Mrs. Xiu's delicacies. This was probably because the mooncakes were produced en masse, baked en masse, packaged en masse and sold en masse. They did not have the care and patience a home cook would deliver in their product.
After placing the mooncake down, Xiu Ling only missed her mother and her sweet treats even more. After all, the Mid-Autumn Festival was to celebrate unity and family. To be reminded that her mother was not around to celebrate it with her was a sad affair indeed.
Right then, the television returned from the commercials to the news program. Since it was Mid-Autumn Festival, the anchorman did a human interest piece on how the holiday was celebrated all over the world.
In Vietnam, the day was a day for the children. They would stroll the streets playing with colourful lanterns and toys. The festival was also celebrated in Japan, but it was called the "Moon Appreciation Party" and in lieu of mooncakes, their holiday food of choice was glutinous rice cakes. In Taiwan, thanks to a very successful ad campaign, outdoor barbeque became as much of a symbol for Mid-Autumn Festival as mooncakes did.
"However, no matter the shape and style, the central message of the Mid-Autumn Festival all over the world has remained the same, which is oneness with family and close friends. Wish every family a night of peace and celebration, this is Ming Ming, signing off," concluded the anchorwoman.
After the news ended, Lin Kang turned back and noted the sad smile on his wife's sad. Now he had some idea why Xiu Ling had acted thusly that night. Lin Kang looked at the large empty table they were occupying and he too was suddenly feeling rather lonely.
Lin Kang put down his pair of chopsticks and cleared his throat before announcing, "Xiu Ling, you have not been home since you married into this family. Why don't you take a break since most of the household member is not around and go pay mother-in-law a visit? I am sure you miss her dearly."