Today's story: Preparing offerings for ancestors and daily activities.

Hello, my lovely friends! Today, I have another little story to share. It all started at 6:00 AM. I woke up early and cleaned the house. Then my father-in-law asked me to cook some rice for the ancestral worship ceremony for his deceased wife. Previously, my mother-in-law used to prepare the food for our ancestors, but I'm not very good at cooking Chinese food. So, for today's meals, we usually order from a restaurant or have my younger brother, who sells food, deliver it. I've tried to cook Chinese food, but it never tastes quite right, haha. Sometimes I spend so much time studying YouTube that my eyes get tired, and I almost give up trying. But I haven't given up! I still have other work to do, but once I finish my client work, I plan to seriously study Chinese cuisine so that I can continue preparing food for our ancestors in the future, hehe.

Today, the family came to pay respects to our ancestors, including my mother-in-law, who passed away last December. Time flies so fast, but we still feel like she's with us. Sometimes, I miss her so much that I shed tears. My father-in-law, however, is different. Sometimes, he'll walk over and talk to the plaque under my mother's name, which is placed next to the other ancestral altars, and speak to her spirit tablet.

The little chili plant is now bearing fruit and blooming. I thought it would only produce four flowers at a time, but now it's covered in blossoms. It's the only plant my mother-in-law ever planted. Sometimes, when I walk out to look at it, it makes me think of the person who planted this chili plant. I secretly imagine that if my mother-in-law were still alive, she would be smiling and happy that her chili plant yielded fruit for her to harvest—not a lot, but better than doing nothing at all.
Looking back now, it's probably too late because there were some things we missed and didn't do for the people we loved. Now that she's gone, we feel sad and regretful, but we still miss her just the same. On the anniversary of her passing, it makes me think of her and I wanted to express some things, so today I'll only be sharing stories about my mother-in-law. Thank you for reading. See you next time. Goodbye for now.