The Mother-Daughter Wager

Xiang Qing stumbled along, pulled by An Qi, feeling utterly like a character forcibly tethered to a game she hadn’t chosen.

They hadn’t walked far before An Qi, clearly familiar with the area, expertly guided them into a bustling hotpot restaurant.

The moment they stepped inside, a scorching aroma, a heady blend of beef tallow and chili, enveloped them, instantly making Xiang Qing choke and cough twice.

An Qi, already accustomed to the place, effortlessly found a table and settled in, then grandly slapped the menu onto the tabletop.

“Sister-in-law, my treat today! Let’s have something spicy to chase away the chill!”

Xiang Qing’s eyelid twitched involuntarily as her gaze fell upon the blood-red characters on the menu, proclaiming ‘Explosively Spicy.’

An Qi’s finger glided across the menu, eventually halting at a hotpot base boasting a truly audacious name.

“This is it: the Nine-Grid Explosively Spicy Beef Tallow Pot! Waiter, we want the absolute spiciest one!”

Alarm bells screamed in Xiang Qing’s mind.

‘I knew it!’

‘That little brat might not be showing her anger with words, but her actions are brutally honest.’

‘This wasn’t a meal; it was clearly a scheme to make her perform as a fire-breathing dragon on the spot.’

‘Utterly wicked!’

‘That rotten girl was just plain conniving!’

“Um… An Qi,” Xiang Qing began, her face twisting into a troubled expression as she clutched her stomach. “I can’t handle anything too spicy; my digestive system isn’t great.”

“Oh? Is that right?”

An Qi’s face instantly registered a mixture of concern and chagrin, as if she were genuinely reproaching herself for her oversight. “Oh dear, it’s all my fault! I completely forgot to ask. Whatever shall we do?”

Turning to the waiter, she immediately adopted a different tone: “Waiter! Let’s switch to a divided pot! Half clear broth, half mildly spicy!”

Xiang Qing was so deeply moved that she nearly burst into tears.

‘She knew it! An Qi was a truly kind soul!’

‘Mildly spicy, yes, mildly spicy she could definitely handle!’

****

The hotpot base arrived swiftly.

Xiang Qing gazed at the divided pot. On her side, the bone broth was crystal clear, with a few red dates and goji berries gently bobbing. On An Qi’s side, however, the “mildly spicy” broth was a roiling sea of red oil, dotted with floating chilies and peppercorns. She fell into a profound contemplation.

‘Was there some profound misunderstanding about the term “mildly spicy”?’

‘It looked hotter than her last fever.’

‘Never mind. At least there was clear broth.’

‘One shouldn’t be too greedy.’

Dishes arrived in a steady stream, and An Qi’s enthusiasm was almost overwhelming.

“Sister-in-law, eat up! Don’t be shy!”

She picked up a slice of tripe, swished it vigorously seven or eight times in the crimson broth, then precisely deposited it into Xiang Qing’s bowl. “Here, try this, it’s wonderfully crunchy!”

The tripe still glistened with bright red chili oil, exuding a dangerously alluring aroma.

Such generosity was impossible to refuse.

Xiang Qing picked it up, and with a sense of fatalism, placed it into her mouth.

The very next second, her tongue went utterly numb.

A scorching, numbing heat erupted from the tip of her tongue, rocketing straight to the crown of her head.

“Cough… cough cough!” Xiang Qing choked, tears streaming from her eyes. She frantically grabbed the sour plum drink beside her and gulped it down.

“What’s wrong, Sister-in-law?” An Qi asked, her face a picture of innocence. “Was it not good?”

“Delicious,” Xiang Qing managed, her lips already growing numb, her words slightly slurred. “It’s just… a little hot.”

“Oh oh, then eat slowly.” An Qi nodded, then used her chopsticks, which had just been fishing meat from the inferno of red oil, to reach into the clear broth pot.

“I’ll get you some winter melon; it helps cool things down.”

The moment the chopsticks stirred the clear broth, a blush of ambiguous red instantly diffused through the pristine liquid.

Xiang Qing; “…”

“Oh dear!” An Qi exclaimed, as if just noticing. “My apologies, Sister-in-law, my chopsticks weren’t clean.”

Xiang Qing twitched the corner of her mouth, remaining silent as she took another large gulp of sour plum drink.

She finally understood.

‘This was a banquet at Hong Gate.’

‘This was a blatant Hong Gate Banquet.’

Over the next half hour, Xiang Qing endured a unilateral massacre.

One moment, An Qi’s hand would ‘slip,’ dropping a chili-laden beef ball into her clear broth pot.

The next, she would ‘carefully’ scoop a spoonful of spicy broth into Xiang Qing’s bowl, claiming it was for dipping sauce.

Each time, An Qi would express extreme guilt and apologies, her acting so superb it would be a waste for her not to attend film school.

And Xiang Qing could only silently endure it all, offering a series of ‘it’s fine’ responses.

Her clear broth pot, which had started pure and unblemished, had suffered a tragic fate, now resembling the fiery red broth on the opposite side.

Her lips were swollen like two sausages, her tongue had completely given up, and her stomach felt like it was ablaze.

Xiang Qing felt that if she opened her mouth now, she could perform a spontaneous cremation for An Qi.

She put down her chopsticks, completely abandoning resistance, and began to concentrate on her fifth cup of sour plum drink.

An Qi watched her pathetic state and finally, with a look of satisfaction, ceased her ‘unintentional‘ feeding.

She leisurely peeled a slice of fatty beef, her voice laced with a teasing smile.

“Sister-in-law, why aren’t you eating? Your face is as red as an apple. Is the room too hot, or does this hotpot actually suit your taste?”

Xiang Qing lifted her head, her eyes vacant as she stared at An Qi.

An Qi found her gaze amusing and, without hesitation, poured an entire plate of dried chili powder into her own dipping sauce, stirred it, and then pushed it towards Xiang Qing.

“How about you try this? This is how we eat it back home; now that’s authentic.”

Xiang Qing looked at the vibrant red chili powder, feeling her sanity begin to fray.

‘There’s a limit to what one can endure.’

‘If a tiger doesn’t roar, do you think I’m a house cat?’

‘Do you truly believe I’m some easily manipulated soft persimmon, here to play your palace intrigue?’

‘Money is hard to earn, and bitter medicine is hard to swallow, but my dignity isn’t sold by the pound!’

A surge of righteous fury erupted from her stomach, scorching its way to her scalp, making her very skull hum.

She was agitated, she was enraged, and she refused to be the one toyed with any longer.

Xiang Qing abruptly lifted her head, a terribly distorted smile gracing her face, which momentarily stunned An Qi.

“Sister-in-law, are you alright?”

Xiang Qing didn’t reply, instead beckoning directly.

“Waiter!”

The waiter hurried over. “Hello, how may I help you?”

“Bring me your spiciest hotpot base,” Xiang Qing’s voice was frighteningly calm. “The kind that, after eating, you can be directly sent to the emergency room, the kind that requires a waiver of life and death.”

The waiter’s expression instantly became very troubled. “Miss, that hotpot base is truly extremely spicy; most people cannot endure—”

“Enough.” Xiang Qing cut him off with a single word. “I’ll take full responsibility for any consequences.”

An Qi’s eyes lit up. She put down her chopsticks and leaned forward, scrutinizing Xiang Qing with keen interest, as if observing a rare protected animal that had suddenly mutated.

“Sister-in-law, playing for such high stakes?”

“I’ll play with you.” Xiang Qing’s lips stretched into a grin, revealing two rows of teeth stained bright red by chili oil. “Just eating is too boring. Let’s add a wager.”

“Oh?” An Qi’s interest piqued further. “Tell me.”

“Whoever loses…” Xiang Qing’s mind raced. What should the loser do? Pay the bill? Too vulgar. Wash socks for a month? Not harsh enough.

Just as she faltered, An Qi chimed in.

“Don’t overthink it.” An Qi smiled like a mischievous imp, extending a finger adorned with flashy rhinestones and wagging it in the air. “Let’s play something simple.”

She paused, then articulated each word with chilling clarity.

“A mother-daughter game. Whoever loses has to call the winner ‘Mom.’ For a whole month. No cheating, said to their face.”

Xiang Qing’s brain froze for three seconds.

‘What game?’

‘A mother-daughter game?’

‘Me, a man who once stood tall and proud, now gambling this with a barely adult brat?’

‘If I lose, I have to chase after her, shouting “Mom”?’

‘No! Absolutely not!’

‘If word of this got out, I, Xiang Qing, would never be able to hold my head high again!’

‘That lunatic Gu Wei would laugh herself to death!’

‘And that woman, Shen Lanzhi, what kind of look would she give me?’

‘But…’

Xiang Qing looked at An Qi’s provocative expression, the kind that screamed, ‘You wouldn’t dare, would you?’ The surge of defiance that had just risen within her refused to be suppressed.

‘Back down?’

‘If I back down today, I’ll forever be her grandchild in front of this little devil.’

‘I’ll gamble!’

‘It’s just calling someone ‘Mom’!’

‘Who calls who isn’t decided yet!’

“I accept,” Xiang Qing squeezed out three words through gritted teeth.

An Qi’s smile grew even wider. She snapped her fingers at the waiter. “Hear that? Bring out the pot! The ‘Supreme King Hellishly Spicy’ one!”

Soon, a brand new nine-grid pot was brought to the table.

The pot base could no longer be described as red; it was a near blackish-purple, dark crimson, with a thick layer of solidified beef tallow floating on the surface, densely packed with dried chilies and peppercorns, to the point where no trace of broth was visible.

The hotpot was lit, and as the temperature rose, a powerful, choking spicy aroma instantly erupted, permeating the entire corner of the restaurant.

Customers at several surrounding tables cast curious glances.