Sizzling… In the breakfast shop at the entrance of the university, the owner skillfully turned over the fried dough sticks in the pot, and the white steam in the steamer on the side fled away desperately. My vision was blurred, the familiar food pushes me into a time tunnel.

Ten years ago, Qingpu Town was more lively than it is now, and the air was filled with homely sounds and smells. In the dim sum shop downstairs, the hard-working owner and his wife started to work early in the morning: fried dough sticks, flatbread, pan fried dumplings, soup dumplings, soy milk…

There were many varieties. Our family always went there for breakfast, and over time, we became acquainted with the owner and his wife. They would also give us “specially treat”, an extra pan fried dumpling for me, or send me a flatbread. Because of this “preference”, it became my favourite dim sum restaurant when I was young. Once, the long-standing “storm” at home broke out suddenly, my mother gave me 10 yuan and told me to go out after dinner and then go home. I stood outside the house, panicking, not knowing where to go for the moment, and arrived at the dim sum shop in a trance. The proprietress gently wiped away my tears and brought me a bowl of my favorite little wontons. After so many years, I can still feel the warmth of her rough fingers on my cheeks. When I graduated from junior high school, I returned to the small town where I used to be.

When I found the restaurant along the familiar road, there were four or five more helpers, and the size of the restaurant also expanded a lot. The owner is still responsible for welcoming the guests and making fried dumplings with his own hands, but he is no longer working hard for a living. “Oh, I’m getting old, and I can’t do this for much longer,” he said, “I have money now, but I have nothing to do at home… I’m still the happiest doing this (business), and the old customers come to chat with me, so I’m not lonely…. they still love to eat what I make…” In an instant, my mind was full of thoughts, and my love for this city increased.

Almost all the old streets of Shanghai have dim sum shops like this one, reflecting all kinds of life, and my childhood was fixed in such a small shop, which is what I miss all my life.