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Thank god. “So you’ll do it?”
“Sure thing, cuz. Anything for the fam.” With that, Mushu traipses back to the table, jumping into the conversation seamlessly.
When the meal ends, Mushu jumps up and calls out, “Yo, Shang, I’m going to be your road-trip buddy.”
Shang’s eyebrows knot together in confusion. He looks over at me, but I steadfastly avoid his gaze. I can feel his curious stare burning a hole in the back of my head, but finally, he says, “Cool.”
Relief and disappointment course through my veins in equal measure. I follow the big group of aunties and uncles and climb inside the trailer. It’s a behemoth of a vehicle, the inside resembling a fully furnished apartment. There are snacks and fruits piled onto every surface, and the noise level inside is overwhelming as the aunties and uncles shout over one another. Ryan takes the wheel, yelling at everyone to sit down as he starts the engine.
“Zhou, you come sit next to me,” Auntie Chuang calls out. “I will tell you all about James’s golfing trophies.”
Oh no. But before I can acquiesce, Shang’s mother, Jiayi, pats my arm.
“Sorry, Chuangling, she’s with me,” she says.
Auntie Chuang glowers but doesn’t say anything.
“Don’t worry, she’ll get over it,” Auntie Jiayi says to me.
“Thank you,” I say.
“Oh, I was saving myself as well as you. Who wants to hear about James’s golfing trophies? Come, I will tell you about Shang’s martial arts medals.”
I pride myself on having a good poker face, but I must’ve shown a flicker of dismay, because Auntie Jiayi roars with laughter.
“Oh, my dear!” she cries. “I am just messing with you. Oh, your expression! No, don’t you worry, I won’t bore you with all that. And Shang would kill me if I did. Speaking of bore, was he very boring in his car? Is that why you choose to sit with us old folk?”
“No,” I say quickly. “He was great. We listened to an audiobook and I really enjoyed it. But I wanted to spend more time with the rest of the family.”
“Ah.” Auntie Jiayi smiles. She gazes around the trailer, her expression tender. “Well, you’ve met everyone. You know Uncle Hong is my big brother.”
Uncle Hong has a Chinese paperback open in his hands, but his head keeps lolling forward as he dozes off. Even when he sleeps he somehow manages to look stern.
“He is a tough nut. But he is how we manage to survive. He was always the one who took care of all of us, even back home in China.”
Auntie Jiayi’s words wash over me, bringing with them a warm glow. They’re familiar words, words of a story I’ve heard many times over from other immigrant families. How there’s always a sibling—usually the eldest—who took on the burden of looking after the younger siblings while the parents worked two or three different jobs. I’ve thought of Uncle Hong as nothing more than a chauvinist, but of course there are so many more layers to him. No one is ever just one thing.
“Now, Uncle Jing is my second brother, and he is the brains of the family. He was the one who thought of all the ways to put us through school, which grants to apply for and this and that.”
I smile and let myself be absorbed into the rich tapestry of the Li family history, and by the time we arrive at the ranch, I see them all in a new light. Maybe this is the first step to understanding why Baba wanted to acquire the company.
But when the trailer comes to a stop, Uncle Hong jerks awake and says, “Ah! We are here! Now listen, ladies. No complaining, no moaning, let us men do our job at the ranch, eh?”
And I suppress an inward sigh. Like Baba always tells me, people are complex, and Uncle Hong can be both a wonderful older brother and, unfortunately, also a chauvinist.
Outside, Mushu waves wildly to me. “Zhou, over here!” she calls out. “How was your ride?”
I avoid meeting Shang’s eye. “It was good. Yours?”
“Could be better. No offense, Shang,” Mushu says in her usual jovial tone.
“Really? What was so bad about it?” Shang says.
“Well, the audiobook—what was it again?The Water Pirates? It was good, but we skipped the first nine chapters, so I was a bit lost, to be honest with you. I thought they were in San Gabriel Valley the entire time until you told me they were in ancient China,whaaat?”
“I asked if you wanted me to start at the beginning!” Shang protests.
“Oh, I can’t be bothered with beginnings,” Mushu says flippantly. “Jump in right where the action starts, that’s what I always say.”