The Magical Soup
It was one day afternoon, unlike the others – the last day of school for a Chinese-American student Peter Lee, before their closing because of the pandemic Covid-19. He felt awful. As he walked through the hallway, he got a sensation that everyone’s staring at him, accusing him just for being an Asian. All of this was caused by a news report saying that Chinese people brought the virus here last night, it was announced by a white supremacist mayor. He said that “Chinese are bat eaters and liars who tried to cover up their real sick numbers.” There were people making fun of Peter, even his friend David, asked: “Hey bro, have your daddy even cooked some bats for ya?” It’s not a funny joke for Asians, not funny, especially for Peter. Guohua, his father, is operating a family restaurant in the town. He felt insulted but can do nothing.
He arrived home with a dismayed face, he asked his father, “Daddy, how can I change my Asian looking face? I was born and raised here, and I tried my best to assimilate into an American community, why do they still not accept me entirely?” Tears nearly dropped out of his eyes. True, as a Chinese family owning a business, they got discriminated against throughout the years. Guohua came to the US about 20 years ago and at that time he had nothing at all. He started as a server, and later transformed into a chef. His hard work finally paid off, having enough money to buy the restaurant where he worked. He kept working hard on his menu and cooked many new dishes. One of the famous courses in the restaurant is “slobbering chicken soup”, which he believed can cure diseases. Peter, his son, grew up drinking this soup, until years ago, some punks in the street called him a chicken soup guy. They shouted, “stop going to school C**** C**** C****! Go drinking your daddy’s soup so you can become a Chinese superman”. Peter cried and went home, from that day, he never, ever drank a drop of that soup.
But, it’s a time of the pandemic.
This time was different. All the mainstream media accuse Chinese people, all the people around him made fun of him. It seemed to be suppressed anger erupted. He feels guilty and ashamed of his race. He rushed out of the home to the local Mcdonald, saying that he wanted to be a total American and abandon eating Chinese food at first.
It might not be a good idea to go to public places.
His grandfather, who spoiled the kid, chasing him out. Guohua sighed, lit a cigarette, and blown out smoke like a diesel engine. He never felt so depressed. Because of the Covid-19, his business dropped greatly, the racist punks smashed his window, making graffitis at his door. Now his son refuses to admit his heritage.
On the second day, the Governor announced the lockdown of the state and asked some businesses to be closed for safety. This worsened Guohua’s business dramatically since they had already lost a bunch of their customers, now they have none. Officers are checking this place every night to make sure every store’s closed. However, some local fast-food restaurants never shut their door.
Guohua wants to reopen his place as well, so tonight he asked the officer in another restaurant. His name is Frank, who’s always wearing a sneaky face with contempt. Frank said, “Yo, Asian dude, I know you have suffered in your business, but we are suffering too. Here’s the deal, gimme one grand and I’ll give you a monthly pass so that you can keep everything running.” One grand monthly! Guohua got shocked. Frank taunted him: “Another failing restaurant. I cannot even pay for this money! Asians should be exiled outta this country!”
The frustrated Guohua came home, but his son and dad were sick now… It’s not a good idea to go out, and they were possibly infected. The hospital is running out of ventilators, PPEs, and beds, so they decide to self recover at home. Now, Peter has nothing to eat, no Popeyes, no Mcdonald, and no KFC. The only chicken he can eat is his father’s slobbering chicken soup. He refused. The grandpa, however, ate an entire chicken and drank all the soup. This time Guohua added some TCM’s into the soup, so it might help with the recovery.
Grandpa was starving, he drank the soup and finished an entire chicken. He went to sleep afterward. Peter, however, refused to eat anything still. He got worse, coughed harder than before.
The next morning, grandpa woke up very early, he stretched himself, and he felt better with his muscle pain. He went to Guohua and asked him to get him more soup for breakfast. Guohua did so, but they are running low on chicken. It’s time for him to get more. “I’ll go to the supermarket for a while, pa, wait for me, and urge your grandson to have the soup!” Guohua wore his mask, goggles, and gloves, and drove to the Costco nearby.
On his way, he saw many homeless people, mourning in the street. They have nothing left, but death. Guohua was shocked. He filled his minivan with chicken and drove back. He decided to offer the people some soup to keep them alive. “At least they won’t starve to death.” Guohua thought. He prepared some plastic bowls with his soup, and go to find some homeless guy. He found one not long after he’s out, the man named Jack, called out his brothers and sisters, telling them there’s free food from the Asian guy.
However, one of the ladies was extremely skeptical. “Are those chickens okay? Hopefully, they are not bats!” Guohua was insulted. It’s not very nice when someone is helping you, but you are doubting their authenticity. Jack, their head, stopped her. “Eat it, let the food stuck your mouth. Shut up!”
It’s February in this northern town, the warm chicken soup makes everyone warm inside out. Guohua invited them to his door, and give all of them some soup and chicken, for the next few days. Peter sighed, he felt confused, all the people in the community don’t like them, but why is his father helping them? He refused to have any soup, even though early this morning his grandpa begged him to have some.
Guohua was extremely happy. He got connected to a trusted friend in a delivery company, Hungry Panda, who said that they can make the delivery for Guohua’s food for a fair price. Guohua customized his “Sloppering Chicken” Menu, and offer his course to everyone in the city for 15 bucks/half a chicken. Half of the chicken. The magical soup and chicken can feed up to 4 people a meal. It’s very popular once it hit the market, it got on the headline of a local press shortly after.
The mayor was in the hospital, in a grave condition. He got infected because he made an assertion earlier this month, he asked people not to wear masks, and he went on a subway without any PPEs. He got infected. His secretary, who heard about the news, ordered chicken soup from Guohua. The mayor saw so many people praise the magical chicken soup, and he decided to try it. The first day, his muscle is not that sour, and the second day, he can get rid of the ventilator, and after a week, he is fully recovered.
He felt ashamed by what he did. He invited Guohua to a TV interview, and praised him as the warmest people of all, and urged for a less biased treatment for other races. “We need more trust, and we need more love. We can get over this!” He asserts, “and thank you for the kindness of Mr. Lee Guohua. We are so lucky to have him fighting with us, offering such great food and warmth by his chicken”. Peter, who watched the show at home, finally made peace with the soup and drank it right away.
Guohua arrives home, and happily finds that Peter is not that stubborn. Peter asked, “There are many voices casting doubt on you, and so many people attacked us. Why are you still being so good to them”.
Guohua smiled, “There are many people, and only 1% of the haters, are the ones you’ve noticed. If you watch carefully, 99% of them are good ones. We should use our love to reform their view about us, not use hate to defend ourselves. We cannot make this world a better place, but at least we can make our city a better city, for you, me, and all the others.”
Peter now desires to be a good guy like his father and continued making this restaurant a point of warmth in the city. “I want to be a chef! He determinedly said.