A Radish Knife on Credit

A Radish Knife on Credit Plot:

Uncle Zhou, who runs a braised food stall in the old alley, has recently been “hassled” by 10-year-old Xiaoyu—every day, the kid squats in front of the stall staring at the radish basket, saying he wants to “owe” a radish knife. Upon questioning, he learns that since Xiaoyu’s mom was hospitalized, she always says “I’m so tired,” and her mom used to say, “Carve a knife out of fresh radish, boil it into soup, and you won’t be tired anymore.” Uncle Zhou cursed, “What do you know, you little brat,” but the next day he replaced the dried radishes in his pot with fresh ones, and even stayed up all night carving a pear wood knife engraved with “For Xiaoyu’s Mom Only.” But when Xiaoyu skipped off to the hospital with the knife, Uncle Zhou watched his back and pulled out an old photo from his wallet—in the photo, his late daughter once held the same wooden knife, saying she would make “no-tired soup” for her overtime-working dad...