2020/2021
Collection 16

The Mystery of the Lucky Coins

c. 1990; Tianjin, China

My mom ran about outside on a freezing New Year’s Eve(1) in China, setting all the firecrackers off. BaM bAm baM!! As they went off, all the other children plugged their ears with their fingers. 

“That was awesome!” one of the kids exclaimed.

“Yeah! Let’s do it again!” Mom said. At that time, she was a kid, along with all the other children.

Mom ran inside the house to grab some more firecrackers, only to be greeted by her mom (my grandma), who said, “The dumplings are ready!” 

That afternoon, Grandma and Mom’s five aunts had been busy at work, while her five uncles and her dad had been playing card games. They had to work all afternoon because there were twenty-six other people to serve, not to mention themselves.

As soon as Grandma’s words were in Mom’s head, she shot off outside like a rocket.

“The dumplings are ready!!” she screamed. 

All of the other kids got super-excited and began talking to each other nervously.

“Do you think you’ll get a lucky coin?”

“I don’t know. What about you?”

“I don’t know! I just hope I’ll get one.”

“Yeah. Same.”

When the aunts and my grandma make the dumplings, they occasionally put a lucky coin in some of the dumplings. If you get a dumpling with a lucky coin, that would mean that you’ll have good luck for the new year! That’s why the kids were so excited.

When the kids ran into the house, they shook off their jackets, washed their hands, and sat down at the big wooden dining table to eat their dumplings. When Grandma opened the utensil drawer to get a pair of chopsticks, she saw that the chopstick bin was empty! 

“My, my,” she said, “there sure are a lot of kids here.” Then she grabbed a fork and sat down to eat with the kids. 

Then all of the adults gathered around the table to eat. 

The adults talked about finance, shopping, and all the usual things that adults talk about. 

But on the other half of the table, where the kids sat, all was abuzz about lucky coins. 

“Hey! I got one!”

“Me too!” 

“Me three!” 

In the end, all the kids got lucky coins.

The kids said, “How in the world could it have happened?”

All Grandma did was laugh, and the other adults did, too.

Then Mom realized that the cooks must have done it. It definitely was not a coincidence.

Roger Huang; New Jersey, USA

1. Chinese New Year is the most important holiday in China. The celebration begins with the new moon that occurs between the end of January and the end of February, and it lasts about fifteen days — until the full moon appears.

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