Memory of Encaustic Tile Episode 1 Recap
> Memory of Encaustic Tile Recap
A heavy snow falls on November 23, 2002. The caliduct in the Restoration Department cracks due to freezing, causing water to spill everywhere. All the adults, including Shao Xue's mother, Jin Ning, and Lin Shiyin's father, are called back to the department for urgent repairs. Shao Xue's mother worries about her, calling her a "crazy lass" who "will always be a crazy lass," no matter how old she gets.
Jin Ning tells her son, Zheng Sunian, who is at home, to take care of Shao Xue. After the adults leave, Shao Xue calls her friends, including Zhang Qi and Lin Shiyin, inviting them to her house. Wu Huan also joins, as Shao Xue forgot to invite them.
Shao Xue proposes having a hotpot at her house, stating that it's a sacred moment as it involves going against three major rules: playing with fire, using knives, and gathering to fool around. She assigns Sunian to be in charge of vegetables and Zhang Qi to be in charge of meat, while she will be in charge of eating. At Shao Xue's house, the small pot available is deemed unsuitable for hotpot, lacking "any sense of ceremony."
Lin Shiyin remembers her father recently bought a cloisonne pot. She and Wu Huan go to her house to retrieve it. Shiyin cannot find the key to the cabinet where the pot is kept. Wu Huan attempts to pick the lock with Shiyin's hair clip but breaks the clip. Zheng Sunian arrives and tells Wu Huan that he should "follow the righteous path" and doesn't "have what it takes to be a crook."
Sunian then uses a screwdriver to remove the back panel of the cabinet, skillfully retrieving the cloisonne pot without damaging the lock. Everyone is impressed by his ingenuity. Meanwhile, Zhang Qi is sent to buy meat. On his way, he's persuaded by his friends to play Red Alert at a cybercafe, bragging about being the best in East Second Ring Road. By the time he finishes playing, all the mutton at Ox Street is sold out.
Zhang Qi returns empty-handed but lies, claiming he gave five jin of mutton to a "pitiful mother and son at the roadside" in the cold. Sunian presses him for details, asking about the price and location, which quickly exposes Zhang Qi's lie. Sunian then offers to get some meat from his own house. The children try to light the charcoal fire for the hotpot, but the charcoal is damp and won't ignite.
Zhang Qi, impatient, pours liquor on the charcoal, causing a large flame to erupt, nearly setting the house on fire. Meanwhile, the adults, including Shao Xue's mother and Lin Shiyin's father, return home from repairing the caliducts. They see smoke billowing from the house and rush in, fearing it's on fire. Inside the courtyard, they find a smoking charcoal basin but no children.
Upon entering the house, they discover the children pretending to study, heads down on their desks, each with a plate of hotpot ingredients hidden under the table. Shao Xue's mother points out to Lin Shiyin's father that the cloisonne pot being used for hotpot is his valuable antique. Shao Xue's mother, seeing the entire scene, is furious, unable to express her anger. Shao Xue's mother reprimands her and confines her to her room, forbidding her from leaving for several days.
Shao Xue's father tries to defend the children, suggesting they just wanted hotpot, but her mother argues about the dangers of fire and knives, mentioning they almost set the house ablaze. She criticizes her husband for spoiling Shao Xue and for not understanding her concerns, even asking if he's become "an idiot" from repairing too many watches.
Taking advantage of her parents' argument, Shao Xue sneaks out with her bag, leaving her mother exasperated and realizing Shao Xue has also taken all the vegetables. Shao Xue, Zhang Qi, and Sunian head to the Restoration Department, as Shao Xue declares she has "something huge to announce" and intends to become a "huge artist." Shao Xue notes that Sunian's mother, Jin Ning, didn't scold him, making her wish she had a mother like Jin Ning.
At the Restoration Department, the gatekeeper stops them, demanding a work pass. He refuses entry even when Shao Xue claims they left their homework inside. Mr. Luo, passing by, vouches for them. Shao Xue explains that their class was assigned to draw promotional artwork for the upcoming Olympics, and she took on the task despite her mother's disapproval due to her grades.
Mr. Luo allows them to use Ms. Jin Ning's table to draw, warning them not to touch his belongings. Shao Xue presents her "masterpiece," a drawing featuring international landmarks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Sydney Opera House, and Eiffel Tower. Zhang Qi jokingly points out a part resembling "long johns." Shao Xue asks Sunian to help "color it," but Sunian says it needs to be completely redrawn. Zhang Qi and Wu Huan, bored, decide to go make snowmen.
Sunian redraws the picture beautifully, impressing Shao Xue, who admits it's significantly better than hers. She wishes she could visit all the places in the drawing one day. Sunian advises her to go when she wants, as "some landmarks change at a rapid pace." Shao Xue jokes that he sounds like "Mr. Zhang next door." Shao Xue's mother had expressed her worries to her husband about Shao Xue, who is now in high school.
She's concerned about her declining grades, from being a top student to the bottom of her class, and laments that she's always been the one to worry about homework and attend parent-teacher meetings. Sunian, anticipating Shao Xue's mother's anger, gives Shao Xue a hair clip to help appease her. Upon returning home, Shao Xue's mother is still furious and initially rejects Shao Xue's attempts to apologize, claiming she doesn't have a daughter like her.
Shao Xue then presents the hair clip as a "tiny gift," and both Shao Xue and her father plead for forgiveness. Shao Xue's mother, charmed by the gift and the pleas, eventually relents, saying, "Why can't you stop making me angry?" She admits the hair clip "does look great" but reminds Shao Xue to use her pocket money for food. Shao Xue's mother forgives her daughter. After Sunian returns home, his mother, Jin Ning, asks whose idea the hotpot was.
When Sunian says it was "everyone's idea," Jin Ning surprisingly says she wished it had been his, as it would make him "look cute when you get into trouble like a normal kid," suggesting she wants him to be less sensible. Sunian playfully tells her to "stop watching those dramas." Later, after dinner, Shao Xue asks her mother for permission to go out to play with Sunian and Zhang Qi, claiming Sunian will help them with their homework.
Her mother is skeptical, pointing out that "homework questions and stomachache" are her oldest excuses. Shao Xue's father supports her, saying they should be cautious about stomachaches. Her mother reluctantly agrees, telling her to "come back early." Shao Xue's mother then complains to her husband, reflecting on how quiet Shao Xue was as a baby, but now "she doesn't want to stay at home" and is always "naughty." She calls her daughter her "adversary."
Her husband reminds her that Shao Xue was born after eight months of pregnancy. Shao Xue and Sunian go to Zhang Qi's house, where they hear a commotion. Zhang Qi's mother, Zhang Ling, is chasing him, scolding him for having a hotpot and almost setting the house on fire. Zhang Qi talks back, making fun of his mother and provoking her.
When Shao Xue and Sunian arrive, Zhang Ling quickly pretends she was just "hitting cockroaches" because Zhang Qi "didn't even take out the trash." She then praises Shao Xue. Zhang Qi quickly uses this opportunity to escape with Shao Xue and Sunian, claiming Sunian will help them with homework. Zhang Ling tells Zhang Qi she will "deal with him when he's back."
As they leave, Shao Xue gently reminds Zhang Qi not to make his mother angry, as she raised him alone. Zhang Qi brushes it off, saying their arguments actually "foster a closer relationship" and his mother "glows" afterward. Unwilling to go home, Shao Xue suggests they find Wu Huan. They discover Wu Huan building a snowman, intending to surprise Lin Shiyin. Shiyin soon joins them, and all the friends happily work on the snowman.
They decide to name the snowman "Xiaowa," a shortened version of Sunian's suggestion, "Encaustic Tile." The next morning, Zhang Qi, Shao Xue, and Sunian are on their way to school, stopping to buy roujiamo. Shao Xue asks Sunian what he plans to give his mother, Jin Ning, for her upcoming birthday. Sunian keeps it a secret, telling her she'll "know it by then."
Zhang Qi gives the same answer when asked, adding that "you don't need to guess what a man is thinking." Later, Lin Shiyin is at the school's radio station, acting as the announcer. She plays a song called "The Little Li Flying Dagger," requested by an anonymous student for Gu Weiyi from Class 1, Grade 11.
Sunian shows Zhang Qi a rare Naruto comic book he obtained, but clarifies it's not Jin Ning's birthday gift, inviting him to his house later to see the actual present. After the broadcast, Sunian approaches Gu Weiyi and asks to speak privately.
