A Day in the Restaurant

“Wang Jing, can you wash the dishes in the kitchen?”

Wang Jing’s mom spoke with a trembling voice.

“Yes mom. I will do my best.”

Wang Jing answered his mother’s question in a blunt manner, went to the kitchen, turned on the water facet, and started washing the dishes. He seemed to be irritated. He murmured some Chinese curse words and burped many times. Although 50 dishes were left, Wang Jing rubbed the same dish again and again. He seemed to feel a strange kind of pleasure while doing so. But this pleasure did not make him like washing dishes. He continued to mumble swear words.

Wang Jing also slipped one dish, breaking it into numerous pieces. He did not seem upset by his mistake. But his mistake was serious. His parents used made-in-China ceramics to serve food because the ceramics added a Chinese color to the food. These were more expensive than most dishes. His parents, who ran a Chinese restaurant in Virginia, were not rich people. One Chinese ceramic dish was important. Wang Jing just broke this precious dish.

His mother, shocked by the sound of a breaking dish, ran into the kitchen. Her eyes first saw the broken ceramics; then her eyes landed on the not-yet-cleaned dishes; finally, she slowly turned her head and looked at Wang Jing. Her eyes were filled with a mixture of complex emotions: dismay, regret, anger, and so on. After standing still for a while, his mother began to talk.

“Why… did you do this?”

Wang Jing responded with his characteristic indifference.

“I don’t think I did anything wrong. You told me to go to the kitchen and clean the dishes. I exactly followed your order. I went to the kitchen, turned on the water facet, and cleaned the dishes. At least I tried. There are so many dirty dishes left simply because I am extremely not talented in cleaning dishes. Kitchen work is not my talent. I am more talented in studying.”

“Wang Jing, do not think my word as a joke. Cleaning dishes is no matter a talent. Anyone can properly clean dishes if one has the mindset to do so. I know that you always failed to do restaurant work. You cannot serve the dishes because foods are too hot. You cannot get orders from guests because you have a bad memory. I don’t think these claims are true. You can hold a hand warmer in winter; then you can hold hot food. You don’t have a bad memory, because I know that you are good at studying. You always get an A+. That proves your great memory. What matters is your mindset. Because you don’t want to work in the restaurant, every work in the restaurant is impossible to you.”

Wang Jing’s face began to blush. This was not because of guilt. He was getting really angry.

“YES! YOU GOT IT RIGHT! HOW SMART! I can move the stinking hot food, and I can wash the filthy dishes! I know that! Yes, as you said, what matters is my mindset! Just think for a while why I came to have this kind of mindset. Try to understand me! Try to listen!”

He was throwing several chairs to the restaurant wall.

“Stop, Wang Jing! Please calm down. Just calm down and let’s have a serious talk.”

Wang Jing, trying his best to resist his uncontrollable anger, released the chairs from his fingers.

“I guess I never told you this before. To tell the truth, I hate this restaurant. This restaurant is too Chinese. Look at its name. It is called ‘Rice King.’ Doesn’t it sound completely Chinese? I hate the Chinese air floating inside this restaurant. My peers mock me because you run a Chinese restaurant. They call the restaurant ‘Rice Chink.’ The dishes are too Chinese too. People in Virginia are not used to nicked dishes. They think nicked dishes as signs of clumsiness and poverty. Many people mock me because this restaurant uses improper dishes. I also hate the smell of this restaurant. After I work here until late hours, the smell of chunjang (fermented soybean) and oil dominates my clothes. When I wear these clothes to school, my peers cover their nose and say that ‘It smells Chinese here.’ It is difficult to bear these. I feel sad because of this restaurant.”

He started to burst into tears.

“I want to become an American. All kids except me are too American. I feel too Chinese, too foreign. I don’t know where I am. I feel no sense of belonging. Everyone is different from me. I don’t know why I am here.”

His mother wiped his tears and patted his back in a consoling way.

“It is natural to feel that way. We immigrated to Virginia just few years ago. China and America are two very different countries. Chinese people like us cannot get used to America right away. Because we were raised in a completely Chinese environment, we have no choice but to run a Chinese restaurant, use nicked dishes, and use Chinese-smelling ingredients. It is not a crime to not think and behave in an American way.”

“But people do not understand this. Because so many people mock me, I come to believe that I am the inferior one.”

“No, you’re not. You are just experiencing a great change in your environment. This will pass like a mild summer fever.”

Wang Jing’s mother served him a chaojangmian (noodle with fermented soybean sauce) inside a Chinese ceramic bowl.

“Eat this, and relax a bit. Don’t worry too much about those things. You will soon get better.”

Wang Jing nodded silently.