星期天早上，朋友小周问我要不要去她奶奶家。
Xīngqītiān zǎoshang, péngyou xiǎo zhōu wèn wǒ yàobù yào qù tā nǎinai jiā.
On Sunday morning my friend Xiao Zhou asked if I wanted to go to her grandma's place.
她说今天家里包饺子，人多才热闹。
Tā shuō jīntiān jiā lǐ bāo jiǎozi, rén duō cái rènao.
She said the family was making dumplings today, and more people made it more fun.
我一口答应了，还带上了自己买的水果。
Wǒ yì kǒu dāying le, hái dài shàng le zìjǐ mǎi de shuǐguǒ.
I said yes right away and brought some fruit I had bought.
奶奶家在一个老小区，到处是饭菜的味道。
Nǎinai jiā zài yí gè lǎo xiǎoqū, dào chù shì fàn cài de wèidào.
Grandma's home was in an old neighborhood, and everywhere smelled of home cooking.
进门的时候，家里的人已经开始准备了。
Jìn mén de shíhou, jiā lǐ de rén yǐjīng kāishǐ zhǔnbèi le.
When we walked in, the family had already started preparing.
桌子上放着两大盆菜和肉，圆片也准备好了。
Zhuōzi shàng fàng zhe liǎng dà pén cài hé ròu, yuán piàn yě zhǔnbèi hǎo le.
On the table were two big bowls of vegetables and meat, and the round wrappers were ready too.
奶奶拉我坐下，先给我做了一个样子。
Nǎinai lā wǒ zuò xià, xiān gěi wǒ zuò le yí gè yàngzi.
Grandma pulled me to sit down and first showed me an example.
她放一点菜和肉在中间，手一合，饺子就包好了。
Tā fàng yì diǎn cài hé ròu zài zhōngjiān, shǒu yì hé, jiǎozi jiù bāo hǎo le.
She put some filling in the middle, closed her hands, and a dumpling was done.
我也学着做，可是我的饺子怎么都站不住。
Wǒ yě xué zhe zuò, kěshì wǒ de jiǎozi zěnme dōu zhàn bú zhù.
I copied her, but my dumplings just would not stand up.
一个躺着的，一个张着口的，样子都很好笑。
Yí gè tǎng zhe de, yí gè zhāng zhe kǒu de, yàngzi dōu hěn hǎoxiào.
One was lying down, one had an open mouth, and they all looked funny.
大家笑得很开心，奶奶却说我包得比小周好。
Dàjiā xiào de hěn kāixīn, nǎinai què shuō wǒ bāo de bǐ xiǎo zhōu hǎo.
Everyone laughed hard, but Grandma said mine were better than Xiao Zhou's.
小周十二岁的时候，包的饺子全都破了。
Xiǎo zhōu shí èr suì de shíhou, bāo de jiǎozi quándōu pò le.
When Xiao Zhou was twelve, every dumpling she made broke open.
她听了有点不好意思，脸都红了。
Tā tīng le yǒu diǎn bù hǎoyìsi, liǎn dōu hóng le.
Hearing this, she felt a little embarrassed and her face turned red.
我们在桌子旁边说了一个下午的话。
Wǒmen zài zhuōzi pángbiān shuō le yí gè xiàwǔ dehuà.
We sat around the table talking all afternoon.
电视里放着老电影，谁也没有认真看。
Diànshì lǐ fàng zhe lǎo diànyǐng, shéi yě méiyǒu rènzhēn kàn.
An old movie was on TV, but nobody really watched it.
水开了，饺子一个个下了锅。
Shuǐ kāi le, jiǎozi yí gè gè xià le guō.
The water boiled, and the dumplings went into the pot one by one.
我的那些大部分都开了口，在锅里翻来翻去。
Wǒ de nàxiē dà bùfen dōu kāi le kǒu, zài guō lǐ fān lái fān qù.
Most of mine opened their mouths, turning over and over in the pot.
奶奶说，开口的饺子不能和大家一起煮。
Nǎinai shuō, kāi kǒu de jiǎozi bù néng hé dàjiā yìqǐ zhǔ.
Grandma said the open mouth dumplings could not be cooked with the others.
她把我包的都放进了另一个小锅里。
Tā bǎ wǒ bāo de dōu fàng jìn le lìng yí gè xiǎo guō lǐ.
She put all of mine into another small pot.
吃饭的时候，我那锅饺子最先没有了。
Chī fàn de shíhou, wǒ nà guō jiǎozi zuì xiān méiyǒu le.
At the table, my pot of dumplings was the first to be finished.
大家都说，自己包的饺子最香。
Dàjiā dōu shuō, zìjǐ bāo de jiǎozi zuì xiāng.
Everyone said the dumplings you made yourself tasted the best.
走的时候，奶奶给我装了二十个生的饺子。
Zǒu de shíhou, nǎinai gěi wǒ zhuāng le èr shí gè shēng de jiǎozi.
When I left, Grandma packed twenty raw dumplings for me.
她让我回家自己煮，说这样才算会包饺子。
Tā ràng wǒ huí jiā zìjǐ zhǔ, shuō zhèyàng cái suàn huì bāo jiǎozi.
She told me to cook them myself at home, saying that was the only way to really know dumplings.
那天晚上，我的小厨房里也都是热热的气。
Nà tiān wǎnshang, wǒ de xiǎo chúfáng lǐ yě dōu shì rè rè de qì.
That evening, my little kitchen was also full of warm steam.
HearMandarin