阿嬤的幸福之一是喝熱湯，絕對滾燙的熱湯。湯一定是大滾後關火馬上端上桌的熱度，如果在吃飯期間溫度下降了，阿嬤就會馬上再去加熱，明明那個溫度對一般人來說已經夠燙了，但對阿嬤來說不是滾燙的熱度就是「涼掉了」，「涼掉就不好喝了」。
One of Grandma’s ideas of happiness is drinking hot soup—absolutely boiling hot soup. The soup must be brought to a full boil, the heat turned off, and served immediately. If its temperature drops even slightly during the meal, Grandma will reheat it at once. To most people, the soup would already be scalding, but to Grandma, anything less than boiling means it has “gone cold.” “Cold soup doesn’t taste good,” she says.
從小和阿嬤生活在一起，不知不覺我也習慣那樣滾燙的湯，甚至在外頭店家喝到非滾燙的湯都覺得不好喝、去別人家喝到接近常溫的湯會感到「噁心」。
I grew up living with Grandma, and without realizing it, I became accustomed to soup that hot. Even now, when I drink soup that isn’t boiling hot at restaurants, I find it tasteless. If I’m served soup that’s close to room temperature at someone else’s home, I even feel a sense of disgust.
婚後不知多久的時間，我從一個會嫌棄湯不夠熱、無湯不歡的人，變成湯不那麼熱也行、甚至沒有喝湯也不會難過的人了。
Somewhere after getting married, I changed. I went from being someone who complained when soup wasn’t hot enough—someone who couldn’t bear a meal without soup—to someone who doesn’t mind lukewarm soup, or even no soup at all.
結婚後搬出阿嬤家，沒有阿嬤每天一大碗公、兩大碗公的燙湯訓練，我的喉嚨、舌頭已經變得不能喝太燙的湯了。雖然我感到遺憾，但先生終於放心我不會再增加得食道癌的風險了。
After marriage, I moved out of Grandma’s house. Without her daily “training” of one or two big bowls of scalding soup, my throat and tongue gradually lost the ability to tolerate such heat. Although I feel a bit regretful about it, my husband is finally relieved—at least now I’m no longer increasing my risk of esophageal cancer.
變成對湯的溫度不要求的風格後，現在去探望阿嬤，覺得還是希望我喝燙湯的阿嬤真是有怪癖呢。明明說了那樣的溫度可以卻還是堅持加熱；一碗是溫度較下降的湯、一碗是滾燙的湯，明明說了想喝溫度較低的湯，阿嬤還是堅持要我喝滾燙的湯。
Now that I no longer insist on soup being piping hot, visiting Grandma makes me realize just how peculiar her persistence is. She still wants me to drink hot soup. Even after I say the temperature is fine, she insists on reheating it. One bowl is lukewarm, the other boiling hot. Even when I say I want the cooler one, Grandma insists that I drink the boiling one.
雖然有點困擾，但有個這麼用心、全心全意只想準備好食物餵飽你的親人存在，真的是件幸福的事情。除了阿嬤再不會有人這麼關心自己「吃飽了嗎？」
It can be a little troublesome. But having someone who cares so deeply—someone who puts all their heart into preparing food just to make sure you’re full—is truly a form of happiness. Other than Grandma, no one cares so persistently about whether I’ve “eaten enough.”
常覺得阿嬤是NPC，總是來回在客廳和廚房之間，講話的內容9成跟吃有關，從前會希望能和阿嬤有食物以外的話題，但現在已經能從食物感受到阿嬤的關心和溫暖了。
I often think of Grandma as an NPC, endlessly walking back and forth between the living room and the kitchen, with ninety percent of her dialogue revolving around food. I used to wish we could talk about things beyond meals. But now, I’ve learned to feel her care and warmth through food itself.
遲來的啟蒙 Start From Here Now 