At a Chinese table, the meal is organized around fàn (steamed rice, the nourishing and neutral foundation) complemented by several cài: small dishes of vegetables, tofu, or fish shared in the center, along with a soup. Sweets (diǎnxīn, 点心) do not conclude the meal like a Western dessert; they are enjoyed separately, as a snack or during festivals. For He Zehui, raised in a scholarly family in Suzhou and later leading a frugal life of study, it was the simplest cài — greens and soybeans — that dominated daily life.

Suzhou, He Zehui's hometown, is perfumed each autumn by the sweet scent of fragrant osmanthus. Its tiny golden flowers, candied in sugar or honey, hallmark the sweets of Jiangsu: they flavor glutinous rice, soups, and teas. It is the taste of childhood and the gardens of her region.