With mom spiraling towards death br and us standing around like actors br waiting for stage direction, br Zheng Wei went to work in the kitchen br chopping the cabbage and garlic br preparing the sauce, br We pitched in like Amish, br laughing a little extra br at our clumsy attempts br to roll the dumplings br in a missing man formation br for her to stand there br in the kitchen br rolling and laughing with us br instead of lost under miles of knots. br She would certainly have had a story about this, br about the dumplings she once had in - what was br the name of the place - in Shanghai br where they thought she was a VIP br and showered her with free delicacies. br br Zheng Wei lowered the dumplings into the pot.