THUMP—HUMMMMMM!
Carried by forty-five-year-old Gu Changsheng and twenty-five-year-old Gu Nian, the giant blue-and-white porcelain family tureen settled onto the heat-proof bamboo mat in the exact center of the round wooden courtyard table.
When Gu Changsheng lifted the heavy wooden lid off the tureen, a magnificent. Golden-amber cloud of fragrant steam billowed upward through the branches of the Frost-Pine pomegranate tree and out into the starry sky of the Supreme Origin Heaven.
Inside the giant porcelain tureen glistened the pinnacle of ten years of Rank 10 Dao-Father Culinary Law—and eighteen years of a father’s everyday love:
Hand-pulled Frost-Pine Golden Spring-Wheat Noodles, boiled to chewy, springy perfection and swimming in a rich, milky twenty-hour marrow-and-ginger broth. Topped with thick, mahogany-glazed squares of Six-Hour Braised Five-Layer Pork Belly that melted on the tongue. Twenty-six crispy, lace-edged Double Fried Spirit-Eggs with warm golden yolks; blanched emerald baby bok choy; and a fragrant crown of freshly chopped green scallions and toasted sesame oil!
Around the round cedar table, all thirteen pairs of eyes lit up like stars, and twenty-four-year-old Jiang Tuntun let out a long, reverent sigh as she clutched her soup spoon with both hands:
“No matter how many galaxies I visit or how many supernovas I spice up,” Tuntun whispered in pure foodie bliss, “Dad’s Frost-Pine Braised Pork Belly Noodles with Two Fried Eggs is still the Number One Supreme Dish in Eternity!”
