A good bowl of beef noodle soup in bone broth called for quality beef bones, blanched first to skim off the scum, then simmered with seasonings to draw out the stock. The hand-pulled thin noodles were cooked directly in the bone broth, topped with chopped scallions, cilantro, and chili oil—fragrant beyond compare. Then there were the tender, fall-apart bones and sinews to gnaw on, the marrow to suck out, a bit of garlic on the side, and a sip of bone broth to wash it all down. It was simply a grand indulgence.
It was late morning. Having only eaten a bowl of rice porridge at home, Qiao Zuwang hummed a little tune as he walked down the road. He had the day off and was heading to a coworker's place to play mahjong.
But as he walked to an intersection, he sniffed twice, took a deep breath of the aroma, and abruptly stopped. Turning his head, he looked at the wide-open gate of Number 128. Faint sounds of lively laughter drifted out from within...
"Damn brats..."
Qiao Zuwang cursed and strode straight into the courtyard. After taking a few steps around the screen wall, he saw a group of young people standing, squatting, and sitting around the small yard.
Wang Yan, Yicheng, Erqiang, Sanli, Simei, Qiqi, and the Qi family's Qi Weimin, Qi Weiyi, and Qi Xiaoya—it was practically a grand gathering.
"Well, well. I was wondering why you two ran over here so early and didn't bother making your old man a meal. So you all got together to eat something good without inviting me?"
Qi Weimin and his two siblings called him Uncle, while little Qiqi glanced at his not-so-familiar biological father between mouthfuls of noodles from his big bowl.
"Dad, don't go accusing people out of