October's golden autumn, the sunshine mild and pleasant.
Qin Hao finished his shift and rode his little electric scooter back home, swaying all the way.
Along the way, neighbors greeted him with such cheerfulness that he couldn't help feeling a bit like the guardian deity of the community—though still a rookie, it was quite comforting.
"Dad!"
He took out his keys, opened the door, and not seeing the old man around, Qin Hao walked into the kitchen to cook himself a bowl of noodles. Then he searched in the fridge, found two eggs, washed them and dropped them into the pot.
Although sunny-side-up eggs were tasty, they always created a layer of froth when cooked, so hard-boiled eggs were better.
A few minutes later.
As Qin Hao slurped down noodles with big bites of garlic, Qin Maocai came back carrying a little mongrel dog, holding it by the scruff of its neck, quietly without a single bark.
"Where'd you get the dog from?"
