It wasn't yet light.
Wulong in the dog kennel shook his tail twice, then flopped back down.
Auntie Zhang passed through the small gate, saw the note in the kitchen, folded it neatly into her apron, took some silver, and headed to the vegetable market to buy produce.
The sky turned a light shade of purple, and the roosters crowed at dawn.
Sizzle.
The white thick soup bubbled in an iron bucket, the dried Szechuan peppercorns went into the hot oil, and the scent of spicy fried eel shreds filled the entire courtyard.
Fan Xinglai, who got up early to bathe Crimson Mountain, cleared the dry grass from the stable and, enticed by the strong spicy aroma, joined Wulong in peering through the window with drool streaming down.
"Auntie Zhang, what are we eating?"
"Noodles!"
"What kind?"
"Swordfish noodles, eel shreds noodles, with two small dishes, bamboo shoots with snow vegetables, and green beans with salted vegetables fried with old tofu."
