The Lurkers Are All Big Shots

It was June 10th, the seventh Friday of the semester.

The old man got up early in the morning to make his trademark dish — Chinese soup dumplings. This had been his specialty when he had become a star chef back then. At one time, his soup dumplings had dominated Breakfast Street, and because of it, he had been bestowed the title King of Dumplings.

An excellent soup dumpling usually had three special qualities: it had to have thin skin and generous filling, and it had to be juicy. Grandfather Wang's soup dumplings had a fourth, very special quality: it could very easily remind people of the taste of their mothers' cooking. Just one bite could cause a person to tear up uncontrollably, as if they had been hit with tear gas.

So this morning, when Father Wang saw the Chinese soup dumplings specially made by Grandfather Wang, he very conscientiously prepared two large wads of paper napkins well in advance on the table.