A Duck and a Gilded Invitation

He reduced the sauce once until its sourness was fierce, added stock for a second reduction until the meat began to yield, then lowered the flame for the third. Sweet, salt, and sour each stepped back, leaving a quiet warmth locked inside the bones. Lu smelled it and still refused to soften. “What does twelve extra hours from a machine change? Vendors can't afford equipment. Small shops can't afford repairs. Technology can't save the poor.” “Then who will?” Shen placed the clay pot before him. “I don't know.” “Eat first.” Lu took a piece of duck leg. His sneer vanished with the first bite. He tasted the sauce again and did not speak for a long time.