Dressed in human skin, Li Sui sat on the moss-covered steps of the Bai Family Courtyard, her knees pressed together.
She gazed at the lard candy in the child's hand, her large eyes filled with pure curiosity. "Is this tasty?"
It was unclear which family the little boy belonged to, but the seven-or-eight-year-old, dressed in a tiger-head hat and shoes, couldn't take his eyes off Li Sui's exquisite face. After a long moment, he seemed to snap back to reality and nodded vigorously, grabbing Li Sui's hand and hurrying toward his home.
He pulled Li Sui into his family's kitchen and, mimicking his mother, used chopsticks to pick out a large chunk of solidified lard from an oil jar. He then tossed it into the sugar pot. Once the lard was coated in a thick layer of red granulated sugar, a piece of lard candy was ready. The child, his ponytail sticking straight up, carefully held out the lard candy to Li Sui.
