After the group ate their fill, Yang Zhigang and Li Xiangyang carried the duck eggs out to the handcart and pulled them away to be brined.
When Qiaohui returned, Tong Xinglan grabbed the skewers she had saved for her from the top of the oven. "Brother Gang bought these to bribe us into putting in a good word for him. You have some too."
Qiaohui laughed and picked up a beef skewer. "You'd sell me out for a few skewers?"
Tong Xinglan threw her hands up. "Sigh! A daughter won't stay with her family forever. Keep her too long, and she'll resent you for it!"
Qiaohui gave her a light knock on the head. "You little rascal, your tongue is getting sharper and sharper. Just you wait. The day you get a boyfriend, we'll see how we deal with *him*."
"Ooh," Tong Xinglan said, looking at Lin Lan. "Cousin, see? My mom always said a daughter's heart belongs elsewhere, and she was right. She's already defending him."
