After going out for a stroll, Li Lao tou returned to find only his granddaughter playing by herself on the kang; the little girl was nowhere in sight.
He didn't ask; instead, he pondered where the little girl could have gone off to chat with someone.
When Shen Yunfang had lain down for a while, she got up and began to prepare a meal.
While she was halfway through cooking, Li Hongjun and Li Hongxing came back.
"Did it work out?" Shen Yunfang asked as they entered.
"Can't say for sure yet, Xue Da niang wasn't at home," Li Hongjun replied. "You keep cooking, and I'll go in with Big Brother to speak to Dad first."
"Okay, go ahead," Shen Yunfang turned back to her work, surprised that after all their preparation, the person in question wasn't even home—truly unexpected.
Inside, Li Lao tou saw his sons return. He tapped out his smoking pipe and placed it on the table, then sat on the edge of the kang to wait for them to speak.
