Ye Qingqing paid the money and couldn't wait to crack open a balut. She gently tapped a small hole in the top of the shell from bottom to top, took a sip, and sucked out the delicious broth inside. The essence of the balut was all in that sip of broth!

The old lady sells 18-day-old balut, where the ducklings haven't fully grown yet, and you can vaguely see their claws and bodies. They taste the best then. Ye Qingqing loves the 18-day-old ones. The 21-day-old ones are actually just little ducklings; their head feathers, claws, and wings have all grown out, and they'll hatch soon.

Those baluts were no different from eating baby ducks, and Ye Qingqing felt a bit disgusted and couldn't bring herself to eat them.

The old woman could tell from Ye Qingqing's eating style that she was an expert, and a smile appeared on her weathered face.

"Add a little salt." The kind old woman smiled and scooped up some salt, sprinkling it on the meat inside the eggshell.

"Thank you, Grandma, it's delicious. Give me three more skewers of fried rice cakes and two skewers of stinky tofu, without sweet bean sauce, but with a little chili sauce."

The old lady not only sells balut (fertilized duck egg), but also fried skewers, fried rice cakes, fried stinky tofu, fried lotus root cakes, fried ham sausages... These are all memories of Ye Qingqing's childhood, and the familiar aromas whetted her appetite.

There's a crackdown at the school gate, they're not letting street vendors set up. She hasn't had fried stinky tofu and fried rice cakes in ages, she's going to have a good time tonight.

Actually, there's another reason. This old lady is very old, she looks at least sixty. If she's still setting up a stall at night at such an old age, she must be in very bad shape or have some unspeakable difficulties!

The old lady was quite quick and efficient. She soon fried the rice cakes and stinky tofu, spread them with chili sauce, and put them into a plastic bag.

"Two yuan and fifty cents," the old woman said with a smile.

Ye Qingqing took out the change she had received from buying the pen from her pocket, took out three one-yuan bills, and handed them to the old woman so that the old woman could give her change.

"No need, I'll just take another balut!"

Ye Qingqing scooped up a balut (fertilized duck egg), put it in her bag, and ran off. The old woman smiled and shook her head, muttering to herself, "What a kind-hearted little girl!"

In an alleyway on one side of Fuai Road, three men waited with their necks hunched over, wearing only thin clothes. They thought Ye Qingqing would be back soon, but more than ten minutes had passed and she still hadn't returned. The autumn wind was chilly, making them feel quite cold.

"Why aren't they back yet? I'm freezing! Achoo!"

"Wait a little longer. Third Brother said he's going to teach this girl a lesson and take some photos so he can ask her father for money."

"This family is really something else. The younger brother is just hoping his older sister will suffer, by yelling!"

"I heard from Zhiwei that this is a blended family, they don't share a father or a mother. That girl is always bullying that kid because she's spoiled by her father."

"No wonder, damn it... I hate this brat who bullies others the most. I'll teach her a lesson she won't forget!"

A young man with a pointed face and monkey-like features was filled with righteous indignation. He had become a hoodlum entirely because of his stepmother, and therefore felt a sense of sympathy for Ye Hua, who shared the same fate.

"I heard that girl is incredibly beautiful, should we..." Another man's eyes gleamed with lust, and his mouth was practically watering.

The other two were also aroused. The three exchanged glances and looked around. It was dark and windy, and there wasn't a ghost in sight. It would be easy to get things done!

"Take the job first, then take the photos. That girl won't dare to make a fuss about it outside!" The three of them had a plan. This wasn't the first time they'd done something like this, so they were confident and not afraid that Ye Qingqing would call the police.

Most young girls who are bullied by their parents choose to swallow their anger and no one will call the police. Humph, making a fuss about it won't do them any good!