In front of the flower lanterns and stalls of Lian's Department Store, quite a crowd had gathered. Some were looking at the goods, while many were admiring the lanterns and trying to solve the riddles posted nearby. Shopkeeper Chiang was clever; he didn't put up all the riddles at once. Just in the short time Lian Manman paused at the stall, a five or six-year-old child, held by a couple, guessed the riddle written by Xiao Qi: "Slippery and shiny, eyes at the rear."
"It's a needle, it's a needle, my little granny told me this riddle!" the child shouted excitedly, reciting the riddle in a babyish voice, eliciting a wave of good-natured laughter from those around.
In some parts of Liaodong Prefecture, the custom is not to call grandfather 'yeye' but 'big granny', and grandmother not 'nainai' but 'little granny'.
"Who wrote this riddle?" Lady Li asked with a smile.
Lian Manman pointed at Xiao Qi.
