Ruth and I met up with Echo near the lake.Echo was in a bit of a panic because she had arranged to meet her students too, but we couldn't find them.She told us that in Liaocheng, children are sometimes stolen.Of course I asked her why?She said they are sold.So I asked who buys them.She said Chinese people who are unable to have their own children.She also said young women can be taken and sold as wives.Luckily we found all students.Echo bought some treats for the children- tiny little oranges (mandarins) and peanuts in the shell.I like the fact that the Chinese children found this to be a treat.Many English children would complain and ask for chocolate or sweets instead of fruit.

We proceeded to the Lake Tower.The entrance fee was half price for children but they all clubbed together so that me and Ruth could benefit from their discount.We explored the tower and climbed lots of steep steps, eventually to the top with a great view of the lake and the sun setting.We spent a long time in the tower, the children just playing and practising their English with us.We gave them all English names and I taught them to say they had been to the tower at the weekend.Echo told me I'd make a good middle-school teacher.When we left the tower we went into the grounds of another old building but it was closed so I didn't find out what it was for.Echo phoned the taxi guy from yesterday, he said he would like a tutor for his child but he would need to call back once he had spoken to his wife.He never called back.

After all the hard work climbing tower steps and teaching English to Echo's students, Ruth and I went to Noodle guy for dinner.Ruth took some videos of him hand-pulling the noodles and the staff were amused.No matter how many times I go there I never get tired of watching noodle guy make noodles.