She had not slept well all night and had barely made it until dawn when Hua Xiaomai settled little Walnut and bid Meng's mother a quick hello. Then, with dark circles under her eyes, she hurried to Daoxiang Garden.
At this hour, the clerks had just taken down the door planks. The greasy air that had been trapped inside the lobby all night seeped out, certainly not pleasant. Chun Xi, covering her nose, instructed Qing You and the others to hurry and tidy up. She turned around, saw Hua Xiaomai, and said with a smile, "Yo, how come you're so diligent today? Here I thought you'd forget about the shop now that you have a child, thoroughly addicted to tossing the responsibility to someone else, never bothering with this end of things!"
Wang Zhanrui, who usually arrived early each day, also came over to say a few words when he saw her.
