Mrs. Yang and Zheng Changhe gaped at the old softshell turtle. They felt their daughter had truly grown up; she was no longer the girl who would cry in fear if someone so much as glanced at her.
'My daughter dares to speak with the villagers now, and she even bartered with the boys,' Mrs. Yang thought. 'Does that mean...' She began to happily imagine Juhua's wedding day.
Juhua paid no mind to her parents' expressions. She was starving, and as she ate, she urged her father to prepare the softshell turtle.
Sitting on a small stool, a flock of chicks circled around her. Every so often, Juhua would deliberately drop a few grains of rice for them to scramble over. After they finished, the chicks would tilt their heads and gaze expectantly at the rice bowl in her hand. Their bright yellow eyes and eager expressions made her chuckle.
Watching her daughter's innocent display, Mrs. Yang was filled with emotion. 'When has Juhua ever had such a carefree expression?' It seemed the recent incident had actually helped her come to terms with things.
Once Zheng Changhe had prepared the softshell turtle, Juhua realized there was too much meat to fit in the stew pot. So, she only stewed half of it and decided to braise the other half for the evening.
Her spirits lifted, she tossed some ginger slices and dried chilies into the oil-slicked wok until they were fragrant. Then, she added the turtle meat and stir-fried it vigorously, adding a bit of sauce before pouring in water to simmer over low heat. Just before it was done, she threw in some scallions and green garlic shoots, and soon, it was ready to be served.
Juhua didn't even wait for it to be served at the table. She picked up a piece of meat and popped it into her mouth. The flavor was absolutely divine! 'This is strange,' she thought. 'This kind of meat isn't particularly gamey, and it's quite easy to cook. Why don't the villagers like to eat it?'
After the meal was cooked and the fire in the stove pit died down, Juhua placed the stew pot, filled with turtle meat and mushrooms, into the pit. She then surrounded it with the hot ashes of the burnt firewood—by morning, it would be a pot of fragrant soup.
During dinner, Juhua carefully watched her parents' and brother's expressions. When they tasted the turtle meat, their eyes all lit up, and she could finally relax.
'It seems the problem was that no one knew how to cook it properly, not that the turtle meat itself is bad!'
Zheng Changhe beamed and asked, "Daughter, how did you cook this turtle meat? I once found a turtle sunning itself by the river, and when your mother cooked it, it was nowhere near as delicious as what you made today!"
Although Mrs. Yang also thought her daughter's cooking was delicious, she was annoyed that her husband had been so blunt, and she rapped him with her chopsticks.
Juhua didn't say anything, just continuing to eat the meat with a grin. She had been craving it badly. No matter how well those shrimp and small dried fish were cooked, she couldn't eat them, so she was stuck eating vegetables all day!
Qingmu, for his part, was constantly picking up food and putting it in his mouth—he had done heavy labor today and had an exceptionally good appetite.
After eating for a while, Qingmu seemed to remember something and said to Zheng Changhe, "Father, you should weave some Huang Shan traps tomorrow." He was always a man of few words and didn't explain why, but everyone in the family understood.
Juhua understood even more clearly. It was because she had told Li Changxing earlier that day that she liked to eat Huang Shan, so now her brother wanted to catch some for her.
She smiled at her brother. 'No wonder Liu'er likes him,' she thought.
At that thought, the image of Liu'er's tear-streaked face appeared in her mind. 'Should I tell my brother about this? Yes, I should. It's better to let Qingmu decide for himself what to do!'
Zheng Changhe readily agreed. "Done! The fields aren't so busy right now, and the wheat is growing well. I'll weave some tomorrow. Juhua, is there anything you want me to weave?"
Juhua thought for a moment. Besides the acorns they would be harvesting soon, there wasn't much else to pack. She replied, "There isn't really anything else. Maybe you could just weave a few more baskets? Oh, and we'll need more hemp sacks to hold the acorns later!"
Zheng Changhe agreed.
Juhua spoke again, "Father, if you and Brother have some free time, could you dig a well? It would save us the trouble of hauling water in the winter. Well water is warm in the winter and cool in the summer, which is very convenient. We live near the river, and Jing Lake never runs dry, so there must be water underground. We probably wouldn't have to dig very deep to hit it."
Mrs. Yang immediately agreed. "I've been meaning to suggest that, but I always get busy and forget. We should hurry and dig it this year! We can find a few people to help and get it done all at once."
Qingmu said, "Let's do it the day after tomorrow. The ancestral hall will be repaired by tomorrow, but it needs a few days to dry before school starts again. I'll ask a few people to come help dig the day after tomorrow."
Zheng Changhe said, "Alright! It's settled, then. Where should we dig?"
Mrs. Yang turned to Juhua and asked, "How about right by the edge of the kitchen? It would be convenient for getting water for cooking and for watering the vegetable garden."
Juhua nodded repeatedly in agreement.
After dinner, Mrs. Yang washed the dishes while Juhua fed the pigs and put the chicks back in their coop. By the time they finished, the sky had grown dark.
To save lamp oil, they had to go to bed as soon as it got dark. Getting to sleep was a good thing, but Juhua especially disliked the hard bed! 'Sigh, still a long way to go!' she thought.
Seeing Juhua enter her room looking a little down, Qingmu hesitated for a moment before following her inside.
Juhua was just starting to feel bored when she saw Qingmu enter. "Brother, have you washed up?" she said quickly. "Come and sit. I have something to tell you!"
Qingmu sat on the edge of the bed and asked, "What is it?"
In the darkness, Juhua fell silent, gazing at her brother's silhouette. 'Sigh! He's such a good young man, but our family is just too poor!'
As if sensing her gaze, Qingmu took the initiative and asked softly, "What did Liu'er want with you today?"
Hearing him bring it up first, Juhua couldn't help but suppress a smile. She whispered, "Sigh! What other reason would she have for finding me? It was about you, of course!"
Qingmu froze, looking toward his sister in the darkness, perplexed. Although he couldn't see her expression, he waited for an explanation.
'Perhaps because of our family's troubles, my brother has never even considered such things,' Juhua thought. She whispered, "Brother, Liu'er likes you! But her mother wants to marry her off to a wealthy family. She wanted to ask for your help. She even embroidered a pouch for me to give you, but I didn't dare to accept it on her behalf."
Qingmu was completely taken aback. 'Liu'er… likes me?'
After a long, stuffy silence, he finally said, "Just let it be. We can't help her—her mother is a very difficult woman."
Juhua scooted closer to him and asked, "But Brother, do you like Liu'er?"