Pu Pao came out of the kitchen and handed Juhua a round woven bamboo basket. Juhua tossed the red Chinese toon sprouts into it and returned the empty basket to Meizi, saying helplessly, "There's no way around it. You either move deep into Little Qing Mountain, or you're bound to run into aggravating situations. And even if you live in the mountains where there are no people to stir up trouble, wild beasts will come bother you instead."
Meizi nodded and stood up. "Jingwen, go home and help your grandmother peel bamboo shoots—she picked quite a few wild ones. Juhua, I'm heading out. I still have a dish braising in the pot."
Juhua thanked her and asked Pu Pao to wash the Chinese toon sprouts by the well so they could be scrambled with eggs for dinner.
Watching Meizi's back disappear through the courtyard gate, Juhua couldn't help but lower her head and stifle a laugh.
Seeing this, He asked what she was laughing about.
