Just as things were getting into full swing, the village chief's wife, Mrs. Fang, and Old Cheng's wife, Mrs. Huang, brought a group of people over to grind acorn flour.
Looking at the crowded kitchen and the boisterous gaggle of wives, Juhua was filled with a regret she couldn't put into words. 'I should have just ground the flour myself and given it to them. The house has been as bustling as a marketplace these past few days.'
'Which sage was it who said, "Where there are chickens and ducks, there is much droppings; where there are young women, there is much laughter"? There's also the proverb, "Three women can make a drama." With eight or nine of them crammed into the kitchen now, they could stage several.'
