Juhua smiled happily and quickly invited Liu Xiaomei and the others to go pick bamboo shoots the next morning. She didn't dare ask them to spend the whole day, not knowing how busy their families might be. It wasn't like her own parents, who were quite easygoing.
The spring morning was beautiful, and the air was exceptionally fresh and pleasant.
Juhua waited for Liu Xiaomei and the others to arrive before the whole group set off for the mountain. There was Lanzi with her two younger sisters, Li Jinxiang, Meizi, Liu Xiaomei, Xiu, Cui, and Yan—quite a crowd.
When everyone met up and saw each other, they couldn't help but laugh.
Each girl had swapped her clean, neat clothes for worn-out rags. Their shirts and pants were tied securely at the cuffs and ankles, and they wore straw covers over their shoes. In their hands, they carried burlap sacks or baskets. The whole group looked so drab and dusty, they resembled a pack of beggars.
