Juhua smiled. "My dad wanted to try planting two crops of rice this year, so we started a little early."
Cui said, "Oh," and nodded, though she didn't seem to fully understand.
When Meizi, Xiu, and Cui arrived at Juhua's backyard, they were stunned by the sight of a long, dense row of green chili seedlings.
Meizi asked in bewilderment, "How did you grow so many? There must be hundreds... no, thousands of them!"
Xiu laughed. "Probably more than just a few thousand!"
Juhua laughed, a little embarrassed. "I don't really know much about it, and my mom didn't have time to manage them. We had a lot of seeds left over from last year, so I just scattered a big handful along one row. I never expected so many to sprout." 'I was about to just pull them out and stir-fry them like vegetable shoots. After all, they say chili shoots are good for you—they clear your head and brighten your eyes.'
