"The cherries should be red by now, and the peaches must be almost ready too, right?" Juhua grabbed a small basket and hurried to the backyard.
Yun Ying smiled. "The cherries are red. Those poor birds… Uncle Zhang caught a whole bunch of them, and the rest are too scared to come—your family's dog is vicious!"
In just a few days, the backyard was completely transformed. Many of the peaches were showing red tips. The cherry tree was the most captivating sight of all—clusters of exquisite red fruit nestled among green leaves. Just looking at them was a delight. The plums and apricots had also grown larger, but they were still far from ripe.
Juhua walked under the cherry tree, reached for a branch, and gently pulled it down. She then began to pick the biggest, reddest fruits. Yun Ying smiled as she picked some as well, remarking that the fruit was more lustrous and translucent than agate.
