After they had been laughing and joking for a while, Meizi's voice came from next door, piercing through the wall and yard. "Li—Jing—Wen! Come on back for dinner!"
Juhua quickly offered, "Jingwen, just stay and have some pig-butchering soup at our place. I'll have Banli's father go tell your mother."
But Li Jingwen shook his head emphatically. "Nope! We've got meat at our house!" With that, he turned and scampered off, shouting as he ran, "Hulu, come over to my house after dinner and see my little bird!"
Now that life was better, even the children spoke with more confidence.
Hulu watched him run off, then said to Qingmu, "He's gone, Brother."
Qingmu said, "Now that he's gone, I'll play with you. Come on, Hulu, let's practice our characters." The father and son then got busy on the floor.
Seeing that the main room was getting crowded, Juhua picked up Banli and went into her bedroom to nurse her. Mrs. Wang and Liu Yunlan went to the kitchen.
