Meizi was desperate for someone to talk to, and she didn't hesitate.
'Who should I go see?' she wondered.
She ran through a list in her head—Lanzi, Li Jinxiang, and the others—but didn't really feel like seeing any of them. Then she thought of Juhua. Juhua always listened quietly when she spoke, only chiming in with a word or two now and then. Though not much older, she seemed more mature and level-headed than Meizi herself.
'I'll go see Juhua!'
So she tucked a shoe sole under her arm and headed for Little Qing Mountain.
However, while the chores at her own house were mostly finished, Juhua's family still had much to do. With her mind so preoccupied, Meizi didn't notice. She simply trailed after Juhua everywhere—following when she fed the pigs, following when she did the laundry—making idle chit-chat and barely sewing a few stitches into her shoe sole.
Once Juhua had her chores in order, she brought out a small stool, sat down to shell soybeans, and chatted with Meizi.
