Lin Lan watched Zhao Dehai hurry away, then picked up her hoe and continued loosening the soil around the ramie plants. A moment later, she heard Yang Meihua calling for her from the front gate.
She walked over to the courtyard gate and saw Yang Meihua standing there with a few of the other village women. "Where are you all headed?" she asked with a smile.
The weather had turned cold, and the women kept their hands busy even while walking, some holding shoe uppers and others clutching soles.
Yang Meihua said, "The team's holding a meeting about distributing the land. Want to go see?"
Lin Lan shook her head with a smile. "I'll pass. I haven't finished tilling my plot." 'She didn't like going to the village's threshing ground to listen to people gossip about everyone's business. She'd rather spend the time digging up the taro in her backyard vegetable patch.'
