She said to him gravely, "Don't be so mischievous next time. You have to kill a turtle before you cook it. Burning it alive like that is just awful, understand?"
Shi Tou readily agreed. He trotted after Juhua to the river to do the laundry, acting like her little tagalong.
When Juhua returned from the river with Shi Tou after finishing the laundry, she found several new people in the courtyard: Big Mouth Zhao, Li Changxing, and... Zhang Huai!
But Qingmu was blocking Zhang Huai, refusing to let him help, his expression hostile.
It turned out that when Zhang Huai heard from Big Mouth Zhao that Qingmu was having a well dug, he had immediately dropped what he was doing and rushed over to help. He also hoped to use this chance to reconcile with Qingmu. He and Qingmu used to be the closest of friends, so now that even Big Mouth Zhao and Li Changxing were here to help, of course he had to come too.
However, when he arrived, Qingmu adamantly refused his help, insisting they had enough people and telling him to go home.
Mortified and hurt, Zhang Huai looked at Qingmu with pleading eyes. "Qingmu..."
Qingmu stood his ground, completely unmoved.
Juhua returned to this very standoff.
'My brother is really so protective of me,' she thought. 'He must be afraid I'd be upset seeing Zhang Huai. But it wasn't really his fault, and besides, I don't even care about that incident anymore. I can't let my brother lose a good friend over this, can I?'
With that, she walked up to the two of them. She first gave Zhang Huai a quiet look, noting his flushed face, a mixture of embarrassment and grievance. Then she said to Qingmu, "Brother, Brother Huai Zi came to help our family. It's not right to treat him this way! An extra person means an extra pair of hands, doesn't it?"
Seeing both Qingmu and Zhang Huai staring at her in astonishment, and even Little Shitou craning his neck to watch the drama, she gave a light, soft-spoken laugh. "I was never bothered by that incident. Brother, if you keep being difficult with Brother Huai Zi, you'll just give the village something to gossip about. It was nothing, but if you act like you're enemies, you're just inviting idle talk, aren't you?"
With that, she beckoned to Little Shitou. "Come on, I'll get you some scorched rice to eat!" Overjoyed, Little Shitou cheered and skipped after her.
Zhang Huai stared after Juhua's departing figure, his mouth agape. He felt a mix of surprise and happiness, but also a strange, sour feeling.
Seeing his sister so calm and composed, Qingmu felt both relieved and immensely proud. He shot a glance at Zhang Huai. 'You brat,' he thought, 'you're just like Mom said—no eye for quality. And no luck, either. You couldn't even see how wonderful my sister is!'
He shot Zhang Huai a hard glare and said gruffly, "Fine, come on. Help me haul dirt."
"Right!" Zhang Huai breathed a sigh of relief. He hurried forward, shouldered a pole with two empty bamboo baskets, and went over to the well.
The well was barely three feet deep. Down in the pit, Zheng Changhe shot him a hostile look but said nothing. Zhao San just chuckled, giving him a meaningful glance. Li Changxing and Big Mouth Zhao sized him up curiously but ultimately didn't pry, which made him secretly wipe a bead of sweat from his brow.
The group of men chatted and laughed as they dug the well and hauled the dirt, the work proceeding with bustling energy.
Li Changxing suddenly called out to Juhua, "Juhua, I caught some Huang Shan yesterday afternoon! I brought them today. They're in that little wooden bucket. Go take a look!"
Hearing this, Juhua rushed to the kitchen doorway. "Where?"
Her reaction made Big Mouth Zhao and Zhao San, who were in on the joke, both laugh. They stopped their work in unison to watch her.
Li Changxing chuckled. "There! In that little wooden bucket." He gestured with his chin to a spot near Juhua.
Juhua turned, her eyes scanning the area before she finally spotted a small wooden bucket tucked under the eaves of the kitchen. Stepping closer for a look, she saw the Huang Shan inside, twisting and writhing; some were struggling to climb the walls of the bucket, only to slide back down after getting halfway up. There had to be over two pounds of them, big and small! The thickest ones were as wide as her brother's thumb, and even the thinnest were as wide as her own.
'This is just... hehe!' Juhua was so delighted her eyes crinkled shut. She was already planning lunch: stir-fried Huang Shan with savory sauce, and maybe a simple, lightly-fried portion just for herself!
Little Shitou squeezed in beside Juhua to look at the Huang Shan. "Sister Juhua, are Huang Shan good to eat?"
Juhua smiled. "Of course they are. You'll find out at lunch."
Over by the well, Li Changxing asked again, "Do you need help preparing them?"
Juhua quickly replied, "No, it's fine. I can handle it!" She was worried Li Changxing wouldn't prepare them properly.
Zhang Huai watched Juhua chatting and laughing so openly with Li Changxing. 'Is this the same ugly girl who used to shyly whisper 'Brother Huai Zi' whenever she saw me?' For some reason, a sudden wave of discomfort washed over him.
'Logically, since Juhua doesn't blame me and shows no sign of liking me anymore, I should be able to just let it go. I shouldn't have to worry about it from now on. But why have I been thinking about her constantly these past few days? Why did I want to see her so badly after coming here to help? And why does it bother me so much to see her laughing with Li Changxing and Big Mouth Zhao? The farther the distance between us grows, the clearer her image becomes in my mind, as clear and sharp as this autumn sky—so high and vast, a perfect, cloudless blue.'