With Qingmu gone, the house suddenly felt much emptier. Although he was a man of few words, he was always home for all three meals. Now, with one person missing at mealtimes, Juhua found it very hard to get used to.
Qingmu had taken a leave of absence from the academy, so Mr. Zhou's meals had to be delivered by Zheng Changhe. Mother Yang still went out every day with a carrying pole, her baskets laden with cooked pork offal to sell. Afterwards, she would return home with fresh, unwashed offal and pig heads.
One day, while Juhua was boiling a pig's head, Big Mouth Zhao arrived.
He was wearing an old padded cotton jacket and carrying a basket. He grinned at Juhua and said, "Juhua, come quick and see what this is!"
Juhua looked over, puzzled. "What is it?" She leaned in closer and saw a small black puppy and a rabbit in the basket. Her face lit up as she asked excitedly, "Oh my! Brother Big Mouth, how did you know I wanted to get a dog? And what's with the rabbit?"
