During dinner, Qingmu told Zheng Changhe about the Zhang family's method of cutting grass to feed their pigs and collecting fertilizer at the same time. During the summer, the Zheng Family usually ate in their courtyard. The four of them would gather around a small square table, and after eating, they would linger for a while to chat.
Zheng Changhe nodded. "I saw your Uncle Zhang cutting grass the other day, and he told me why. We should start cutting some to bring back for the pigs too. We'll have to go toward the mountainside, though; there isn't enough in the fields. You and I can go cut it in the morning. Juhua, you shouldn't go out. Just stay home and make breakfast."
Juhua nodded and looked toward the corner of the courtyard. The new bamboo shoots had unfurled and already shot up taller than the old stalks. The osmanthus tree, however, didn't seem to have grown much and looked just the same as always.
