With Zhang Huai gone, Juhua felt empty inside. She asked Meizi to go to the riverbank to cut mugwort and kalimeris, and little Zhao Qing naturally tagged along.
Juhua squatted for a while until her legs began to ache. She straightened up and glanced around. Willows cast their shadows over the bright flowers along the riverbank as the water gurgled past. In the distance, she could hear loud shouts from Meizi's son coming from their house, mingled with Granny Hua's coaxing voice.
"Meizi, is your mother-in-law helping you watch your son?" she asked.
While deftly snipping at the kalimeris with her scissors, Meizi laughed. "Yep! She and my mother take turns watching him for a few days at a time, otherwise I'd never manage. Sigh, it would have been better if I'd waited another two years for a second child. Having them one right after the other like this... it's really more than I can handle."
