Chapter 109: Chapter 65: The Laughter of Farm Girls

Being teenage girls, and simple farm girls at that, they became fast friends. After just a few words, the courtyard was filled with their chattering and non-stop, crisp laughter. Hearing it from the pigsty where he was shoveling manure, Zheng Changhe smiled happily—’Finally, some girls have come to play with our Juhua!’

While sewing a shoe insole, Meizi glanced at Juhua’s face veil and said, “Juhua, you look really nice with your face covered like that. I’m going to make a veil for myself when I get home. Oh! Why don’t you use a brighter color? A peach-pink one would definitely look pretty.”

Juhua couldn’t help but laugh. ’What is this? It’s not a case of an ugly girl poorly imitating a beauty, but a beauty imitating… well, someone plain.’

She smiled and said to Meizi, “I only cover my face because I’m afraid of scaring little kids. You have such a pretty face; if you cover it up, wouldn’t that be a waste?”

All the girls burst out laughing.

Seeing that Juhua spoke of her “ugly face” without a hint of discomfort, they were delighted and felt relieved, no longer needing to carefully watch what they said. They gradually began to show their true, innocent girlish nature and spoke their minds freely.

Meizi laughed too. “I just think you look really nice with it covered. Don’t you all agree?” she said, turning to the other three girls.

The down-to-earth Lanzi answered honestly, “I think so too.”

Li Jinxiang exclaimed, “Oh my! Now that you mention it, I was thinking the same thing as Meizi. I’m going to make a veil when I get home and wear it too. Mei, you should make one too. That way, people won’t call me strange for wearing one alone. If we all do it, then no one can say anything, right?”

The girls looked at each other, imagining a scene where all the girls in the village were wearing veils, and couldn’t help but burst into laughter again.

Juhua found it amusing too—’Does this count as starting a trend?’

Liu Xiaomei laughed and said, “If you ask me, we probably shouldn’t wear them in the village—the elders will have something to say. But wearing a face covering when we go out would actually be useful. Aren’t we supposed to avoid showing our faces in public?”

Lanzi rolled her eyes at the girl. “If you really went out like that, I’m afraid you’d attract even more attention!”

This made everyone laugh even harder.

Juhua chatted with them for a bit longer, then stood up. “Come on, I’ll teach you how to make acorn tofu. You can help me out, and then you can all stay for lunch!”

Meizi agreed happily, without a hint of polite refusal. She picked up two small jars and said to Juhua, “Juhua, I brought you some pickled ginger and chili slices. My grandma pickled them. You should try them.” Juhua quickly accepted them.

Liu Xiaomei was happy about the invitation but also felt a little uneasy. Her face flushed as she said, “Oh, we shouldn’t! You’re so busy, and we’re just being thoughtless by coming here and bothering you.”

Meizi shot her a look. “You’re just being falsely modest. So what if Juhua’s busy? With so many of us, can’t we help her? Juhua is a great cook. My mom told me to learn more about cooking from her. That way, when I get married, I can please my in-laws, and my husband will like it too.”

Her mouth ran faster than her brain, and the words tumbled out before she could stop them. Only after she finished did she realize how inappropriate it sounded. She quickly clamped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide as she stared at everyone, her face turning beet red.

The girls stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing. Liu Xiaomei bent over laughing so hard she started to cough!

Looking at the guileless Meizi, Juhua couldn’t help but smile. ’How did such a calculating mother raise such an innocent, open-hearted daughter!’ she thought.

Seeing everyone doubled over in laughter, Meizi dropped her hand in annoyance. She grumbled, “Go on, laugh! I guess none of you plan on getting married. There’s nothing wrong with what I said. Once you’re married, it’s not as carefree as living at your parents’ home. Don’t you have to learn more things so people don’t look down on you? My mom says, first, your cooking has to be good. Second, your needlework has to be good too. If you’re a lazy wife, nobody will like you!”

Seeing her get serious, the others stopped laughing. Besides, wasn’t she right? A husband’s family was nothing like one’s own. If you weren’t competent at your chores, people would make fun of you.

Lanzi said, “Meizi’s right! I’m okay at needlework, but my cooking is terrible.” The shoes she made were both sturdy and beautiful, praised by everyone—Juhua herself had just complimented her on them.

Having found an ally, Meizi quickly grabbed her arm. “Isn’t that the truth! Just yesterday, I burned a whole pot of acorn tofu. It made my grandma scold me for wasting food. She said it takes so much work to make acorn tofu—from gathering the acorns to grinding them into powder, then all the soaking, drying, and rinsing—and I just had to go and burn a whole pot. So wasteful! Juhua, you have to really teach me. I’ll make you a few more pairs of shoe insoles in return.”

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