"Also, Xiao Wu, don't say things like that again."
The three exchanged glances before kneeling in unison. "Yes, Master. Rest assured!"
Su Qiao had no idea that so many things had happened after she left. She hurried home, and while no one was in the courtyard, she carried the two packages from her basket into her room and stuffed them into the wooden cabinet at the head of the kang before going to the main room.
"Grandpa, Grandma, I'm back from digging up herbs."
The old lady was making insoles. She looked up at her. "You're back? I've kept some food warm on the stove. Hurry and eat."
"Oh, all right." Su Qiao's stomach was actually full, but the old lady didn't know that she had gone to the secondary residence. She thought Su Qiao had gone up the mountain to dig for herbs and wild vegetables.
Seeing that she had returned safely, the old man also breathed a sigh of relief. He had wanted to ask her about it, but in the end, he let the matter go.
"Grandpa, I'll go eat, then."
Su Qiao was thinking about the coarse paper she had laid out to dry on the old wooden doors that morning.
It had been drying for most of the day. She couldn't leave it out any longer.
The old man waved his tobacco pipe. "Go on!"
After leaving the main room, Su Qiao went straight to the several dilapidated wooden doors beneath the earthen wall to the left of her room.
The pulp in the more than twenty wooden frames had still been wet that morning, but by now it had set into dense, paper-like sheets.
Half of them were slightly yellow, while the other half were somewhat white.
Overjoyed at the sight, Su Qiao hurried