"Some of them are studying in the backyard. The two younger ones are herding cows with their eldest brother."
As long as farmers' children could go out, they could help the family on the farm. While herding cows, they could also gather some ragweed.
Yan Qixun went out and asked her aunt to go back. "Please go back in. It's too muddy outside. You'll dirty your shoes."
Aunt Guo smiled and said, "We're not going out to visit our relatives. Why would we wear nice shoes at home? What's there to be afraid of?"
She saw that Yan Qixun's shoes had ripped open. She quickly said, "How can you wear these shoes? I don't think you have any soles at home. I got two new pairs of soles, and I'll get them for you. You could ask your mother to make a new shoe for you using these."
Yan Qixun has a younger cousin about the same age, and she could use the sole that Aunt Guo had prepared for him.
