Lady Wu was going to the county town to buy scrap fabric that day, when Qian Yixiu busied herself making several arrangements of Gypsophila, rosebuds, and wild fragrant orchids, and early in the morning, she dug up some tender gray vegetables by the stream and packed the wood ear mushrooms she had collected the day before when she had asked Qian Manchuan to pick Xia Grass in the mountains. Although wood ears could be found at the base of the mountain, they were clearly not as good as those from the mountains.
After preparing these three items, she asked Lady Wu to make a trip to the Zhang Mansion and to directly ask for Ah Zhu. She should hand these to her and say they were gifts to show respect to the old lady and the mistress.
Lady Wu was reluctant, "How could I give wild vegetables and wood ear mushrooms to others, let alone a wealthy household like the Zhang family? Only a child like you would think of such a thing. I'm old; I can't bring myself to lose face like that."
