The boy before him had aroused Qiuting's immense interest, and he followed him with high spirits into the Fang family's yard in the village.
Qiuting followed the boy as he twisted and turned through the alleys, his eyes filled everywhere with dilapidated thatched cottages and crumbling earthen courtyard walls. The air rushing into his nose was filled with unpleasant, foul odors. People standing in the dirt lanes watched him curiously as he walked by, and from time to time, two or three of them would huddle together and whisper about something.
Qiuting's spirits were very low, until a banana leaf reaching out from a courtyard blocked his sight. He raised his hand and gently brushed the lush green leaf aside.
Chapter 248