The next morning, Mo Yan arrived at the Eastern Market as usual, only to unexpectedly discover that Lin Meng and his four companions, who usually arrived earlier than her, were nowhere to be seen. She waited at the stall for nearly half an hour before she finally saw several familiar ox carts slowly approaching, carrying people and vegetables.
After a careful look, she only saw Lin Meng, Mrs. Xiong, and Mrs. Zhou sitting on the ox carts, while Mo Yongshou and Mo Yonglu were nowhere in sight.
Once everyone had disembarked and they had placed more than a dozen baskets of vegetables in order, Mo Yan finally asked, "Why haven't those two come?"