Mulan's POV
The next morning, Trysha, Jeanette, and I enjoyed some grains of rice as I decided to make some notes so that I wouldn't fail my visit with the matchmaker that day. But I didn't really write the notes on paper – I wrote them on my right arm so that they could be hidden under my dress sleeve! "Girls, do you think you could help me out?" I asked Jeanette and Trysha as I was writing things down.
"Whatcha need?" Jeanette asked with a grin as she got herself dressed in her purple and blue dress.
"I'm going to see the matchmaker later this morning, and I need you guys to help me come up with some ideas on how to be a good wife," I explained, "A Chinese housewife has to be quiet and demure so far."
"Calm!" Trysha suggested as she finished putting her dress on.
"Respectful," Jeanette added as she and I shared some rice.
"Respectful," I said to myself as I ate the rice with my chopsticks, "Graceful, polite…"
"You've got this," Trysha smiled as I got my pen out again and dipped it in ink.
"Delicate, composed, refined, poised," I said as I wrote more notes on my arm, "Punctual!" I finished.
Just then, the rooster could be heard crowing outside.
Realizing that we were running late, I jumped off my bed and gasped, "Oh yeah!" Then, I ran through the hall, calling, "Little Brother!"
Trysha and Jeanette just looked at each other with confusion. "Doesn't she already have three little brothers?" Trysha asked her friend, "Because 'Little Brother' is the name of her dog."
"Oh, that was Fa Cho's idea to name our dog that," I called to her, "He wants a little brother to pick on, because his brothers like to tease him sometimes!" Just then, I saw a little brown and white puppy sleeping on the floor. "Oh, there you are!" I cooed as the puppy woke up and barked, "Oh, who's the smartest doggy in the world? Come on, smart boy, can you help me get my chores done?"
Little Brother, our family dog, barked happily as I got out a bone, tied it to a string, and then tied the other end of the string to a stick. I then put the stick into the back of Little Brother's collar, and then I tied a sack of chicken feed to his back, making him bark and chase after the hanging bone.
Jeanette's POV
Trysha and I watched with humor as Little Brother chased the hanging bone into the farmyard, dragging chicken feed everywhere from the open sack. The chickens all clucked with delight as they began pecking at their breakfast, while the horses all knickered with annoyance.
"Jeanette!" Mulan called to me, "Would you mind getting the hot water from the kettle to make my father some herbal tea?"
"Certainly!" I said with a smile as I looked around. "Where's the…" I began to think; I soon saw a kettle over a little burning flame with steam coming out, so I quickly grabbed a piece of cloth and took the kettle before setting it down onto a little table.
"Mulan and I have the tea leaves and the cups!" Trysha said as she and Mulan approached me.
"Excellent!" I said as we set everything on the table and prepared the tea, "That way, the tea will have time to brew as we head over to the temple – that's where Mulan's father is praying right now, I saw him this morning!"
Third Person POV
Over in the family temple, Fa Zhou had lit some incense and placed it on a hanging dish with a statuette of a dragon. He knelt down and prayed, "Honorable ancestors, please help Mulan impress the matchmaker today. And help those friends of hers find suitable men sooner or later."
Just then, Little Brother came barking into the temple with feed still falling from his sack, and the chickens following him.
"Please, PLEASE help them!" Fa Zhou continued praying.
Just then, Mulan, Trysha, and Jeanette came walking up the stairs with the teapot and teacups. Little Brother whimpered at his bone still hanging, so Mulan smiled as she moved the bone down for her dog to munch on it. Unknown to the girls, the three little boys were silently hiding on the side of the hill, ready to play some kind of prank. Fa Jun took a fat green frog and then placed it on the step behind Jeanette, who was behind Trysha, who was behind Mulan. The frog then jumped forward onto the back hem of Jeanette's dress, making her jump forward in alarm with a yelp.
Jeanette then grabbed onto Trysha's shoulders, and that accidentally made Trysha stumble forward into Mulan, making her accidentally drop the teacups she was carrying, as well as the teapot. Luckily, her father caught the teapot with his cane and corrected her, "Mulan!"
"It's alright, Father, we brought some spares," Mulan assured as Trysha sheepishly handed her the teacups.
Jeanette just frowned down at the laughing and running boys and growled under her breath, "Boys!" She then bowed to patriarch of the Fa family and apologized, "Excuse me, sir."
"Mulan?" Fa Zhou said as he looked at his daughter.
"Now remember," Mulan continued as she poured her father some tea, "The doctor says three cups of tea in the morning, and three at night."
"Mulan, you should already be in town," Fa Zhou told her, "We're counting on you and your friends to…"
"Uphold the family honor," Mulan finished for him as she hid her notes with her sleeve, "Don't worry, Father, we won't let you down."
"Let's hope so," Trysha whispered.
"Goodbye, Fa Zhou," Jeanette said with a bow before she and the others ran off.
"Wish us luck!" added Mulan.
"Hurry!" Fa Zhou called to them. Little Brother looked at him with the bone in his mouth as the patriarch sighed, "I'm going to pray some more."
In town, Fa Li and Grandmother Fa were both waiting outside a little hut for Mulan. The lady who ran the salon peeked her head out of the door and asked, "Fa Li, is your daughter here yet?" Mulan's mother shook her head as the salon owner finished, "The matchmaker is not a patient woman!"
As the lady went back inside, Fa Li muttered with worry, "Of all the days to be late! I should've prayed to the ancestors for luck!"
"How lucky can they get?" asked Grandmother as she held up a little purple and blue cricket in a tiny cage, "They're dead! Besides, I have all the luck we'll ever need!" She then whispered slyly to the cricket, "Now's your chance to prove yourself!"
The cricket chirped and did a little salute before Grandmother put her hand over her eyes and then set foot into the busy street!
"Grandma, no!" Fa Li cried out as the old woman kept trekking through the street in a casual manner. Everyone abruptly halted, carts crashed, people screamed, and animals got minor injuries in a cloud of dust.
Coming out of the dust on the other side of the street was Grandmother Fa. She held the cricket's cage up and called out, "Yep! This cricket's a lucky one!"
The cricked just gave a horrified look before fainting backward in his cage.
On the other side of the street, Fa Li sighed with relief just as the sound of horses neighing came into audio. Mulan was riding on top of Khan, Jeanette was riding Helios, and Trysha was riding Luna. When the girls stopped and dismounted, Jeanette and Trysha were both clean with neat hair, but Mulan's hair was messy, and her dress was dirty.
"We're here!" Mulan announced as her mother gave her a stern look. "What?" she asked as her expression dropped.
Jeanette looked at Fa Li and said, "You see, the horses were all restless with Mulan, and then…"
Mulan's mother sternly held her hand up as Mulan pleaded, "But Mama, we…"
"None of your excuses!" Fa Li said as she escorted Mulan into the salon, "Now, let's get you all cleaned up!"
Jeanette and Trysha decided to stay behind and help Grandmother Fa escort the horses away. Jeanette took Helios' reins, Trysha took Luna's reins, and Grandmother took Khan's reins. "So, are you girls gonna see the matchmaker today, too?" the old woman asked with a smile.
"Uh, no," Jeanette answered nervously, "We-we-we already have boyfriends back at our real home!"
"Yeah," added Trysha with a sheepish grin, "We're uh, already engaged to be married… next spring!"
"A double wedding!" Jeanette chimed in. She and Trysha didn't really want to admit their private status and scare an old woman in Ancient China that they were easy-going girls who lived in a society with more respect for women.
"Oooh!" Grandmother awed as the women all tied the horses' reins to a fence post, "Be sure to send invitations to our family so we can see, too!"
"Sure thing," Jeanette nodded as she and the others decided to head back to the salon where Mulan was getting ready.