When so many of the families that live the closest to you are farmers spread across a wide swath of land outside of Juexizhen, it’s hard to find really close friends your age.  If Mulan had grown up in town, as a merchant’s daughter for instance, she might have seen the same, neighborly faces every day and been able to forge closer bonds with them.  But while she has a small handful of friends - people she’s known all her life, both from nearby farms and from Juexizhen - Mulan has never really been able to slip away from her chores long enough to visit, assuming her friends aren’t busy themselves; and it’s difficult to confide in people you’ve seen so seldom in a year that you can count the times on your fingers.  She doesn’t mind so much though: Mulan talks to Little Brother or Khan, who love her and who can’t betray her secrets anyway.