"Coming right away!" Qiao Mei patted the dirt off herself and responded. She glanced worriedly at the pile of firewood and called out, "Xi'Er, Chunsheng, grab your baskets and hoes, let's see what the village chief has to say. There's a lot of work to do today, so we won't be heading home later."
The siblings quickly picked up their farming tools and followed their mother to the divine statue square in the village center.
"We were working in the fields, and they insisted we come back. What happened this time?"
"Exactly! It rained so heavily yesterday, the fields are flooded. If we don't hurry and find a way to tend to the crops, what's the point of wasting time?"
"We're just ordinary folks, relying on those fields to eat. The village chief is connected to the major clans, and every year we hand over so much grain, cloth, and game. Their cellars are full, not worried about food or drink, they couldn't care less about our survival."
