A biting wind whipped through the threshing ground, carrying with it a flurry of ice crystals that caused the few hurricane lamps along the perimeter to sway wildly.
Li Qiang stood upon a hastily erected wooden platform. Behind him, a mottled blackboard newspaper still bore slogans from the previous autumn harvest, though they were now blurred and obscured by accumulated snow. He tightened the straw rope around his waist and rubbed his calloused palms against a lantern, the firelight casting deeper shadows upon the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes.
"I'll cut straight to the point!"
Chapter 105