In the June heat, the sun beat down like molten fire while the vault of the sky looked like an inverted bronze basin. Beneath the old locust tree, Laosan squatted beside a cracked field ridge, his twig-like fingers pinching a scorched yellow vegetable leaf as he muttered incessantly, "This damn merciless heaven is hoarding even a single shred of cloud like it's a treasure! At this time in previous years, the raindrops would pelt down hard enough to sting your face..."
Behind him came the crisp sound of an earthen jar shattering. Mrs. Li sat paralyzed beside the dried-up well platform, the windlass rope hanging over the empty well mouth like a stiff, dead snake.
"Why is there no water here either?" Mrs. Li wiped the sweat from her face.
Chapter 62