Chapter 49

The scorching summer sun made even the wind feel like a ball of fire, as if brushing slightly against one's cheek would burn away a layer of skin. In Baijia Village under the merciless sun, men and women, young and old, no longer ate and drank out in the fields as they used to. The open countryside was like a giant steamer, and nobody wanted to turn into a bright red crab ready to be served. Although the trees in the mountain forests were lush and blocked out the sky, there were far too many mosquitoes, snakes, and scorpions, and nobody wanted to get injured or lose their life just to catch a cool breeze. Therefore, the shade of the large trees in front of and behind the houses became the village's best resort for beating the heat. Only when the sun began to slant toward the west did the villagers put on straw hats, shoulder hoes, carry machetes, sling baskets over their arms, and balance shoulder poles to head out in a steady stream to work.