In a remote, uninhabited spot halfway up a mountainside, a large area had been cleared in front of a simple thatched hut and planted with vegetables. At this moment, a man in his forties, dressed in gray and with a sturdy build, was turning the soil with a hoe. Sweat dripped from his sunburnt forehead, ran down his cheeks, and fell onto the soil.
The man worked hard in the field, each swing of the hoe sending sweat flying, and the sound of the hoe digging into the soil became the only sound in this quiet place.
From the thatched cottage, an elderly woman with white hair emerged. She held a bamboo basket in one hand and a water jug in the other. Her hair was snow-white, her face was wrinkled, her back was slightly bent, and her frame was frail. She moved slowly with each step.
