The fifteenth day of the first lunar month arrived in a blink of an eye. It should have been a significant festival, but the village showed no signs of celebration. On the contrary, a gloomy atmosphere hung over everything.
The prolonged, heavy snowfall had become a disaster, causing the roofs of many houses to collapse.
For days, the village chief had been so busy he barely touched the ground. He called upon the able-bodied men and strong youths of the village to help clear the debris from the collapsed houses of the disaster victims.
It was manageable if only a room or two had caved in. But if the entire house was crushed, the family had to be temporarily moved to squeeze in with other households. In this icy weather, it was impossible to rebuild immediately.
