Once they entered summer, besides the occasional two or three rainfalls, it didn’t rain anymore. Although it was better than the drought in the Northeast, if it wasn’t for the locust plague, then there was a good chance that harvest would’ve just declined sharply, and there would’ve been places without the possibility of the final harvest. 

On the West Mountains, the only trees left after the locust plague were dry and looked dead. If it didn't start raining soon then it would be very likely that all the plant life would die. Even the stream that flowed yearlong from the West Mountains was also dried up. The pond behind the Yu Family's old house was also only a tenth of what it had been. Large areas of mud at the bottom of the pond had large gaps from being dried up by the sun. Occasionally, a fish died in areas without water and would give off a rotting smell.

The water level in the well behind the old house had also dropped a lot and the ropes on the bucket had been changed again and again to be longer. The well in the Yu Family's home was considered to be in good condition, having been drilled deeper. Many of the wells in the village had already dried up and finding water to drink was becoming a problem! 

Just when everyone in the disaster zone was starting to become more and more desperate, freezing rain fell one evening near the end of autumn. It left a transparent string...