"It's really damn cold!" the old man grumbled as the harsh winter wind lingered over the lake for months. The weather had slightly warmed in spring, but it was as cold as the winters of previous years.0

The young plants stuck in the soil withered and turned yellow, not a single one survived. When the chill finally receded, summer warmed up only briefly before plunging back into a bone-chilling fall. That year, the fields yielded no crops, and the farmers, swallowing their pride, set down their hoes to forage in the mountains for food.0

Old Master Xu sat in front of his house, shivering as he rubbed his hands together in the cold wind. He was calculating whether the grain they had left would be enough to make it through the coming year. Since his father, Xu San, had passed away, he had been managing the household for over a decade and had become quite adept at it.0

The Xu Family was one of the larger families in the town,...0