The sun hung high in the sky, and in mid-August, it was the hottest time of the year, causing the women of the brigade to hurriedly return from the fields to cook at home.
Smoke from cooking fires began to rise from several ridges around; those women who got home early had already started making meals.
Li Xianglu had just returned from her family's private plot, carrying a basket full of fresh long beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, and round eggplants, all ripe. She planned to pickle some vegetables and then store the rest in the Storage Ring to eat gradually.
Climbing up to Third Ridge, she saw a dirty-looking teenager standing there, glaring fiercely at her.
Li Xianglu was startled, wondering who this was and why he was staring at her like that.
