Operation story: HS-2

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Operation

Story

Previous HS-1	Next HS-3
Characters
Zuo Le He Sheng Shu Grain Buds Nian File:Old Lumberjack icon.png Silent Lumberjack File:Song Wanqing icon.png Old Xiangzhang Yun Qingping Assistant Minister Wan Ning Ciqiu Elegant Man File:Dahuang farmer A icon.png Joyful Farmer File:Dahuang farmer B icon.png Drunken Farmer File:Dahuang farmer A icon.png Tipsy Farmer File:Dahuang farmer B icon.png Alarmed Farmer File:Dahuang farmer A icon.png Anxious Farmer File:Dahuang farmer B icon.png Astonished Farmer File:Nongye Tianshi A icon.png Yawning Tumu Tianshi File:Nongye Tianshi B icon.png Tired Tumu Tianshi File:Nongye Tianshi A icon.png Veteran Tumu Tianshi File:Nongye Tianshi B icon.png Young Tumu Tianshi File:Tianshi A icon.png Frantic Nongye Tianshi File:Tianshi B icon.png Agitated Nongye Tianshi File:Nongye Tianshi B icon.png Tumu Tianshi Opera Singer Farmer Anxious Nongye Tianshi Panicking Nongye Tianshi Frightened Stockbeasts Feminine Voice
Backgrounds
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Before operation

“

Dahuang's annual Shennong Festival proceeds as scheduled. The summer harvest begins in laughter, leaving a deep impression on Zuo Le, but the celebration is brought to an abrupt end.

”

<Background Black>
Another lost harvest. Sow the seeds, raise the seedlings, only to see it all taken away by Catastrophe. We took our land back from the Feranmuts. Why, then, do so many people continue to suffer? Is there a land not afflicted by Catastrophe? Wind, frost, rain and snow we can handle, but Catastrophe and Originium are a whole different matter. People they touch fall ill; crops they touch die. Farmers look for the right soil to plant their crops. If this land is not fit for humans, who "planted" us here in the first place? We must find a way. Man must eat.
<Background 1>
The opera singer sounds a gong.	{{{2}}}
Opera Singer	Let the wild plains, rivers and mountains come! Harsh is the east wind, the frozen moon, heavens fickle, raging thunder♪ May the scent of rice fill Heaven and earth, north and south, and fear neither drought nor flood! If only I was the wind and spring rain, bringing spring to the people♪ Plow the great plains and soak them with blood, sweat, and tears! Trample a thousand li flat, and turn them into fields of gold♪
The scorching sun of the sixth month has turned the city into an oven. The occasional wind brings the pleasant scent of rice and warms the heart. This year's opera is particularly popular. The space in front of the stage is filled with people, heads bobbing up and down as they stand on tip-toes, trying to get a better view while unconsciously humming along. Zuo Le watches the stage from afar. The actors are dressed in fashions of the past, their motions theatrically exaggerated, belting out verses in a regional dialect that he does not fully understand.
Zuo Le	What's it about?
He Sheng	The story of Shennong putting the land of Dahuang to the plow for the first time. The three-act opera is an essential part of the annual Shennong Festival. This is the second act, Signs of Heaven.
Zuo Le	Why isn't it in the local dialect?
He Sheng	The first Tianshis here came from all over Yan. No one remembers exactly where they came from today. When the opera was written, the characters were assigned a regional dialect based on their traits, and things have stayed that way.
Zuo Le	What about the people lined up over there?
He Sheng	They're there to greet Shennong. Legend has it that Shennong returns to Dahuang every summer to check on the harvest. As one of the rare unpolluted regions, Dahuang has long been Yan's breadbasket. It began a thousand years ago, when a group of farmers settled here and began cultivating the land. Until Catastrophe found them...
The song from the stage grows high and piercing, drumsticks raining upon tiny drums in an increasing frenzy. An actor circles the stage, wearing simple clothes and carrying a basket filled with rice grains.
Zuo Le	Is that actor playing Shennong?
He Sheng	A Catastrophe the likes of which had never been seen struck Dahuang. The land was severely polluted, and monsters ravaged the farms. Generations of hard work, reduced to nothing. Cultivating the land is hard. Finding land that can be cultivated is even harder. Shennong learned of what happened here, and decided to try to save this hard-won soil. She settled here with a group of farmers and Tianshis, studying how to cleanse the pollution in the soil, and developing new breeds of crops that could adapt to the environment, generation after generation.
The drumming grows deeper and heavier, and the song becomes broad and bold. A crash of the gong, then a screaming song sweeps the stage. Onstage, Shennong turns around, disappearing into the falling white snow made from rice flowers and reed flowers, until the whole stage is covered in white. The flute heralds a green bud sprouting from the snow. As the flute plays a winding melody, Zuo Le stretches out his hand and catches a rice flower floating from the stage.
Zuo Le	What's the story here?
He Sheng	Shennong passed away on a journey to the north, in search of new species. Her body was never found, only a basket and pouch filled with rice grains. They were brought back to Dahuang and buried in a cenotaph. Some say that in the summer of the year of Shennong's death, she was seen descending from the sky as the last rice was harvested, touching the harvested crops with gladness, and sowing new seeds in the fields. Since then, Dahuang has held an annual festival to welcome Shennong and pray for a good harvest.
Zuo Le	Is Shennong a figure of legend?
He Sheng	Absolutely not! While there are elements of myth in the stories associated with her, there is no doubt that Shennong did, in fact, exist. There are records of her existence in the Tianshi Bureaus' publications. She was the founder of Yanese agricultural theory, the first to summarize it in a systematic manner, and responsible for determining the patterns of the twenty-four Jieqi solar terms. Surely it's not just the Tianshi Bureaus that kept such records? It should be common knowledge in Yan... I'm surprised you had to ask.
<Flashback starts here>
<Background 2>
Zuo Le	Shu, the Sixth, measured the signs of heaven and laid out the twenty-four Jieqi... she appeared in Dahuang at the time of a great famine, and has faithfully served the city for a thousand years since. I didn't realize there was one like that among the proxies...
<Flashback ends here>
<Background 1>
Joyful Farmer	Xiaohe! You're early today. Is Grain Buds not with you? And who's this young man over here?
He Sheng	Uncle Wang, I'm not—
Joyful Farmer	Ah, I shouldn't get into young folks' business. How's the harvest going for your research crops?
He Sheng	... Pretty good! We're at a key juncture. We might see results in another couple of seasons.
Joyful Farmer	Good, good! Nice to have something to show for, after working hard all year round. Well, have fun. I'll get the reaper ready.
[The farmer walks away.]
Zuo Le	You... That was a lie, wasn't it?
He Sheng	Don't ask.
Zuo Le	...
He Sheng	Where did Grain Buds go? She's supposed to be playing the flute for the show...
<Background 3>
Shu	It's me. I brought some fresh-baked cookies. I thought I would use rough cane sugar, but nobody uses that anymore. These were made from the white sugar they sell in shops. Try one. These fruits are a new variety, much sweeter than the sour stuff we had to eat in the past. I brought a few of each type because I'm not sure what you like.
Silent Lumberjack	...
Shu	How are you feeling? Still dizzy? I came to see you... And them.
[Shu looks towards the direction of the town square.]
Do you hear the music? They're holding the annual festival to welcome Shennong. How lonely it must be here, with everybody celebrating in town.	{{{2}}}
A few pine trees line the river bank. Some are already centuries old, while others seem to have been planted recently. The summer is high, and the entire forest smells of pine resin under the sun. Shu reaches out to touch one of the pines. A wooden placard dangles off the branches, tied to a red ribbon. A few bugs could be seen climbing on the bark, while fowlbeasts cry in the canopy.
Shu	The summer has brought a few Catastrophes. The weather is rough this year. I'll instruct the Tianshis to be conscientious. Don't worry about it.
Silent Lumberjack	...
Shu	The harvest isn't great, but things aren't that bad. We've been doing this for many years. We've always had enough food to get by.
Silent Lumberjack	...
The man stares at the river with his mouth open, but says nothing.
Silent Lumberjack	...
Shu	We have a lot of visitors from outside. Some know the truth. I'm helping. Don't worry. We... we didn't manage to protect it all.
Silent Lumberjack	... ....*sobs*... (Mumbled sobbing)
The man sobs into his hands.
Shu	It'll get better. There'll be a way. The extraordinary Catastrophe... the past... the sacrifice and death, it won't go to waste. Do you remember? We've all seen seeds take root and sprout.
Silent Lumberjack	(Mumbled sobbing)
Shu	I'll take care of them. But you... you can...
Sound of footsteps. They fall slowly and lightly on the fallen pine leaves, clearly trying to hide the sound. But the man's ears twitch, and he opens his half-closed, cloudy eyes.
Silent Lumberjack	...
He sees a blurry figure, two little hair buns on her head, and a bamboo flute on her belt. He moves his lips as if to say something, then falls silent again. He looks around blankly, then turns around, picks up his axe, and walks into the woods.
Shu	...*sigh* Come out, Grain Buds.
[Grain Buds reveals herself.]
<Background 1>
An elderly woman takes the stage, carrying a bundle of rice stalks in her arms. She separates them into three bunches, and plants them in the grains in the middle of the shrine to Shennong. She raises a clay bowl full of wine to her brow, then pours the contents on the ground. The farmers bang the bell three times, shrouding all of Dahuang in the ringing. Even the earth seems to tremble. The farmers below bow while reciting quiet prayers. They go up to the stage one by one, taking out a few seeds and placing them in the grain pile.
He Sheng	Every farmer brings a few seeds, which can be of any crop. The grain is piled high so that Shennong can see the way back, so that wind and rain may favor Dahuang, so that Yan will not go hungry. You didn't bring any, did you? I have some extras here. Put them in after you bow.
Zuo Le	Duo xie le.
He Sheng	The harvest this year has already been poor... hopefully nothing happens to the summer harvest.
The young Tianshi bows deeply, then puts rice grains into the pile.
He Sheng	The pile is a lot smaller this year... In good years, there wouldn't even be enough room to put all the grains we brought. We'd bring bags and pile them up on the sides of the altar, something we did gladly. Young kids climbed the pile for fun. The adults didn't stop them, because it was believed that the higher the kids climbed, the higher the crops would grow the next year.
Zuo Le	What happens to the grain? Is it made into porridge?
He Sheng	No, it's brewed into alcohol, which everyone shares at next year's festival. Rice from the year before is used to make yeast for next year's drink, year after year. It's our commitment to ourselves.
He Sheng bows. The Xiangzhang gives him a bowl of grain alcohol; He Sheng takes it with both hands and gulps it down.
Old Xiangzhang	Good work this year, Xiaohe.
He Sheng	Thank you, Xiangzhang.
Old Xiangzhang	Good boy.
Zuo Le carefully sets his grains on the pile and bows deeply, following the example of the others.
Zuo Le	May wind and rain favor Dahuang, and peace ever favor Yan.
The fiery wine flows down his throat. The scent of grain fills his sense, while a bout of giddiness rushes up his spine. Bang! A thunderous clash of the drum rings from behind the Shennong shrine, thicker than heavier than the bell just now. The farmers stop to listen to the twelve drum beats that announce the hour of noon. The first beat brings the spring rain and cracks the frozen earth. The second beat cracks like spring thunder and causes brown branches to sprout green again. ... The twelfth beat covers the rich earth with prosperous snow. The farmer raises his stick and delivers the final beat— Bang!
<Background fades out>
Farmer	Harvest—! Harvest!
Firecrackers like strings of red peppers are lit, exploding in joyful golden light and assaulting the eardrums. The sound of firecrackers is soon replaced by engines rumbling, driving into the fields that stretch as far as the eye can see. The fields are like golden cakes and farmers like frosting, starting on the edges and creating joyful tracks. As tires leave their trails in the mud, the harvesters spew golden waves from their rears, tiny particles mixed with the occasional clump of grass and dirt.
<Background 3>
Yawning Tumu Tianshi	Kaoliang liquor? Just bought it at the fair.
Tired Tumu Tianshi	Laoshi will have your head if she finds out you're drinking on the job.
Yawning Tumu Tianshi	All we're doing is watching the water levels and keeping track of a few numbers. I could have three bottles in me and still catch any unusual data with one glance— Hey, am I actually drunk? Cross-check that Originium level in the silt for me.
Tired Tumu Tianshi	What the...? Close the gate—
<Background flashes>
BOOM— A crack of summer thunder overhead causes the clouds to tremble. The farmers standing on the levees look up at the sound. All they see is the sun over their heads, its rays reflecting off the water in the paddies.
<Background fades out and in>
Shu	Why did you follow me? Shouldn't you be playing the flute for the opera?
Grain Buds	You were the one who sneaked out. Why do you always come here with food by yourself during the Shennong Festival? Did you come to visit the mute uncle? Who is he? Why doesn't he live with the others?
Shu	He has an illness that he's afraid he could pass onto others. That's why he moved here on his own.
Grain Buds	Oh...
Shu	The others are all afraid of him. Aren't you, Grain Buds?
Grain Buds	Well, a little... I saw him when I was looking for Mianmian a few days ago. He wasn't as scary as people say. It's just the way he looks, and the axe he carries. But I can tell he's not a bad man. When he's angry, he glares at me the same way Xiaohe glares at the students who don't do their homework.
Shu	You're a smart kid.
Grain Buds	Stray stockbeast foals become aggressive and distrustful. But it doesn't take long for them start acting like the normal when they've spent some time eating and playing with other stockbeasts. Maybe that uncle will be happier if he has someone talking to him. It's sad that he has to be in this place by himself. There are so many Tianshis in Dahuang. Can't any of them cure his illness?
Shu	Someday, maybe.
Grain Buds	Shu... does his illness have something to do with the monsters in the legends?
Shu	Why do you ask?
Grain Buds	There's this dream I've had more than once. It takes place right here on this levee, and sometimes I see that mute uncle standing on it. In the dream, the weather gets really bad, sometimes very dry, sometimes raining heavily, and the wind brings strange things from the other side of the river... All the seedlings in the fields die, and the granaries run out of grain...
Shu	Have you... ever told this to anyone?
[Thunder booms as lightning pierces the sky.]
Grain Buds	Whoa! Thunder?
Shu	... Run, Grain Buds. Hurry back.
<Background 1>
[Thunder booms again as it starts to drizzle.]
Drunken Farmer	Rain...?
Tipsy Farmer	Rain... not that unusual this season, is it?
He Sheng	... Something's not right with the skies...
Tipsy Farmer	Who cares? *hic* The Tianshis didn't say anything. Can't be Catastrophe— Just disappointing that a day like this is spoiled by rain.
He Sheng	The water in the paddies looks muddy...
[He Sheng gasps...]
He Sheng	No!
[and he runs off.]
Zuo Le	What's the matter? Where are you going?
The actors are still singing on stage. Thunder rumbles with the drums, and massive raindrops fall on the ground like the drumsticks falling on the drums.
<Background flashes, begins to rain>
Dark clouds gather rapidly like spilled ink, lightning flashing as they clash with one another to form what looks like an enormous, black monstrosity. A torrent spills from the clouds. The dust stirred in the fields is quickly drowned under the deluge.
<Background fades out>
A small cluster of Originium bloom in the fields. The rice stalks look down towards this tiny black flower.

After operation

“

The flood is contained, but it has taken its toll on the farms. Construction is halted to free up manpower to save the fields. At this critical juncture, supplies arrive at Dahuang but even more remarkable is the identity of the one who delivers it.

”

How many more times must we see this? Newly-sprouted seedlings, stalks bending from the weight of grain, branches filled with fruit... all gone before Catastrophe. Locusts, draughts, blizzards, frost, floods... Frost in early spring almost wiped out the seedlings. It took all our effort to preserve a small portion of them. What will it take to feed everyone?
A sudden rain has drowned any festive spirit. The rain begins to subside, but not the water accumulated in the fields, which has reached ankle depth.
Anxious Nongye Tianshi	How could so much water accumulate so quickly?! It's turbid... did the rain carry dirty mud from upstream? It's going to pollute the fields! Gai si de! What are they doing at the construction site? Drain the damned thing already!
Panicking Nongye Tianshi	This is bad! The dam's burst!
Anxious Nongye Tianshi	Ta ma de! You've gotta be kidding me!
<Background 3>
[Several Tianshi gather as water pours through the dam.]
Veteran Tumu Tianshi	What's going on?
Young Tumu Tianshi	Apparently, an Originium vein upstream exploded, sending fragments down the river that got caught in the machinery, blowing a hole in the dam.
Veteran Tumu Tianshi	Why didn't anyone notice?!
Young Tumu Tianshi	The water levels were normal. We didn't detect any unusual Originium reactions, or expect the Originium activity to be so irregular...
Veteran Tumu Tianshi	Jiangui de... during flood season, no less. The water is filled with Originium silt. It's going to wreak havoc on the crops, maybe even cause infection. Everyone be careful! Dam repairs will take time. Get people downstream to block the flow!
Young Tumu Tianshi	The current is getting faster. What do we do if the entire dam collapses?
Veteran Tumu Tianshi	What do you think we can do? Stop it with your Arts, your lives!
<Background 4>
[Several Tianshi pile sandbags along the ricefields.]
The polluted water continues to spread. The fields are already filled with mud.
Frantic Nongye Tianshi	Step on it! More sandbags! We need to protect the experiments in this field! Don't let it get flooded! Aiya! Your specialty is playing with sand, isn't it? Get to it!
Agitated Nongye Tianshi	You're the one who plays with sand! My specialty is soil analysis! Ai, I'll do what I can!
[The Tianshi uses her Arts to help move the sand.]
Farmers and Tianshis line up to deliver sandbag after sandbag to the banks, scrapping together a makeshift dam with Originium Arts. There is one last gap in it.
Agitated Nongye Tianshi	Gah... I can't...
Zuo Le	...!
The youth leaps up with a bag of sand in his arms and tries to block the gap, but a gust of wind stops him in his tracks.
He Sheng	What are you doing?! That water is mixed with Originium-filled mud! Are you trying to get infected?
Zuo Le	It's my job to protect the people...
He Sheng	You think everyone needs your protection? You're different from the people standing here because why?
Zuo Le	I— How can I help?
He Sheng	The flood is caused by a burst dam. It's overwhelmed the field's drainage system. We're in flood season, and it'll take time to repair it. The situation will only get worse if we don't do something. You're a Messenger, right? Are you fast?
Zuo Le	I suppose... what do you need me to do?
He Sheng	Someone needs to take charge in this chaos. Take this map and go to the marked plates. Find the farmer in charge and get the plates ready to move.
Zuo Le	What are you planning?
He Sheng	Dahuang's nomadic city modifications are only partially complete, but some degree of movement is possible. While repairs at the dam continue, we will rebuild the drainage system by rearranging the plates and creating elevation...
<Background 3>
Veteran Tumu Tianshi	Gah—
The edges of the metal plate melt as they connect to the gap in the dam. The flood, seeking the path of least resistance, continues to batter the hasty repair. Water shoots out from the gaps in the metal, cutting open a crack like sharp blades.
Young Tumu Tianshi	That's not how your Arts are supposed to be used, Laoshi! You need to rest. I'll take over for a while.
Veteran Tumu Tianshi	Back off! Your Arts are no good, child! *cough*... *cough*...
<Background Suddenly, blocks of metal manifest out of thin air to block the dam.>
Nian	Heavenly forge—
Veteran Tumu Tianshi	Nian...!
Nian	What's this mess? We aren't even done at the factory... But looking at this flood... good job holding out this long.
Veteran Tumu Tianshi	You should not intervene outside of work in the core city.
Nian	Call it emergency discretion, alright? Seriously, you engineers are even more uptight than the Sui Regulator. Go catch your breath. I'll deal with the rest.
[Nian unleashes her power to hold off the dam.]
<Background 2>
Tumu Tianshi	You intend to rearrange the plates?
He Sheng	No time to explain. I know work on Dahuang's mobile plates is incomplete, but they're capable of basic movement. Moving a few plates will go a long way towards draining the polluted water in the fields.
Tumu Tianshi	You can't be serious! Only Rong and Tianshi Shu have the authority to move the plates. No one else may—
He Sheng	Both of them are busy coordinating flood control efforts. The flood shows no sign of abating. Fields and crops are being drowned as we speak. What are you going to do, hold a Tianshi Bureau meeting?
Tumu Tianshi	Why you— You're Tianshi Shu's apprentice... I've seen you with her. Very well... I'll trust you. But they are plates of various sizes, and there are dozens. Any movement is a complex job that will take several Tianshis an entire day to calculate.
He Sheng	No need for that. I have the layout memorized, and a plan. This is what we'll do. Plate A-9, five tiles to the east. Plate B-8, down five levels.
Tumu Tianshi	I...
He Sheng	What are you doing standing there? Get on it!
Tumu Tianshi	Ai! Fine, I don't have any better ideas.
<Background 4>
<Background shakes>
Alarmed Farmer	What's going on? The plate is moving! Wait, the flood seems to have gotten weaker...
Zuo Le	The plates are moving! Seek shelter—
Alarmed Farmer	Seek shelter where? The greenhouses?
Yun Qingping	Calm down and evacuate through the passage to Plate C-4. It's at a higher elevation now and gives protection from the floods.
Zuo Le	Qingping! What are you doing here?
Yun Qingping	I saw He Sheng and he told me what he's planning. The river is to the north of Dahuang. The plates to the west are the ones that have to be moved in order to drain the water from the northwest side of Dahuang to the valley in the southwest.
Zuo Le	I didn't think of that at all...
[Just then, a herd of stockbeasts run past, with Grain Buds chasing them.]
Grain Buds	Mianmian! Stay put!
Zuo Le	Grain Buds?
Grain Buds	Candlestick, Inkbrush! What about Big Buffalo? Is he okay?
Zuo Le	He... Don't worry, he's in a safe place.
Grain Buds	Oh, I'm so relieved! Wait, no, that's not it! The stockbeasts ran away in panic when the plate started moving. Help me catch them!
Frightened Stockbeasts	(Terrified cries)
Anxious Farmer	Where did these stockbeasts come from?!
Grain Buds	Mianmian! No running!
[Grain Buds chases after the stockbeasts...]
Zuo Le	Stop! That's the edge of the plate!
<Background 5>
[...when they are suddenly transported within a painting.]
Zuo Le	Dusk?! Who permitted you to use your powers—
Feminine Voice	Slowpokes. Going door to door like this, half the houses will be flooded by the time you reach them.
Zuo Le	But—
Feminine Voice	Never thought I would be helping the Sui Regulator clean up their mess... I'll do it this once. Won't happen again.
<Background 6>
[Zuo Le and the farmers reappear on a different plate.]
Anxious Farmer	Wh-Where are we? Tianshi Arts? Who could be so powerful?
Astonished Farmer	Look! The sky's clearing up...
<Background 7>
Shu	Sigh... Everyone's exhausted. Dahuang can't afford another disaster. I suppose this qualifies as extenuating circumstances. Phew... Go away.
[Shu unleashes her power.]
A breeze sweeps across the land. Vast expanses of farmland undulate like breathing, cutting the surging torrent into smaller streams that flow along planned routes. Standing on the edge of the plate, the lucky stockbeast watches the flood subside, then digs out a patch of clean grass with its nose and begins to eat. The sun shines through the clouds, upon a land that has survived disaster—barely.
<Background black>
[A transmitter activates.]
He Sheng	Plates A-9 through C-3 successfully moved. All accumulated water is now being drained. End of report.
<Background 2>
Assistant Minister Wan	What is the extent of the damage?
Old Xiangzhang	Varying levels of pollution on Plates A-9 through B-3. Less impact to the other plates, but further inspections are called for. Crops from polluted fields must be disposed of. The summer harvest will be significantly impacted, on top of a year that has already seen disappointing results.
Assistant Minister Wan	Almost a year of the people's hard work washed away... will there be enough to fill this year's quota? How many will go hungry?
Old Xiangzhang	There will be enough, thanks to the efforts of countless generations. But we can't afford another surprise.
Ning Ciqiu	This is bigger than just Dahuang. We must report to the capital and coordinate food supplies across all of Yan. Yumen is closest to Dahuang, but it was also struck by Catastrophe earlier this year. Repairs are still ongoing, and it's unlikely they could spare anyone.
Assistant Minister Wan	Indeed. The Ministry of Engineering indicates that Catastrophe frequency has been rising in recent years. This has been a bad year...
Old Xiangzhang	Dahuang is already the country's biggest food producer. We can't ask for aid from other cities. Plate repairs can wait. Dahuang's first priority is food production. There are still many experimental fields close to bearing fruit that have not yet been moved to safer plates... We'll need to delay work on the Twelve Pagodas and Five Cities. We need to bring back the Tianshis who were reassigned there to save the remaining farms and grain. We can't afford to delay the summer planting.
Assistant Minister Wan	... I understand your difficulties, but can we not discuss a delay of the Twelve Pagodas and Five Cities? Food is important, of course, but the Twelve Pagodas and Five Cities is also an important national defense project. The imperial court has reason to order it completed by autumn. We must consider the benefits and drawbacks carefully.
Old Xiangzhang	You want to consider it carefully, you'll write to the capital, have the Council of Ministers meet for ten days, and come back to us with a result. A food shortfall doesn't mean people pay a few more coins to buy their grain. It means that many thousands will go hungry.
Assistant Minister Wan	How many will be driven from their homes if there is a war? Never forget where the Twelve Pagodas and Five Cities project came from.
Old Xiangzhang	Across the river...
Assistant Minister Wan	You know it's more than that. Beyond the issue with demons, there is—
Ning Ciqiu	Excuse me.
Assistant Minister Wan	...
Old Xiangzhang	...
Ning Ciqiu	This is not the right time or place for this topic. Watch your words.
Old Xiangzhang	Gai si.
Ning Ciqiu	It's not easy to quantify benefits and drawbacks, but our priority is clear. The summer harvest and planting involve years of research and food for millions. There can be no delay. We should ask the Tianshis to help inspect and repair affected areas. This is our immediate priority. As for the schedule of the Twelve Pagodas and Five Cities, I'll request instructions from the Tianshi Bureaus in the name of the Ministry of Rites. Perhaps something can be done, with the help of the Chamber of Heaven's Designs. I'll take responsibility if the imperial court determines that the matter was not properly handled.
Assistant Minister Wan	...
Old Xiangzhang	Well, if they want to chop someone's head off, they can make it mine. Just say I put a sword to the Assistant Minister's neck here. You stay out of this.
Assistant Minister Wan	How do we get anything done, if we're already talking about responsibility before we've gotten any work done? It's the people of Yan who will pay the price for a mistake. We're merely three insignificant specimens thereof. If both of you insist... I will defer to your decision. I ask that you remember the promises you just made.
Old Xiangzhang	Hmph.
Ning Ciqiu	No problem. Everything goes well, everyone's happy. Things go wrong, you can pin it all on me.
Assistant Minister Wan	Er, that's not what I meant. All I meant to say is that, given the urgency of the situation, it would be prudent to communicate with the Chamber of Heaven's Designs—
Old Xiangzhang	I most certainly concur. I will draft a detailed report for Assistant Minister Ning to deliver to the Chamber.
[The subprefect leaves.]
Ning Ciqiu	I'll need to prepare for that. I take my leave.
[Miss Ning also leaves.]
Assistant Minister Wan	Excuse me, ladies—eh. Ugh. Well, at least my Ministry of Engineering won't be taking the fall. Let's hope the supplies arrive on time.
<Background 6>
Kick and roll... kick and roll... Grain Buds absent-mindedly kicks the dirt in the fields. The lumps roll haphazardly, while Grain Buds walks with her head bowed, swinging wild grass that she picked from the roadside.
Grain Buds	Wonder how long the power outage might last this time. It's so hot, and the stockbeasts are scared. Disease could spread too... They're not eating or sleeping. Are they comfortable in their new home? Xiaohe, too. Haven't seen him at dinner for days. Doesn't he know that he needs to rest when tired? He's dumber than a burdenbeast... The weather is getting worse each year, and the crops don't grow well... Has Shennong really abandoned this land?
She winds the grass around her finger, then rolls it up. She makes a motion to throw it, then she remembers how Shu weaved the grass into a foal with a few deft movements of her fingers.
Grain Buds	Shu could make so many things if I brought this grass back. But she's so busy, and even Candlestick is nowhere to be seen. I guess I should bring some more back and weave it up. Maybe it'll make them happier. And where the heck is Mianmian?
Grain Buds lifts her feet and kicks a piece of dirt hard. It hits a rice stalk, spins, and comes to a stop. Splat. It leaves no mark on the rice stalk.
A flood. The crops in the fields bow their heads, just like everyone has. Only a single rice plant stands tall in the carnage. It holds its grains high and proud, almost in scorn of everything else that has fallen, as though it has absorbed the lifeforce of everything around it. When everything else goes dark, it alone blooms bright like life. Grain Buds could not resist reaching out to touch it. It is bright red. A burdenbeast strolls by the edge of the paddies, the sun shining upon it. It is bright red too.
<Background 6>
Here at last. The tired one closes her reddened eyes. The river has drowned her mouth, the mud glued her eyes shut. Trees and weeds sway lifelessly in the wind, and she tries her hardest to identify the sound.
Shu	Sigh...
She brushes her hand against a fallen seedling, and it stands back up in the mud, enervated. She closes her eyes. The river flows past her hair, and the roots of the trees are like lines on her palm.
Shu	There was a time, many years ago, when Catastrophes were frequent as they are now... There was nothing I could do. I watched as rice ready for harvest fell in the fields, leaving nothing but a tiny patch that could barely fill a single bag. You said to me, your face full of mud, that there was nothing to worry about. Keep at it, year after year, and it will come. There were no wrinkles on your face back then. And you weren't Shennong yet. So many years have passed. Why is the dream still so distant?
The earth beneath her feet undulates like her breathing, as though there is a warm heart deep below that continues to beat, slowly and heavily. Now its shallow footsteps become recognizable.
Shu	Hm...?
<Background fades out>
The rumble of motor vehicles, only heard once every few months. Caravans from afar deliver new supplies, new things, and news from other places, bringing some excitement to the life of monotonous labor in Dahuang. It does not take long for the dust cloud to close the distance, and a figure comes down from the lead vehicle.
He is wearing a light, spotless shirt, and wind and smoke follow him for ten thousand li.
Shu	You're back.
Elegant Man	Long time no see. My dear sister.