A natural disaster had come to an end.
Qing'an County, which had struggled bitterly through drought for more than a year, had finally received the long-awaited blessed rain.
Most importantly, the weather had at last returned to normal.
Although the spring planting had been delayed, the hardworking farmers could still sow another round of crops in the rain-soaked earth.
That way, when autumn came, they would still have some harvest to fill their bellies.
Through County Magistrate Ye Xiangming's efforts, Qing'an County's crisis gradually passed. Large numbers of disaster victims were properly resettled, and the once deathly silent county town slowly regained its bustle.
Yet the wounds this calamity had inflicted upon Qing'an County would take a very, very long time to heal.
However, the common people of the mortal world possessed the tenacity of wild grass. So long as they endured the bitterest and hardest days, they would still flourish anew.
Time flew like a shuttle, and the years showed no mercy. In the blink of an eye, another three years had passed.
Qing'an County Town, Wang Manor.
Spring had arrived. Outside the window, peach blossoms quietly unfurled their radiant smiles, while several sparrows chirped and fussed noisily.
Wang Chen had just finished painting Peach Blossoms and Sparrows at Play in Spring in the study when Ye Dai entered, carrying a porcelain soup tureen.
With a bright smile, she said, "Husband, the black-bone chicken and ginseng soup has just finished simmering. Hurry and drink it while it's hot."
Wang Chen set down his brush. "All right."
Recently, Ye Dai had taken a liking to cooking and had put considerable effort into making soups, washing her hands to prepare broths for him every day.
Delighted, Ye Dai lifted the tureen lid, and a wave of steam immediately surged upward.
She