The border between Snow Prefecture and Ogre Prefecture was a towering, unbroken range of mountains.
Surrounded by those mountains was a river valley, and on a relatively gentle slope beside the valley stood a small village built against the hillside.
The village was not large, but every household lived in a newly built little bungalow of blue brick and red tile, arranged in neat, staggered rows on either side of the winding village road.
The village road was paved with level, firmly packed gravel, so it would not turn muddy even when it rained. At intervals along the roadside stood brand-new utility poles, black wires strung between them, carrying electricity to every home.
There was also a newly dug well at the village entrance, with several wooden buckets and ropes beside the well platform for the villagers' convenience.
This was a resettlement village.
It housed the original residents relocated because of road construction, as well as refugees who had fled from the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire because of this year's great drought.
In the valley, stretch after stretch of newly reclaimed farmland extended along the riverbanks.
Some hardworking farmers had already begun turning the soil, preparing for next year's spring plowing.
Layer upon layer of terraced fields stretched from the foot of the mountain all the way up to its middle slopes, planted with all kinds of crops. Some were filled with lush green vegetables, some with sweet potatoes, while others had just been turned over, giving off the fragrance of fresh earth.
At the edges of the fields, farmers who had been allotted land were working hard everywhere.
Some bent at the waist to weed, some carried buckets to water the crops, while others squatted on the ridges, carefully checking the growth of the plants