Emergency
The people of Qishui'ao Village had pooled the whole village's resources to build a shrine that also served as the village elementary school. It had been no easy feat. They were still struggling with food shortages and hadn't paid off their debts. They had no extra money to spare for the village chief's family or anyone else's.
Village Chief Cui's courtyard had been built fifty years earlier. Back then, it had been considered a grand house with a lovely garden.
But time had taken its toll. Even after a hurried cleaning, everything in sight was worn and dilapidated. All the furnishings looked faded and grimy.
That was a testament to the village chief's skill. If he hadn't united everyone to build the shrine and had spent the money on his own home instead,
the whole village would have fallen apart long ago. As things stood, when he gave an order, no one dared disobey.
In the arena of power, sometimes all it took was a single thought.
"There's no need to make such a fuss. A simple meal will do."
Seeing the heaping dishes covering the table, Sun Shuhui felt a little embarrassed. This was a poor village, after all.
At the entrance and along the courtyard wall, he saw a crowd of little children staring hungrily at the table. Some clutched potatoes—what the village chief called "foreign yams"—and, as if savoring the aroma, sniffed and took blissful bites.
Even he found it hard to reach for the food.
Poverty was to blame.
Sun Shuhui no longer held it against Li Bai for hastily drawing his bow and shooting the wild boar. By now, it was obvious that without the boar, the meal the village had managed to put together would have been far more modest.
"No, no! You're