Crops
Everyone held their breath. Amidst the silence, Hesta quietly turned around and stifled a yawn.
"Alright," she took two steps toward the back courtyard door, "if any of you have business with me next time, inform Wosandta as well... Everyone go get some rest, Wosandta, stay and come with me for a moment."
Following Eunice's translation, the old woman once again wore a slightly surprised expression. Pondering Hesta's intentions, she slowly followed her into the main house's living room.
Santa had already turned off the main hall's large lamp, and the entire living room took on a gentle ambiance unique to the night.
"Sit." Hesta made an inviting gesture.
This was a gesture Wosandta could understand without translation. She wanted to refuse with a slight tremor, but remembering Hesta's words just then—I know there must be scammers sneaking in among them—she trepidatiously swallowed a mouthful of saliva and sat down with a normal posture, though she still only occupied the front third of the chair.
"My friend tells me that the women still in the urban area mostly experienced miscarriages or are currently pregnant, and their gestational ages are relatively concentrated, generally around the twenty-first week..."
The old woman listened silently to Eunice's translation, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"...This means that prior to the twenty-first week, something happened on this farm," Hesta said in a low voice, "right?"
The living room fell into a dead silence. Eunice, who was originally responsible for translating, shivered almost imperceptibly, and Jahadorei beside her belatedly thought of this angle. Both young people were shaken for a moment by this sudden cruelty.
Hesta looked calmly at Eunice. "Translate. Why did you stop talking?"
"...Before... twenty-first week," Eunice looked at the old woman, her throat moving slightly, her voice low, "what happened?"
The old woman's