He also understood that following Zongyang was the only way the Zhou Family would have a future. Otherwise, their descendants would be doomed to the same fate as their fathers—toiling in the dirt their entire lives with no prospects.
"I agree as well." Zhou Hanchang nodded after everyone else had spoken. Then, they each went to find their children and ask them.
The night grew darker, and a chill settled over the mountains.
The elders, who tired easily and slept lightly, couldn't stay up late. They went to bed not long after dinner.
The adults began ushering the children off to bed. Afterward, they all returned to work, processing the wood, bamboo, and banana leaves they had gathered, preparing to build the houses the next day.
In the mountain forest, birds occasionally fluttered past, their wings rustling the leaves. Outside the Inner Mountain Pass, the ceaseless chirping of insects rose and fell, yet it wasn't unsettling.
They were long accustomed to such background noise.
