May 1st, early morning, light rain.
Zhou Li was up early today. As he went downstairs, he heard the old folding door clanging, waking the quiet morning.
He had thought it would be the two elders opening the door.
But it turned out to be Brother Nan.
This meant his energy had been stolen by her. It was a shame—he had been considering saving up for another saxaul tree just a few days ago.
The folding door was equipped with bolts at both the top and bottom of each panel. Being tall, Brother Nan could easily reach up to pull down the top bolts and then fold the four panels neatly to the side. However, the door was ancient and the ground uneven. As she folded it, the bottom edge scraped against the ground, causing continuous vibrations that resulted in the clanging noise.
Her family's house had three front sections; the main hall took up two of them, and she only opened these two.
