The spring breeze was like the world's most marvelous magician, sweeping over the fields, through the forests, and across the mountains.
Streams and rivers, dry all winter, began to gurgle and flow. Barren grasses turned green again, the spring mountains showed their verdant hues, and the birds once more sang their cheerful songs.
However, due to last year's strange weather and the snow in March, this year's spring planting had been delayed by nearly a month.
Here in the Northern Pass, they planted dry rice once a year, which couldn't be started until the summer rains became steady. The wheat in the fields wouldn't be ready for harvest until early summer.
Even so, spring planting was still an extremely important time for farming families.
As the saying goes, one should plant melons and sow beans around the time of the Grain Rain, so melons, fruits, and beans had to be planted first.
