41
Hua
Hua had never taken the chance to marvel at the beauty of the landscape she’d seen her entire life. On the outskirts of Zhouchang, the fields rolled as far as anyone could see with creek beds crisscrossing from the hills to the trees.
She lifted her face to the sun warming the morning, thankful to be past the winter chills. Soon, it would be time to plant the crops, but until then, the Minglans focused on rebuilding their lives. When they’d returned from Dasha a few months before, the only structure still intact on their land was the barn.
In the back of her mind, she remembered the fire that took her family’s home. She remembered the flames waking her as they licked along her skin, the heat soaking into her every pour. But that time was still hazy to her, as though it had happe
