Someone on the roof called out that the Branch Secretary had some business, so Yunyi headed into the kitchen.
Seeing that the stove had already been tidied, she placed the new pot she had bought onto the larger burner. She glanced out into the courtyard; no one was looking her way. So, she took out a small iron pot she had brought from Beijing and placed it onto the other burner. With that, she was finished.
Considering this sweltering heat, it would be best to prepare some boiled water for everyone, she thought.
However, after searching around, she couldn't find a single piece of firewood. She had to ask one of the villagers helping in the courtyard, "Uncle, where do we usually gather firewood around here?"
The villager she'd spoken to pointed towards South Mountain, not far away. "We usually go to South Mountain. It's safe there. The back mountain, Big Black Mountain, is closer, but occasionally large creatures roam there, so very few people go."
