PRIDE AROSE IN CHERRY as she surveyed the fruit of her months of labor from the cab of the harvester. The bright colors of ripe squashes peppered a sea of foliage, lush sweet potato vines were yellowing, the buckwheat had ripened golden brown, and beans bulged in drying pods. Farming was darned hard work but the results made it all worthwhile. There was enough food on her land to feed hundreds of people for weeks.
The other farms had been just as productive, according to what Cherry could see. The plentiful supply of water had helped. Irrigation channels led from the lake across the entire district and had been constantly kept topped up by the threads up until a couple of weeks ago. Then they had cut off the water to encourage the crops to ripen ahead of the rainy season.
It was finally
