At this moment, outside the mountain valley, the ground was still blanketed with white snow; however, yellow-green tender shoots had begun to break through the snow, revealing just the tips of grasses.
The old trees in the mountain forest had also started to sprout new buds, bringing flecks of tender green to the scenery, as the warm sunlight shone throughout the valley.
An old woman with a hunched back, carrying a bamboo basket on her back and dressed in very simple attire, was unmistakably an elder from a nearby mountain village, normally making a living by gathering wild fruits or medicinal herbs to exchange for money at the market.
The old woman found another patch of seven-star grass, a very common medicinal herb known for its ability to clear the channels and stop leaks, and she carefully pulled it out, shook off the dirt, and placed it into the bamboo basket.
