Cool and sunny, the air was crisp after a windy night.
The sister’s family was not there yet when I showed up in the morning. The musician was playing with a crossbow in the yard, a newer one he just made needed more tuning. He walked me up to the fire to have tea and boiled egg. It thundered here on the mountain the day before. They prayed before every meal. Their son, showed up briefly, said hardly a word, and disappeared.
After morning meal, we walked the narrow path to their plot of land on the hill. On our way, he cut off a few sticks by the road, I was curious to know what they were for.
Their patch of land is not that far away, with gorgeous view of the Nu River down below. Right before he started, the musician, AhChe Heng, prayed again by the field. Too bad he wasn’t facing me and I didn’t mic him.
He pulled out some strings, and used the sticks to make lines for the corn rows. How obvious. Using an axe, he loosened the soil, leveled it a bit, and continued down. Who can guess a piece of land on the hill can feed a family this way?
After a couple of rows, the sister’s showed up. She joined the digging crew while the doctor boyfriend planted seeds. When I took a break from filming, I asked for some corn kernels too to help out. Four in one hole.
Rows after rows, they went up and down the hill. The sun climbed higher, the cool breeze of the morning turned to simply heat. Even following them filming was tiring, I could only guess what it felt like swinging an axe hours after hours. I paid special attention to his hands again. They must be really rough, but they are capable of creating great music. I’m not rushing for him to play yet.
People had a short break with steam buns brought by the sister and some soft drink, not for long though, still had a lot to work on. The sister and her boyfriend switched role. Ah-Che never stopped. He is nearing 60, quite amazing what these mountain people are capable of.
We eneded the day with all the corn kernels ran out, but they kept on going until all the field had been dug properly.
The house was filled with smoke when dinner started cooking. The fire in the middle of the room, the center of a house. It looks so nice and romantic, but I’m sure it has it’s health problem. I do remember a talk given by a MIT researcher on low-tech method they invented to help replace these open fire-pit with stoves. Would that be something that this place needs?