Four or five burly men were gathered around a large iron pot. Something was cooking inside, sending steam straight up.
The village head went over and bowed with his hands clasped. "Gentlemen, we are just passing through and plan to rest here for the night. If we are a disturbance, please bear with us."
A bald man glanced outside. Seeing there were quite a few of them, he hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Do as you please, old man."
The hall was quite large. Aside from a headless Buddha statue in the middle, the rest was open space. The group wasted no time, leading the mule carts over the threshold. They parked the carts in a corner and unhitched the mules to feed on their fodder.
Then, they went into the courtyard to gather dry leaves and branches to start a fire for cooking.
There was a well in the courtyard, and surprisingly, they could still draw water from it. Everyone rushed to get some.
