Chapter 260

Chapter 260

The cold wind howled, snowflakes fluttered, and rows of sheds were tightly clustered together.

Fires sputtered out and were relit, over and over. The sheds facing the heat source were packed with sleeping children, regardless of gender, all huddled together for warmth, using the most primitive method to resist the pervasive cold air.

Under them, on their bodies, and over their chests were the warmest clothes and bedding the adults had pieced together.

Their parents and grandparents crumbled the remaining dry rations and flatbreads into a pot, boiled them into a mush, fed them by hand, and then told them to sleep.

"You won't be hungry once you fall asleep," the adults said with smiles.

The children were very well-behaved. When their parents told them to sleep, they obediently closed their eyes, neither fussing nor making a racket. Though young, they knew that the more they stirred, the faster their stomachs would growl, and seeing their bellies rumble would only make their parents feel worse.

They could only pretend not to notice the adults licking the bottom of their bowls for leftover mush, not to see them gulping down water and chewing on tree bark and roots.

...

No matter how frugally they ate, the food was nearly gone.

Those who had gone into the mountains had not yet returned. They didn't know these mountains, so they dared not ignore Da Gen's warning against hunting in dangerous spots. But nearby, there was simply no game to catch. With the snow so heavy, they could only dig up edible roots right where they were, leaving the last of their rations for the children with weaker stomachs.

They could hold out for another two days, but if the snow kept up and those who went into the mountains didn't return, they would be at the end of their rope.

Zhao Shanao sat cross-legged in a corner of the shed, blocking the wind for the sleeping children. He stared in the direction where Da Gen and the others had entered the mountains, couldn't help wiping away tears.

"Why aren't they back yet!"

He was so worried.

Who could have predicted that just as they entered the mountains, heavy snow would start falling? When you couldn't even see a person three feet away, the mountains must be incredibly dangerous. He should have stopped them, or at least sent a few more men along to help in case of trouble.

"How about we send San Wang and a few guys to look for them?" Li Laiyin pulled his collar tighter, his old face chapped from the wind. "We can't just sit around waiting. What if Da Gen and the others need help right now? What if they fell into a pit and can't get out? They have Qing Xuan and Xiaobao with them, and only three strong guys. They have to look after the little ones too. If Dashan falls into a pit, or Er Tian, or both of them together, Da Gen alone might not be able to pull them out..."

"Can't you wish for something good for once!" Zhao Shanao was displeased. "You're not starving enough, old fool, just full and idle, spouting nonsense. You're the one who'll fall into a pit, your whole family will fall into a pit! Dashan and Er Tian are the most steady guys in our village. Which family's sons can compare to them? If you can't speak properly, shut that stinking mouth of yours, or I'll tear it apart!"

"What's wrong with you? I'm just worried about Da Gen and the others!"

"That's how I talk! What are you going to do about it?"

The two old men were about to come to blows. They were already worried and restless, and now that someone had bumped into them, the pent-up anger found an outlet.

Just as they were about to actually start fighting, Village Chief Sun quickly stepped in to stop them. "Both of you, calm down! Are you really not hungry or what? You still have the energy to fight!"

"If you're so idle, go sweep the snow off the shed roofs! Our sheds aren't as sturdy as houses. Even the village houses collapsed, let alone these flimsy shelters."

Hearing this, the two old men stopped arguing. They glanced at the children wrapped in blankets dozing off, then stood up on their old legs, tightened their clothes, and started sweeping snow from shed to shed.

The night before last, they were woken by a few piercing wails.

Though some distance away, the sound carried clearly in the silence. Worried something serious had happened, San Di took some people to investigate. They came back saying that a few houses in the village had collapsed under the snow. The families were all asleep in the middle of the night and couldn't react in time. Several people had died.

Every household in the village had lit torches, and the village chief was organizing rescue efforts. They didn't dare enter the village without permission. They stood outside the fish pond and called out twice, asking if help was needed. The villagers said they had it handled and declined.

Maybe they were afraid of looting, but in any case, they weren't allowed into the village.

After that incident, they dared not slack off. The temporary sheds weren't even as sturdy as the village outhouses. As soon as a layer of snow accumulated on the roofs, they immediately cleared it. With all this caution, they had managed to get by these past few days.

But this wasn't a long-term solution. With the blizzard continuing, even the strongest houses couldn't withstand it. According to the villagers, they swept snow twice a day—once from the front of the house and once from the roof. No one dared to slack off, but disaster still struck at night.

When the heavens decided to turn against them, it was no longer a calamity they could avoid just by being diligent.

Having experienced earthquakes, droughts, floods, and plagues, they were terrified of unpredictable natural disasters.

Man-made disasters could be avoided, but natural ones were impossible to escape. They could only stay vigilant and minimize risks as much as possible. So when sweeping snow was mentioned, the two old men forgot their quarrel. Nothing was more important than this.

After they finished sweeping the snow together, they immediately made up and huddled together again for warmth.

"Why isn't Da Gen back yet?"

As they kept muttering, a few figures faintly appeared at the foot of the mountain, gradually taking shape through the falling snow.

The three men carried loads of grain on their shoulders, and even Qing Xuan wasn't spared. He carried a smaller backpack basket filled with heavy game. The five of them, except for Zhao Xiaobao curled up asleep in the basket, all were carrying something.

A hush fell over the sheds. Then, when Wangshi yelled, "Old man!" the stunned crowd finally realized they weren't hallucinating from hunger, nor dreaming while dozing—the group from the mountains was back!

Not only had they returned, but they had also brought back quite a bit!

"Da Gen, Da Gen, it's really you! I thought my eyes were playing tricks. What took you so long?" Zhao Shanao let out a wail and rushed forward a step behind Wangshi. "Didn't you say this trip was just to scout the way, and you'd be back in two or three days at most? It's been five days since you left! We were waiting and waiting, almost worried to death! What took you so long? How far did you go? Was it some extremely dangerous deep forest?"

"I've been uneasy ever since it started snowing!" Li Laiyin followed closely. He was always a step behind Zhao Shanao in everything, but he never missed out. "We were so worried about you. As long as you're safe, that's what matters. We were afraid something happened to you in the mountains, with no one to call for help. Next time, you must take more people with you. More hands make light work, and it's better to have help when things go wrong."

Village Chief Sun didn't shout, but his old legs moved faster than anyone else. With tears in his eyes, he looked at the weathered and exhausted faces of the men and nodded repeatedly. "Good, good. It's good that you're back safe. You've worked hard. Put down your loads and rest."

Though they had only been apart for a few days, Old Man Zhao felt that these old fellows were becoming more useless by the day. Crying and sniffling at their age was embarrassing.

Seeing that the children had been woken up and were all coming out of the sheds to greet them, he quickly waved them back inside. "What are you all coming out for? Do you want to catch a cold? No need to welcome us. What, am I some kind of important guest? Go back to sleep, go back to lying down!"

The women obediently stayed put, but the men didn't listen and all crowded around, talking over each other.

"Uncle, give me the load. I'll carry it."

"What are you carrying? Let me do it. I'm stronger!"

"What's there to fight over? It's just a few steps. Let me do it."

"Get lost!"

No one dared to touch Zhao Xiaobao in the basket. As soon as Old Man Zhao took off the carrying pole, the two baskets of grain were immediately snatched up by eager hands.

He was glad to be relieved of the burden. While unloading his backpack basket and letting his wife carry the girl, he said to the tearful old men, "We got lucky this trip. We found a hideout of escaped convicts and got some grain. There weren't many of us, so we couldn't carry much. We'll have to go back into the mountains."

"We were delayed on the way. There was nothing we could do. The mountain paths were hard to walk. We had to set traps along the way. The pheasants and hares in Qing Xuan's basket came from that. There are quite a few. If we stretch it, we can make them last a few meals."

"We didn't go too deep. Those places aren't for people. I heard the roar of tigers in the mountains. It was terrifying."

This scared everyone. So this mountain range really did have tigers!

"I told you to take more people into the mountains, but you wouldn't listen. Good thing nothing happened!" Zhao Shanao looked at the sacks of grain, the game on Qing Xuan's back, and the cured meat Dashan was carrying. The light in his old eyes dimmed, and he was filled with fear. "With more hands to carry the grain, you wouldn't have to make a second trip. Now you have to risk going back into the mountains. What a pain."

"What a pain? Do you think these hares, pheasants, deer, and roe deer just ran into your arms? We had to dig traps, set snares. What can you do down here? Just starve." Old Man Zhao rubbed his shoulders. From the mountainside, he had only vaguely seen rows of sheds. Now that he was down, he saw they were stacked and spacious. One shed could sleep many people. Except for the separate shed where his own family was lying, everyone else was happy to huddle together for warmth, not bothering about whose was whose.

The children had sunken cheeks, staring eagerly at the cured meat taken out of the baskets, licking their lips. It was clear they had been hungry these past few days and hadn't eaten their fill.

The adults were even worse. They had been exhausted all along the escape route, were all skin and bones. These past few days, they had tightened their belts, giving the last of their food to the children. Looking around, many women were sallow-faced, not much better than skeletons.

"Didn't you have four or five days' worth of dry rations? Haven't you been eating, or what? How did you get this way?" He frowned at everyone. Except for his three daughters-in-law, all the other young women were nearly skin and bones.

"How could we bring ourselves to eat?"

When this topic came up, even Zhao Shanao fell silent.

Seeing this, Wang Shi stepped forward and said, "We all listened to you and didn't dare go far to hunt, but what could we catch in the freezing cold at the foot of the mountain? After the snow, we couldn't even find a single snake hole. And you hadn't come back yet, so everyone was worried you'd run into danger and also afraid you'd come back empty-handed. As parents, our hearts ached for the children, so how could we bring ourselves to eat?"

She had urged them not to save the last mouthful and to take care of themselves.

But it was useless. Just like she knew that Xiaobao had his magical land, and that her husband and his brothers were there, so nothing dangerous would happen—yet she still couldn't sleep at night from worry. With food running low, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't find any more provisions, and they were also worried that the hunting party would return empty-handed. At a time like this, the only thing they could do was to tighten their belts—tighten their belts on their own share, so the children could have enough.

"I can't be bothered with you!" Old Man Zhao glared at them fiercely. It must have been those old fellows' idea, or if not, they were the ones who led it. "Before I left, I told you to look after everyone. Is this how you looked after everyone? How can you have any strength if you don't eat? If danger comes, are you expecting the children to stand in front and shield you?"

"With such heavy snow, even the wild boars are hiding in their dens. How could there be any danger at the foot of the mountain?" Zhao Shanao retorted stubbornly.

Old Man Zhao shot him a bull-like glare, and the old men all huddled together, shrinking their necks.

Seeing that pathetic sight, Old Man Zhao felt both annoyed and amused. The thing was, he couldn't exactly say they had done wrong. He had his own backing, which gave him the confidence to speak and act. But these old fellows had nothing. When faced with a hard choice, their instinct was to sacrifice themselves.

"Those supplies—you decide how to handle them. If you still want to go hungry, be my guest. But don't come crying to me later when you don't have the strength to move." He waved his hand, not wanting to bother with the rest. He was bone-tired too.

Wang Shi held their sleeping daughter in her arms, her heart finally settled.

The old couple returned to their own shelter, which everyone had specially built for them, knowing their family liked privacy.

With the promise of food, the old men didn't pester him any further. Full of spirit, they called the men to carry the grain to the big shelter and told them to start a fire and boil water. After all these days of scarcity, today was the day the women would shine!

"So much meat! My goodness, they really cleaned out someone's nest!"

"Grandpa Dagen has real skill. He never comes back from the mountains empty-handed. My father-in-law couldn't catch up even with eight horses."

"How much are we cooking today? Aunt Feng, why don't you go ask Aunt Wang if we should cut some meat and cook up something fatty to give the kids some oil and flavor?"

"What's there to ask? That old couple is catching up—don't bother them." Feng Shi waved her hand decisively. "I can make this call. No need to cut a small piece—just pick out a fatty chunk. The kids need the oil, the men need it too, and we all need it. Show us what you've got, everyone. Tonight's meal has to be perfect. These past few days, young and old alike have been running on empty. Let's fill everyone's bellies and lift their spirits!"

"Agreed!" a chorus of voices rang out. The shelter, which had been lifeless, suddenly came alive.

The little kids no longer felt like staying curled up in their quilts to keep warm. The girls, sensible as ever, helped stoke the fire, while the boys carried firewood for a while before they couldn't resist the commotion. They crowded around to listen to Uncle Dashan and Uncle Er Tian talk about the hardships and dangers of the trip.

From their stories, everyone learned just how brutal the escaped convicts had been—how the three of them had fought desperately for half the night before they could claim these rations for themselves.

"We had to risk our lives for it!" Zhao Dashan slapped his thigh and said.

The circle of guys listening felt cold sweat trickling down their backs even in the freezing weather. They looked toward the Zhao family's shelter, and their reverence for Old Uncle Zhao reached an all-time high.

Thank goodness for Old Uncle.

Thanks to him, they had made it this far alive.

Living in this world, they were unlucky—but having Old Uncle made them lucky.

They had saved up all the luck in their lives for this moment, and they were deeply grateful.