The two walked halfway through the snow, but the cold became unbearable. They found a cave, lit a fire, and spent half the night warming themselves by the fire.

The fire was extinguished the next morning, and I rode my somewhat recovered horse back to the bamboo house.

The biting wind stung my face, burning painfully.

Fortunately, the spiritual spring water was quite effective; a sip warmed their entire bodies, and the two of them managed to persevere all the way to the vicinity of the bamboo house.

The bald man glanced at the bamboo house in the distance and wished he could ride back to the kang (a heated brick bed) to rest.

"etc."

Ye Wenxue, who was riding ahead, tugged on the reins and gestured towards the bald man.

Snowflakes fluttered down and landed on my eyelashes, blurring my vision.

The bald man dismounted, rubbed his eyes, and took a sip of water from the water pouch Ye Wenxue had given him. His brain, which had been frozen all night, was working slowly.

He watched Ye Wenxue lead the horse into the bamboo forest, and thought that this person wanted to dig up winter bamboo shoots to make soup.

Unexpectedly, when I looked down, I saw a series of footprints on the snow.

The bald man's expression hardened.

Last night, they approached the thatched hut in the snow without being discovered because the refugees trampled all the snow in the valley when they were chasing and injuring Zhiwu and Zhiwang.

When they arrived outside the thatched hut, they paid special attention to the tracks in the snow and tried to step on the existing footprints, so that they would be impossible to identify unless they compared them carefully.

But the footprints in the bamboo forest were different.

In the mountain stronghold, there was a group of bandits who were specifically responsible for catching wild animals and gathering mountain products to store for food, but they knew that this area belonged to the bamboo house and was under the jurisdiction of Boss Ye, so they would not cross the boundary to gather mountain products.

Therefore, the snow in the bamboo forest was very clean, and the footprints were particularly clear.

In addition, Ye Wenxue had mentioned a few days ago that a series of footprints had been found in the bamboo forest, but it was unclear whose they were...

The bald man clenched his fist, wanting to believe that the footprints were left by villagers who came to chop wood for a living.

But knowing that the snow was so heavy, and that the mountains near the town and village were covered with trees, few people would risk going into such deep mountains to cut firewood.

Sure enough, not long after, Ye Wenxue dragged out a person who had been knocked unconscious, and casually tossed the person onto the snow in front of the bald man:

"See if you recognize him. He tried to run away as soon as he saw me. Something's not right."

Ordinary people wouldn't recognize her.

When a person sees a lone woman deep in the mountains, most people would either avoid her or simply attack her. But this person turned and ran away without saying a word.

The bald man squatted down, examined him for a moment, and frowned: "It seems he is one of the people who were driven out of the mountain village."

Ye Wenxue had expected this. She was used to doing business in the mountain stronghold without any initial investment, so being inexplicably kicked out of the stronghold was understandable, since they couldn't afford to offend the new leader.

But once the chieftain left, only the bald man was left to manage the situation.

In the freezing cold, it was difficult to rob people, and getting food, meat, and charcoal were all problems.

Just then, they suddenly learned that the bald man had started a lively business with his men and made a lot of money, and all the brothers in the mountain stronghold had left to make money.

This is a golden opportunity; if we don't act now, when will we?

Ye Wenxue's body hadn't fully recovered; she was already somewhat weak from the winter, and after walking in the snow for several hours, her limbs felt weak.

"The man has been knocked unconscious, so he's in your hands now. If you handle this well, I'll take you to make another fortune."

Anyway, this group of people didn't come for her and the kids.

As for the Xu family... Baldy earns money with their support and is content to protect them.

"What other money can we make?" The bald man knew she was just making empty promises, but he was still somewhat tempted.

"I'll discuss this with you after you've dealt with this matter."

Seeing Ye Wenxue turn to leave, the bald man quickly asked, "Boss Ye, you're not talking about the brazier and the fire cage, are you?"

Ye Wenxue didn't even turn her head: "Of course not."

The bald man stood there for a while, hesitating, and then decided to trust Boss Ye.

This winter's snowfall is far colder than in previous years.

If it weren't for Boss Ye leading them to earn money, countless elderly people and children in the mountain village would have frozen or starved to death.

Even if what Boss Ye asked him to do was a business of murder and robbery, Baldy would disobey his brother's instructions and do it with her!

If Ye Wenxue knew what the bald man was thinking, she would probably slap him on the head.

What murder and looting?

We must set a good example for our children!

Regardless of how the bald man dealt with those people, Ye Wenxue slept for most of the day after returning to the valley, and then asked Su Jiu, who had returned from giving acupuncture at the bamboo hut, to take her pulse:

"Can my health be restored?"

Su Jiu checked his pulse for a long time, then removed his hand without saying a word.

Ye Wenxue chased away the children who were huddled together by the window eavesdropping and told them to go feed the wild boar.

After a moment of contemplation, Su Jiu spoke:

"It's better than I expected. It's thanks to the medicinal diet I prepared for you for more than a month to regulate your bodies. If you take targeted medicine for a year afterward, you won't be completely cured, but at least you'll feel better."

He couldn't help but advise, "Your body hasn't fully recovered after giving birth. On top of that, you've been fleeing famine, lacking water and food, doing heavy and tiring work, and occasionally risking your life to kill people. Even an iron body can't withstand that."

Ye Wenxue felt fine; she often drank spiritual spring water to nourish her body, and it wasn't as serious as Su Jiu had described.

Back in the modern era, every time someone went to kill someone, they got injured. Ye Wenxue was used to working under heavy pressure and injuries.

However, in ancient times, it was indeed easy to feel tired after winter began.

It was especially noticeable last night.

I don't know if it's hibernating because of the cold weather, or if it's just too tired to rest.

Seeing that she didn't take his words seriously, Su Jiu slammed his hand on the table: "There's nothing to do in this freezing weather. You should just focus on taking care of yourself, otherwise..."

Ye Wenxue narrowed her eyes: "Otherwise, what can you do?"

Su Jiu chuckled: "Otherwise, I'll tell Dazhuang and the others to keep an eye on you."

Ye Wenxue silently tapped the table: "You write the prescription, and I'll have someone go down the mountain to get the medicine."

She glanced at Su Jiu, whom she thought she had under control, and smiled slightly: "If the children knew I wasn't feeling well..."

Su Jiu: "..."

How dare you threaten him!

Su Jiu decided to add Coptis chinensis to the prescription, which made Ye Wenxue suffer from extreme bitterness.

On the surface, he stammered, "I swear, I will never tell anyone."

Ye Wenxue reluctantly believed him and turned to go to the kitchen to check on the newly sprouted bean sprouts.

Su Jiu was left in the room writing prescriptions.

He added a few milder medicinal herbs and removed a few that clashed with them. After drying the ink, he looked up and saw five children sitting neatly opposite him.

Even Yuan Yuan, who was sleeping in her cradle, was placed on the table, her rosy face facing Su Jiu.

Su Jiu glanced at the expression on Da Zhuang's face and felt a headache coming on.

He really owes Ye Wenxue.

After the big threat was finished, the smaller one came to threaten again.

Do you really not treat him like a human being?!

Su Jiu turned and left with the prescription in hand.

Dazhuang gave Sanyuan a look.

Sanyuan quickly jumped off the stool, tugging at Su Jiu's clothes with pleading eyes, trying her best to imitate Siwang's soft and coquettish manner:

"Master..."

Su Jiu looked at Sanyuan, whose face was pleading and whose eyes were brimming with tears, then glanced at Dazhuang, Shuangshuang, Siwang, and Yuanyuan sitting obediently in a row on the table, and fell silent.