The Great Zhou Dynasty, Jiangzhou, Niushan Town.

The biting wind howled as if it would devour one's body, making one's skin and bones shiver. The white snow piled up on the branches, as if it would break if pressed any further.

In the heavy snow, the baby in swaddling clothes was buried by the wind and snow, with most of its body covered, leaving only its small nostrils and dark white mouth visible.

It emitted a faint, almost inaudible cry.

"This road is really hard to walk on, wife, hold on tight!" Niu Da drove the oxcart, taking his four daughters, who were only five months old, to see a doctor, with three other little girls following along.

Once you leave Niushan Village, you'll be in the suburbs. After another seven or eight li, you'll reach the town.

"The fourth child has had a fever for a whole day. I'm worried that if her fever doesn't break, she might suffer brain damage like the eldest child."

Shen Yu heard a faint sound of a baby crying.

“Her father, it sounds like a child is crying,” Chen Yu said.

"Where did this child come from in this freezing weather? You must have misheard; it's just the wind!" Niu Da said as he drove the oxcart.

The old ox suddenly withdrew its large foot, took a step back, and stopped advancing.

"Mother, I'll go down and take a look. You sit here." Niu Da brushed the snow off his straw hat, jumped off the oxcart, and first looked around the wheels. He then saw something in front of the ox.

He crouched down and brushed the snow away. He looked and saw it was a baby's nose. The little nose was already bruised and black. He checked its breath and, strangely, it was still breathing.

He quickly pulled the child out of the snow and said, "Her mother, it's a girl! Bring the hot water bottle!"

"What kind of heartless bastard left a child here! If you can't afford to raise a child, don't raise one!" Niu Da picked up the child and looked at him.

Shen Yu quickly took the hot water bottle from Niu Meihua and Niu Baozhu and placed it on the little girl who was frozen purple and blue. "What a good child! Why did you abandon her? It's so pitiful. You left her in this heavy snow, right on the right road. You're trying to kill her!"

"Her father, why don't we raise this child? It's the same whether we raise four girls or five." Shen Yu looked at the exquisitely beautiful little girl in her arms, who was not much younger than their fourth daughter. Overwhelmed with maternal love, she felt extremely sorry for her.

Niu Da frowned and said:

"Take her to see a doctor first!"

"Hey, her dad, look, it seems our orchid isn't burning anymore!"

Shen Yu exclaimed in surprise, Niu Da stopped the carriage and turned around to see his fourth brother laughing and hooking his toes around the fifth brother's little feet. His little face was rubbing against Shen Shi's body, and his eyes were clear and bright. He was nowhere near the way he had been when he was burning up with fever.

Niu Da reached out and touched his hand; it seemed the fever had subsided, but it was too cold, and his hand was numb with cold, making his senses less accurate. He worried that the weather had affected the fever's temperature: "Let's go see Doctor Xue in town later."

Doctor Xue from the town said they wouldn't burn it anymore.

The cow wasn't sold, and the car wasn't sold either.

That old ox had been with his family for over twenty years. When he was a child, he would ride on its back. Now it was so old that it could hardly walk anymore. If it weren't for his family, he wouldn't be willing to part with it.

Niu Da bought a string of candied hawthorns for each of his three daughters who had grown teeth and for Shen Shi, as if it were an early New Year celebration.

In the cold weather, few people usually go out, but luckily, a family in town who runs a small business is on their way back to their hometown, and they have a lot of New Year's goods and fabrics for making winter clothes to transport back.

After exchanging only a few words with Niu Da, he booked Niu Da's carriage and gave him one hundred coins to hire it. Niu Da, in a good mood, patted his horns and instructed Chen Yu to take the children to buy a piece of coarse cloth to make winter clothes.

That evening, Niu Da returned to Niushan Village with his five girls, wife, and children. As soon as he got out of the car, Niu Da took Niu Baolan from Chen Yu's arms, saying, "Your arms must be sore from holding me for so long."