Chapter 216 The villagers of Shanglin Village hold a collective funeral.

The end of the cold wave should have been a cause for celebration, but no one in Shanglin Village was happy, because the bodies of their loved ones who had frozen to death during the cold wave were still there.

As the cold wave ends and temperatures rise, those who have passed away need to be buried as soon as possible. However, it is impossible for them to hold a lavish funeral while fleeing famine. They can only wrap them in blankets and bury them in a pit.

Lunar New Year's Eve is usually a joyous day, but it's also the day Shanglin Village collectively holds a funeral. Ningbao looked at her beloved grandparents, the village chief, the village chief's wife, Gu Yunrou, Shen Muyang, Granny Zhang...

One by one, they were all buried in the ground, and she cried bitterly, tears streaming down her face…

"Ningbao! Ningbao!" Shen Yuzhen suddenly shook me awake from my dream, which was still immersed in my sadness.

Shen Yuzhen, who had just fallen asleep next to Ning Bao, was startled awake when she felt a dampness on her arm.

She initially thought Ningbao had wet the bed, but then she realized that was unlikely.

Ningbao has been with them for several months now, but she has never wet the bed.

When Shen Yuzhen woke up, she saw Ningbao with tears streaming down her face and her pillow soaked. Realizing that her little girl was having a nightmare, she quickly shook Ningbao awake.

"Ningbao, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

Ningbao was stunned when she was shaken awake. She wiped away her tears and leaned against Shen Yuzhen's chest in a daze until dawn.

As soon as it was light, Ningbao jumped out of Shen Yuzhen's arms.

"Mother, I want to get up."

Shen Yuzhen noticed that Ningbao was acting strangely. She initially thought she was frightened by a nightmare, but seeing that she was about to get up, she quickly whispered...

"Ningbao, it's still early, sleep a little longer. Mom will stay here with you."

Ning Bao shook her head and looked at Shen Yuzhen with a serious expression.

"Mother, I have something important to discuss with the village chief."

Seeing Ning Bao's serious expression, Shen Yuzhen didn't dare to delay and quickly took Ning Bao's clothes to help her get dressed.

After dressing and putting on her shoes and socks, Shen Yuzhen was about to help Ningbao comb her hair when she saw Ningbao stand up. She ran her fingers over her sparse hair.

"Mom, I'll comb my hair later. I'm going to see the village chief first."

After Ning Bao finished speaking, she quickly ran out.

The village chief's family and Ning Bao's family lived in the same courtyard. Ning Bao had only walked a few steps when she arrived at the village chief's door. Just as she was about to knock, she saw the village chief's wife come out wearing a coat.

The village chief's wife was taken aback when she saw Ningbao at the door.

"Ningbao, why are you up so early? Is something wrong?"

"Grandma Village Chief," Ningbao called out obediently to the village chief's wife.

"Grandma Village Chief, is Grandpa Village Chief awake yet?"

Just as the village chief's wife was about to speak, Village Chief Lin, wearing a coat and slippers, came out.

"Ningbao is here, it's cold outside, come in quickly."

Ningbao peeked through the crack in the door and saw that some people in the village chief's house were still asleep. Ningbao quickly pointed to the corridor ahead and said...

"No need, Village Chief. Jiayu and the others haven't gotten up yet, and it wouldn't be good to disturb them. Let's go over there and talk."

The snow has stopped now, and the temperature is still acceptable today; it's not too cold to stand in the open-air corridor.

Ning Bao stood still in the corridor, looking at the faintly reddening sky in the east.

"Village Chief, how do you feel about the weather lately?"

The village chief's expression relaxed considerably when the weather was mentioned.

"The weather is not bad. The sky cleared up as soon as the snow stopped. Yesterday, Butler Gu said that we could pack up and set off as soon as the snow stopped. We can celebrate the New Year when we arrive in Yunlu City."

Ning Bao frowned.

"Does the village chief also agree that we should set off now?"

Upon hearing Ningbao's question, the village chief paused for a moment.

"Has something happened to Ningbao?"

Ning Bao looked at the sky and said in a leisurely voice,

"Village Chief, I think the weather looks nice right now, but there are some things that no one can say for sure."

After all, the weather these past two years has been a bit unpredictable, with severe droughts followed by heavy snow, and a cold wave is also possible.

So I think we shouldn't set off before the New Year. Let's prepare some firewood for heating and set off next year when the weather is warmer.

The village chief frowned.

"A cold wave?"

The village chief originally wanted to ask Ningbao when the cold wave would arrive and how long it would last.

He suddenly remembered a saying, "Heavenly secrets should not be revealed," and fearing it would affect Ningbao's health, he didn't ask a single question.

Instead, he nodded seriously.

"Okay, I'll go and discuss with Butler Gu later whether we can stay here for the New Year and then set off again after the New Year."

Ning Bao's brows relaxed immediately upon hearing the village chief's satisfied answer.

"Yes, yes, Village Chief, hurry up and get busy. Don't forget to tell everyone to prepare plenty of firewood, in case the weather gets very, very cold..."