We have to carefully manage the water usage at home every day. If we drink it all before it's finished, there won't be any left, and the rest of the day will be especially difficult.

Fortunately, this situation hasn't lasted long; it's only been about twenty days now, so it should be over soon.

After finishing dinner, the group went to rest early and slept soundly all night…

The next morning, Xu Han didn't sleep in. It was about to rain, so she needed to prepare the firewood early.

When Xu Han came out, she found that the sky had become even more gloomy. Judging from the sky, it was definitely going to rain today.

As soon as Lu Chuan and the others got up, they started chopping firewood in the yard. It's unclear whether they had eaten breakfast or not.

"Have you had breakfast?" Xu Han asked.

"Eat up, Grandpa Zhao just finished cooking. Before Mu'er wakes up, you should eat first!" Lu Chuan said.

"Okay, I'll eat first, and then I'll go wake Mu'er up later." Xu Han said and went to the kitchen to eat breakfast.

Today's breakfast consisted of fried eggs by Grandpa Zhao, steamed buns, and side dishes, all served with rice porridge—a nutritious and delicious meal.

After finishing breakfast, Xu Han went to the room and saw that Mu'er was still sleeping. She didn't plan to wake him. She went straight out of the room and first brought the firewood that had been processed in the yard into the room and stacked it neatly.

Xu Han stacked firewood inside the house, while the Taoist priest and the other two chopped wood outside. Working together, they were quite efficient.

Just as they finished stacking the firewood, they heard Mu'er crying. She must have woken up and was scared because she didn't see Xu Han, since Mu'er usually wakes up earlier than Xu Han. This shows how much Xu Han loves to sleep in.

Xu Han put down the firewood she was holding and hurriedly came to the room. "Mu'er, you're awake? Shall I help you get dressed?"

When Mu'er saw Xu Han come in, she blinked her big, watery eyes and immediately stopped crying, reaching out to Xu Han for a hug.

Xu Han held Mu'er and comforted her for a while, then dressed Mu'er. It was getting colder today, so she needed to wear something thicker.

After getting dressed, Xu Han led Mu'er to wash up and have breakfast.

After Mu'er finished breakfast, Xu Han played with Mu'er while stacking firewood.

Today's lunch was the sweet potato leaf and beef noodle soup that the Taoist priest had been longing for.

After lunch, the sky grew increasingly gloomy, and as darkness approached, everyone hurriedly moved the remaining firewood into the woodshed. Since the woodshed was full, Xu Han simply stored it in her spatial storage.

Just as the group finished collecting the firewood, raindrops began to fall in a steady patter.

"Quickly, get a basin to catch the water!" Xu Han shouted.

Upon hearing this, everyone started grabbing basins and buckets.

First, place it under the eaves to catch the water, then you can take a nice, refreshing bath in a little while.

As darkness fell, the raindrops grew larger.

Because it's still the first month of the lunar calendar, although the sun is very strong and warm on sunny days, the temperature is getting lower and lower now that it's raining.

After a while of rain, snowflakes slowly began to fall from the sky again, turning the rain into sleet.

"It's finally raining! Judging by the weather, it probably won't stop anytime soon," Grandpa Zhao said happily.

"Yes, the land, which has been parched for so long, can finally drink its fill of water," the Taoist priest said.

"It's raining and snowing, will it snow heavily later?" Xu Han asked.

"Judging by the temperature, it's not impossible. With this sudden rain, it feels even colder than this morning!" Lu Chuan said.

"Everyone, go put on another layer of clothing! Don't catch a cold or get sick later," Grandpa Zhao instructed.

"It's quite cold. I'll go get Mu'er some more clothes first." Xu Han said before going into the house, taking out a leather coat from the wardrobe, and also getting one for herself and Lu Chuan.

When I came out, the Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao were no longer in the main room; they had probably gone to put on more clothes.

When the rain first started outside, only raindrops fell to the ground, and there was no standing water, which shows that the earth was really dry to a certain extent.

Despite the heavy rain, there was no standing water; the earth absorbed it all.

As the rain lasted longer and longer, it gradually turned into light snow, and by nightfall the snow fell even heavier.

In an instant, it felt like deep winter. Even though it's already January, the arrival of this heavy snow made it feel like the coldest days of winter.

It's been two or three years since I've felt this cold. It's really hard to get used to this sudden cold.

Mu'er's little face was red from the cold, and she kept snuggling into Xu Han's arms.

Seeing this, Lu Chuan lit the charcoal inside the house and then went outside to heat the kang (a heated brick bed).

This winter, because the weather wasn't cold, we didn't burn charcoal much, and the heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) wasn't used even once.

As the temperature inside the room rose higher and higher, Mu'er finally got out of Xu Han's arms and started running around the room again, finally regaining her usual liveliness.

"Hahaha, this is the first time Mu'er has experienced such cold weather. Look at him, he's dressed like a ball, he can barely walk," the Taoist priest said with a chuckle.

"Mu'er has never seen snow before. How about Grandpa takes you to build a snowman after the snow stops?"

The little one didn't know what building a snowman was yet; he was focused on playing with his toys, glancing up at Grandpa Zhao but not saying a word.

"I wonder how long this snow will last. It's already January, so it probably won't snow for much longer!" Lu Chuan said.

"It's not certain. Snow won't last long at this time of year, but freezing rain or hail is more likely, which is even more troublesome than snow!" Grandpa Zhao said.

“Yes, if it rains freezing rain, the ground will freeze into a very thick layer of ice. And it’s extremely difficult to melt, making it very hard to clean up. Once it’s frozen solid, it’s impossible to move it,” Xu Han added.

"Then it would be better if it snowed. At least the snow wouldn't melt for long, and freezing rain would definitely be especially cold," Lu Chuan said.

Xu Han looked up at the outside and said, "There isn't much snow outside yet, and it's getting dark soon. It looks like I won't be able to take a shower today."

"Then let's shower tomorrow. It's dark now, and even if you shower, your hair won't dry easily. I'll shovel snow and boil water for you as soon as it's light tomorrow, and you can take a shower when you get up," Lu Chuan said.

“Yes, don’t wash it today. It’s been dirty for so long anyway, one more night won’t make a difference. It’s not worth getting sick from the cold,” Grandpa Zhao advised.

"Alright then! We'll take a shower tomorrow. It's so cold today, and there's snow outside that we can melt and use for water. What should we eat today?" Xu Han changed the subject.