Qin Jinxiu was taking care of Qin Xiaozhou in the woodshed. "Big sister, is it warmer now? I'll go and bring the hot water bottle over. I'll go and peel some palm bark tomorrow to sew a mattress. That stuff is really comfortable to use as a mattress."

The Lu family's woodshed was well-built, with tiled roofs and no drafts. Half of the woodshed was filled with firewood, and the other half with pine needles and hay. The hay was cut and dried in the fall and stored here to feed the sheep. It was actually warmer than the house in the backyard. "Go ahead, I'm going to sleep for a while."

In the backyard, Dr. Li sighed, "The elderly are more fragile than young people. My in-laws injured their legs when they fell. Their kneecaps are broken, and I'm afraid they won't be able to walk again."

Wang Lan was now fully awake and hurriedly grabbed Dr. Li's hand, "My dear in-law, how is my granddaughter-in-law?"

After Dr. Li explained Qin Xiaozhou's condition, Wang Lan became extremely anxious. "In-law, please use the best medicine for my granddaughter-in-law. You must cure her! She's so young, and if her legs and feet are injured, she'll have decades of hardship ahead of her."

Wang Lan broke her leg three years ago, and she suffers from pain on rainy days. She doesn't want her granddaughter-in-law to go through the same pain that seeps into her bones.

Zhao Fang held Wang Lan's hand: "Mother, don't worry, we will definitely give Xiao Zhou the best medicine. You take good care of yourself and don't worry about anything else."

As dawn broke, Zhao Fang quietly pushed open the door to the woodshed. The heat from inside rushed out, making it much warmer than the backyard. She touched Qin Xiaozhou's face and, finding it wasn't burning hot, she left.

Zhao Fang went to the kitchen to start a fire and cook. It was already broad daylight, but the snow still hadn't stopped. After the meal, she arranged a room for Dr. Li to stay in. Wang Dahe helped in the backyard to take care of the rabbits, chickens, and ducks, moved a wild boar to the front yard, and repaired the back door.

Overnight, the Lu family suffered two injuries, as well as the deaths and injuries of chickens and ducks. More than ten baby rabbits froze to death or fell to their deaths, and two pregnant rabbits were frightened to death.

Wang Lan secretly wiped away her tears inside the house.

Zhao Fang knocked on the village chief's door again, only to be told that the village chief had developed a fever after returning home last night and was still not better. The village chief's wife was also worried, saying, "He's getting old, he's no longer useful..."

The village chief is actually only 63 years old, but he is considered quite old in the village.

After all, she had developed a fever from running that trip for the Lu family. Zhao Fang hurriedly ran back and asked Doctor Li to examine her and prescribe medicine. Zhao Fang comforted the village chief's wife for a few words, and then went to Wang Li to explain the situation from the previous night, "The fields at the foot of West Mountain were damaged last night. We need to think more about what to do."

Wang Li is the village chief's eldest son. He is forty-six years old this year, and he is very likely to become the village chief in the future.

After several days of heavy snow, the villagers were completely dependent on the weather for their livelihood, and the harvest was of paramount importance. A quick stroll along the fields revealed signs of wild boars scratching at the ground. Several villagers came to report sightings of wild boars in the fields at the foot of West Mountain. With the village chief ill, and the village needing someone in charge, Wang Li had to take on the responsibility. "Go and gather everyone at the threshing ground to discuss this," he said.

With no work to be done in the fields due to the heavy snow, the villagers had been cooped up at home for days. Today, someone called on everyone to gather at the threshing ground. Wearing cotton hats and covering their hands together, they could see white breath when they spoke to each other. "The well in my yard actually froze last night," one villager said.

"That's terrible! Do they have to go all the way to the south to fetch water in this freezing weather?"

"Why bother fetching water? This morning we just burned the snow off the woodpile to boil it and drink it!"

Everyone started talking at once, "Hey, did you guys hear anything last night?"

The group's expressions changed slightly, and they huddled together in low voices. "It sounds like it's from the Lu family's side. Oh my, all night long, it was the howling of wild boars and barking of dogs. It was really creepy."

"Last night, in the middle of the night, it seemed like Wang Lan knocked on the village chief's door. Then, after hearing the noise, the village chief went out and didn't return until almost dawn this morning."

"It can't be..."

The man was hit and said, "Don't talk nonsense."

Wang Li stood in front of the threshing ground and recounted the story of the wild boar coming down the mountain last night. Those who hadn't heard any noise from the wild boar last night were quite frightened.

Wang Li called out, "Every able-bodied man from every household should come out and take turns guarding the village and hunting wild boars overnight."

The houses in Wangjia Village are scattered. The Lu family lives at the foot of the western mountain. There are more than 50 households living on the threshing ground side and more than 20 households living on the east side. The people on the east side don't want to do this work, and Zhao Fang can see that too. But now the Lu family is the one who is suffering the most, but they can't force people to do it.

The dozens of households living on the west bank of the river reluctantly agreed to send able-bodied men, since the wild boar had run outside their yards last night. However, the households that lived further away privately thought that if disaster were to strike, their own families would be the first to suffer, so why should they have to contribute their strength? It was a wild boar, and people could die.

On the afternoon of the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Lu brothers rushed back from the county. Wang Dahe went to the county town to find them early that morning. Upon hearing what happened last night, he was terrified and forgot all about the county. He waded through the snow and ran home.

The road was covered in snow, and it was unclear how Lu Yunfeng could see it clearly and run so fast. It gave Lu Yunfeng a fright in the dead of winter.

Qin Xiaozhou had just woken up, lying pale-faced in the middle of the hay. Xiao Si was walking around aimlessly, leaning against the wall, muttering that he wanted to be held. Lu Yan looked at her younger brother with red eyes and coaxed, "Sister-in-law is in pain and can't hold you. How about I hold you instead?"

Zhao Fang fed Qin Xiaozhou porridge, her heart aching, and tears streamed down her face. "Little Si, be good, Mommy will hold you in a little while."

Lu Yunfeng rushed into the house and, seeing the scene, took the porridge and fed it to the child himself. Zhao Fang and Lu Yan carried Xiao Si out. "I'm back."

Qin Xiaozhou took Lu Yunfeng's hand and completely relaxed. "It's good that you're back. I was so scared last night."

Seeing that Qin Xiaozhou was out of danger, Lu Yunfeng's wildly beating heart calmed down a little. "Why are you living in the woodshed? I'll carry you back to the house."

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