Chapter 34
This morning, Liu Yinxue took his eldest son and prepared to go to the outskirts of the county town to find suitable helpers. Before leaving home, he instructed his second son to take the elderly, weak, women and children of the family slowly towards the county town, and instructed his third son to keep watch and look for a place to temporarily store grain three miles away from the county town.
When Shu Yanrong's family received their grain and left the city gate, Liu Yinxue was standing by the grain-collecting line outside the city, racking his brains to find like-minded helpers, and just happened to miss Shu Yanrong's family.
The two families, carrying grain and their families, walked from the county town to Wuli Village. Everyone's hands and feet were freezing cold, and their noses were red.
Everyone suggested that Shu Wanxiu and her niece go into the village to rest for a while.
Despite the freezing weather, Shu Wanxiu, who shared the same idea, led Shu Shouyi into the village.
As soon as she stepped into the house, Xu Zhen took the lead and said to her two daughters-in-law, "You two go to the kitchen and help me. We need to hurry up and cook another pot of spicy soup."
Just as the two daughters-in-law of the Shu family agreed and put down the child in their arms to go to the kitchen with Xu Zhen, Shu Yanrong began to give instructions to Shu Chenglin, who had not done much work along the way.
"Hurry up and get some firewood to start a fire and warm up the main room."
After Shu Chenglin agreed without hesitation, Shu Yanrong beckoned to Shu Wanxiu and the others, saying, "Sit by the fire pit, it will get warm soon."
Upon hearing this, Shu Wanxiu sat down.
In that instant, my buttocks touched the cold stool, and the trouser legs behind my knees, chilled by the wind, pressed against my skin.
A chill ran straight up from her legs and buttocks to the top of her head. Her nose itched, and she covered her mouth and nose and sneezed loudly.
It was as if a signal had been given; two or three out of the five or six kids nearby also sneezed.
"This is terrible! You all have to have an extra bowl of Zibai Spicy Soup later."
After saying that, Shu Yanrong got up and quickly grabbed a fire-blowing tube to help start a fire.
The fire-blowing tube is made of bamboo about the size of a fist and about an arm's length. Holes are punched through the sections between the nodes with a tool. When using it, one end is placed near the mouth and air is blown out, while the other end is held close to the fire.
Whether it's a hearth or an earthen stove, you can light a fire in just a few breaths with a blower.
It won't blow dust onto your face or body, and it saves you effort.
As Shu Wanxiu was marveling at her uncle's abilities, noting that they had even considered and made such a small item as a fire-blowing tube, the fire in the hearth, aided by the fire-blowing tube, quickly ignited the match.
As the fire grew stronger, Shu Yanrong kept adding firewood and told the younger generation to get closer to the fire to warm themselves, but to be careful not to get burned.
That's natural.
Not only did people need to dry their hands, but most also had wet shoes and trouser legs that needed to be dried.
There were too many people and not enough seats around the fire pit, so Shu Wanxiu kept Shu Shouyi in her arms the whole time.
After roasting for a while, Shu Shouyi kept scratching his hands and ears.
Noticing this, Shu Wanxiu asked softly, "What's wrong?"
The piercing itch couldn't be stopped by scratching, and it even started to swell.
Shu Shouyi was at a loss, just as Shu Wanxiu asked him. He complained with a wronged tone, "Auntie, my hands are itchy and my ears are itchy too."
Shu Wanxiu grabbed his hand and looked at it closely, and found that his left index finger and little finger were somewhat red and swollen.
I then looked at his left and right ears and found that his outer earlobes and earlobes were also red wherever they were itchy.
"This is frostbite."
Anyone who has had chilblains knows how uncomfortable they are.
It starts with redness, swelling, and itching, but if it progresses, the skin will break down.
"You can't touch cold water lately, so try to warm yourself by the fire more often."
Shu Wanxiu never had frostbite as a child; she learned these experiences from others.
Just then, Xu Zhen finished cooking the spicy soup and came in with her daughters-in-law carrying bowls. Hearing the voice, she came over to check on Shu Shouyi's condition.
"It's not rotten yet, so it's easy to handle."
She went to the kitchen and took a piece of leftover spicy soup, then buried it in the glowing embers of the fire pit in front of everyone.
"Simmer it for a while, and when you can smell the spicy aroma, take it out and cut it open while it's still hot. Rub it vigorously on any itchy spot until it feels burning hot, then stop."
"If it doesn't heal the first time, try applying it twice, three times at most, and it'll be fine."
Xu Zhen wasn't just making things up. Nine out of ten of her children and grandchildren had suffered from frostbite, and she cured them all with this folk remedy.
Shu Wanxiu said happily, "That's great, we happen to have some Bai La Yun at home." She then tugged at Shu Shouyi, "Quickly thank your aunt."
Shu Shouyi immediately looked up and said, "Thank you, Auntie!"
Xu Zhen gently patted his head, "Hurry up and drink the soup, then you can wipe your hands."
Upon returning, they immediately began simmering soup. Xu Zhen and her two daughters-in-law were still cold, so everyone gave them the best spots to warm themselves by the fire.
After grilling for a while, Shu Yanrong, who was sitting opposite Xu Zhen, gave her a wink.
After understanding each other, the couple left the main room one after the other.
"What's the matter that you have to come out to talk about? It's freezing outside." Xu Zhen stood under the eaves with her hands in her pockets, her breath turning into a white mist as she spoke.
Shu Yanrong was also cold, but he stamped his foot and whispered in his wife's ear, "Quietly prepare a meal, and let's have Xiu'er and the others stay for a meal."
His wife wasn't a scoundrel, but given the family's current situation, she had long since become accustomed to saving food.
Shu Yanrong said that he wanted Shu Wanxiu and Shu Wanxiu to stay for dinner, not for thin porridge, but for his wife to make a thicker meal with a fish and two or three kinds of vegetables.
Fearing his wife would be reluctant, he secretly explained the reasons to everyone else.
"Firstly, as you know, we received our rations today thanks to Xiu'er's idea. Just now in the room, I said that we should split the cost of the inn and meals last night between the two families and give her an extra six coins, but Xiu'er said that calculating so carefully meant treating her like an outsider."
"Secondly, since we settled here, Xiu has never eaten here. On the contrary, when my eldest brother and I went to her house last time, she secretly cooked a good meal without telling me."
"I can't live with myself as an elder if I don't invite them to have a good meal this time."
"Alright." It was a bit itchy to talk so close to her ear. After Shu Yanrong finished speaking, Xu Zhen immediately moved away and said reproachfully, "I know all this already. Go back to your room, I'll get ready now."
Shu Yanrong had to remind her, "Be careful, don't let Xiuya know. We'll sneak back later."
Xu Zhen clicked her tongue and shook her head, "Look at you, acting like a thief."
Despite their words, they still kept the commotion to a minimum.
What goes around comes around. Shu Wanxiu never imagined that her uncle would invite her to dinner in the same way one day.
Unable to refuse their hospitality, Shu Yanrong and his second son escorted them home after they finished the sumptuous meal.
However, after a day without anyone around, with the north wind blowing and the snow piling up, the houses on the mountain were completely deserted, desolate, and looked abandoned.
Shu Wanxiu hid the grain and lit a fire, which made the house look less desolate.
"Auntie," after sitting for a while, Shu Shouyi nestled hesitantly next to Shu Wanxiu, "I want to eat tangerines again."
"Raw or grilled?"
"Let's grill it!"
"Okay, then eat! Auntie will also make you a piece of spicy cloud to wipe your hands."
...
Every moment of the world's passage of time brings joy to some and sorrow to others.
On one side, the family atmosphere was harmonious, filled with laughter, while on the other side, someone was wailing and crying, deeply grieving.
"Waaaaah, waaaaah..."
"Mother! Mother, wake up, open your eyes and look at us..."
"Heavens above! In broad daylight, how could anyone steal food from refugees! Whom are we bothering by living? Why won't they give us even the slightest chance to survive... Mother, Mother, wake up!"
The mournful cries shook the snow on the trees, which then fell softly onto the two people lying and kneeling beneath them.
Perhaps the snow was too cold, for when a cluster of snowflakes landed on the eyelids of the old woman lying down, her eyelids twitched twice, and she slowly and weakly opened her eyes.
"Flowers, has the grain... been recovered?"
The young woman, still grieving, stopped crying a beat after hearing the sound. "Mother, you're awake?!"
The woman's face was still covered with snot and tears. Her expression changed from sorrow to joy, making her look quite comical. But she didn't bother to wipe them away. Instead, she used her trembling hands to cover the old woman's still bleeding wound on the back of her head more tightly.
"The grain, the grain, the master has gone to look for it, he will definitely find it. Please be well, please be well. The little boy has run to the county town to fetch a doctor for you. Once the doctor has healed you, the grain will be back."
The thing people fear most is deceiving themselves. As the young woman spoke, she became more and more fluent, and there was not a trace of sadness in her eyes.
The old woman lying in her arms, on the other hand, knew exactly what was going on.
She sighed and lamented, "Why are you looking for a doctor for me? You shouldn't have said that to the little child."
Blood gushed from the gash on the back of her head, cleaved by the back of the knife. The blood was warm on the young woman's hand, but to the old woman, the wound was icy cold, as if countless cold winds were pouring into it.
The old woman knew she was going to die. She barely managed to raise one finger, pointing at the young woman, her daughter-in-law, and with all her might, she uttered her last six words: "Don't worry about me, go report to the authorities."
As the hand pointing at the young woman fell limply to its side, another cry of extreme sorrow and pain erupted from the snow.
"mother--"
"You're only in your fifties, how could you bear to leave our family behind?!"
The young woman, unwilling to give up, cupped the face of the person in her arms and cried out at the top of her lungs, "Mother—"
Unfortunately, it's useless now.
Within a radius of two miles, no one could respond.
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