By nightfall, the ground was covered with a thick layer of snow, so thick that it could bury you up to your ankles.
Looking out the window at the heavy snowfall, Xu Han said worriedly, "The snow is falling harder and harder, and it doesn't seem to be stopping at all. I wonder where Yunhua and Yunyun are. Traveling in this heavy snow must be very difficult."
Lu Chuan looked out at the heavy snow and comforted her, "Don't worry, there are still several days until the New Year. It may snow here, but it may not snow elsewhere."
Didn't they both write that they wouldn't arrive until after the 26th? They still have five or six days until they get home; by the time they arrive, the snow should have stopped.
Xu Han frowned slightly and said, "The snow is quite heavy. Even if it stops, it won't be easy to go up the mountain."
“Yunhua and Yunyun have both experienced natural disasters. The weather during natural disasters is much worse than this, but they still kept busy, didn’t they? Don’t worry, neither of them were pampered growing up, this little bit of snow is nothing to them.”
Hearing this, Xu Han felt a little better. "That's right. What kind of hardship haven't they endured? They're not stupid. The snow is too deep to climb the mountain, so they'll definitely rest in the county town before coming back. At worst, I'll prepare some extra good food for them to eat and nourish themselves."
Lu Chuan put the child, who had been coaxing him to sleep, onto the kang (a heated brick bed) while making the bed. "Alright, stop thinking about it. Hurry up and get on the kang. It's warm there."
Upon hearing this, Xu Han took off her shoes and socks, then climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed). It was still early, and neither of them could fall asleep.
They sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and chatted idly. "This year, there are more and more fields, and the few of us can't keep up. We're busy all day long. The grain has been grown, but we're all exhausted. Maybe we should plant less next year?"
Xu Han chimed in, "That's what I think too. There are still too few laborers in the family. It's just the four of us working. Although we have oxen to plow the fields, it's still a bit overwhelming during busy farming seasons."
Besides, there's the orchard to manage next year, and I'm thinking of raising more chickens and ducks—it's all work. With childcare and farming on top of everything, and you probably want to go hunting in the mountains next year, the four of us simply won't be able to handle it all.”
Xu Han thought for a moment and then said, "It would be great if we had a helper. We're not short of money at home, but why do we still seem to be living a pretty tiring life?"
Lu Chuan chimed in, "Isn't this a special time? Once we get through this period of chaos, things will be easier. We can buy a few more people then. You like farming, so we'll clear all these valleys and cultivate them. Then you can do whatever you want. You just need to direct them."
"Hahaha, I've been waiting for that day."
Even so, the two had long intended to buy people, but due to the special circumstances of the previous natural disaster, they had not yet made a purchase.
They had originally planned to buy the man after the chaos of war subsided. But after what they just heard, they were both tempted to do so again.
However, due to the special circumstances, no one said anything. This matter needs to wait; it can't be rushed. Perhaps it can be brought forward when the time is right.
As they talked, the conversation drifted further and further away, until both of them felt sleepy, and it was already late at night.
The next day, because of the snow, Xu Han did not get up early. She played with Ze'er on the kang (a heated brick bed) and did not mention getting up.
Xu Han only got up to wash up after Lu Chuan brought breakfast into the room, and then ate breakfast directly in the room.
"It's cold today, so you can stay inside and play with the kids. We've almost finished preparing the New Year's goods. We'll prepare some steamed buns and fried snacks after the 25th of the lunar month. I'll help you with that then. You should stay inside and keep warm these next few days. It'll be good for you to rest."
Xu Han responded lazily, of course she wouldn't refuse.
This is truly a rare moment of leisure in the whole year. I'm taking advantage of the fact that Yunhua and the others haven't returned yet to relax a bit, because things will get busy again after the new year.
"Okay, then I won't go out. It's really cold outside."
"Okay, just leave your bowl here after you finish eating, I'll come back for it in a bit. I'm going to shovel snow now." Lu Chuan said and left the room.
Xu Han was truly grateful that she had met Lu Chuan. In ancient society, there were very few men who would treat their wives like this. Many men held the belief that a gentleman should stay away from the kitchen and would never serve their wives food.
However, Lu Chuan is not like that, nor is he a chauvinist; on the contrary, he respects Xu Han very much.
Lu Chuan's love for Xu Han was fully expressed through his actions; he didn't hide it at all and showed it openly and generously.
However, when the two first met, Lu Chuan wasn't as considerate. But as time went on, their relationship grew stronger, and with Xu Han's influence, Lu Chuan became more and more adept at spoiling his wife.
Fortunately, the two lived deep in the mountains, and the Taoist priest and Grandpa Zhao were not the type to meddle or be chauvinistic, so they never said anything about it.
However, if the two of them lived at the foot of the mountain, it would be a completely different story, and Lu Chuan's spine would probably be broken.
Fortunately, Xu Han wasn't an unreasonable person, and she gave Lu Chuan plenty of face when they were out together.
And so the heavy snow fell for two days and two nights, until the sun finally rose high on the third day.
On the eve of the Lunar New Year, the whole family enjoyed a lively hot pot meal.
After the snow stopped and the sky cleared, Lu Chuan and the others had swept all the snow out of the courtyard, and even the snow on the roof had been pushed down by the Taoist priest.
This prevents water from flowing onto the floor when the snow melts and then freezing again at night.
It would take two or three days of repeated drying to get the clothes in the yard completely dry.
There's a reason why we're in such a hurry to dry the yard.
Firstly, they were worried that the children might fall while playing in the yard. Secondly, the Taoist priest and Lu Chuan planned to thresh all the corn cobs in the backyard.
After the autumn harvest, Lu Chuan and the Taoist priest were busy hunting, working non-stop every day.
Xu Han, on the other hand, spent her days taking care of the children and doing housework, and didn't have time to thresh the corn, which is why the corn cobs in the backyard remained untouched.
If we don't thresh all these corn kernels during winter, they'll get infested with insects if left here until next spring.
Then all that hard work in growing the crops would be wasted.
It's already the 26th of the twelfth lunar month. The water stains in the yard have all dried up, but it's still freezing cold outside and the road conditions are very bad.
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