Lin Yinan was awakened by the sound of snow falling softly. She was very alert and had never been a deep sleeper; she would immediately notice any disturbance outside.
She quickly got up and woke Qianxia, asking her to heat the kang (a heated brick bed), while she went to wake up Old Mrs. Zhao and Lin Yiheng.
Sustained low temperatures can cause a sleeping person to enter a state of impaired consciousness, which can lead to death.
In the morning, when Lin Yinan got up, she saw that the entire mountain forest was covered in snow and dressed in silver.
She was immediately captivated by the beautiful scenery; she hadn't seen anything like it for countless years.
The wind blew incessantly, carrying snow with it. Many houses had their roofs blown off by the strong winds because they weren't properly secured. The villagers had to brave the wind and snow to repair their roofs.
It rained from midnight until the next evening, for a whole day.
This first snowfall came earlier and was heavier than usual.
After the snow stopped, everyone was drawn by the loud neighing of horses.
Dozens of Yun family guards drove a horse-drawn carriage loaded with food and supplies.
Lin Yinan, who had come to watch the commotion, stood in the crowd and whispered to Lin Yiheng, "Brother, where did the Yun family get their food and supplies from?"
Lin Yiheng glanced around and whispered, "I heard Young Master Yun mention before that they still have a small group of people left in Luo Family Village outside Gudao County. They're probably evacuating from there now."
Lin Yinan understood. They were living in the mountains, and if a few more snowfalls occurred, the heavy snow would block the mountains, and they would be completely cut off from the outside world.
With the situation outside unclear, the Yun family would not put their small force in danger.
The villagers watching were astonished as they looked at the truckloads of supplies.
"The Yun family has really stockpiled a lot of food!"
"You only see the grain they've stockpiled, but you don't realize they have nearly five hundred Jingwei!"
"These mouths consume a lot of food every day."
"..."
After handing over the delivered supplies to Luo Shouxin, Yun San and Yun Si went to the council hall to report to the brothers Yun Ye and Yun Mo.
After all the wounded were moved back to their homes, the Yun family took over the village's council hall.
After the two entered, Yun Mo moved the blazing brazier in front of them.
After the two drank several cups of hot water, he considerately dug out the roasted sweet potatoes that had been buried in the brazier and placed them in front of them.
"Eat something to fill your stomach first."
The two of them didn't stand on ceremony and took the food in large bites.
Yun Yi to Yun Qi and the others grew up with Yun Mo since childhood. Although they were master and servant, their relationship was like that of brothers.
"How is the situation in Gudao County now?" Yun Mo asked, seeing that they had almost finished eating.
Yun San swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "After this period of time, a lot of refugees gathered outside Gudao County. Before the snow, the number was still increasing."
Yunye held a wooden stick in his hand and kept stirring the brazier.
"Is the county magistrate still unmoved?"
Yun San nodded, "Yes, the magistrate neither distributed porridge nor opened the city gates to provide shelter, and has been holed up in the county office ever since."
"If this continues, chaos will break out sooner or later."
Yun Mo's voice unconsciously carried a hint of anger and helplessness.
Yun Si said, "That's right, the heavy snow has already frozen many people to death."
Yunye, "Is there any news from Yicheng?"
Before the snow fell, Yun San mingled among the refugees and managed to gather some information.
"It is said that the Hu people have united several groups of people, and after the New Year, these mixed Hu allied forces will launch an attack on Yicheng, determined to take it over."
Yun Mo said, "Maybe I won't be able to wait until after the new year."
Yunye, "How do you know?"
Yun Mo said, "The Hu people themselves have no food supply. Every time they conquer a city, they burn, kill, and loot. In the cities they conquered before, they ate a lot of women and children. Now that the refugees are fleeing at the first sign of trouble, they can't possibly eat their own warhorses too, can they?"
"Food is running out, and a major war is imminent." Yun Mo's fingers unconsciously tapped on his knees.
The room fell silent.
After a while, Yun Mo came to his senses and saw the exhaustion on Yun San and Yun Si's faces. He knew that they had traveled all night after the snow stopped to reach the mountain stronghold early in the morning.
"You two go back and rest first, I'll make arrangements after you've woken up."
Yun Mo then summoned his guards and instructed them to take the two of them back to rest.
Before the snow fell, Lin Yinan's family had built a livestock shed in a corner of their courtyard to shelter them from the wind and snow.
"Sister Qianwu, do you think horses get cold?"
Looking at the snow in the yard, Lin Yibo was very worried about the horses and cows in the shed.
Qianwu said in a clear voice, "No, look, the shed has blocked the wind and snow. There is soft, thick dry grass under their feet, so they won't freeze."
Yun San, who had just stepped into the courtyard, paused upon hearing this and looked toward the shed from which the voices were coming.
"Third Brother, what's wrong?" Yun Si asked, puzzled.
Yun San shook his head, "It's alright, you go inside first and heat up the kang (heated brick bed), I'll be right back."
Yun Si stopped pursuing the matter and pushed open the door to enter the house.
Yun Si walked around to one side of the shed, his eyes fixed on the boy who was talking and a girl who looked to be thirteen or fourteen.
Startled by the person who suddenly appeared before her, Qianwu patted her chest and asked in a crisp voice, "You walk so quietly, you scared me!"
"Qianwu?" Yun San called out uncertainly.
"Who are you? Why are you calling me?"
Qianwu assumed he was a bodyguard from the Yun family, so it was normal for him to know her name.
Yun San frowned, his eyes filled with doubt. "You remember me?"
Qianwu glanced at Lin Yibo, then shook her head. There were too many secret guards in the Yun family; she couldn't remember them all.
"I don't remember."
Yun San's eyes darkened, a hint of disappointment flashing across them before disappearing. Indeed, she was only three years old when he left.
Where is Chinatsu?
"You were looking for me?"
Qianxia came out of the house when she heard the noise. She looked at the man in front of her with a puzzled expression. She did not remember knowing any of the Yun family's secret guards.
Seeing that both of them were there, Yun San was very excited. "I'm the older brother! Don't you remember me?"
"Brother?" Qianwu shook her head.
Qianxia stared at him for a long time before she could vaguely find the shadow of the past on his face, and he even looked somewhat similar to them.
"Are you really our brother?" Chika's eyes reddened.
When Yun San saw that she recognized him, he quickly asked, "What are you two doing here?"
Qianwu bit her lip, "My parents sold me and my sister for a bag of grain."
Yun San was shocked. In his memory, his parents loved his two younger sisters the most. How could they sell them so easily for a bag of grain?
"Third Brother, the kang is warm now." Yun Si called out to him when he didn't return for a long time.
“Okay, I’m coming.” Yun San replied, then said to the Qianxia sisters, “Come on, come inside and tell me everything.”
Lin Yibo listened to them talking with his head held high, and Qianxia noticed that his little face was red from the cold.
"Brother Bai, you go back to your room first and tell the girl. We're going to the room across the street."
Lin Yibo, despite his young age, was quite precocious and dashed into the house in a flash.
After leading the two sisters into the house, Yun Si looked surprised.
Third Brother went out and brought back two girls. What is he planning to do?
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