Zhao Xiaocao was so angry that tears were about to fall. She stood aside, puffing out her cheeks, but dared not say another word.
On her first day back at work after the New Year, He Tiantian got up very early, carrying a large bucket with two big fish inside.
When they encountered Wang Dazhuang and Liu Yonghe on the road, Wang Dazhuang quickly stepped forward and took the bucket from He Tiantian's hand.
"Sister He, what are you going to do with these two fish in the mine?"
He Tiantian explained, "These fish are for Director Song. It's cold, and you can't buy fresh fish in town." Moreover, she planned to catch a few more in the river behind the mountain and bring them with her next trip to town to ask at the restaurants if they would buy them.
As the group was walking, Wang Dazhuang looked down at the fish in the wooden bucket and suddenly exclaimed, "It's snowing!"
The snow falling from the sky into the water in the wooden bucket melted immediately.
The crowd had lost all hope for the snow and were instead filled with worry.
"Why does it keep snowing this year? It just won't stop."
"Yes, with this awful weather, we won't be able to sow seeds even when spring arrives."
"What can we do? We've almost run out of food at home. We're just waiting for spring to come so we can dig up some wild vegetables on the ridges of the fields and look for some food in the mountains."
He Tiantian remembered that in her previous life, her family used to grow wheat, and the fields were never empty even in winter. Moreover, heavy snowfall was a sign of a bumper harvest the following year.
In class before, the textbook always said, "A timely snow promises a bumper harvest," and "If the wheat is covered with three layers of snow in winter, you'll sleep on a pillow of steamed buns next year." This means that if there is a lot of snow, the grain harvest will be greater.
The harvested wheat can be pressed into white flour and bran. The flour is used to make steamed buns and noodles, and the bran is also very fragrant and can be used to feed pigs, chickens, and ducks.
Of course, in this time of famine, it was acceptable for people to eat.
Anyway, dry land is definitely much better than growing sweet potatoes!
Changfeng Village is located in a relatively northern area, and it may be more suitable for planting wheat than rice.
He Tiantian had another plan in her mind...
But looking at the snow falling heavier and heavier, alas, spring will not come, and no seed can withstand such severe cold.
After Wang Dazhuang carried the fish to the mine's kitchen and put it down, he quickly ran back to work.
It's quite a distance from here to where they work. If they arrive late and the foreman sees them, they'll definitely have their wages docked.
Despite the huge commotion at home during the Spring Festival, Zhao San still went to work at the mine as if nothing had happened after the holiday.
The mine shaft is located dozens of meters below the surface and is entirely constructed of wooden frames.
The mine shaft was pitch black, perfect for lazy people like Zhao San to slack off.
While everyone else was working, Zhao San and a few of his well-connected, carefree friends got together to chat and laugh.
"Oh, you have no idea, it feels so good."
"Third Brother, are you telling the truth? Won't that widow report us in the village?"
"No, no, if that really happened, she'd be hiding like the plague," Zhao San said slyly.
The group of people didn't look like they were plotting anything.
At noon, Mo Zhu came to the kitchen to get his meal as usual. He also took two taels of silver and gave it to He Tiantian.
"Sister He, this is the money for the fish that the adults bought. Please keep it."
He Tiantian smiled and took the silver, putting it in her pocket. "You're too kind. I have to thank Director Song for supporting my small business." He Tiantian said shamelessly.
In fact, apart from having a tattered fishing net, she didn't contribute much.
Erhua's mother watched with red eyes. My goodness, this little girl has earned two taels of silver in such a short time!
She'd never seen a copper coin in all her life, never even a piece of silver with snowflake-like patterns.
But no matter how jealous she was, it was useless. Who told them they weren't good enough to catch fish, let alone hook up with Director Song, this big fish?
Now that she can bring some food from the mine to feed her family and even take some fried dough back for her children to enjoy, she's already doing quite well.
When I got off work in the afternoon, the snow on the road was already quite thick.
He Tiantian hadn't brought the oil-paper umbrella she bought last time before leaving home, so she resigned herself to getting soaked in the snow on her way back.
"Wanzi's mother, shall we go together?" Erhua's mother, carrying a warm pancake in her arms, caught up from behind.
Although they went to work together and left work at the same time, they rarely walked together like they did today.
He Tiantian focused on walking the whole way, and Erhua's mother, seeing that He Tiantian didn't seem very interested, wisely kept quiet and didn't say anything.
"Mother, I've come to pick you up." Zhao Denglong held up the oil-paper umbrella that He Tiantian had bought for her; she had been waiting at the foot of the mountain for a long time.
Because it was snowing heavily, she was worried that her mother would get sick if she got wet in the snow.
When He Tiantian saw Zhao Denglong's thin and frail figure standing in the snow, her small face red from the cold, she felt a pang of heartache.
He quickly stepped forward and took the umbrella from Zhao Denglong's hand, then warmed her icy little hands in his own palm.
"Don't come to pick up your mother next time. The road is long and slippery. It would be bad if she caught a cold," He Tiantian said reproachfully.
Zhao Denglong blinked her big eyes at He Tiantian and said in a clear, childish voice, "I'm not afraid. I'm here to go with my mother, so I won't be lonely."
"Oh my, this child is so filial." Erhua's mother, walking to the side, couldn't help but sigh when she heard this.
In the afternoon, the snow not only did not stop, but the wind also picked up.
The dilapidated temple was already poorly sheltered from the wind, and now it felt even colder.
Yulan's hands, which were holding the embroidery needle, were frozen stiff. She rubbed her icy hands and tried to pick up the embroidery needle that had fallen to the ground several times, but to no avail.
"Oh dear, what's wrong with the weather? Why is it so cold this year? Is God trying to freeze people to death?" Sister-in-law Yulan couldn't help but complain.
She stopped what she was doing; this damn weather was making it impossible for her to work.
"Sister-in-law, let's make some ginger soup for the children to warm them up," He Tiantian said, glancing at the weather outside.
The four children huddled together on the straw to keep warm. A fire was lit in the stove, but it didn't seem to be very effective.
Yulan's mother quickly got to work, as children are most susceptible to illness in this weather. A few years ago, some children even died from illnesses that winter.
To prevent the wind from picking up again at night, the family quickly gathered a lot of straw. They used the straw to block up all the drafty parts of the dilapidated temple and then covered the sleeping area with a thick layer of straw again.
On such a cold night, no one would be foolish enough to go out.
The villagers were so cold that after dinner they all lay in bed to warm up.
In the darkness, several figures walked towards Widow Zhang's house. They didn't knock on the door, but instead stealthily climbed over the courtyard wall and went inside.
Widow Zhang was lying in bed warming herself when the door to the inner room was suddenly pushed open.
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