Transmigration: The Evil Mother-In-Law Is Actually Innocent!
Chapter 240 Big Snow_1

Chapter 240: Chapter 240 Big Snow_1

The first to know the news was Li Family Village, followed by Zhou Family Village. Zhou Laodi went to Zhou Family Village to spread the message, and Xue Mei followed him back, taking the opportunity to bring home the dried bracken and daylilies that her family had sun-dried.

Whatever her mother sun-dried, Xue Mei did the same; the rented house had a large vegetable garden, where they also grew a good amount of spinach and radishes, producing quite a haul of dried vegetables.

Zhulan weighed the harvest for her eldest daughter’s household and did the calculations for the silver coins. With the eldest daughter idle at home, she had sun-dried a lot: five jin of wood ear mushrooms and one less jin of lion’s mane mushrooms, two jin of dried spinach—which didn’t weigh much despite looking plentiful—and two jin of daylilies. There were eight jin of bracken, two jin of dried dandelion, and thirty jin more of dried radishes.

All added up, it came to six hundred and fifty coins, a little over half a liang of silver—a substantial income. Had Xue Mei not remembered her child and worried about future support from her mother, she would have wished she could have sold everything the family had left.

Early the next day, the doors of Zhulan’s house remained closed as those who heard the news arrived early to wait.

Zhou Laodi was skilled at calculation and helped with the accounts. Lady Li’s natal family also sold a fair amount; originally, the surplus was for use as winter vegetables to save some grain, but now it had all been converted into silver coins. Although it was mostly mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, and dried radishes, the large quantity sold fetched over six coins.

The men of Li Family Village, having a surplus, had all saved up quite a bit. There were no high-priced items, but low-priced goods were plentiful in every household, especially dried radishes.

Zheng Yang didn’t mind, accepting everything brought to him, either to keep for his own consumption or to send to the barracks as a gesture of goodwill.

After continuously collecting for two days, he stopped accepting more; the dried vegetables took up too much space, and in two days, the amount accumulated was substantial. To prevent moisture damage, they couldn’t be shipped by water, only by road, and they had to be covered with a shed to protect them from the snow—a lot of work for an excessive amount.

If it wasn’t for Zheng’s own use and having the silver to afford it, no ordinary merchant would engage in such a loss-making trade, as the cost of transportation alone was too expensive, let alone the greater loss if the goods got damp during shipping by water.

Besides, people in the South could eat fresh vegetables during winter and had little interest in dried ones. The preference for dried vegetables was more common in the North and along the Northwest border.

When Zheng Yang left, Zhulan took out half of the lion’s mane mushrooms and dried dandelions to give to him. As for how the talk with Master Lü went, Zheng Yang’s good mood indicated that it must have been a successful discussion.

Zheng Yang hadn’t been back for many days when he hurried off again, eager to get back to the Northwest before the New Year.

As for the illness of Jiang Sheng’s mother, Zhulan didn’t need to ask. Jiang Sheng’s rigid face made her suspect there was a good chance it was all an act. The old couple of the Jiang family, feeling bitter for raising him without reaping any benefits and regretful for their past actions, were somewhat eccentric due to their alternating thoughts. As long as they didn’t mistreat her daughter, she couldn’t be bothered with them.

Half a month after Zheng Yang left, the second snowfall of the year began, pouring down as if the sky had sprung a leak.

Zhulan, looking at the snow outside, with the men from Lady Li’s natal family helping to clear it, expressed her concern, "Although it’s not a blizzard, it’s been snowing continuously for two days and a night now, the snow is already waist-deep. When will this snowy weather ever end?"

Sun’s wife was uneasy, "Good years are few and far between. If a snow disaster strikes this year, life will get tough again."

A snow disaster in midwinter meant collapsed houses and no place to live. Those with surplus grain wouldn’t worry, but for those without an excess of grain and little firewood, every snow disaster resulted in many deaths.

Moreover, there would be wild animals coming down from the mountains—desperate wolf packs were a grave concern!

Zhulan was worried about Xue Mei, "I don’t know how the old house is faring, with only Jiang Sheng capable of handling things. Even climbing onto the roof to sweep away the snow is a struggle."

Sun’s wife comforted her, "Your family’s old house is sturdy; it won’t collapse. And Jiang Sheng is competent, plus he has the help of Zhou’s family. There won’t be any problems."

Zhulan was no stranger to the various types of disasters in the modern era, but machinery made for high-efficiency rescues and complete medical facilities. In ancient times, it was a different story; relief efforts wouldn’t begin until refugees appeared and the issue became serious, and anyway, local rescues depended on the county government’s officials—dream on, nobody would care about you.

As the disaster worsened, reports would be sent up the hierarchy, pinning hopes on the capital. Funding for disaster relief would be embezzled at various levels, and if anything remained to set up porridge shelters that would already be quite good—nothing more should be expected.

Zhulan didn’t wish for a snow disaster to occur; in ancient times, regardless of the type of disaster, a significant number of deaths were inevitable, especially among the elderly, women, and children.

The heavy snow stopped only after a full day. That very night, Zhulan heard the howling of wolves. Li Family Village was close to the woods. With the mountains sealed off by snow and no food available, large wild creatures were descending to forage.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren lit candles, wrapped themselves in clothes, and stood in the courtyard. Their dog wouldn’t stop barking, and the howling of the wolves outside was eerily close; they had entered the village.

Zhulan’s home was safe—the courtyard walls were high, and the snow outside had been cleared away. With the snow half a person’s height gone, there was no foothold for the wolves to jump over.

Before long, older brother Zhou and younger brother Zhou arrived with torches in hand, followed by Lady Li and Lady Zhao, each holding a child. Mingyun was pulling Ming Teng and Yushuang along. After Lady Li brought the children inside, she came out with a grave look, worrying about her maternal home, but no one dared to open the door now. Who knew how many wolves were out there?

Zhulan tightly gripped Zhou Shuren’s hand, frightened. These wolves weren’t the tamed ones you’d find in a zoo; the wolves of ancient times were genuinely wild and dangerous to humans.

Zhou Shuren managed to keep his composure, but he felt a heavy weight in his heart. No matter how many men in Li Family Village there were, some places would remain unguarded. If wolves truly burst into a courtyard and broke into homes, injuries and deaths were certain. With roads to the county blocked by heavy snow, injuries could lead to infection and fever, which could also be fatal.

All the homes in the village were now securely locked, and one could faintly hear shouts mixed with wolf howls.

Zhulan expressed her concern, "Li Family Village has many men, but could the wolves circle around to Zhou Family Village?"

A quarter of an hour’s distance was not far, and Zhou Family Village didn’t have high walls like Li Family Village; some households only had wooden fences.

Zhulan was once again thankful; last year, her family had built a new wall that was not short, providing additional safety.

Zhou Shuren heard the pitiful cries of wolves and was uncertain; wolves were very intelligent animals, "Worrying now is no use, we’ll know by morning."

Yang Dayong squatted, smoking, "The instincts of animals are the most accurate. It’s only been a few days since the snow sealed off the mountains, and wolves are already coming down to find food. It looks like a snow disaster is bound to happen this year."

The current situation could hardly be called a snow disaster. He remembered from his childhood a genuine snow disaster had occurred, killing a great many people.

Zhou Shuren said, "Zheng Yang is really lucky. According to the distance he should have passed the capital by now, at least he isn’t trapped on the road."

Zhulan responded with a hum.

Seeing that he hadn’t managed to divert her attention, Zhou Shuren addressed the two Zhou brothers, "You two take the dogs. You’ll watch until midnight, then Chang Lian, Chang Zhi, and Rongchuan will take over for the rest of the night. Everyone else, go back to the main house to rest. It’s safer for the whole family to stick together."

Through the night, Zhulan and Zhou Shuren were sleepless, waiting for daylight to come. As soon as it did, the two Zhou brothers led four dogs out to check around.

Zhulan and Zhou Shuren waited for news, and the two soon returned.