A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 52 Snowfall

One morning, Zhang Niu got up and went outside, only to find that it had snowed heavily all night. The distant mountains were covered in snow. Transparent icicles hung from the tips of the fruit trees. Large, feathery snowflakes drifted down.

A biting wind blew, chilling Zhang Niu to the bone, and he ran back inside, pulling out his green military overcoat. Though it looked old-fashioned, it was warm. He huddled inside, collar pulled up high. The weather had seemed fine yesterday, but who knew it would start snowing heavily today?

"Little One" and "Little Black" were both nestled in their little burrows. Luckily, before the snow, Zhang Niu had laid a lot of thatch on the roof of the large tiled house. A thin layer of ice had formed over the pond outside. The big turtle led the little turtles into the house. The eighteen turtles huddled in a corner. The cold wind howled outside.

In the kitchen, a fire basket was made using leftover charcoal. It was made of sheet metal covered with bamboo strips. When in use, wood ash was sprinkled at the bottom of the basket before the burnt charcoal was placed inside. Ash was then sprinkled on top to prevent it from getting too hot. If it cooled down, the iron lid could be used to pry open the top and bottom, revealing the glowing red charcoal. It was an essential heating appliance in the village during winter.

Zhang Niu, huddled in his collar, crunched on the snow with each step, and couldn't help but recall the saying often heard in the village: "A timely snow promises a bumper harvest. It freezes away a lot of pests." "If the wheat is covered with three layers of snow in winter, you'll sleep on a pillow of steamed buns next year," which refers to a bumper harvest of vegetables and other crops the following year.

I ran to the duck shed and found very few ducks outside. Most were huddled inside. I carried a few bundles of hay into the shed and scattered them on the nests to warm them up. A thin layer of ice had formed on the pond. I picked up a small stone and threw it in. There was a sharp sound as it broke a hole. The ice didn't seem very thick.

Zhang Niu wasn't too worried about the fish in the pond freezing to death; at most, they'd just get a little thinner. With nothing else to do, he went to the Maotoushan chicken coop. When he arrived, the two chickens were already busy there, feeding the fish and everything proceeding smoothly. Seeing this, Zhang Niu felt relieved. After saying hello, he returned to the bamboo house.

By noon, the snow had stopped, and the cold wind was much less intense than in the morning, no longer feeling like a knife scraping. The sun also peeked out from the gray sky.

Zhang Niu stood in front of the bamboo house, panting heavily, exhaling white steam. At lunchtime, Zhang Ting called to say she was coming to see him the next day, asking why she was coming. She replied that there was nowhere to play in the snow in the city. Hearing this answer, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat; he couldn't believe his answer was so naive.

Since they were coming anyway, Zhang Niu prepared the house, changing the quilts to freshly fluffed cotton and laying out sheets. He also found an iron basin to hold the charcoal.

In the afternoon, I took King Kong and the wolf cubs into the mountains, carrying small metal traps like wild boar and rabbit traps that I had found at home. In the mountains, you could see faint footprints on the snow, especially rabbit footprints; these guys always stick to the same old paths and rarely take new ones. Moreover, you could see rabbit droppings beside the paths—black pellets scattered on the snow.

Rabbit tracks were found in several places. Several rabbit traps were set and covered with snow. The other end of a thin wire was tied to a nearby bush. Leaves were broken off and the footprints were swept away, completing the setup.

After burying the seven small traps, I just waited for the harvest tomorrow. Often, the traps are gone the next day; it seems they've all been dragged away by large animals that stepped on them, like wild boars, stags, and deer.

They didn't find anything after setting the traps; the snow was too heavy last night. Zhang Niu was still wearing rubber boots when he went into the mountains, otherwise his boots would have been soaked by the snow.

Following in their footsteps made things much easier. The wolf cub in front was now almost a meter tall, with glossy fur, sharp claws, and teeth. It looked fierce. The three were now about the same size, and they were responsible for guarding the house at night. Little Black's guarding duties had been relieved, and it had become a well-behaved cub.

The three wolves slept during the day and wandered around Maotou Mountain at night. Occasionally, their howls could be heard. The largest wolf, walking in front, growled softly at a clump of dry grass.

Standing outside, Zhang Niu picked up a rotten stick from the snowdrift and parted the grass. He found a brood of pheasants, exactly six in total: two large and four small. Looking at the pheasants huddled together, he wondered why they hadn't run away. Gently parting the pheasants' wings, he saw newborn chicks beneath the larger pheasants. No wonder they hadn't fled; chicks rarely survive in the mountains during winter.

Finally, the whole family was tied up by Zhang Niu, taken back, and thrown into the chicken coop. At least they wouldn't starve to death there. Only Zhang Niu would do something like this, bringing them back to be raised among the free-range chickens.

As evening fell, heavy snow began to fall again. The cold wind started to howl, and Zhang Niu simply closed the door. He put the little turtles in a corner, while he and the little one crawled into bed, turned off the lights, and went to sleep.

Early morning. The snow had stopped, and Zhang Niu got out of bed. Actually, if he hadn't needed to go into the mountains to get iron clamps this morning, he would still be lazing in bed. If he didn't go early and someone else came into the village and took them, he would have suffered a huge loss.

I put on my coat and set off, calling out to the wolf. The snow was much thicker than yesterday, making the journey exceptionally difficult.

Of the seven iron traps, only five remained. One trap held a rabbit, half its hind leg severed. Only a bit of skin held it together, but it was frozen to death. Although two traps had been dragged away by larger animals, at least it had caught a rabbit—it was still somewhat acceptable. As he was carrying the rabbit outside, he received a call from Zhang Ting. He checked the time; it was only a little past seven. "Where are you? We've been waiting at your door, but no one's there," came Zhang Ting's slightly hoarse voice.

"It's in the mountains. They set a few traps there yesterday."

"Oh, I see. When are you coming back? Don't keep us waiting."

"Okay. You guys take a rest first. There's charcoal in the kitchen, and if it's cold, there's a brazier. You can light a few to warm yourself up."

He hung up the phone after saying that. "Didn't expect you to arrive so early," Big Wolf said, following behind. Let's go. Home.

When we got home, the lights were on in the bamboo house. We put the rabbit in the kitchen; we needed to boil water and skin it later.

He brushed the snowflakes off his shoulders and head as he entered the bamboo house. Inside, he saw Zhang Ting and the others warming themselves around a brazier. Goodness, besides Fang MM and Yuan MM, there were two other people this time, both of whom he had eaten with at the restaurant last time, though Zhang Niu had forgotten their names.

"Sorry I'm late," he said to the chatting and laughing girls.

Round MM chuckled, "Sorry to bother you again. I didn't know you came into the mountains with anything good to bring."

"Yes, yes. If we had known, we would have come sooner. Otherwise, we could have gone into the mountains with you and taken a look around," the girls around them said in unison.

"I caught a wild rabbit. I'll make rabbit stew with radish for lunch."

Second update. Tomorrow is the last day on the charts, so please don't leave any recommendations or favorites.