Chen Lan took the cabbage from her mother-in-law and said, "Mother-in-law, leave the task of pickling sauerkraut to us few! I happened to hunt some game in the mountains today. Could you please help Mama Cui, Mama Liu, and Mai Zi to clean it up?"
Her mother-in-law's eyes lit up as she asked, "Xiao Lan, you went hunting in the mountains again today. What did you catch?"
Chen Lan pointed to the basket behind her and replied, "I didn't go far today, just in the mountains near home. I hunted a few pheasants and rabbits in the woods."
Although her mother-in-law was a little disappointed, she happily went to find people to help clean the game in the basket.
The next day, everyone worked hard for another morning before finally finishing the sauerkraut.
Uncle De and Uncle Fu, along with Xiao Shan and Lin Mao, helped the two families stack firewood.
Xiang Dong and Brother Xiang Xi, along with Er Hu and Brother Xiao Shuan, finished the cellar and applied a layer of fast-drying cement purchased by Chen Lan from the system inside.
This cement sets and hardens quickly, starting to harden within minutes, with high hourly strength and stable long-term strength. It has good compactness and excellent impermeability.
Chen Lan herself went up the mountain again, using the system's warehouse to retrieve enough firewood for their entire winter, and hunted another basket of game.
She greeted her mother-in-law, telling her that she had hunted game again today and asked her to arrange for someone to clean it.
The hard work of the past few days had taken its toll, and Chen Lan was feeling a bit run down. She put down the firewood and game and went home first.
Likely due to the change in weather expected the next day, the sky was overcast and dark with heavy clouds by the afternoon. Everyone rushed to finish their tasks.
Just before dusk, her mother-in-law and the others hurriedly brought over the things. Although the two houses were not far apart and they were neighbors, moving things was still a hassle. Everyone busied themselves until it was completely dark before they settled down.
After several days of hard work, everyone was too tired to chat or gossip in the evening, and they all retired to their rooms early to sleep.
The next morning, Chen Lan was woken up by the exclamations from outside. She heard Xiang Xi excitedly shouting, "It's snowing! It's snowing! What a heavy snow! Everyone get up quickly!"
Chen Lan nimbly got out of bed, put on her thick cotton jacket, and walked to the window. The window was hazy, and she couldn't see outside.
She opened the window, and a gust of north wind carrying snowflakes blew into her face. Chen Lan couldn't help but shiver.
Indeed, the heavy snow had arrived unexpectedly. The entire valley was covered in a vast expanse of white. The ground was a blanket of white, and the trees on the mountain were also white. It seemed as if all the surrounding mountains were white. Su Dan Novel Network.
The pure white snowflakes fell incessantly from the sky, as if white goose feathers were dancing in the air.
She couldn't help but recall a few lines from a famous poem: "The scenery of the northern country, a thousand miles sealed in ice, ten thousand miles of snow drifting... mountains dancing like silver snakes, plains galloping like wax elephants..." What a magnificent sight!
A gust of cold wind blew, and Chen Lan dared not stand by the window any longer, fearing she would catch a cold, which would be a great trouble. She quickly closed the window.
She went to the washroom to freshen up. After washing up, she looked at the twins still sleeping soundly on the bed. She used her mind to open the system and check the time. It was only seven-thirty in the morning, and the twins would sleep for another hour or so.
So, Chen Lan changed her clothes and went downstairs. Everyone was eating breakfast in the living room downstairs. Seeing Chen Lan come down, her mother-in-law and mother-in-law quickly called out, "Lan'er, Xiao Lan, come and eat quickly. Mama Liu has prepared breakfast, and we've just started eating."
Chen Lan quickly sat down, picked up her bowl, and took a sip of the hot, spicy soup. She instantly felt a warmth in her stomach!
At the dining table, Uncle De and Uncle Fu were naturally talking about the snow. As the saying goes, "A timely snow promises a good harvest," and this saying is never wrong. The fields of the farmers depend on the snow, and the farmers also depend on the snow.
Chen Lan thought that this heavy snow would surely bring a good harvest this year. The rice and wheat would surely be bountiful again, and this year would be a prosperous year.
This was the first snow that Chen Lan and the others had experienced in the valley, and everyone was very excited.
The snowflakes continued to fall from the sky.
Xiang Xi and the other boys couldn't wait any longer! They quickly finished their breakfast, put down their chopsticks, and ran out to the courtyard to have a snowball fight.
Ming Zhe, Wen Kai, and Wen Qi, wearing the fur-lined hats and thick gloves that Chen Lan had bought for them from the system, chased each other like newly released birds. One would throw a snowball at another, and the other would get covered in snow.
They chased and played in the snow, frolicking in the courtyard, having snowball fights, and building snowmen. They were having a blast. Although they all suffered some minor setbacks, the laughter never stopped.
Chen Lan quickly finished her breakfast and didn't linger downstairs. She hurried upstairs, still worried that the twins might wake up prematurely and have no one to watch them in case they fell off the kang.
After Chen Lan took care of the twins and carried them downstairs, she saw Xiang Xi looking down and fiddling with something. She walked over and saw that he had found a wooden board from somewhere and was making a simple sled.
Chen Lan imagined how thrilling and exhilarating it would be to slide down from a high place on a sled! It would surely be a full expression of speed and passion.
Chen Lan fed the twins their breakfast while watching Xiang Xi make the sled.
Soon, Wen Kai, Wen Qi, and Ming Zhe, three boys, ran in panting, their clothes, shoes, and hats all wet from the outside.
Her mother-in-law and mother-in-law quickly told them to take off their wet clothes and shoes and hats, so they wouldn't catch a cold from the chill.
The three boys all said they weren't cold and were still warm and sweating. Seeing this, their mother-in-law and mother-in-law quickly brought dry towels to wipe the sweat from their heads. They used the towels to wipe the sweat from their bodies under their clothes and let them drink a cup of hot water and sit on the sofa to rest.
The three boys looked at Xiang Xi fiddling with something and were very interested. They all gathered around to watch.
After watching for a long time, none of them knew what Xiang Xi was making.
So, Ming Zhe, without any hesitation, asked, "Brother Xiang Xi, what are you making?"
Xiang Xi arrogantly raised his head and said, "I won't tell you yet. When it's done, you'll know when we play with it."
When the three boys heard that it was for playing, they became even more interested.
They gathered around and chattered excitedly.