For Shu Wanxiu, having received repeated assistance from the same person since settling here, it was impossible for her heart to remain untouched.

As Xun Yi spoke, she watched his expression intently, but he kept his gaze lowered, his voice softer than before.

He didn’t seem to harbor any improper thoughts his motives for helping her and Shouyi were simple and pure, merely seeing them as a way to remember his family and reflect on his past self.

Last time, Village Head Pang had already spoken so frankly on his behalf. Continuously refusing might come across as ungrateful?

Ultimately, these gifts weren’t as valuable as the previous ones. After an internal struggle, Shu Wanxiu accepted them.

“Thank you for your concern, Brother Xun. I was just thinking the other day about finding someone to exchange for some Hundred Spice Cloud seeds to plant next year. This is truly like receiving a pillow when you’re sleepy.”

Seeing her accept the gifts, the tension in Xun Yi’s chest eased, and his breathing returned to normal.

“I’m glad they’ll be useful to you.”

They stood about ten feet apart, snowflakes continually falling between them. After a moment of silence, Shu Wanxiu sensed Xun Yi had nothing more to say.

“Brother Xun, it’s bitterly cold in the snow. Would you like to come into the shed for some hot water, or are you heading back down the mountain?”

Xun Yi instinctively glanced at the wooden shed behind Shu Wanxiu, his mind involuntarily recalling the scene he had witnessed eavesdropping outside the house earlier.

He averted his gaze as if burned.

“I should be heading down.”

Shu Wanxiu quickly asked, “Shall I light a torch to see you off?”

“No need.”

He strode through the snow, but after a dozen steps, he heard a bright voice call out from behind: “Take care on your way down! Watch your step!”

Logically, he should slow down, but his face burned with embarrassment, and he practically fled in panic at her words.

Shu Wanxiu was puzzled. Why was Brother Xun, usually so steady, walking as if chased by ghosts tonight?

Unfortunately, she wasn’t a worm born in his stomach and had no idea why.

Since she couldn’t figure it out, she stopped trying and turned back to the wooden shed.

“Oh no!”

As soon as she entered, the smell of something burning hit her nose.

“Shouyi, quick, quick! Dig the Stinky Peel Citrus out of the charcoal!”

She didn’t idle either, picking up a random stick to help flip it over.

Unfortunately, the Stinky Peel Citrus they had been looking forward to for so long was indeed burnt one side of the peel had turned into black, charred coal.

“I didn’t watch the fire properly.” Shu Shouyi pouted, feeling both disappointed and guilty.

Wasn’t Shu Wanxiu equally frustrated?

“It’s my fault for not telling you when to take it out.”

There was no use dwelling on regrets. She quickly cheered up and comforted lightly, “It’s alright, we still have half that’s edible. The burnt part can be tossed into the pit as fertilizer.”

While blowing on her fingers to cool them, she quickly peeled the Stinky Peel Citrus, discarding the inedible parts and evenly dividing the good portions into two shares.

After vigorously blowing on one portion to cool it, she smiled and handed it to Shu Shouyi.

“Try it quickly. See if it’s sweet.Seeing her aunt’s smiling face, Shu Shouyi’s grievances slowly faded, and she took the treat she had been anticipating all day.

The Stinky Peel Citrus, about the size of a fist, had a fairly thick peel. However, after being roasted over charcoal fire, much of the moisture in the outer skin had evaporated, making it no longer as thick as before.

After removing the spoiled half, the two each received three segments of the fruit.

Shu Shouyi peeled off some of the outer skin, broke off a translucent segment so clear that even the seeds inside were visible and placed it in his mouth.

In such cold weather, the moment the warm fruit touched his mouth, it felt incredibly soothing. He squinted his eyes and bit through the outer skin of the citrus segment.

“Zzz ”

Juice instantly burst open in his mouth.

At first, it felt slightly hot, then as his tongue made contact with the juice, his taste buds immediately registered the sourness and bitterness.

Caught off guard, Shu Shouyi frowned abruptly.

“Aunt…”

Shu Wanxiu squinted and smiled at him, then tossed a segment into her own mouth.

Mmm…

Eating something warm on a cold day was truly delightful.

As for the taste?

She spat out three or four seeds in succession, only speaking after clearing all the seeds from her mouth, her smile so wide her eyes disappeared: “There are still five fruits left at home. It doesn’t matter if we didn’t pick a sweet one this time we’ll choose more carefully next time.”

This suggestion aligned perfectly with Shu Shouyi’s own thoughts.

Although the Stinky Peel Citrus tasted bitter and sour, he didn’t say he would never eat it again. Instead, it ignited his determination he firmly believed there were sweet Stinky Peel Citrus in the world.

However, after finishing the remaining five fruits at home without encountering a single sweet one, he quietly stopped Shu Wanxiu from saving too many Stinky Peel Citrus seeds, saying, “If we plant too many, we won’t be able to eat them all.”

A person really could only eat one a day at most any more would truly sour the teeth.

…

Returning to the story, after finishing the Stinky Peel Citrus, the aunt and nephew washed up. Shu Wanxiu carefully stored the Hundred Spice Cloud sent by Xun Yi in the hanging basket in the main hall and began using the coarse ceramic fire basin he had gifted.

She fetched some cold ashes from the stove to line the bottom, then used a wooden stick as fire tongs to transfer large pieces of red-hot charcoal from the fire pit into the ceramic basin.

After all, leaving them in the fire pit would only turn them to ashes, so she vigorously scooped out nearly half a basin.

Surprisingly, adding a basin of charcoal significantly raised the temperature in the bedroom. Though not as warm as a heated kang bed, it was still quite comfortable.

The only issue was that Shu Wanxiu woke up once during the night feeling stifled, finding the charcoal smell in the room too strong. From then on, she left a small crack in the window every night.

The next morning, when Shu Wanxiu rose, she noticed the snow that had fallen for two nights had stopped, and the howling wind had softened.

However, a thick new layer of snow covered the ground, completely erasing the footprints they had made before bed. Clearly, it had snowed for quite some time after they fell asleep.

Rubbing her hands, she stepped out from under the eaves. Unprepared, her leg sank deep into the snow, and she nearly stumbled abruptly.

Steadying herself, Shu Wanxiu still felt her heart racing for a while. She patted her chest and, taking her second step, proceeded with utmost caution, slowly testing the snow before planting her foot firmly.

Shu Wanxiu was not short for a woman, yet the snow submerged more than half of her calves.

A young child would hardly be able to take more than a few steps in such deep snow.

Standing in front of the house, she gazed into the distance. The vegetable plots not far ahead were completely buried under the snow, distinguishable from the flat ground only by slight mounds.

In the surrounding forests, many large and small trees with lush foliage had their branches broken under the weight of the pure white snow. In the distant bamboo grove, countless bamboos were bent over, many snapped in half.

What a pity.

They had been growing so well, yet a single snowfall had ravaged them into such a state.

Seeing the tragic condition of these trees, for a moment, Shu Wanxiu thought of herself how natural disasters had left her family broken and scattered and felt a sense of shared suffering and mutual understanding with these trees.

After briefly mourning their fate, she took a broom to the vegetable patch, brushing the snow off the greens until she could see the dry straw covering them.

Once this task was done, she circled the house and found no wild animal footprints around it, nor any part of the roof collapsed from the snow. Only then did her heart settle back into place.

However, another layer of snow had accumulated on the roof, so she needed to be cautious. It would be best to borrow a ladder early and sweep it off.

After a while, Shu Wanxiu placed kindling into the fire pit, lit it with the remaining embers, then transferred the fire to the stove to start cooking.

After preparing a simple vegetable porridge and serving it, she added a ladle of water to the pot, took a piece of Hundred Spice Cloud, washed it clean, placed it in a bowl, crushed it with chopsticks, and added it to the pot.

Adding two more sticks of firewood to the stove to let it simmer slowly, she turned and went to the bedroom to pull Shu Shouyi out from under the covers.

Shu Shouyi hadn’t slept enough; his eyelids felt glued shut, and he asked groggily why they had to get up so early.

“We need to hurry to your uncle’s house and can’t wait for them to come fetch us in the afternoon. Last night, Uncle Xun specially brought news about collecting rations. We have to inform your uncle early so they can make a decision.”

“Oh.” Shu Shouyi only half-understood, but that didn’t stop him from obediently getting up.

Walking several miles in the snow wouldn’t be easy, so after Shu Shouyi put on his clothes, Shu Wanxiu carefully straightened them out before allowing him to step out of the bedroom door.