The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 27 - 26: Heavy Snow Seals the Door

Xue Yue was also worried about her brother, but she kept it to herself.

After carrying the grain inside, He Lang found Xue Yue staring blankly at the snow in the courtyard.

"Worried about your brother?" He Lang’s tone was certain.

Xue Yue nodded, then turned to He Lang. "Do you think my brother knew to prepare?"

He Lang glanced at the snow still falling outside. "How about I go over there? If your brother doesn’t know, I can give him a heads-up."

Xue Yue looked at He Lang, hesitated for a moment, and then shook her head. "I should go. You heard what Mom said."

"It’s fine. Yangjia Gou is close to our village, plus we have a sled. I can take the sled and be there in no time."

"Should we tell Mom?"

He Lang shook his head. "No need. If Mom asks, just say I went to Shitou’s house."

Xue Yue reached out and squeezed He Lang’s hand, her eyes filled with worry. "Be careful, then. If the roads are too bad, just come back."

He Lang patted the back of Xue Yue’s hand.

Xue Yue wrapped his scarf around his neck, reminding him again and again to be careful, before watching him leave.

After He Lang left, Xue Yue felt a constant unease. She kept her eyes on the courtyard gate as the snow continued to fall.

Mr. He returned and said the village chief wanted them to take the pig to the brigade.

Shortly after, a broadcast came over the loudspeakers, telling every household to take precautions for the heavy snow, clear their roofs promptly, and bring their designated task pigs to the brigade.

When He Nan came to call for He Lang, Xue Yue had no choice but to say He Lang had gone to Shitou’s house.

He Nan said to have He Lang go to the main house when he returned, and Xue Yue nodded.

Just when Xue Yue’s anxiety was becoming unbearable, He Lang returned.

"How was it? Were the roads okay?" Xue Yue quickly grabbed a towel to wipe the snow off He Lang.

He Lang nodded. "It was fine. Your brother already knew by the time I got there. He said the brigade leader had already sent out a notice for everyone to prepare."

"That’s good. I was getting worried since you were gone so long. He Nan came looking for you. He said Dad came back and told us to take the pig to the brigade."

He Lang chuckled. "Yeah, I got held up for a bit."

"What happened?"

"Your brother built an earthen stove in his house. I asked about it and learned he actually used red clay. He said that kind of clay has good adhesion, and if you add some hair or chopped dry grass when mixing it into mud, it becomes more heat-resistant and won’t crack easily." If He Lang hadn’t spent a while examining it, he wouldn’t have been so late.

"Really?" Xue Yue sounded very surprised.

He Lang nodded. "He’s been using it for almost a month, and it hasn’t cracked at all."

"Alright, we can talk about this later. You should go. He Nan said to go to the main house as soon as you got back."

Xue Yue felt much more at ease, content that her brother had gotten the news.

The two brothers and Mr. He left, pulling the pig. A short while later, Mrs. He also took a large basin and went to the brigade to collect the pig’s blood.

The women left at home killed all five chickens in the coop.

Xue Yue was given one chicken. She didn’t join the bustle in the main kitchen; they had a stove in their own room and could cook with a small pot. Since the outdoor stoves for the first and second households were unusable, they had to take turns with Mr. and Mrs. He in the main kitchen to prepare some food.

He Lang and the men didn’t return until that evening. The pig had been slaughtered, yielding 180 pounds of meat. They handed over half as required, leaving them with 90 pounds, plus some bones and a basin of pig’s blood. Mr. He decided not to sell any of it; instead, he divided it among the families to save for the New Year.

Usually, they would have a celebratory feast after butchering the pig, but given the circumstances this year, it wasn’t going to happen.

With the New Year still a month away, the cold weather meant the meat would keep.

Before bed that night, He Lang and He Nan went up again to clear the snow off the roof.

But when they woke up the next morning, they opened the door only to find they couldn’t get out.

Through the crack in the door, they could see the snow outside was at least up to Xue Yue’s waist. Fortunately, the snow had stopped.

It was a good thing they had butchered the pig yesterday. In snow this deep, it would have certainly frozen to death overnight. It just went to show that experience was a reliable guide.

The two of them ate inside their room. Afterward, He Lang started digging at the doorway. After a long while, he finally managed to carve out a hole, and he crawled through it to get outside.

He Lang climbed out of the hole and stood on the snow, seeing a vast expanse of white around him. The snow was already past the windowsill.

He Lang shouted from the courtyard, "Dad, are you and Mom okay?"

Mr. He answered from inside the house, "We’re fine! Third Son, you got out?"

"Yeah, I dug a hole."

He called out to the first and second households and confirmed they were also fine, which relieved him.

He Lang used a shovel to dig open the entrance to the first household. After He Nan came out, the two brothers dug out the snow from the doorways of the other households.

Mr. He came out and took a look. Most of the villagers were still trapped in their houses. Standing on the snow, he couldn’t see anyone. The surrounding houses hadn’t collapsed, but he couldn’t see very far from where he stood.

"Haven’t seen a situation like this in many years. Next year will definitely be a bountiful year."

He Lang asked Mr. He, "Dad, should we keep digging out the snow?"

"Let’s dig after lunch."

At noon, Xue Yue stewed half of the chicken they had killed yesterday. The two of them finished all of it, meat and broth.

In the afternoon, the men of the family went to Uncle He’s house first.

Uncle He’s family had also dug a hole to get out.

That evening, He Lang and the others returned, but they had Gu Zhiqing trailing behind them.

Gu Yuwei started crying the moment she saw Mrs. He. Mrs. He looked at Mr. He in surprise, not understanding what had happened.

After hearing Mr. He’s explanation, she finally understood that the house at the Educated Youth quarters had collapsed.

With such heavy snow over the past two days, all the villagers knew to climb up and clear their roofs. But the Educated Youths just kept passing the buck, and nobody wanted to do it. Their quarters was an old building, so the result was predictable.

No one was hurt, but they temporarily had nowhere to live.

There was no other choice, so the village chief could only assign them to stay with villagers’ families.

And Gu Yuwei had specifically requested to stay with the He Family, reasoning that she was more familiar with them.

He Lang didn’t want her to and glanced at his dad.

The village chief saw that Mr. He didn’t refuse, so he let them bring her back.

With red-rimmed eyes, Gu Yuwei looked pitifully at Mrs. He. "Auntie, can I stay at your house for now? I’ll give you money, I won’t stay for free."

Seeing how pitiful she looked, Mrs. He nodded. "If you don’t mind, you can stay with our Xiao Yun and her children."

Gu Yuwei quickly nodded. "I don’t mind at all, Auntie."

Xue Yue only glanced at Gu Yuwei before returning to her room with He Lang.

And so, Gu Yuwei began staying at the He Family’s home, sharing a room with He Yun and her daughter and eating her meals with Mrs. He and the others.

Xue Yue didn’t ask about it, nor did she care. ’As long as it doesn’t disrupt my life, it’s none of my business who the He Family takes in.’

The Educated Youth quarters couldn’t be repaired for the time being; it would have to wait until after the New Year.

Mrs. He’s room was very lively every day, but Xue Yue wouldn’t go out unless she had to. He Yun also stopped coming over to visit.

Xue Yue didn’t really like dealing with people. ’It’s nice to just close the door and live my own life.’ But that didn’t apply to the children of the family.

Xue Yue liked children, so whether it was He Ziqing from the first household bringing Tuanzi, or Daya carrying Erya, they would all come to Xue Yue’s room.

A child’s world is simple. There are no schemes or calculations, only the joy of having a full belly and warm clothes.

’Sometimes, I wonder if I should have a child, too,’ Xue Yue thought. ’At least it would liven things up a bit.’