Chapter 179: The Blizzard Arrives
Chapter 179: Chapter 179: The Blizzard Arrives
The morning sunlight filtered through the thin curtains, casting dappled shadows on the floor.
Lu Chen gradually woke up to the crisp chirping of birds, rubbing his sleepy eyes, his mouth still marked with traces of the sweet dream from last night. He stood in the yard, looking bewildered.
Normally, at this time, he could always hear his mom bustling in the kitchen, the clatter of pots and dishes, the enticing aroma of breakfast. But today, the house was unusually quiet.
"Mom?" Lu Chen called out with his tender voice, his shout echoing in the empty house, waiting in vain for Fu Xiaoxiao’s response.
He ran to the kitchen, where the stove held a lingering warmth, a trace of home life, and dragged a little stool over to open the pot, revealing the egg pancakes Fu Xiaoxiao prepared for him.
Seeing the familiar egg pancakes, Lu Chen felt relieved knowing Fu Xiaoxiao hadn’t forgotten about him.
He carried the little stool holding a washbasin, brought down the thermos, mixed some warm water for himself, and stood in the yard to wash his face and brush his teeth, then sat in the yard with his egg pancakes for breakfast.
But his silhouette looked somewhat lonely.
"Xiao Chen?" Fu Xiaoxiao and Lu Feng strolled in from the back mountain and saw the little guy sitting obediently in the yard having breakfast.
Lu Chen turned his head, and the moment he saw Fu Xiaoxiao, tears instantly welled up.
"Mom, sob..."
Fu Xiaoxiao approached with a smile and hugged him, watching him cry with grievance, yet she couldn’t stop laughing.
"Alright, don’t cry."
"Mom, why are you laughing so happily?" While he was crying, his mom was laughing, so Lu Chen cried even more sadly.
"Uh..." Fu Xiaoxiao patted her head, looking at Lu Feng who was also laughing.
Seeing him laugh even sillier than herself, they exchanged glances and couldn’t stop laughing again.
"You’re so mean, I’m crying and you’re still laughing. I’m angry!" Lu Chen followed Fu Xiaoxiao’s gaze to see Lu Feng laughing too. He cried in sorrow while his parents were laughing.
"Sorry, sorry, dear son, I was wrong." Fu Xiaoxiao quickly apologized, soothing him.
After coaxing him for a long time, Lu Chen finally forgave Fu Xiaoxiao, but didn’t forgive Lu Feng.
"Dad, why are you laughing like a fool." Lu Chen, seeing Lu Feng still laughing nonstop, said angrily.
Fu Xiaoxiao was helpless; there was really no way to explain.
Indeed, it did tarnish his image, laughing like this without concern.
Suddenly, the trumpet call sounded in the army, Lu Feng’s face turned solemn, and in the next second, he was gone.
"Mom, is it an emergency task?" Lu Chen blinked, explaining for Lu Feng.
A situation like this happened once before, no matter what Lu Feng was doing, upon hearing the trumpet call, he would drop everything and head to the assembly.
"Yes." Fu Xiaoxiao nodded, she knew what the trumpet represented, recalling the circumstances Lu Feng had told her about, that he could be summoned at any time.
Lu Feng had left without returning, and after Fu Xiaoxiao finished cooking lunch, she took Lu Chen to deliver food to Lu Lin, discovering that it seemed the whole unit had mobilized urgently, with emptiness all around.
"Sister-in-law, are you going out?" The young soldier at the door inquired upon seeing Fu Xiaoxiao holding Lu Chen in tow.
"Yes, I’m delivering food to the kid." Fu Xiaoxiao nodded. "What happened? It seems everyone has gone out?"
"Sister-in-law, there’s an emergency rescue and disaster relief mission. It’s said that due to a sudden snowstorm, many old houses in nearby villages were crushed under the snow." The soldier explained to Fu Xiaoxiao.
The mission came right at breakfast time, the soldiers were so rushed they didn’t even have time for breakfast before heading out to rescue the worst-hit areas.
"So that’s it!" Fu Xiaoxiao nodded. "Thank you for your hard work."
"Sister-in-law, be careful on the road. Wild animals might come down from the mountains these days as they can’t catch prey." The soldier initially wanted to stop Fu Xiaoxiao from going out, but seeing the lunch box in her hand, knowing it was for the kid, he decided to just have Fu Xiaoxiao be careful instead of stopping her.
Fu Xiaoxiao nodded with a smile. "Thank you for the reminder, we’ll be careful."
Holding Lu Chen’s hand, walking on the road of Upper River Village, the cold of December seemed to deepen the winter chill, the morning at the back mountain with Lu Feng was clear, yet now the weather changed, Fu Xiaoxiao quickened her pace with Lu Chen. "Xiao Chen, let’s walk faster; it seems like it’s going to rain."
As they walked through light rain midway, the little rain in the sky unknowingly turned into thick, flake-like snow, falling heavier and heavier.
When they finally arrived at Upper River Village, the village chief was knocking a brass gong, with someone shouting behind him, "Folks, the snow is falling too fast, we must act quickly!"
The old farmers in the village, relying on years of experience, hurried back home to find whatever coverings they could, such as old straw mats and plastic film, rushing to the fields to cautiously cover these over vegetables, wheat seedlings, and other crops, in attempts to shield them from the cold snowflakes and biting wind.
Some villagers took long bamboo poles and wooden sticks, busily erecting simple frames in the fields, covering them with thicker materials to stretch a protective space for the crops.
Everyone worked together, racing against the snowstorm, striving to protect the crops as best as possible and safeguard the hope of the year.
"The snow is too heavy, merely relying on that bit of plastic film won’t suffice; we must build a sturdy canopy." A male youth was fixing bamboo poles while speaking to Xiao Heng.
"Put it up first." Xiao Heng looked solemnly skyward.
"This snow is falling at such an inconvenient time!" The youth pulled vigorously at the plastic film, complaining.
"Don’t complain, focus on the work." Xiao Heng said with a calm expression, urging them to speed up, the crops must be protected.
Fu Xiaoxiao led Lu Chen to the school, but there was no sign of Lu Lin, the place was emptily deserted.
Fu Xiaoxiao walked into the village, seeing young folks joining the rescue efforts, Lu Lin was next to Niuwa, a few lads busy climbing the erected structures, aiding in pulling and securing.
"Pull fast! Pull towards me!"
"No, pull towards me!"
"There’s still a gap here, it’s not fully pulled!"
The more urgent they were, the more slip-ups occurred. Fu Xiaoxiao watched them lacking coordination, pulling left and right, swaying in disarray.
Leading Lu Chen forward, she shouted at them.
"Niuwa, pull to the left, Xiao Lin, pull this end to the right, Tie Dan, Hu Zi, you too."
"Oh! Mrs. Fu." Hearing Fu Xiaoxiao’s voice, the kids shouted in delight.
"Listen to Mrs. Fu, pull together!" Niuwa shouted to them, following Fu Xiaoxiao’s instruction, with Lu Lin simultaneously pulling in two directions, straightening the plastic film.
"Alright, those below, secure it quickly." Fu Xiaoxiao saw they had pulled it properly, and urged the villagers below to secure it.
Upon hearing, the villagers brought stones, weighing them down on the film, finally completing the task. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.