Zhou Niannian looked at Jiang Fan. Jiang Fan was already awake, his ear pressed against the cave wall, concentrating intensely on something.
To allow Zhou Niannian to hug his arm, Jiang Fan stretched his body like a rubber man.
Zhou Niannian blushed and let go of his arm, chiding him. "You were awake, why didn't you tell me!"
Jiang Fan signaled Zhou Niannian to stay quiet, leaning his ear against the cave wall for a long time before nodding. "I can't hear any sounds. I guess the snow outside has stopped."
Over there, Yao and Dai Xiaomei also woke up, rubbing their eyes. Only Panda was still in hibernation. Jiang Fan went over and shook Panda a few times, but it remained motionless. This hibernation was truly deep. Jiang Fan shouted, "Your master, Chi You, has come to see you."
Panda continued to snore peacefully. It seemed that the master had no effect on Panda. "Your girlfriend, Little Panda, has come to see you."
Panda still snored, its belly rising and falling. "Get up and eat bamboo shoots, honey, and pig-rabbit."
Hearing about food, Panda suddenly woke up, its head hitting the wooden board above. It truly was a glutton. Panda cried out in pain, holding its head. Seeing that Jiang Fan had tricked it and there was no food, it was greatly disappointed. It whimpered at Jiang Fan, asking why he lied.
"I didn't lie to you; we're about to have a big meal." Jiang Fan slowly took out a beast skin bag and took out the dried meat inside. Panda was overjoyed, realizing there really was food.
"Let's eat outside; the air in here is too bad," Dai Xiaomei suggested.
The snow cave was indeed stuffy and damp, not suitable for eating. Jiang Fan said slowly, "Can you get out? If you can get out, we'll eat outside."
Dai Xiaomei pushed the wooden board above her head with all her might, but it didn't budge. Jiang Fan looked at Dai Xiaomei with a half-smile. "Who knows how many centimeters of snow have piled up on top. Eat quickly, then divide into three groups and take turns digging snow so we can get out." After speaking, Jiang Fan distributed the dried meat he carried to everyone. They needed to eat to have the strength to dig snow.
Zhou Niannian chewed on the dried meat and sighed, "In my entire life, I've never seen such heavy snow."
"The northern landscape, a thousand miles of ice, ten thousand miles of snow flying. Looking beyond the Great Wall, only vastness remains; below the Yellow River, the current is lost."
"Mountains dance like silver snakes, plains gallop like wax elephants, wanting to compete with the heavens in height."
"Don't recite it. Last time Dai Xiaomei recited 'The Peach Blossom Spring,' and halfway through, a volley of arrows was shot out!"
"That time, at least there was somewhere to hide. Here, there's nowhere to hide." Jiang Fan stopped Zhou Niannian. This matter was too bizarre; once bitten by a snake, one fears a rope for ten years.
"Hmph, I, the European Emperor, am not like Dai Xiaomei, that jinx."
"Besides, I, the European Emperor, am reciting the poem of a great man. It has the effect of warding off evil. All ghosts and monsters will flee at the sight." Zhou Niannian said confidently.
Dai Xiaomei looked annoyed. "Who are you calling a jinx?"
"Seriously, in my life, this is the first time I've seen such a blizzard. My soul has been shaken, and I feel like my spirit has evolved deeply." Zhou Niannian expressed her boundless emotions.
Jiang Fan gave Zhou Niannian a look. Is this the legendary literary girl, the kind that's so popular on Xiaohongshu? He casually said, "What's so great about a blizzard? When I was in college, I could see blizzards every night."
Zhou Niannian became curious. "Where did you go to college, Harbin?"
"I played games from Blizzard Entertainment."
"Get lost!" Zhou Niannian laughed and cursed.
The viewers in the livestream were moved to tears. Blizzard games were the youth of a generation.
"This is also my first time seeing a blizzard, but I hope it's the last." Dai Xiaomei was not as romantic as Zhou Niannian. She was incredibly realistic and only felt immense fear.
After eating their fill, everyone divided into three groups and began taking turns digging snow. Jiang Fan and Zhou Niannian were one group, Yao and Dai Xiaomei were another, and Panda was on its own. While one group was digging, the other two would rest, allowing for continuous work, and it was said that working with a partner of the opposite sex made the work easier.
Zhou Niannian glanced at Jiang Fan, feeling a bit embarrassed. She had had to hug his arm for warmth because it was so cold. Now, they had to dig snow together, and physical contact was unavoidable. Would it be too intimate?
Jiang Fan didn't think about such things. He raised his fire axe and chopped through the wooden board in a few swings. Zhou Niannian was worried that snow would fall down from above, but it didn't. Only a thick layer of ice had formed.
"I'll use the axe and shovel to break the ice. You be responsible for piling the fallen ice chips and dirt to the side."
The viewers in the livestream were discussing what the outside world should look like. Some viewers were from the south and had never seen snow, feeling very curious.
"Is it really like the poem of the great man, mountains dancing like silver snakes, plains galloping like wax elephants, a graceful and magnificent landscape?"
"Pine snow falls cold, mountain clouds blow frozen, red breaks through the shallow spring of several peppers."
"A thousand peaks like bamboo shoots and stone, a thousand trees like jade; ten thousand trees of pine and vine, ten thousand clouds."
"Just saw the clouds on the mountain ridge like a canopy, already surprised by the snow dust at the foot of the cliff."
Suddenly, a group of people was inspired by poetry and transformed into poets, reciting poems related to snow in the livestream. Another group of viewers from the north chuckled and used the most brutal language to break their curiosity.
"Stop imagining. I'll tell you what real heavy snow is like in the north."
"It's mixed with black and gray sand and dust, dirty, and it pounces on you."
"If you wash your clothes after coming home, you can wring out half a pound of mud."
"The wind is sharper than a knife. If you don't wear earmuffs, your ears can fall off from the cold."
"Every year, there are drunk fools who freeze into ice sculptures by the roadside."
Instantly, the viewers from the south and north in the livestream started arguing.
"Don't listen, don't listen, you are bad people, ruining our imagination."
"Alas, I'm telling you about the darkness and cruelty of this society, don't live in a fairy tale."
"Get lost, I'll buy a hundred snowball emojis to smite you."
"Snowball emojis are amazing, right? I'll let Panda bite you."
"Watch my super bullet screen."
While the netizens in the livestream were in a commotion, Jiang Fan and the others were calmly shoveling snow in the cave. Zhou Niannian initially felt awkward, but after a few minutes of cooperation, she became very proficient and no longer minded physical contact with Jiang Fan.
After digging for ten minutes, Jiang Fan was tired. This posture of looking up and shoveling snow was very strenuous. It was time to switch to Dai Xiaomei and Yao's group.
After digging for another ten minutes, Yao was also tired. It was time to switch to Panda. Panda had no partner, but it could multitask, shoveling snow with its shovel while using its claws to pile up the snow.
Finally, after several rotations, when it was Jiang Fan's turn again, a shovel went down, and bright sunlight streamed in. The sunlight was too dazzling, making Jiang Fan squint. It seemed the weather had completely cleared up.