"Who is it so late?" Old Man Yun craned his neck to glance outside the door.
Madam Gu was also curious, guessing, "Perhaps it's Daqiang. Guihua bought a slab of frozen tofu from his house today, saying she wanted to stew it with sauerkraut. Daqiang was too busy during the day and didn't deliver it. Maybe he's free now..."
All the sons of the family were out, so when someone suddenly knocked on the door late at night, everyone at home was very tense.
"I'll go take a look!~" Old Man Yun jumped off the kang, shuffling in his cotton shoes towards the door.
"Dong dong dong..."
"Coming, coming!~"
Old Man Yun, wearing a sheepskin jacket, stepped on the accumulated snow, making a 'crunch crunch' sound.
Jin Xiaolou stood at the kitchen door, holding a stove shovel. If there were any bad guys, he would be the first to rush out and protect the safety of Old Man Yun and the family...
It was said that as soon as winter arrived, bandits would appear in the Huofeng Mountain area.
Having no food in the mountains, they would enter the villages to steal things. Cornmeal, sorghum, millet, buckwheat flour, as well as chickens, ducks, geese, sows, and donkeys in their homes – anything that could fill their stomachs would be plundered.
The village chief's house had been burgled a couple of days ago, and several rabbits had been stolen...
Old Man Yun opened the main door and was stunned by the sight before him.
Standing in front of him were two people covered in snowflakes, a man and a woman. The man was very tall, and the woman looked frail and weak, her teeth chattering uncontrollably, clearly frozen.
"You, you..." Old Man Yun's face was full of surprise. He leaned closer to get a better look and suddenly exclaimed, "Da, Daman? Fang'er?"
Good heavens, how did they end up like this?
"Dad, Dad, quick, let me in, I'm freezing to death!~" Yun Daman said, shivering.
It was as if heaven was deliberately playing tricks on them. After leaving Guo Family Village and parting ways with Yun Sanman, Yun Daman had desperately rushed home with Shangguan Fang'er...
Unexpectedly, the closer they got to Dashui Village, the heavier the snow became, almost reaching their knees.
As the saying goes, an old horse knows the way. The family's jujube-red horse recognized the road to Dashui Village. After pulling the carriage for many days, it finally brought them back.
The sky was filled with blizzards and white winds, whistling like blades. The official road was submerged by the heavy snow, and the surroundings were a vast expanse of white, making it impossible to distinguish east from west, let alone find their way back to Dashui Village...
Moreover, the charcoal on the carriage had run out, so the two could only pick up dry branches to light a fire for warmth.
If it weren't for the jujube-red horse, they would have frozen to death in the desolate wilderness.
Old Man Yun was stunned for a moment, then looked behind Yun Daman and Shangguan Fang'er, asking, "No, where's your third brother? You didn't come back together? What did he go to do?"
"Wuwuwu, San... Sanman is dead, dead, wuwu!~" Shangguan Fang'er burst into tears, her eyelashes covered in frost.
Upon hearing this, Old Man Yun staggered back a step, his eyes wide, "W-what did you say? Sanman is dead?"
His blood pressure soared, and his head buzzed.
If Jin Xiaolou hadn't rushed over to support him, Old Man Yun would have likely collapsed into the snowdrift...
"Brother Daman, Sister Fang'er, let's go inside first. The heated wall is very warm!~" Jin Xiaolou said.
The night sky was gloomy, and a large patch of dark clouds gathered, blocking the moonlight. It looked like it was going to snow heavily again tonight...
After Jin Xiaolou helped Old Man Yun into the house, he led the jujube-red horse into the stable, unloaded the carriage, and brought a pile of dry grass for it to eat.
Zhao Guihua had already gone to bed, but upon hearing that Daman had returned, she put on a coat and ran to the main house.
As soon as she crossed the threshold, she saw Yun Daman and Shangguan Fang'er sitting at the kang table, drinking hot sauerkraut soup...
Jin Huaihua heated up the leftover steamed buns from dinner and served them with some pickled radishes, bringing everything over.
"Dad, Mom, don't listen to Miss Fang'er's nonsense. Third brother isn't dead!~" Yun Daman put down his soup bowl, his face filled with guilt and self-reproach.
Shangguan Fang'er, upon hearing this, stopped eating her steamed buns and cried out, "He accidentally killed someone, so he'll definitely surrender to the yamen. If he gets beheaded, isn't that still dying? Wuwu, it's all your fault. You shouldn't have dragged me away back then..."
Madam Gu was stunned for a moment, "Sanman, he... he killed someone?"
"Mhm, those two men wanted to bully me, and Sanman, Sanman hit them on the head with a club!~" Shangguan Fang'er explained.
Hearing this, Madam Gu gasped for breath and fainted.
"Old woman!"
"Mom!"
Old Man Yun, Yun Daman, Zhao Guihua, and others rushed forward simultaneously...
"Guihua, quickly go get a basin of water to wipe your mother's face, hurry, hurry!~" Old Man Yun instructed.
Madam Gu's face was covered in sweat, and her front and back were soaked.
"Understood, Dad!~" Zhao Guihua responded, turning and running towards the kitchen.
Yun Daman was even more anxious. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have told his mother the truth, but he couldn't help Shangguan Fang'er's gossipy mouth...
Now, if his mother had any accident, wouldn't his father go mad!
"Daman, move the kang table to the end of the kang so your mother can lie down flat!~" Old Man Yun said.
"Oh, okay, okay!" Yun Daman nodded and pushed the table to the end of the kang.
His mother was so scared she fainted, how could he have the appetite to eat?
A moment later, Zhao Guihua returned with a basin of warm water, dipped a cloth in it, and wiped Madam Gu's face...
Gao Jingde, Yun Xiaobao, and Jin Xiaolou were all guarding outside the door, peeking into the room.
"Will Grandma be alright?" Yun Xiaobao asked tearfully.
Jin Xiaolou clenched his fist upon hearing this, "Auntie will be fine, don't talk nonsense!~"
Auntie had a blessed face and was so kind and benevolent. If anything happened to her, it would be a complete injustice.
Gao Jingde sniffled and agreed, "That's right, Grandma is protected by her little aunt, she'll definitely be fine...~"
It was cold recently, and Gao Jingde had a runny nose and felt dizzy.
But what made him feel worse wasn't his physical condition, but his concern for his father.
This time, his uncle had gone out to do business with his father. They had been gone for a long time. The uncle had returned, but his father was nowhere to be seen.
As an ignorant child who had already lost his mother, if his father also met with misfortune, his childhood would inevitably be cast in a shadow...
Ru Yue and Ru Hua also came to help upon hearing the commotion. Jin Huaihua was busy boiling water in the kitchen, also crying her eyes out.
Madam Gu was the backbone of the old Yun family. If she collapsed like this, wouldn't the Yun family fall apart in the future?
"Old woman, wake up, don't scare me, old woman!~" Old Man Yun gently called out while wiping Madam Gu's sweat, his voice choked with tears.
After an unknown period of time, Madam Gu suddenly let out a long sigh and slowly regained consciousness...