Chapter 77: Chapter 45: Toil on a Snowy Day

Waking early that day, Juhua noticed the bright light filtering through the window and guessed, ’Did it snow? The cold doesn’t bite when it snows, only when it melts. And today, it really doesn’t feel that cold.’

But even this “not-so-cold” weather was more than she could bear. She was bundled up from head to toe in a cotton-padded jacket, cotton-padded trousers, and cotton-padded shoes—fully armed, save for a hat. ’I’ll make a hat today,’ she thought as she quickly braided her hair. ’And a scarf would be good too.’

Once she was all ready, Juhua hunched her shoulders and stepped out of her room.

Her mother came in from outside, closing the main door behind her. “It snowed last night, and it’s still coming down this morning,” she said. “Juhua, make sure you wear enough layers. I’ve put some charcoal embers in the brazier for you to warm yourself with. Don’t catch a chill in this weather.”

’I’d love to wear more,’ Juhua thought, ’but I can’t fit anything else on. My lined jacket is for spring, after I take off this padded one.’

She peeked through the crack in the door. The mountains and fields, cloaked in a thick blanket of white snow, looked exceptionally tranquil. Everything, near and far, was a seamless expanse of white. Snowflakes, like teased cotton, were still drifting down from the sky, dense and endless.

She turned back and said hesitantly to her mother, “Mom, I’m afraid the vegetables won’t sell well today. With this much snow, there will surely be fewer people at the market. Why don’t we take a couple of days off?”

Her mother shot her a look. “Weren’t you the one who said that in business, reputation is everything? We’ve just managed to make a name for ourselves. If I suddenly don’t show up, what about the people who came looking for our vegetables today? Wouldn’t their trip be for nothing? It doesn’t matter how many people come. As long as someone is there to buy, I have to go. Besides, a little exercise is good on a snowy day. We’ve been eating well and dressing warmly these past few months. What’s a little walk?”

Zheng Changhe’s leg had mostly healed. He smiled and said, “Dear, why don’t I go with you today? I don’t have much to do at home anyway!”

His wife glared at him. “You think this is a game? With this much snow, are you trying to get a chill in that leg of yours? What will you do if it causes a permanent problem? And stop nagging. Once the weather warms up, I’ll hand this job over to you. I’ll have you running to the market every single day.”

Zheng Changhe just chuckled.

Sigh. ’This is just life for a poor family.’

Juhua watched as her brother, carrying the shoulder pole, and her mother, holding an oil-paper umbrella, vanished into the white world. The thick, swirling snowflakes obscured her view, their two figures shrinking and blurring into the distance.

After her mother and brother left, Juhua tossed a pig’s head and four trotters into the large cauldron to boil. She sat before the stove opening, tending the fire and warming herself while she stitched a shoe sole for her brother. It was for a pair of single-layered shoes, which he could wear next spring.

Since Zheng Changhe’s leg had recovered, he had taken over the tasks of feeding the pigs and chickens. Though he couldn’t do heavy labor, it had certainly lightened Juhua’s load. She was mostly left with cooking and washing clothes, which she tried to do by the well. This gave her more opportunities to do needlework, and she couldn’t help but make this and that for her family, much to the delight of her parents and brother.

That morning, her mother didn’t return early as she usually did. Juhua grew worried, peering down the village road several times, but there was no sign of her. Even after Qingmu came home from his lessons, she still hadn’t returned.

Zheng Changhe and Qingmu were worried too, and they considered going to look for her.

Qingmu ate quickly as he spoke. “Mom will be fine at the market—Laixi is with her. I’m just worried something happened on the way back. I’ll go look for her along the road after I finish eating. Dad, you should stay home. You need to take care of that leg.”

Juhua agreed. “Mom is a resourceful woman; she was probably just delayed by something. Brother, I’ll go with you. I can deliver a meal to Mr. Zhou and help clean his room—Mom was supposed to do that for him today. Besides, if you can’t find her, you’ll have to go to our uncle’s house at the market, and I can help you ask Mr. Zhou for leave.”

Qingmu glanced at Juhua hesitantly, but after a moment’s thought, he nodded in agreement.

For some reason, he felt a strange reluctance for outsiders to see Juhua with her face uncovered. ’But I can’t keep her hidden forever,’ he reasoned. ’Besides, she’s gotten much braver and isn’t afraid of people anymore. It might actually be good for her to get out and see more people.’

After their meal, Juhua looked at the thick, white snow outside, then down at her cotton-padded shoes, and hesitated. Even if she wore the wooden-soled straw sandals her father had woven over them, her shoes would probably still get wet. The thought of ruining them was heartbreaking.

Seeing her expression, Qingmu knew she was worried about her shoes. “Wear an old pair for the walk and bring the new ones with you,” he suggested. “You can change at the schoolhouse. I brought a clean pair for myself this morning and left them there.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep