PCJ – Chapter 142 Snow Disaster

“Today is the final exam, right? Will Jiaohua come back early?” Liu Qiaoye thought of a problem that worried her.

Although winter had arrived and the weather was cold, the activity of taking turns picking up and dropping off children at Meizi’ao continued.

Usually, with grades one to six finishing school at the same time, there was no issue. But finals were different. After the second exam, the students could go straight home, so they wouldn’t be released at the same time.

Zhang Youping quickly stood up. He knew his son’s temperament very well. Zhang Jiaohua would definitely come home early. “I’ll go to school to pick him up.”

Just as Zhang Youping was about to put on his rain boots, he saw Zuan Shanbao dart out. Without even looking, Zhang Youping knew it was because his son was back. Zuan Shanbao had a keen sense of hearing and could recognize people from their footsteps. Its current behavior clearly indicated that Jiaohua was home.

Zhang Youping went out to meet him. Sure enough, amidst the wind and snow, a small figure was trudging through the snow. The Zuan Shanbao ran up to him, occasionally making soft noises.

“As long as he’s safe.” Zhang Youping let out a sigh of relief. Seeing how agitated the Zuan Shanbao had been earlier had genuinely worried him. But now, with his son safe, he felt reassured. Nothing else mattered.

“Hey, why are you just standing there at the door?” Liu Qiaoye, peeking out, asked curiously as she saw her husband standing in the yard.

“Jiaohua is back,” Zhang Youping replied.

“So early?” Liu Qiaoye put down her sewing, got off the kang, and walked to the porch to look outside.

Zhang Jiaohua ran into the yard. “Dad, where are you going?”

“I was going to pick you up. Weren’t you having exams? How come you’re back so early? Did you hand in a blank paper?” Zhang Youping asked.

“I finished everything,” Zhang Jiaohua responded nonchalantly.

“Finished? That quickly? Can you score at least sixty?” Zhang Youping was not optimistic about his son’s academic performance. Based on his usual behavior, there wasn’t much to expect.

“How would I know?” Zhang Jiaohua was unaware of his own abilities.

Liu Qiaoye was not satisfied with Zhang Youping’s question. “Why can’t our son score a hundred?”

“He never does his homework at home. Even the Dumb does his homework. I bet he can’t even beat the Dumb.” Zhang Youping changed back into his cotton shoes with thousand-layer soles.

Liu Qiaoye went inside to find Jiaohua’s cloth shoes. Although Zhang Jiaohua didn’t wear many clothes, he preferred the cloth shoes his mother made. However, he wore single shoes meant for spring and autumn, not the fluffy winter ones.

“Jiaohua, it’s so cold. Why don’t you wear the new cotton shoes I made for you?” Liu Qiaoye asked as she walked halfway and turned around.

“No, I prefer single shoes. They’re more comfortable,” Zhang Jiaohua shook his head.

Liu Qiaoye had no choice but to take out Zhang Jiaohua’s single shoes from the kang. After feeling them to make sure they were dry, she placed them in front of him.

Zhang Jiaohua changed into his shoes and sat in the porch, watching the snowflakes dance outside.

“Jiaohua, it’s so cold outside. Come inside and warm up by the kang with me,” Liu Qiaoye said, feeling sorry for her son sitting outside in the cold wind.

“It’s not cold at all. Mom, are you and Dad going to Guangdong after the New Year?” Zhang Jiaohua turned his head and asked.

Liu Qiaoye suddenly understood why her son had been standing outside since he returned. He was beginning to worry about his parents leaving.

“We’re leaving on the sixth. Jiaohua, after we leave, you must listen to your grandparents. Don’t wander around, especially don’t go to Meishan Mountain. Do you understand?” Liu Qiaoye repeated what she had already told him numerous times.

“You’ve said it so many times already,” Zhang Jiaohua said, watching the snowflakes drift in the wind. He caught one in his hand, observing its intricate crystalline structure. He felt a bit lost, wondering if he would be like a snowflake after his parents left for Guangdong, without protection or a warm home.

Meizi’ao experienced about half a month of snowfall each year, but this year, it seemed like the heavens had forgotten to turn off the snow switch. The snow had been falling continuously from the Laba Festival to the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. If not cleared daily, the snow in Zhang Jiaohua’s yard would have buried the front door.

Despite the continuous snowfall, Zhang Jiaohua never stopped practicing his zhuang gong. However, his progress remained at the stage of circulating qi, with his internal energy becoming increasingly robust but still far from reaching the level of refining strength.

Such prolonged snowy weather was disastrous for the carnivorous animals in Meishan. A few days ago, several households in Meizi’ao reported their poultry being taken away.

Zhang Dechun had to call a meeting with the village cadres and party members.

“I’ve asked everyone to come here today to discuss a recent issue in our village. Don’t take it lightly. Several households on the other side of the mountain have had their chickens taken away. Someone saw that it was the big gray wolves. We all know that the mountains have been snowbound for twenty days now. It doesn’t look like the snow will stop soon. The weather forecast says it will continue to snow and freeze in the coming days. Hungry wolves in the mountains can go crazy! In 1960, during a month-long snowstorm, wolves came into Meizi’ao and attacked people. Back then, the militia had guns and shot dozens of wolves in one night. We even ate wolf meat until our stomachs turned. It was awful,” Zhang Dechun reminisced about those passionate days.

After a long speech, Zhang Dechun realized he had gone off-topic. “I mean, we need to take this seriously. We don’t have guns now, not even a bird gun except for the one Chen Fangsong’s family has. Who knows if it still works? Fortunately, even if there are wolves, there won’t be many. If they come into the village, there will be at most a dozen. As long as we work together, we can drive them away.”

“Dechun, the wolves come at night. What’s your plan? Should we organize patrols in each group to go out at night? Ten people won’t be enough to fend off a pack of wolves. Everyone should just make sure their homes are secure, avoid going out at night, and plug any holes in their doors or walls. Why make such a fuss?” someone questioned Zhang Dechun’s suggestion.

Zhang Dechun scratched his head. It was indeed a difficult problem. Even organizing a militia team wouldn’t help much without weapons, and going out at night could be dangerous.

“Alright, then let’s have the party members and cadres inspect the village over the next few days. Make sure to plug any holes in people’s homes in time.” Zhang Dechun had no better solution. Although the village secretary and the former brigade leader titles sounded similar, the difference in authority was significant.