"If this snow keeps up, we'll likely freeze to death here."
The old village chief held a cup of hot tea, peering through the tent flap. The accumulated snow had already reached chest-high on an adult.
Jiang Pan's expression was also grave. He hadn't expected the snow to fall so heavily. In his thirty-odd years, he had never witnessed such a blizzard.
The old village chief said, "This snow is probably a once-in-a-century event. If it continues like this, we'll all be trapped and die here. This oilcloth tarp is too thin to withstand much. We must find a safe place to shelter while we can still move."
Jiang Pan turned to look for Jiang Wan. "Wan Wan, can you ask Little Pony to go out and see if there are any large caves nearby?"
Jiang Wan nodded and lowered her head to discuss with Little Pony.
Little Pony was very reluctant. The snow outside was too heavy; it truly lacked the courage to go out.
Jiang Wan thought for a moment and used her special ability to thicken their feathers by another layer.
Only then did Little Pony reluctantly put on its little vest and fly out.
Jiang Wan watched its struggling form, truly sweating for it.
Little Pony returned after a long while, covered in snow. After diving into the carriage, it croutered by the brazier, shivering.
The accumulated snow melted upon contact with the heat, wetting its feathers and sticking them to its head, making it look quite disheveled.
Seeing it like that, Su shi poked it. "On such a cold day, you still run outside. Who else would you expect to freeze if not you? What a foolish bird."
Little Pony felt extremely wronged. It turned and pecked Su shi, then jumped onto Jiang Wan to report the situation.
After gathering the information, Jiang Wan called Jiang Pan over and whispered in his ear, "There are no caves, but there's a village three li away. For some reason, it's deserted."
Jiang Pan quickly asked for the direction and then called a few men to scout ahead with him.
The snow was so deep, and they were in unfamiliar territory. Scouting was an extremely dangerous task.
Jiang Wan was too worried and insisted on accompanying them.
Jiang Pan knew it would be foolish to refuse the 'immortal elder's' help at this time, so he had no choice but to let Jiang Wan put on the white wolf fur cloak and set off with him.
Along the way, Jiang Wan continuously used her special ability to "communicate" with the plants underfoot, using their roots to discern the road conditions and moving forward inch by inch.
The snow was too deep, making progress extremely difficult. They had to stop and rest after walking for a while.
The three li journey took them a full two hours.
The village wasn't large, estimated to have only thirty to forty households.
Jiang Pan and the others inspected them carefully. These houses had been vacant for some time, but not more than half a year.
For reasons unknown, the entire village had left.
However, they didn't have time to investigate. Most of the houses were intact, with only a few collapsed under the snow. They were quite suitable for their village to temporarily reside in to escape the snow.
So, the men returned with great difficulty, telling the villagers to quickly pack their belongings and come over.
The snow was too deep, making it impossible to bring the carts over. Therefore, everyone had to bring only the essentials and evacuate. Other belongings would have to be dealt with later.
After all, with such heavy snow, no one else would be coming, so their possessions wouldn't be lost anytime soon.
Jiang Wan's carriage would definitely not be able to be moved. It took considerable effort just to get the horses into the village.
Upon entering the village, the houses were not enough for each family to have their own courtyard.
So, two families had to share a courtyard.
Jiang Wan's family shared a courtyard with Madam Cheng and her son. The other villagers decided for themselves which families to pair up with.
After dividing the courtyards, everyone quickly found tools and went onto the roofs to clear the snow, preventing the houses from collapsing further under the weight.
By the time all the roofs were cleared, it was already past midnight.
However, no one felt sleepy. Looking at the heavy snow outside, they couldn't help but worry, wondering when the snow would finally stop.
The heavy snow continued for three days, with the accumulated snow reaching higher than a person.
For these few days, they did nothing but clear the snow.
When the snow finally stopped, it suddenly began to rain lightly.
The old village chief's face was full of worry. "Once this rain falls, I'm afraid the roads will start to freeze. Once the ice forms, we won't be able to move."
Jiang Pan comforted him, "If it really comes to that, we can just stay here for a while. Everyone has been traveling for so long and is exhausted. It would be good to rest and recuperate before continuing."
Given the situation, what else could they do but wait patiently?
Fortunately, they had found this village. Otherwise, they would likely have all frozen to death in the snow.
The light rain fell for a day and a night. As the village chief predicted, after the rain hit the ground, it began to freeze. Soon, the icicles hanging from the eaves grew as long as swords.
The carefree children had their parents help them knock down the icicles, which they then wore at their waists like swords.
Jiang Wan, with nothing else to do, pulled San Lang to build a row of snowmen, big and small, in the courtyard.
Cheng Sinian heard they were building snowmen and came to join the fun. The three children busied themselves in the courtyard for most of the day, creating a pile of oddly shaped figures that the adults found utterly unappealing.
While the children played happily, the adults couldn't help but worry.
Since they had decided to stay and wait for the snow to melt, they would have to remain here for a considerable period. The village had other things, but firewood was scarce, and food supplies were also limited. The pressure to get through this period was immense.
Jiang Pan led a group of men and, while the ice hadn't become too severe, they hurried out to chop trees and stockpile firewood.
However, with snow piled a meter deep everywhere, chopping trees was no easy task.
They couldn't go into the mountains, so they decided to target the trees within the village.
The felled trees couldn't be burned immediately; they had to be dried indoors first, otherwise, the smoke would be so thick it would choke people to death.
After resolving the issue of heating, Jiang Pan planned to organize a grain-buying team to head to the town ahead to purchase food.
According to Madam Cheng, there was a small town nearby. Although she hadn't been there, she had heard people mention it. It was about half a day's journey away under normal circumstances.
But in the current situation, with the roads blocked by heavy snow, it would likely take two to three days to reach that town.
Even that wasn't the worst part; the most critical issue was that no one knew where the road was.
In an unfamiliar place, if they stepped in the wrong spot, they could lose their lives.
Therefore, the villagers harbored deep concerns, and everyone was hesitant.
Jiang Pan scratched his head in distress over this matter. In his helplessness, he shamelessly approached Jiang Wan again. "Wan Wan..."
Seeing his expression, Jiang Wan knew what he wanted to ask and raised her small hand to stop him.
"Dad, I do have a method that can allow everyone to reach that town in the fastest way possible, but this method is very technical."
Jiang Pan's eyes lit up. "What method?"
Jiang Wan turned to look at the dazzling white snow and slowly said, "Skiing."