In conclusion, by the end, Shen Xiaoyan and Yue Qingxin had completely devoured the entire plate of pastries.
After taking a sip of hot tea, Shen Xiaoyan sighed.
After eating one’s fill, one truly felt life was complete.
“Big sister, what are your thoughts?”
Now that they were full, Shen Xiaoyan naturally thought about what had just happened.
Although this matter still required Sima Han to make the final decision, it was still necessary to ask for Yue Qingxin’s opinion.
When Yue Qingxin heard Shen Xiaoyan’s words, she fell silent. After a long pause, she said, “I don’t know what I’m thinking myself. I really like my current life, but…”
Yue Qingxin didn’t finish her sentence, but Shen Xiaoyan felt she could understand her meaning.
Women and men were always different. Women liked a peaceful life, but men were different. Men always pursued careers.
Alright, even if this was ancient times and the concept of careers didn’t exist, it was the same with a different phrasing.
“I will still respect Ah Han’s decision. No matter what he thinks, I will support him. I believe Rong ge is the same.”
Yue Qingxin said after half a day of silence, her tone filled with an undeniable firmness.
Shen Xiaoyan had long realized that Yue Qingxin would say this, but hearing it now still made her feel a sense of emotion.
In this era, women ultimately still had to rely more on men.
It wasn't that women couldn't be independent, but rather, after men made certain decisions, women would be more understanding and accommodating to them.
It seemed this point was the same, whether in Shen Xiaoyan's previous life or this one.
This topic was indeed a bit heavy, but it couldn't affect everyone’s normal lives.
Shen Xiaoyan and Yue Qingxin sat quietly for a while longer before walking out together.
The people outside had already changed the topic of conversation.
Even though the topic had changed, the atmosphere remained very heavy.
“The weather this year is very unusual. I really don’t know if it’s good or bad.”
As soon as Shen Xiaoyan and Yue Qingxin walked into the main room, they heard Lu Taobao say with great emotion.
Hearing him say this, Shen Xiaoyan’s mood also became heavy.
When the first snow fell, she had felt that the weather was unusual. Even after the snow stopped and the sun came out, she hadn't paid much attention to it.
But after a few days passed, the sky began to turn gloomy again.
It was as if, just now when she woke up, it had been bright and sunny, but now, in the time it took to eat a meal, dark clouds had gathered overhead, giving the impression that it was about to turn dark.
In the cold winter, there certainly wouldn't be a violent storm.
The only possibility was that another heavy snowfall was coming.
“This snow is probably going to be substantial,” Yi Zhixie said softly.
Everyone in the room fell silent.
Logically speaking, they were not lacking in money or food, and their homes were stable and comfortable.
As long as they kept the heated brick bed burning, no matter how much snow fell outside, it wouldn’t affect their normal lives.
However, it was precisely because of this that they all felt so heavy-hearted.
Because here, not every household was like them.
Some poor families had homes that were already leaky all around and were on the verge of collapse.
If an abnormal blizzard were to descend, it was unknown whether those old, dilapidated houses could withstand it until the snow stopped.
If Shen Xiaoyan and the others felt heavy-hearted due to pity for the less fortunate,
then Sima Han’s worries were entirely different.
Regardless of Sima Han’s current status, he was once a prince.
As a prince, and one who aspired to be the emperor, his heart could not be without the country and its people.
Therefore, now that there was a premonition of a snow disaster, his heavy heart could be imagined.
“Otherwise, should we first inform the village head and ask every household to repair their houses?” Shen Xiaoming suggested.
“It’s useless,” Zheng Wei said, directly negating Shen Xiaoming’s suggestion.
Seeing Shen Xiaoming’s bewildered expression, Zheng Wei continued to explain, “Look at the sky outside. The blizzard might arrive within the hour. There’s simply no time to repair houses now.
“Even if there were enough time, these people wouldn’t heed our advice,” Shen Xiaoyan added.
“Why?” Shen Xiaoming asked, confused.
“Repairing houses is not just a matter of time and labor; there's a more crucial problem…”
Shen Xiaoyan didn’t finish her sentence, waiting for Shen Xiaoming to figure it out himself. She then looked at him quietly.
Shen Xiaoming was initially truly confused. Seeing that Shen Xiaoyan wouldn’t speak, he shifted his gaze to the others. Seeing that they were also looking at him without speaking, he could only ponder it himself.
“I know,” Shen Xiaoming exclaimed with sudden enlightenment, his eyes lighting up, “It’s money. Whether it’s hiring people or buying materials, it all requires money.”
“Correct.” Shen Xiaoyan looked at Shen Xiaoming with admiration. He had indeed grown up to be able to think of this problem.
“They are all farmers. They have limited silver. Even though they’ve earned some money in the past two years by growing and selling Hwahua Pi watermelons, their expenses are also high. Therefore, if you tell them now that there will be a blizzard and ask them to repair their houses, they might not listen. They might even cry poverty to you and ask you to repair them.”
Shen Xiaoyan continued, “We have some money, but we can help one or two families. We can’t help everyone, can we? Besides, we don’t have this obligation.”
After listening to Shen Xiaoyan’s words, everyone fell silent. Although Shen Xiaoyan’s words were not particularly pleasant to hear, they were the truth.
Their intention in reminding those people was good, but they shouldn’t bear this burden because of it.
“Then what should we do?” Shen Xiaoming asked.
However, no one answered his question, because everyone didn’t know what to do.
After sitting silently for a while longer, everyone dispersed. Since they couldn’t figure out a solution, it was better to return to their own places. Sitting here was of no use anyway.
Shen Xiaoyan and Zheng Wei were sitting on the heated brick bed in the east side room, chatting. Suddenly, Zheng Wei’s gaze fixed on the window, and he said, “It’s snowing.”
Shen Xiaoyan, who was looking down and teasing Zheng Jiang, looked up outside when Zheng Wei spoke. Indeed, snowflakes had begun to fall outside.
Each snowflake was large and thick, clearly indicating that many flakes had overlapped.
In a short while, the speed of the falling snowflakes increased significantly, and the ground was already coated in white.
Watching the fluttering snowflakes, Shen Xiaoyan’s emotions were somewhat mixed.
A timely snow predicts a good harvest, but unfortunately, she didn’t know if this blizzard would still bring the same joy to people.
Time flew by until evening. After dinner, Shen Xiaoyan looked out the window again. The snow on the ground was already about half a foot thick, but the snowfall had not lessened.
“Mimi, don’t look. It’s going to come no matter what. You can look, but it will still come,” Zheng Wei said as he came out of the inner room, seeing Shen Xiaoyan with her face pressed against the window, looking outside.
Shen Xiaoyan turned her head and smiled at Zheng Wei, asking, “Are they all asleep?”
“Yes,” Zheng Wei replied in a low voice. He walked over and sat down next to Shen Xiaoyan.
“Isn’t it cold to be leaning against the window?” Zheng Wei said, reaching out to touch Shen Xiaoyan’s cheek.
His warm fingers touched Shen Xiaoyan’s cheek, and as he had predicted, it was ice-cold.
“Why are you being so disobedient?” Zheng Wei said softly with a hint of reproach, but his hands did not hesitate. He placed both his hands on Shen Xiaoyan’s cheeks, trying his best to warm her face with his own hands.