Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

"Bullshit!" Liu Shuqing almost kicked him. "Where would they stay without letters of introduction? There are so many people on the bus, something must have happened! Hurry up, compile a list of who went to the county town today, and give me the list! Call all their family members over for a meeting!"

Before long, Secretary Liu gathered six or seven families, all of whom had gone to the county town that day and hadn't returned. This included Zhou's mother and Uncle Ding, who had been called there, as well as Qin Xiao, Qin Xue, Lin Tingting, and their group.

"Secretary Liu, why hasn't my wife come back yet? The child is crying and calling for his mother. It's snowing so heavily, I hope something has happened to him?"

"Yeah, this snow is getting weirder and weirder, and now it's hailing! We should have been home by five or six o'clock, but it's already nine. What if something happens on the way..."

Uncle Ding was pacing anxiously: "Secretary Liu, shouldn't we organize some people to go out and search? My Wanqing is pregnant, and with this blizzard and hail, what if something happens to her!"

Lin Tingting supported Zhou's mother, her eyes brimming with undisguised schadenfreude. She hadn't expected Su Wanqing to be so reckless and unlucky. "It would be better if something unexpected happened, or if she died out there and never came back."

Although Lin Tingting has given up on Zhou Yanshen, she still hates Su Wanqing. If it weren't for Su Wanqing, Qin Xue would be married to her cousin right now and wouldn't be guarding against her like a thief every day. Because of her cousin's life-saving grace to Qin Xiao, she would have become Qin Xiao's woman long ago.

Even if we take a step back and say that it wasn't for Su Wanqing, she could still have married her cousin. It's all Su Wanqing's fault; she ruined her life.

Qin Xiao looked utterly ashamed, regretting his actions deeply. He shouldn't have drunk alcohol today! He shouldn't have dragged Zhou Yanshen into pouring out his troubles! If he had come along, at least he could have lent a hand. His sister-in-law was carrying three children; if something really happened, he would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.

Seeing that no one around him could come up with a solution, he simply suggested, "Our convoy is stationed not far away, only a kilometer or two. I'll take some men and drive trucks along the road to search for them. If we find them, great; if not, we'll go directly to the county town to inquire. In case the snow is too heavy and they haven't made it back in time, they might have to spend the night in the county town."

Liu Shuqing's eyes lit up. He had gathered the family members precisely to organize a search and rescue operation. Su Wanqing was his key ally, and someone highly regarded by both Leader Jiang and his mentor. This time, her prediction of the blizzard had come true; Leader Jiang was likely to be promoted, so he had to find her even more!

"Commander Qin, it's so good to have your help! You're right, they might be stuck on the road, or they might not have even left the county. Either way, we're all relieved that you can go." He paused, lowering his voice, "But please be extremely careful on the road; those hailstones are no joke!"

Several men immediately stepped forward; their wives were still outside, and they had to go and look for them no matter what.

Liu Shuqing quickly organized the group: they packed dry rations, thick cotton-padded coats, and thermos flasks, just in case they found someone along the way. He gave each person a letter of introduction, and if they were in the county town, the group headquarters would reimburse their accommodation expenses.

Soon, Qin Xiao led seven or eight people, carrying quilts under their heads, and hurried towards their encampment.

Uncle Ding and Mother Zhou naturally stayed, as did Lin Tingting and Qin Xue. If it were the old Lin Tingting, she would have insisted on going with them, wanting to stick close to both her cousin and Qin Xiao. But now—

With such heavy hail outside, what if she got hurt? Neither of those two scoundrels cares about her; she'd rather take care of herself. As for Qin Xue, she only needs to keep an eye on Lin Tingting.

Soon, the trucks at the encampment started up and slowly drove into the snowstorm. The snow on the road was too thick, and the wheels kept slipping, getting stuck every few steps, making the journey slower than walking.

The truck bed was enclosed, and several men were crammed inside, silent. Qin Xiao sat in the passenger seat, the beam of his flashlight piercing the white snow, scanning the road back and forth.

There was no one there, absolutely no one.

The blizzard had long since erased all traces left by the tractor. Moreover, the route they took was completely different from the intersection of the 66th Regiment where Su Wanqing and her group were heading.

……

Su Wanqing had no idea that someone was frantically searching for them.

Inside the shelter, everyone huddled together and endured the night. Hail pelted outside all night, and no one dared to stay outside for long. Even urinating required protecting one's head and bottom. As for needing to defecate... well, you had to hold it in; relieving yourself outside for a while might give you a concussion from the hail.

The next day, the hail continued to fall, mixed with heavy snow and howling winds. Although it was daytime, the sky was gray and gloomy, as if the end of the world had arrived prematurely.

Several people huddled in the cramped shelter, their bodies aching all over, their bones aching. They had been sitting all night, their backs and legs aching, and everyone's face bore the exhaustion of staying up all night.

Zhou Yanshen went to the doorway several times to clear away the accumulated hail and snow. By the end of the night, the snow at the doorway was up to his knees; if it wasn't cleared in time, it might even block the way out.

Aunt Zhang couldn't stay still. She paced back and forth in the cramped space, muttering, "When can we go back... It snowed all night, and the snow is up to our thighs. We can't even walk back."

Li Laowu's wife's eyes were red and she was almost crying with anxiety: "When will this snow stop? Why won't it stop? If this keeps up, the snow will be taller than a person, what are we going to do?"

Old Wu sighed and recalled the past: "Thirty years ago, there was a similar heavy snowfall that lasted for three days and three nights. The snow was higher than a person. Back then, people who didn't go home froze to death outside, and people inside the houses couldn't get out because the doors were buried in the snow."

"We...we're not going to be trapped here and die, are we?" Wang Zhiqing's voice trembled.

Aunt Zhang slapped her thigh: "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and take turns shoveling snow! Otherwise, we'll be buried alive!"

Li Laowu's wife and Wang Zhiqing and a few others took turns clearing the snow and hail from the doorway. After freezing overnight, the hail had turned into ice lumps, and the outside was a vast expanse of white, the whole world transformed into a frozen wonderland.

Compared to the anxiety of the others, Su Wanqing remained calm and composed. She asked Zhou Yanshen to fetch some clean hailstones to prepare breakfast. In this awful weather, even with a fire, the temperature was low, so everyone needed to eat well and have plenty of meat, otherwise getting sick would be troublesome.

She plans to make another pot of braised pork belly, adding more meat, dried vegetables, dried mushrooms, and dried green beans, and also a handful of raisins she bought yesterday, so at least it will have some sweetness.

Everyone else hesitated, thinking they were lucky to have eaten something good yesterday, but it seemed Dr. Su would have something to eat today…

How much food did Dr. Su bring with her when she went out?

Oh, Dr. Su bought this at the market yesterday? Does Dr. Su always bring back loads of stuff from the market? Luckily, Dr. Su brought enough, otherwise, we don't even want to think about it, we'd probably be starving by now.