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

Qin Xiao was finally certain—everyone was alive! That's wonderful!

But the next second, his face froze.

Wait a minute, the way he looked just now... with snot and tears streaming down his face, crawling in and then kneeling on the ground wailing and crying... wasn't that seen by everyone?

Qin Xiao: "..."

He quickly wiped his face, removing the snot and tears, and put on a stern face, feigning composure: "I... I was a little dizzy from the cold outside, I wasn't crying! Yan Shen, you've got it wrong. Alright, alright, since you're all alive, hurry up and pack up, get ready to leave. You have no idea how worried everyone was when you disappeared all night..."

Zhou Yanshen looked at him suspiciously: "But Brother Qin, you weren't crying just now because you were worried we'd become corpses..."

Before he could finish speaking, Su Wanqing gently pinched his waist.

Su Wanqing smiled and handed over the rolled pancake: "Alright, alright, Brother Qin came all this way to rescue us, he must be freezing. Quickly eat something to warm your stomach, I think Brother Qin was hungry just now."

Qin Xiao took the wrap and took a big bite. The hot meat juices mixed with the aroma of the noodles exploded in his mouth, and he felt like he had come back to life.

While chewing, he recounted what had happened the previous night—they hadn't returned to the regiment, and Liu Shuqing was frantic. He led a group of people in trucks to the county town overnight to look for them, and also asked Director Li to allocate three large trucks to search separately…

Everyone's eyes welled up with tears upon hearing this.

Zhou Yanshen also recounted what happened yesterday—the brakes had been tampered with, so he told the others to jump out of the vehicle first, and then he drove the tractor into the mountain to bring it to a stop, causing the tractor to overturn.

Qin Xiao felt a cold sweat break out on his back after hearing this. That was close!

"There's no time to lose, let's get in the car and get back to the regiment. Drop me off at the intersection, I need to go to the county town to let everyone know to stop looking for us." Zhou Yanshen stood up, "Once the snow stops, we have to go door-to-door to thank you. If it weren't for you, we would really be trapped here to death."

Qin Xiao rolled his eyes. Sleepy to death? Judging by the way you guys are eating and drinking like royalty, anyone who didn't know better would think you're on vacation. Well, all his tears that night were for nothing.

However, he knew what was important, and after eating, he felt energetic: "Alright, drop me off at the intersection. Our truck is still waiting in the middle. The other family members haven't slept all night either, they're all waiting for news. You guys go back first, I'll go report."

Everyone immediately packed their luggage. Su Wanqing's three large baskets and one large bundle were packed full, and there was still plenty of food inside. Qin Xiao was amazed—his sister-in-law's preparations were too thorough; with this much food, they could eat until the heavy snow stopped.

His brother's wife is really...

……

After getting ready, everyone wrapped themselves tightly in their clothes and scrambled outside. The snow and hail outside had buried them so deep that once you stepped in, you couldn't pull yourself out; they could only struggle out with their hands and feet. Zhou Yanshen and Qin Xiao used a lot of effort to lift Old Man Wu onto the truck.

"Let's leave the tractor here; it's completely totaled." Zhou Yanshen glanced at the overturned vehicle and shook his head.

No one objected, and they couldn't be dragged away even if they wanted to.

Once on the truck, although it was much colder than the shelter, the sound of the hailstones crackling in the cargo compartment was reassuring.

Su Wanqing had padded herself with thick cushions and clothes, and was comfortably half-lying down. The others were stamping their feet from the cold, but their faces were full of joy.

"Finally, I can go home!"

"I wonder how long this deadly hail will continue. This year is likely to be a major disaster."

The truck dared not turn off the engine and crawled slowly toward the 65th Regiment.

……

The 65th Regiment.

At noon, the weather warmed up a bit, and the hail indeed lessened. A large group of people, bundled up in thick cotton-padded coats and carrying various tools, set off in a grand procession to "pick up the people."

Liu Shuqing stopped Uncle Ding and Zhou's mother: "Old Ding, you two shouldn't go. So many people are helping to find someone; whether they can be found or not, they should be treated to a meal when they come back. You go back and make the necessary preparations."

Lin Tingting was taken aback: "No one died, why are we entertaining them?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou's mother jumped up: "That's right! My son isn't dead, why are we entertaining him? The way they were talking just now, it was as if Wanqing and my son were both dead, their bodies already cold! Yan Shen used to go on missions and wouldn't come back for months at a time, how could he be dead after only one night?"

Liu Shuqing waved his hand helplessly: "Alright, alright, I'll have the cafeteria do it. You guys are busy today anyway."

He thought that since Dr. Su had made so many contributions to the troupe, it was only right for the troupe to pay for it.

Uncle Ding's eyes were red and his voice was hoarse: "Secretary Liu, thank you for your trouble. Our family will provide the supplies. Everyone, please help us find someone. We can't be too shabby. I'll go home now, pack up the remaining supplies, and send them to the canteen."

……

Whether it was the clearing weather or just good luck, the truck traveled smoothly and picked up speed considerably. Upon reaching the intersection, Qin Xiao jumped out and ran towards the waiting trucks. He learned that the other families weren't there; they had all gone off with the other two trucks to search. He quickly told the driver to inform them—they'd found them, so the search was over.

It was much closer to the 65th Regiment from the intersection. After walking for more than half an hour, when we were still two kilometers away from the regiment, a dense crowd of people suddenly appeared on the road, as if they were searching for something in the snow. As soon as they saw the large truck, some people rushed over to stop it.

As soon as Zhou Yanshen poked his head out, the man was so startled that he sat down hard in the snow.

"My God! The dead have come back to life!"

His shout drew a large crowd. When they saw it was Zhou Yanshen, they all took several steps back in fright.

"Didn't they say yesterday that the bodies on the tractor were already cold? How come they're still alive on a big truck?"

Aunt Wang's health had improved considerably these past few days; the effects of drinking the spiritual spring water daily were becoming apparent. She had been feeling down, walking at the front of the crowd, but upon hearing the commotion, she rushed over like a gust of wind, grabbed Zhou Yanshen's arm, and looked him up and down:

"Xiao Zhou, you...you're still alive? What about Dr. Su? Has Commander Qin found you?"

Zhou Yanshen then realized—everyone had probably misunderstood. He quickly jumped out of the car, held up the tree branch shield, and grasped Granny Wang's icy hand, his heart warming: "Granny Wang, we're all alive, everyone in the car is fine. Wanqing is in the back car. You...came out to find us?"

Hearing the noise, Su Wanqing poked her head out of the carriage. Although she was pregnant, she was still quite agile, but she was wearing too many layers—four thermal underwear and three sweaters and long johns, making her look like a ball. She clumsily jumped off the train.

"Aunt Wang, we're all perfectly fine!"

Zhou Yanshen immediately raised the shield above her head, while his own head was pelted by hailstones.

Zhou Yanshen gasped, but managed to hold it in.