During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

Ye Dazhuang's body was taut and straight.

He could smell the scent of her hair—the fresh fragrance of wild vegetables, but more importantly, a subtle sweetness unique to women.

The smell made his heart race, but he didn't dare to move.

After a while, Ye Qingqing's breathing became even and long, and she finally fell asleep.

Ye Dazhuang carefully moved, pulled his arm out from under her neck, and then gently laid her flat, letting her rest her head on his lap.

That way she can sleep more comfortably.

He looked down at her face, the faint light reflecting off it, casting two small shadows on her eyelashes.

Her lips were slightly parted, like two flower petals.

Ye Dazhuang's Adam's apple bobbed. He wanted to reach out and help her gather her loose hair, but he pulled his hand back halfway through.

He was afraid of waking her.

Outside the cave, the wind and snow howled, but inside it was as warm as spring.

Ye Dazhuang leaned against the stone wall, motionless, letting her use his legs as a pillow... His legs had long been numb, but he couldn't bear to move an inch.

He was afraid that if he moved, she would wake up.

Ye Qingqing turned over in her sleep, buried her face in his chest, and unconsciously clutched his clothes.

Ye Dazhuang stiffened for a moment, then slowly relaxed.

He lifted the hand that wasn't being held down and, very gently, helped her wrap her coat tighter.

His hand hovered above her shoulder, hesitated for a moment, and finally just gently landed on the top of her hair, like brushing away a non-existent snowflake.

Outside, the wind and snow were raging, but inside the cave, the people were sleeping soundly.

It snowed all night.

It finally stopped when it was light the next day.

Ye Qingqing woke up by the fire and found that there was something extra on her cotton-padded coat—Ye Dazhuang's coat.

She paused for a moment, then looked up to see Ye Dazhuang leaning against the rock wall, eyes closed, resting, wearing only a thin undergarment.

Although the cave is warm like spring, it is spring, not summer!

Ye Dazhuang, who was wearing an undershirt, had lips that were a little purple.

"Hello!"

Ye Qingqing quickly took off her coat and draped it over him, clicking her tongue and saying, "Big Zhuang, are you stupid! Wearing so little will only make things brighter!"

Ye Dazhuang opened his eyes, shook his head slightly, and said, "It's nothing."

"You're still okay? Look at you, your lips are all purple!"

Ye Qingqing said irritably, but gently wrapped the coat around his body, "Put it on quickly, don't catch a cold."

Ye Dazhuang did not refuse and let her drape the cloak over his shoulders.

The two looked at each other for a moment, then Ye Qingqing looked away first, scratched her nose, and said...

"Let's go, the snow has finally stopped! If we don't hurry back, our families will be worried sick."

……

Kaoshantun, Ye family.

Ye Youliang was so worried that he couldn't sleep all night.

The snow started falling really hard yesterday evening, as if a huge pot in the sky had leaked.

You said he knew it was going to snow these past few days, so why didn't he stop the two kids from going up the mountain?

This is going to kill him!

He stood at the gate of the courtyard countless times, but each time all he saw was a vast expanse of white, and he couldn't see anything.

"Dad, please come inside!"

Ye Dali came out several times to persuade him, his face flushed with anxiety, "The snow is too heavy. Er Yatou and Da Zhuang must have found a place to take shelter in the mountains. They'll be fine."

"You don't know anything!"

Ye Youliang stamped his feet anxiously, "It's been snowing all night! Heavy snow will close the mountains and people will freeze to death!"

Li Chunyan was also so scared she wanted to cry, and she sobbed as she spoke.

"It's all my fault, I should have stopped him from going yesterday..."

Cuicui huddled in the corner, clutching the hem of her clothes tightly, her heart pounding with anxiety, wanting to cry too.

"Second sister...why aren't you back yet!"

Ye Youliang's eyes reddened with anxiety. "With such heavy snow, we can't even go up the mountain! What are we going to do?!"

As soon as dawn broke and the snow stopped, Ye Youliang couldn't sit still any longer.

"Dali, go and call some people! Get the Zhao brothers, and a few other able-bodied villagers, and go up the mountain to search!"

"Okay!" Ye Dali put on his cotton-padded coat and ran outside.

In less than half an hour, seven or eight people gathered at the village entrance. Zhao Tiezhu, the eldest son of the Zhao family, carried a hunting rifle, Zhao Tieniu, the second son, carried a rope, and there were several strong young men, all fully armed.

"Uncle Ye, don't worry, we will definitely find Qingqing and Dazhuang!" Zhao Tiezhu patted his chest and assured him.

Ye Youliang's eyes were red-rimmed. "Please, everyone..."

-

Meanwhile, Ye Qingqing and Ye Dazhuang were carrying two large baskets of wild vegetables, trudging down the mountain.

The mountain path was exceptionally difficult to traverse after the snow; each step sank up to the knees. Ye Qingqing slipped and fell twice, her cotton-padded trousers getting soaked, and she shivered from the cold.

"Slow down." Ye Dazhuang reached out to support her.

"It's alright, I'm pretty resilient!" Ye Qingqing said through gritted teeth. "Hurry back, your family must be worried sick."

The two quickened their pace and descended.

When we reached the halfway point of the mountain, we saw a group of people coming down the mountain and walking up the mountain.

Ye Qingqing squinted and looked around, then suddenly jumped up, waving and shouting, "Big Brother! Brother Zhao! We're here!"

The crowd below erupted in cheers.

"Found it! Found it!"

Ye Dali took off running up the mountain, with the Zhao brothers close behind.

When the two groups met, Ye Dali hugged Ye Qingqing tightly, his eyes red-rimmed, "Second girl! You scared me to death! Your father was so worried at home!"

"Big brother, big brother, I'm alright!" Ye Qingqing patted his back. "Look, the vegetables are back!"

Ye Dali then noticed the large bamboo basket on her back, filled with lush green wild vegetables, which stood out conspicuously in the snow.

Zhao Tiezhu walked over, looked Ye Qingqing and Ye Dazhuang up and down, and after confirming that they were both alright, he breathed a sigh of relief, "It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright. Uncle Ye was practically tearing the roof off the house."

"Let's go, let's go back quickly!" Ye Qingqing urged, "Our family is waiting!"

-

Kaoshantun, Ye Family Courtyard.

Ye Youliang was squatting at the gate of the courtyard, smoking one cigarette after another, leaving cigarette butts scattered all over the ground.

Seeing a group of people approaching on the mountain path in the distance, he suddenly stood up, squinting as he looked for a long time—

"It's Er Ya Tou! It's Da Zhuang!"

The old man was so excited that he threw down his pipe and stumbled out the door.

Ye Qingqing saw her father running towards her from afar and quickly quickened her pace, "Dad! I'm back!"

Ye Youliang rushed over, grabbed her hand, and felt her all over to make sure she wasn't missing any limbs. Tears welled up in his eyes.

The next day at noon, Ye Qingqing and Ye Dazhuang drove their cart to the town again.

Having learned from experience this time, Ye Qingqing parked the carriage directly at the street corner opposite the main entrance of Fushunlou Restaurant. It was just past 9 AM, the perfect time to welcome guests. She lifted the thick cloth covering the basket, and the neatly arranged, lush green wild vegetables inside once again attracted everyone's attention.

"Oh my, isn't this Miss Ye!" The wealthy man who had bought groceries yesterday was coming out of Fushun Restaurant, his eyes lighting up. "Your vegetables..."

Before he could finish speaking, a sarcastic voice interrupted from the side.

"Oh, who do we have here? Isn't this our Ye family's 'capable' Second Miss Ye, the one whose engagement was called off?"

Ye Qingqing frowned and turned to look.