CHAPTER 672: CHAPTER 55: THE WINTER THAT HARMS FARMERS

Time seemed to stand still, Cherry Valley in front of Xiao Xian gave her the illusion of being stuck in March or April. It wasn’t that Cherry Valley was unaffected by the snowy weather, rather the opposite; the white snow highlighted the various fruit trees and the beautiful flowers of late winter even more charmingly.

At the entrance of the valley, rows of persimmon trees full of amber-colored persimmons contrasted starkly with the desolate tire tracks left by vehicles on the ground.

The roses had withered, and ice shards coated the pruned branches, emitting a crystal-like brightness under the harsh moonlight.

A few rare blackish-purple cherries hung on the cherry trees.

Outside, vegetation had long withered, it was rare to see a variety of winter fruits hanging on the branches, no wonder Feng Xing was amazed.

Xiao Xian frowned upon seeing this scene; Feng Xing might not think much of it, instead finding the snowy scenery of the valley beautiful. Zhou Ziang, visiting for the first time, failed to notice anything unusual.

But Xiao Xian clearly remembered Mei Nian once proudly stating that there was a reason why the Mei Family’s ancestors chose Cherry Valley as the family’s stronghold. From a strategic perspective, Cherry Valley was surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only one narrow path leading into the valley.

This path forced people like Feng Xing, who came by car, to park at the entrance and walk on foot into the valley. Furthermore, the geographic location of Cherry Valley, situated among several mountains, formed a small basin.

In Cherry Valley, the climate was like spring all year round, even in winter, the temperature could reach about ten degrees Celsius. People could often be seen in light coats, pruning branches and picking fruits, even during the winter.

"Is there really anything to eat inside with all lights off? We should have eaten in town before coming," Feng Xing looked around, hearing only the distinctive "squeak" of shoes stepping on snow. A man in his fifties, wearing a traditional north-eastern Lei Feng hat and a thick long coat, approached carrying a rechargeable lamp, exhaling white breath.

He smiled slightly when he recognized it was Xiao Xian. However, the current Cherry Valley and the old village chief’s attire clearly did not match what Mei Nian had described.

"Miss Xiao, Master Huang informed you, I’m truly sorry to have you come in such freezing weather," Before leaving Beijing at the end of the year, Mei Nian visited the ancestral hall, burnt incense, and worshipped the ancestors.

Before she left, she told the village chief that Xiao Xian was the successor she had found for the Mei Family, and if something happened to her on this trip, the affairs of the Mei Family would be handled by Xiao Xian. Thus, the village chief addressed her directly as Miss Xiao.

"Village chief, why is it so dark here, and has the winter always been like this here?" Xiao Xian snapped a rose ice branch; the rose had just sprouted its pistil when the rapidly falling temperatures froze it under the cold ice and snow.

The sudden drop in temperature in Cherry Valley caught the villagers unprepared, even without basic cold protection.

"This is the first year it’s been like this. The temperature dropped suddenly about three or four days ago. I woke up frozen in the middle of the night. When I opened the door, the whole Cherry Valley seemed as if it had fallen into an ice cellar. Just a week ago, the weather was warm, usually around eleven or twelve degrees, then overnight, it dropped to zero, probably similar to the temperature in Beijing." The old village chief disliked the cold, his hands clad in lamb wool mitts. The villagers were accustomed to the harmonious temperatures all year round, and with such a drop in temperature, many old people and children fell ill.

These past few days, people from the valley were continuously taken to the city for medical treatment.

Feng Xing, however, was embarrassed by his growling stomach from driving all the way. Fortunately, Village Chief had heard from Mao Dazhu that Xiao Xian was coming tonight, so Sister-in-law Hua kept the stove warm. As soon as they arrived, the stove was heated, hot water was poured, and flour was mixed. A bowl of steaming wild vegetable dumplings with minced pork and mushrooms was prepared. They ate warmly, removing the chill from their bodies.

After the meal, Xiao Xian asked Zhou Ziang to stay with Feng Xing, and under the accompaniment of the village chief, went to the Mei Family ancestral hall to search for the pieces of the Ice Blade left by Mei Nian.

The fragments of the Ice Blade were enshrined on the altar table of the ancestral hall. As the year neared its end, fruits and beverages had already been placed there.