Under Gu Lingling's careful care, Grandma Yao's illness gradually improved. Whether it was because she had figured things out herself or for other reasons, her mood was much better than before.

The first snow of winter arrived quietly on a silent night.

Gu Lingling was startled awake by a dream in the middle of the night once again.

Speaking of which, she hadn't had similar dreams for a long time. She originally thought it was a coincidence, but it felt too real.

She dreamt that Old Man Zhou was dragged out, the snow was thick, and he was just wearing a ragged cotton jacket when he was taken away.

The cotton inside the jacket was exposed, offering no warmth at all.

And those people were wantonly mocking him, even pulling out the exposed cotton, and some even rode on him.

This torment went on for the entire day, and he was only sent back by someone late at night because he was burning up and on the verge of breakdown.

Captain Gu Tongzhou didn't dare to say anything either.

Because those people were from the small militia, and for some reason, they'd targeted Old Man Zhou.

Gu Lingling couldn't fall back asleep after waking up.

This dream was somewhat different from the previous ones. In her previous dreams, there wasn't an exact time indicating when the events would happen, but this time she clearly remembered, it was two days later, just after the heavy snow stopped.

What should she do?

In the dream, Old Man Zhou was barely alive when he was sent back, a perfectly fine person taken out for a day, and he lost his life upon return!

Gu Lingling wiped away her tears; no, she couldn't let Mr. Zhou suffer.

"What? You want to go back now?" Grandma Yao looked at the snow falling heavier outside. "Wait till your grandfather returns to take you back, alright?"

"Grandma, I'm fine, dressed warmly," Gu Lingling said with a smile.

She was wearing all newly-made cotton-padded clothes from Grandma Yao this year, and they were warm.

"By the way, Grandma, I remember Grandpa has an unused cotton coat. How about I take it back with me?" That cotton coat was also patched up a lot but was better than Old Man Zhou's coat.

At least it was sturdy and warm.

Gu Lingling thought, once she got back, she could take the coat apart and add some new cotton inside. It should withstand the artificially harsh conditions.

"What do you want it for?" Grandma Yao asked.

"The old man behind our house has no one with him and nothing warm to wear," Gu Lingling explained.

"Isn't that person... that kind?" Gu Lingling's house had no one living behind it, but there was a broken temple not far away, where some fallen bad elements stayed.

Grandma Yao knew this.

Gu Lingling had never mentioned anything about her learning from Old Man Zhou to anyone, not because she didn't trust Grandma Yao, just didn't want to worry her unnecessarily.

Now it seemed it had been the right decision.

"It's okay, I'll secretly bring it over, nobody will notice." Remembering her dream made Gu Lingling anxious, urging Grandma Yao to get her things and also help add some new cotton inside, braving the heavy snow back to Nanshui Village.

Gu Chunhai had been idle since winter arrived because with the poor road conditions, the transportation team hadn't gone out much since winter began.

Seeing Gu Lingling return, Gu Chunhai angrily said, "Why didn't you send a message so someone could come pick you up?"

He continued, "Hurry up and warm up on your grandpa's brick bed."

After speaking, he started arranging the fire on her room's heated bed and began preparing meals.

"Dad, I'll go see Enen later." With Old Man Zhou on her mind, Gu Lingling said to him.

Old Sir Gu had already heard Gu Lingling return and pulled his granddaughter to sit in the warmest spot on the brick bed, "You silly child, why come back in such heavy snow? Look at your face, all red from the cold."

"Hehe, Grandpa, I'm not cold," Gu Lingling giggled.

This is the feeling of home.

(Please support the official subscription with your votes!)