Three days before New Year’s Eve, the snow in Suining City had already piled up to thigh height.
The bitter wind cut across people’s faces like knives. Unless absolutely necessary, no one ventured out onto the streets.
The farther west one went, the heavier the snowfall became. In Qingxia County, at the westernmost edge of the region, the snow had already reached waist height, while the icicles hanging from the eaves stretched seven feet long.
On the main street, Zhao Jinmin, magistrate of Qingxia County, was still freezing despite wearing more than a dozen layers of clothing.
His pale-yellow skin had been chilled white. Bright-red chilblains stood out on both earlobes, and even the sweat breaking out on his back was cold.
Pointing at a mound of snow jutting out ahead, Zhao Jinmin shouted at the yamen runners, “You lot, get over there! All this snow must be cleared before dark!”
More than a hundred yamen runners were spread across the two main streets. Wooden shovels, iron spades—nearly every tool in the storeroom had been brought out.
To keep their roofs from collapsing under the weight, the shopkeepers on either side of the street had to climb ladders twice a day to sweep off the snow.
Every thirty paces or so, a small mountain of snow had been piled up along the street. The slush underneath had frozen into solid ice, so hard that even a knife could not chop through it.
As for which shop still had customers, the only one was the coal store opened by Song Jinzhao.
“I’d like ten jin of smokeless coal.” The man had his face and neck buried deep inside his clothes. Even his hands trembled as he took out his copper coins and household register.
After giving the register a quick glance, the shop assistant efficiently grabbed a sack and went to fill it with coal.
The shopkeeper standing behind the counter looked up. Seeing that the man’s padded coat was thick and free of even a single patch, he assumed the man’s family was reasonably well-off and casually remarked, “It’s going to keep snowing for several more days. You’d better buy a little more to take home, so you won’t have to come back again in a few days.”
Several threads of blood appeared on the man’s cracked lips as he spoke.
“Ten jin is enough. If we use it sparingly, it’ll last a month.”
Realizing he had misjudged the man, the shopkeeper immediately fell silent.
After the man shouldered the sack and left, the shop assistant, a local, walked over to the shopkeeper, who was from out of town.
“His family used to run a shop across the street. Later, both his parents came down with tuberculosis. Over the past six months, they’ve sold everything they could. That padded coat he’s wearing is probably the last thing they have left.”
The shopkeeper’s pupils widened, and the corners of his mouth slowly drooped.
When the man carried the sack home, the door was opened by a boy barely as tall as the door latch.
“Big brother, you’re back~”
The man smiled and nodded. Once inside, he quickly shut the door.
The fire in the stove had not yet gone out. He carefully picked up a piece of honeycomb coal and placed it inside. Once it caught, he put it into the brazier and covered it with the hood.
The boy grasped the two small handles on the brazier and carried it into the room on the left.
Two elderly people were propped up in bed. Their hair was white, and their mouths hung open, revealing a few jagged, yellow-stained teeth.
When the old woman saw the boy enter, her lips moved faintly. Her voice was hoarse, as though it had been rubbed raw with sandpaper.
“Shuanzi, your brother’s back?”
The boy set the brazier beside the bed and held his hands over it, rubbing them until they were warm.
“He’s back.”
Before the words had even faded, the man entered carrying a clay kettle and set it on top of the brazier’s hood.
After finishing, he sat down beside the bed and clasped his mother’s hand, his gaze fixed on both of his parents’ faces.
“Father, Mother, your son has failed you. After the New Year, I plan to go to Suining City to find work.”
The words brought tears to the eyes of all three people in the room.
The boy bit his lip, gripping the hem of his clothes tightly in both hands.
After a moment’s thought, he put on a brave front and said through a choked voice, “Big brother, don’t worry. I’m here. I’ll take good care of Father and Mother.”
The man lovingly stroked his younger brother’s head. Shuanzi was only ten years old, yet he would have to look after two elderly people on his own. He could not bear it and could not feel at ease, but there was no other choice.
There was no work to be found in Qingxia County. He had to go somewhere he could find a job; otherwise, before long, they would not even have enough money to buy medicine.
“I know Shuanzi has always been capable. Once your brother has established himself in Suining City, I’ll bring all of you there.”
The boy nodded through tear-filled eyes. He clenched his teeth, barely managing not to cry aloud.
