Thanks to Koshka HP for the kofis, enjoy the bonus chapters!

Zhao Yueniang stuck her head out from the kitchen hut, a smile on her face. “Brother, it’s time to eat.”

“Alright.”

Because He Dongdong had woken up late today, Zhao Yueniang made breakfast later than usual too. She fried some flatbreads and used a clay pot to boil rice soup—just right for both adults and kids to eat.

He Dongdong hadn’t had breakfast in a long time. When the drought first started, they could still eat three meals a day. Later, to save food, they cut down to two.

Since the cradle wasn’t done yet, He Dongdong could only hold one child, while Lin Yu held the other. The two little ones—Yun-ger was lighter, so He Dongdong was afraid of tiring Lin Yu out and asked him to hold the lighter one, Yun-ger. Yun-ger didn’t cry or fuss, but when Lin Yu was eating, he reached out his little hands as if he wanted to eat too.

Lin Yu let out a laugh and first fed him a spoonful of rice paste. The little one smacked his lips a few times before finally stopping his little hands. Lin Yu felt that children were actually quite fun, especially since little Yun-ger was more lively and loved to laugh.

After the adults finished eating, the two of them took spoons and fed the two little cubs again. Once they were full, they held them while sitting in the courtyard to bask in the sun. The three of them played around the two children, while Wei Qingshan squatted there, continuing to work on the cradle.

He Dongdong was in a much better mood today, even smiling a little, as he reached out to tease the child on his lap. “Yu-ger, you have no idea. Since I came here, I’ve only dared to really sleep at night. In the village, we were terrified that bandits or bad people would jump into the courtyard. At night, even Shi Tou and I didn’t dare fall into deep sleep.”

“How’s the village doing now?”

Only today did Lin Yu finally have the time to ask about the situation in the village. Wei Qingshan thought that since the winds and snow in the mountains during winter were harsh, he had originally planned to go back this time to see how things were. If it were peaceful, they would return, but from the looks of it, they would be spending this winter in the mountains.

But he wasn’t afraid. This time, they brought food back up the mountain again, enough for them to eat until spring next year. Besides, they had harvested some corn and peanuts in the mountains this year, not to mention the courtyard was full of game—they definitely wouldn’t run out of food.

“Don’t even mention it. Every few days, bandits or bad people break into the village, robbing food and killing people. Every household is living in fear. Those who could hide have already fled. My eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law took the children and went to my eldest sister-in-law’s family. Her maiden home is remote and still somewhat peaceful for now.”

“How did things turn out like this?”

Lin Yu had been living deep in the mountains. Aside from once encountering jackals attacking them, the rest of the time had been peaceful and quiet, with no lack of food or drink—life was comfortable. He really hadn’t expected the village to end up like this.

“A few days ago, there was a lot of rain. The drought has passed, but no one planted the second crop this year. Then famine broke out. The refugees who couldn’t get food grouped and became bandits.”

“Are Sang Niang and Chun-ger doing okay?”

“I heard Sang Niang took Qing-ger and found a distant relative to hide with. Chun-ger and the others are alright. No bad people have broken into their house. My house and my eldest brother’s house were broken into, but luckily, there were men at home, so we fought them off and avoided disaster.”

He Dongdong sighed. “The families who live at the entrance of the village had it the worst. The moment the bandits came in, they targeted those houses first.”

Lin Yu listened in shock. “How could things get this bad?”

Zhao Yueniang was also listening at the side, her eyes not blinking. Although she and Lin Yu used to suffer from hunger and cold, they had never experienced any real natural disasters since childhood. So naturally, it all felt unbelievable. Besides, they had moved into the mountains for over half a year now and had been living peacefully and comfortably ever since. How could they have known the outside world had become like this?

“Our family could still be counted as lucky. Though we don’t have enough food, if we eat sparingly, we can still make it past the New Year. Some families had it worse. When they ran out of food, they could only dig up wild grass roots to fill their stomachs. Even all the elm bark in the village was stripped off and eaten.”

Zhao Yueniang let out an “ah”—“Even elm bark can be eaten?”

“It’s better than starving to death. That elm bark was pounded into powder and boiled to eat.”

Even He Dongdong had never eaten that stuff. He had only heard that some families in the village were already so hungry they were eating bark and wild grass roots.

Lin Yu listened with a blank expression, lightly patting the little boy wrapped in the swaddling cloth. This mess would probably go on into the new year. If some families were lacking grain, then this winter would be hard for them to get through.

Thankfully, Wei Qingshan had acted decisively. As soon as the drought started, he brought Lin Yu and Zhao Yueniang into the mountains. That was the only reason they had avoided this natural disaster.

He Dongdong looked around the courtyard—tall bamboo walls, more than ten chickens in the chicken coop, plus a mule, a deer, not to mention a dozen cages of wild chickens and wild rabbits. Golden corn was drying on the bamboo fence in the courtyard, and strings of wind-dried meat hung under the kitchen eaves.

This kind of scene probably couldn’t be found in the whole village anymore—such an abundant household.

“Yu-ger, I didn’t expect you to be living so well in the mountains. When you first went up there, I was really worried about you. Seeing you like this now, I’m really happy for you.”

“Don’t say that. Just a while ago,o we were attacked by jackals. There are still scratch marks on the front gate. Look at Baixue’s leg—there’s still a bare patch with no fur.”

He Dongdong let out a startled sound, “Even the mountains are this dangerous?”

Lin Yu nodded. “If it weren’t for Baixue that time, Yueniang and I might’ve been pounced on by those jackals. Now we rarely go out. Even when we do, it’s just around the gate. Who knows what dangerous wild beasts are hiding in these woods? Dong-ger, don’t go out either while you’re here. The forest is deep and dangerous.”

He Dongdong nodded repeatedly. “Got it, Yu-ger. Thank you so much this time.”

Lin Yu put on a stern face. “Say another word of thanks and I’ll get mad.”

Yesterday, Wei Qingshan had told him that when Dong-ger came up the mountain, he carried food on his back. Shi Tou even wanted to carry two more bags. Right now, even if you had silver, you might not be able to buy grain. Shi Tou trying to bring so much up was just his way of thanking them for taking Dong-ger and the others in.

Besides, since Dong-ger came up, the place had become livelier. Wei Qingshan said that when the heavy snow sealed the mountains, in some places it could pile up as high as a person’s waist. Once Dong-ger brought the kids up, the house would be full of life.

By midday, Wei Qingshan had finished making the cradle. He made it big enough that even when the two kids grew a bit, they still wouldn’t feel crowded lying in it.

He Dongdong laid the small quilts he brought inside and liked them very much. “We’ll let them sleep in the cradle at night.”

In the blink of an eye, the weather turned cold, and all the leaves had fallen. Lin Yu was already wearing his lined jacket. Now, even washing hands and face required hot water, and even the two kids were bundled up like little balls.

He Dongdong had also adapted to life in the mountains. Other than rarely going out, he no longer had to live in constant fear, though he was somewhat worried about Shi Tou and the others.

Living in the mountains, they naturally lacked no firewood. Wei Qingshan had chopped down a few trees early on and stacked the chopped firewood beside the kitchen house.

Now that the weather had turned cold, the kitchen house, which had always been half-open, was covered with corn stalks that Wei Qingshan had bundled together to form a wall. The corn stalks still had leaves on them, and when bundled tightly, they were excellent at blocking the wind.

The front of the room where Zhao Yueniang and He Dongdong slept had been made with bamboo. It was fine in the summer and autumn, but once winter came, it let in the wind. Lin Yu and Wei Qingshan bundled another layer of corn stalks around the outside of that bamboo room, so it became much warmer inside.

They also laid a layer of corn stalks beneath the three beds, then spread out some fluffy dried grass, and finally laid the bedding on top. It was soft and warm.

He Dongdong couldn’t help but praise Lin Yu for knowing how to manage a household, “Brother Yu, you really know what to do.”

“These corn stalks are really useful. Luckily, we planted a patch right in front of the door this year.”

Lin Yu didn’t have much to do anymore. He used to often take Zhao Yueniang with him to gather some mountain goods nearby, but after being attacked by jackals, Wei Qingshan no longer allowed him to go into the forest. He could only walk around near the front door.

The silk cloth he brought up the mountain had already been embroidered. A basket of fifty to sixty silk handkerchiefs now sat there. Now that He Dongdong was here, he chatted with He Dongdong and played with the children, so his days were no longer boring.

He Dongdong was afraid of tiring him out, so he wouldn’t let Lin Yu touch the dirty work like changing the children’s diapers. He cleaned all that up himself. Normally, Lin Yu and Zhao Yueniang helped look after the children, and he was already endlessly grateful. How could he let them do rough labor?

After the weather got colder, Shi Tou came up the mountain again. He carried some food and supplies with him. When He Dongdong saw that Shi Tou was safe and sound, he felt like crying.

“How’s Mother and the others? Is everything in the village still alright?”

“Just stay here in peace. Mother and the others are fine, all safe. I heard the imperial court has already sent people over, and the relief grain has also arrived. Though things are a bit better, I’m afraid winter won’t be easy, and the bandits are becoming even more rampant.”

“Then take good care of yourself.”

Shi Tou talked about the situation in the village. Now that the weather was cold and clothing and food were scarce, there were fears that people would freeze to death. Desperate refugees were becoming even more brazen. Several villages near the town had already been completely plundered. Their own village was further away, so the situation was a bit better.

Shi Tou drank a sip of hot tea. “Qingshan-ge, Wei Er has gone missing. I’m afraid it’s not good.”

Wei Qingshan’s expression was indifferent. “What do you mean, not good?”

“That time, weren’t Xia Hehua’s mother and older brother staying in our village? They were eating from Wei Er’s household, and when there wasn’t enough to eat, they got desperate. One day, Xia Hehua’s older brother followed the bandits and kidnapped a ger from the village. After that, Wei Er also disappeared. I’m afraid he went off with the bandit, too.”

He Dongdong cursed, “He actually harmed people from his own village! He is worse than a beast!”

“Qingshan-ge, if you run into Wei Er in the future, be careful. Though we’re not sure, it’s pretty much confirmed. His brother-in-law really did kidnap a ger from the village. Sigh, poor ger. Pah! Xia Hehua’s older brother, loafing around doing nothing, was already that old and couldn’t marry a wife or husband, and now, he took advantage of the chaos to do something like that. Pah!”

Wei Qingshan frowned slightly. “I got it.”

At noon, Lin Yu stir-fried a dish of preserved meat and braised a rabbit. After Shi Tou had eaten, he went back down the mountain.

Now there were bandits in the mountains near the village. Luckily, they lived in the deeper and more remote parts, so nothing had happened to them.

When Shi Tou came up, he had brought a lot of food from home—dried red dates, dried vegetables, half a sack of white flour—these things were priceless now. Even if you had silver, you couldn’t buy food. Since they were helping take care of his husband and children, how could he bear not to bring some supplies?

Now that the weather had turned cold, Lin Yu liked sleeping while sticking close to Wei Qingshan even more. It was warm and very comfortable. If Wei Qingshan got up early, he would get up with him too, saying he didn’t like sleeping alone because the blanket wasn’t warm.

Lin Yu, like a little cat, found a cozy spot on Wei Qingshan’s chest, and even his little feet had to touch Wei Qingshan’s calf. He let out a contented hum. Wei Qingshan pinched the back of his neck, “Don’t move around, sleep properly.”

Lin Yu let out a hum. “Qingshan, do you think Wei Er really became a bandit?”

“Hard to say. His family didn’t harvest much grain in the first crop this year, and Xia Hehua’s mother and older brother were freeloading off him. I guess the grain in the house was long gone.”

“Xia Hehua’s older brother is awful. Staying in the village and harming our own people. Truly detestable.”

“Mm, he is not a good person. Just avoid those people whenever we see them in the future.”

“Got it. I wouldn’t bother with them anyway.”

Lin Yu and Wei Qingshan chatted a bit and gradually fell asleep. But Wei Qingshan wasn’t sleepy at all. Wei Er had most likely become a villain. The two families had deep-seated grudges. He hoped he was just overthinking it.

A few days after Shi Tou left, snow began to fall in the deep mountains. The snow was heavy, coming down in large clumps. They lit a fire in the little wooden house, and everyone sat inside by the fire. Lin Yu had helped make a bed of rabbit fur in the cradles of the two little cubs. The two little ones lay inside, not cold at all.

Other than Wei Qingshan, none of the others had experienced a mountain winter. The three of them all stretched their necks to look outside. “What a heavy snow! I’ve never seen snow this heavy.”

“Me neither. It must be snowing in the village too.”

He Dongdong was a bit worried about how Shi Tou and the others were getting through the winter. There was some grain at home—they wouldn’t starve to death, but they wouldn’t be full either. As long as they were safe, that was enough. Now that the drought had passed, once spring began next year, they could start planting crops again.

Each of the four adults held a handwarmer, and He Dongdong had one too. Last time Shi Tou went into the mountains, he brought one back for him. The handwarmer cover had been sewn for him by Lin Yu last year. All their handwarmer covers had a circle of rabbit fur around them, which looked very nice.

Even though the wind and snow in the mountains were heavier than in the village, Wei Qingshan had prepared plenty of firewood, so both rooms could be warmed with braziers at night.

Lin Yu had a smile on her face, her eyes bright, and said, “This snowfall is no joke. Qingshan, next year we’ll be able to plant on our land.”

Wei Qingshan grunted in agreement. This heavy snowfall brought joy to some and sorrow to others.

The disaster relief grain dispatched by the court had already arrived in town. Every day, they were distributing porridge, and they had also built shelters on the open ground outside the town. At least it gave the refugees a place to stay. The ones who stayed behind were mostly the elderly, women, and children; there were few strong young men left. The rampant banditry was causing the court a great headache.

The court had already issued orders for each prefecture, county, town, and village to organize people to resist the bandits. The court had also dispatched troops, but they were only clearing out major bandit strongholds that had become serious threats. As for scattered and smaller bandit dens, they simply didn’t have the manpower to handle them.

Each town and village could only organize its own defenses. A while ago, the lead military officer from the town had come to Lu Village, ordered the village sealed off, set up fences all around, and organized the strong young men of the village into patrol teams. This way, evildoers wouldn’t be able to enter while everyone in the village stayed huddled in their homes, only looking out for themselves.

After setting up defenses in this village, the officer moved on to the next one. Now the village chief led the efforts in Lu Village, and He Dazhu led the strong young men of the village in patrolling.

Now, many villagers had either left or fled. Those who could send their wives, children, and elderly away had done so. Only about seventy to eighty percent of the villagers remained.

He Dazhu led a few people on a patrol around the village in the snow, holding farming tools in their hands. Wang Da rubbed his hands and breathed on them, saying, “Damn it, isn’t the town distributing porridge? Why don’t those people just stay there quietly?”

“Heh, do you think those bandits still causing trouble are short of food? What they want is glory and wealth.”

Right now, porridge is being distributed in town. Although people couldn’t eat their fill, they wouldn’t starve to death. Sleeping in straw shelters was still better than wandering the streets. Once spring came and the weather warmed, they could return home to farm.

Although things were better than before, many refugees had become bandits and were causing trouble. Was it because they were hungry? No, what they wanted now was power and wealth—robbing and looting in times of chaos.

Wang Er also spat, “That Xia Hehua is still in the village. Her big brother lived in our village and still harmed our people. I really want to kill their whole family.”

He Dazhu snorted, “If it really gets bad, we’ll talk to the village chief and kick their whole family out.”

At the mention of this matter, everyone got angry. That Xia Banzi had taken advantage of the chaos to kidnap a ger from the village, and Wei Er had disappeared without a trace. With how chaotic things were outside, who would willingly go out? Most likely, he had joined the bandits.

After making a round of the village, a few of them ducked into a straw hut to get out of the wind. Different groups took turns patrolling, so everyone could catch their breath.

At the top of a nearby mountain, inside a rundown house, there were twenty or so people crammed together. The leader was a burly man with a long scar across his face, known as Zhu Daoba. A fire burned in the room, with a large iron pot hanging above it, bubbling with boiling meat.

That scar-faced man had one arm around a ger while chewing on a big bone with the other hand. “Damn it, it’s getting harder and harder to rob the villages these days. Are they trying to starve Lao Tzu to death?”

“Big Brother, don’t worry,” Wei Er said eagerly, pouring a bowl of wine for Zhu Daoba. “With their lousy defenses and all of us, how could we not rob them?”

The bandits below also echoed while eating meat, “That’s right, Big Brother, Wei Er is right. We’ve got the numbers, there’s nothing to be afraid of. Once the snow stops, we’ll pick a village and rob it!”

The people below all started to stir. Everyone wanted to do another big job. With the weather turning cold, robbing supplies now would make the winter easier. These people were all refugees who had grouped up and turned to banditry. There weren’t any like Wei Er, who actually had a home and family.

Xia Banzi had come here first. After Wei Er joined, he found out Xia Banzi was also here. He had casually made up a refugee identity and slipped in. If he had known Xia Banzi was here, he wouldn’t have joined this Aozi Mountain bandit den.

If there had been food at home, he wouldn’t have come out either. Xia Hehua had taken in her old mother and Xia Banzi. Their household already had little food, and those two had eaten quite a bit. When there was truly nothing left to eat, he simply took advantage of the chaos to venture out, figuring he could loot some gold and silver and then return home to live a better life.

Anyway, no one knew who he was. Otherwise, he’d have starved to death at home this winter. Now he followed Zhu Daoba, eating meat and sleeping with other people’s women. He had even stolen quite a bit of silver and stashed it away. But the one thing he hadn’t accounted for was that Xia Banzi was also here. That man couldn’t be left alive. If the villagers found out, how would he ever go back?

Wei Er didn’t yet know that the court had already sent troops to clear out the bandits. He was just thinking of getting rich off the chaos. Besides, this place was far from the county seat.

The group ate and drank until nightfall before dispersing. In the crowd, Xia Banzi’s mouth was greasy with oil. He had been a local ruffian before—when had he ever lived so high and mighty?

Wei Er also finished eating, burped, and stood up. As soon as he left, Xia Banzi followed behind him. “Brother-in-law, have you had your fill?”

Wei Er felt some disgust toward this brother-in-law, but he had no choice but to put up with him for now. It wasn’t the time to deal with him yet. If Zhu Daoba found out, it would be a huge headache. “Mm.”

Xia Banzi hummed a tune and smacked his lips. “They all say it’s hard to live in a natural disaster, but I think life’s pretty good now. Better than I ever lived before.”

At the top of Aozi Mountain, there were only a few broken houses. The back ones had been built by Zhu Daoba and his men. In this stronghold, there were also women and husbands kidnapped from the base of the mountain. Zhu Daoba led this gang and acted like a mountain king here.

Wei Er had come out to commit robbery and looting only because he was starving, had no food, and was hoping to make a fortune amidst the chaos. He did not know that his old mother was at home eating white rice now—she didn’t even eat porridge anymore, just dry rice.

Wei Laotai had disliked that Xia Hehua’s mother and elder brother were eating her household’s grain. She had driven them out several times but failed, so she secretly stuffed the family’s grain into her bedding and lay on it every day to sleep. Even Wei Er did not know about this.

Later, when the family had no more food, she still didn’t take it out. To avoid being found out, she chose to starve herself.

Later on, Xia Banzi ran off with a ger from the village, and the villagers drove Granny Xia out. They originally intended to drive Xia Hehua out, too, but Xia Hehua absolutely refused to leave. She said a married daughter was like water thrown out and insisted that she was the daughter-in-law of Lu Village, so she stubbornly stayed and did not leave.

After that, Wei Er disappeared without a trace. Only then did Wei Laotai finally bring out a handful of rice from the bedding to cook dry rice. Even Xia Hehua did not know where her grain came from. Wasn’t her household out of food?

Wei Laotai stayed inside the house every day and didn’t come out. Xia Hehua couldn’t even find a chance to search the place. She was also starving and had no choice but to beg Wei Laotai for something to eat. But Wei Laotai refused, so she could only go dig up wild grass roots to stave off hunger.

Wei Laotai’s days were not affected much. Every day, she steamed dry rice for herself to eat. How could she possibly care about her son and daughter-in-law now? She only cared about preserving her own life.

When the weather turned cold, every household was having a hard time. Cold and hungry, they could only eat porridge for every meal.

The snow on the mountain fell for two days straight before it finally stopped. Even after it stopped, the snow was knee-deep. Wei Qingshan had to sweep the yard several times a day just to keep a path open. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to get out the door.

“What a heavy snow! Finally, it’s stopped.”

Lin Yu wore a rabbit-fur hat on his head and rabbit-fur boots on his feet. Holding a shovel, he helped Wei Qingshan clear the snow in the courtyard. They also had to clear the chicken coop and the rabbit hutch, or else they wouldn’t even be able to feed them.

There weren’t many wild pheasants left at home. They couldn’t keep too many because it wasn’t easy to feed them. Unlike wild rabbits that could just eat grass, back in autumn, Lin Yu and Zhao Yueniang had collected quite a bit of grass seed, but it still wasn’t enough for all the wild pheasants—they had too many. So they slaughtered quite a few and made wind-dried chicken to store. There were still a dozen or twenty left in the yard now.