CHAPTER 673: CHAPTER 55: WINTER’S TOLL ON FARMERS (PART 2)

The fragment seemed to be casually sliced off by Mei Nian from the edge of the blade, a palm-sized piece. Now Xiao Xian gave a bow in front of the incense table, and respectfully retrieved the ice blade fragment.

"So cold," Xiao Xian’s fingers grasping the fragment felt a piercing chill. Upon closer inspection, a layer of spiderweb-like ice frost veins had formed on the surface of the fragment, enveloping the entire piece from the center, as if a heart was surrounded by numerous blood vessels.

"Miss, even though the young lady has never mentioned it, I know that you all are not ordinary people. Tell me the truth, is the young lady in trouble, just like the eldest Miss?" The village chief was choking up, wiping the corners of his eyes with his sleeve.

He was born in Cherry Valley, a descendant of a poor tenant farmer. When war broke out, he spent his life here with his family, young and old, and planned to be buried in the valley, becoming the soil to accompany the land.

The Mei Family had looked after generations of old tenant farmers here for a lifetime. Not to say just the people here, but even the soil, every flower and blade of grass, held deep affection for the Mei Family. Mei Xiang and Mei Nian, the two sisters, didn’t come to the bastion often, but they were the mainstay of the fifty or sixty people here. When a major issue arose, the first person everyone thought of was the young lady.

"Village chief, don’t think too much. Could you tell me when the ice blade started to give off cold?" Xiao Xian held the ice blade fragment in her hand, Spiritual Energy seeped from her palm, slightly dispersing the chill.

"About more than a week ago. The cleaning of the ancestral hall has always been managed by Sister-in-law Hua. According to the rules, she comes to clean every other day. Recently, because it’s the end of the year, she skipped two or three days before coming to clean, and when wiping the dust off the incense table, she found that the originally warm and jade-like fragment of the ice blade was emitting strands of cold air. After a few more days, those strange greenish-white ice strands grew on the shard, and in the end, the entire ice blade fragment was enveloped." Originally, the ice blade fragment was transparent, but now because of the ice strands on the surface, the entire fragment looked like a piece of sugar frosted candied fruit.

"Did the weather in the valley also start turning colder in the past few days?" Since the village chief vaguely knew something about the unusual nature of the Mei Family, Xiao Xian asked directly.

"It happened slightly later, probably delayed by a day or two. At first, it was just during sunrise and sunset, the temperature would drop a few degrees. Until the night I mentioned, after the temperature went down, it never went back up," said the village chief. Cherry Valley typically did not have large temperature differences throughout the year. Due to the needs of fruit farmers and flower farmers, a dedicated weather observer recorded the temperature and humidity every day and compared them with data from previous years.

"Village chief, for now, please arrange for the elderly and children who cannot endure the cold in the valley to move outside. Now there are places with heating in the city area. I have an address here; it’s a less crowded elderly home. The living conditions there are not bad. They use central heating in the winter. You get in touch and see how many people can be arranged to go there." Mei Nian must have encountered some trouble, but she should not be dead yet.

Xiao Xian had just nourished the rigid fragment of the ice blade with Spiritual Energy and gradually felt the Spiritual Energy being absorbed by the fragment. She tried to input another burst of Spiritual Energy, just like water entering a dry sponge; it was absorbed again. After two or three times, Xiao Xian felt the ice blade fragment emit a slight tremor, like a heart that had been numb for a long time was infused with vitality again. Such a phenomenon, with Xiao Xian’s power, she still could not explain, and she had to consult with Zhou Ziang later.

"Okay, there is another issue. In previous years around this time, the bastion would provide several hotels in the city with some winter fruits and fresh flowers. These are old customers, and we have signed long-term contracts with them. Now with such cold weather, not to mention the basic income of the villagers, even fulfilling the contracts is a major problem." The village chief also heard that the pharmacy business was facing difficulties, but Pharmacist Huang Yaoshi said that the crisis was temporarily alleviated with Xiao Xian’s help. He now had no one else to discuss with and could only look to Xiao Xian to see if she could think of a solution.

"Which hotels are they? Is it possible to make special arrangements with them based on the situation in the bastion?" Breach of contract caused by natural disasters or calamities should fall within the scope of legal exemption.

"Even if we could be exempted, necessary compensation is still required," said the village chief, who also wanted to explain the situation of the bastion to the hotels they often cooperated with, in hopes of getting by, but the other party reluctantly accepted and was not satisfied with their compensation amount.

"First, make sure the elderly and children are well-placed. People are the most important. I will think of other things," Xiao Xian gazed at the ice blade in her hand. Just now, when she tried to output Spiritual Energy again to nourish the ice blade fragment, the fragment had reached saturation and could no longer absorb Spiritual Energy, maintaining only the weakest vibration. Compared to the initial chill, it had receded somewhat but was far from getting back to being as warm and smooth as jade.

The village chief followed Xiao Xian’s instructions and went to arrange for the people overnight.

When Xiao Xian left the ancestral hall, she only saw Zhou Ziang standing alone in the night. The snow on the ground was thick and made his tall figure even more dazzling.

"Where is uncle-in-law?" Xiao Xian did not see Feng Xing.

"He’s still at Sister-in-law Hua’s place. He said the wild vegetable dumplings we had just now were very refreshing and wanted to learn to make them for your aunt," Zhou Ziang was used to seeing the way his parents interacted, and from time to time when he saw Feng Xing treating his wife with care, his heart would also be stirred.

"My uncle-in-law is quite a good man. Speaking of which, can you take a look at what’s wrong with this fragment of the ice blade?" Xiao Xian had told the village chief when she left the ancestral hall that she would take the ice blade fragment with her. This fragment should be highly related to Mei Nian’s current whereabouts. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation ticket and monthly ticket. Your support is my greatest motivation.)