No matter how much Madam Li stomped and complained, the refugee column continued moving forward.
Lu Yao pulled her homemade sled behind the crowd, blending in without attracting much attention.
The three children sat inside the cart, finding the whole experience quite entertaining.
Especially Song Ziyu and Song Ziyang.
Their giggles rang out from time to time.
Little Ziyu sat safely between her two brothers, who carefully watched over her.
Her small cheeks were rosy red, and she seemed completely unaffected by the cold.
Looking at Lu Yao’s back, Song Zixuan finally spoke.
“Mother, aren’t you tired?”
“Why don’t I get down and walk?”
“I’m not that delicate.”
Without even turning around, Lu Yao replied,
“If you get down and walk, we’ll move slower.”
“It’s not that I think you’re delicate.”
“I’m simply choosing the most efficient way to travel.”
“I know all of you are sensible children.”
“But this little bit of weight isn’t tiring for me at all.”
“You just focus on taking care of your younger brother and sister.”
Song Zixuan immediately fell silent.
Because he knew she was right.
His short legs would indeed slow everyone down.
So he gave up the idea of getting out of the cart.
Compared to Lu Yao’s family, who were actually moving faster with the sled, the people of Songyang Village and the two neighboring villages were having a much harder time.
Most of them hadn’t slept properly the previous night.
More than a dozen people had frozen to death.
The entire village was weighed down by grief and exhaustion.
The heavy snow made traveling extremely difficult.
The children could barely walk and cried constantly.
The adults’ emotions were already teetering on the edge of collapse.
Yet the journey itself was only one problem.
A far more serious issue loomed ahead:
Food shortages.
Before the snowfall, people could still gather wild vegetables and edible plants to survive.
Now the thick blanket of snow had buried everything beneath it.
The last sliver of hope had been cut off.
In normal years, when famine wasn’t ravaging the land, winter snow in the northwest often lasted for months.
People would remain indoors throughout the season.
This year’s snow had arrived late, but it was no less severe.
Nobody knew how long it would continue.
If the snowfall followed the same pattern as previous years, when would they ever make it out of these mountains?
Many quietly wondered if they would die here.
The feeling of despair spread rapidly through the crowd.
Then someone suddenly muttered,
“Do you think we’ll die here?”
“If I’d known, I would’ve rather died back home.”
“At least then I wouldn’t become a wandering ghost in these mountains.”
The words struck everyone’s already fragile nerves.
Someone began quietly sobbing.
The sound spread like a contagion.
Before long, crying could be heard throughout the refugee line.
Suddenly, Madam Li sat down directly in the snow and began wailing at the top of her lungs.
“Heavens!”
“Open your eyes and look at me!”
“My life has been miserable!”
“I was widowed while still young!”
“I struggled all my life to raise four sons!”
“And now that I’m old, they’ve all left me!”
“How is an old woman like me supposed to survive?”
“Heavens, just take me too!”
Although Madam Li was normally disliked by everyone, many couldn’t help sympathizing with her now.
Even Old Madam Song hobbled over with her cane.
Handing Madam Li a filthy black handkerchief, she sighed dramatically.
“Sister, get up.”
“If you sit in the snow like this, you’ll catch a chill.”
“There are so many people in our village.”
“No one will let you starve.”
“Your sons are gone, but don’t you still have nephews?”
As she spoke, her eyes deliberately drifted toward Song Qingsong.
The implication couldn’t have been clearer.
Madam Li immediately understood.
Her mind snapped back into focus.
In an instant, she scrambled to her feet and trudged through the snow toward Song Qingsong.
The pitiful image she’d displayed moments earlier vanished completely.
Song Qingsong was currently patrolling along the edge of the column.
He had no idea that trouble was marching straight toward him.
However, his wife, Yang Shi—better known as Little Pepper—had been keeping an eye on her husband.
The moment she saw Madam Li abandoning the group and heading toward him, she sensed trouble brewing.
By the time she approached, she overheard Madam Li’s declaration.
“Good nephew!”
“My wonderful nephew!”
“Your cousins have abandoned me!”
“I’m going to starve to death!”
“You’re the most kind-hearted child in our branch of the family.”
“You can’t leave your Second Aunt to die!”
“From now on, I’ll live with your family.”
“I’m starving.”
“Just give me a bite to eat.”
Song Qingsong stood there completely bewildered.
Thinking of her dead sons, he couldn’t help feeling some sympathy.
But taking in another mouth to feed was no small matter.
Every extra person meant less food for his own family.
That wasn’t a decision he could make alone.
At that moment, Yang Shi arrived.
After hearing Madam Li’s shameless proposal, her fiery temper exploded.
She immediately raised her voice.
“Well, that’s a new one!”
“A hero’s origins don’t matter, and apparently neither does a scoundrel’s age!”
“Tell me, why did Heaven give you that face?”
“Just to disgust the rest of us?”
“When your sons were alive, they never contributed so much as a needle or thread!”
“Now that they’re gone, they’ve actually saved everyone food!”
“They’ve done a service to the entire village!”
“We ought to set off firecrackers to celebrate!”
“What exactly are you crying to my husband for?”
Madam Li’s face instantly flushed red.
Ordinarily she was a fierce old woman herself.
But against Yang Shi, she was at a disadvantage.
Still, she couldn’t afford to give up.
Without help, she truly would starve.
They had fled with almost no food.
She hadn’t eaten in two meals.
Hunger left her dizzy and weak.
Suddenly an idea flashed through her mind.
With a dramatic sway, she collapsed directly toward Song Qingsong.
Yang Shi reacted immediately.
She grabbed Madam Li before she hit the ground.
The moment she saw the tightly shut eyes, she understood exactly what was happening.
The old woman intended to cling to their family no matter what.
Unfortunately for Madam Li, Yang Shi wasn’t about to cooperate.
Her hand suddenly loosened.
Thump!
Madam Li landed flat on her back in the snow.
A perfect human-shaped crater appeared beneath her.
Freezing snow sprayed across her face.
She nearly jumped up to curse.
But for the sake of future meals, she endured it.
Yang Shi widened her eyes dramatically.
“Oh dear!”
“Second Aunt!”
“I’m so sorry!”
“My hand slipped!”
“Are you alright?”
“What happened?”
“Did you faint?”
As she spoke, she viciously pinched Madam Li’s philtrum.
Once.
Twice.
Again and again.
She pinched so hard that red marks appeared.
Yet Madam Li stubbornly refused to open her eyes.
Yang Shi suddenly cried out,
“Oh no!”
“My Second Aunt has starved herself unconscious!”
“Now that her sons are gone, I suppose my husband will have to bury her.”
“We’ll even set up a nameless grave marker for her.”
With that, she laid Madam Li flat on the ground and began piling snow onto her.
At that point Madam Li became genuinely frightened.
This crazy woman might actually bury her alive.
She immediately pretended to wake up.
Weakly raising her arms, she moaned,
“My dear nephew…”
“Did I faint from hunger?”
“Are you trying to bury me alive?”
Song Qingsong: “…”
Yang Shi’s eyes sparkled with mockery.
Feigning surprise, she exclaimed,
“Oh!”
“Second Aunt, you’re alive?”
“I pinched your philtrum until it was bruised, and you still didn’t wake up.”
“I thought you’d starved to death.”
“So I was preparing to bury you.”
“After all, we couldn’t just leave your body exposed in the wilderness.”
“We’d feel guilty.”
Then she turned to her husband.
“Qingsong.”
“Brother Hongsheng was looking for you earlier.”
“Go see what he wants.”
“I think Second Aunt is fine now.”
“No need to worry.”
After speaking, she kindly helped Madam Li to her feet.
By now, Madam Li truly was exhausted.
Two missed meals combined with Yang Shi’s torment had drained the last of her strength.
She barely managed to stand.
Seeing that the old woman had finally stopped causing trouble, Yang Shi left one final remark.
“I need to check on the children.”
“Take care of yourself, Second Aunt.”
Then she walked away without looking back.
Madam Li had spent all that effort and gained absolutely nothing.
Instead, she felt weaker than ever.
The more she thought about it, the more bitter she became.
Suddenly she changed direction.
If Song Qingsong’s family wouldn’t help her, then she would go find the village chief.
After all, she had married into the Song family.
She had borne children and carried on the family line.
She had raised those sons to adulthood.
Even if she hadn’t earned merit, she had certainly endured hardship.
The clan had a responsibility to take care of her.
At least, that was what Madam Li firmly believed as she trudged through the snow toward the village chief.