She's skilled in medicine, martial arts, and even understands animal language—the abandoned dau

Shen Man smiled and said, "Uncle Sun, you don't need to be so polite. We're all from the same village, so it's only right that we help each other out."

Seeing that her husband's injuries had been treated in time, Sun's wife felt much better.

Fortunately, he only injured his leg. If something had happened to him, she couldn't imagine how she would have survived with three children.

Thinking of all this, Sun's wife took Shen Man's hand and said gratefully, "Man'er, we really owe you a lot today. Look how cold it is, and you still ran back and forth. You must have worked so hard."

Shen Man smiled and waved her hand, saying, "It's just a few steps, nothing at all. Auntie, I'm afraid we can't stay in this house anymore. Do you have somewhere else to stay?"

“Yes, there’s an empty room at the child’s grandparents’ place. We’ll move there for a few days. We’ll build a new one after the snow stops,” Sun’s wife replied.

"That's good. Please take good care of Uncle Sun. We'll head back now." After saying goodbye to Sun's wife, Shen Man went home with Lanxiang.

Sun's wife stood at the door, watching Shen Man and her daughter's departing figures, a complex emotion welling up in her heart.

She sighed silently, a hint of regret and remorse in her eyes.

Recalling the events of that year, Sun's wife couldn't help but feel deep regret. If they had been determined to keep Shen Man back then, perhaps their lives would be very different now.

"Oh, husband, if you hadn't stopped me, we would have kept Man'er. Look at this girl, how thoughtful she is!" Sun's wife said softly to Sun Dadao, her voice tinged with a hint of sorrow.

Sun sighed, "What's the use of saying all this now? Our family was really struggling back then, we couldn't afford to raise so many people. Besides, who would have thought such a young girl would be so capable? But then again, someone like her can't possibly stay in this poor mountain village forever..."

"You're right. It's better not to have something at all than to have it and then lose it. Sigh, I can't even imagine what Lanxiang would do if her biological parents came knocking on her door one day!"

Sun's wife sighed deeply, slowly turned around and went back home to clean up the broken things.

In fact, Shen Man also knew that if Sun Da and his wife hadn't found her lying on the roadside, she might not have survived.

So even though they didn't take her in, in her heart, the Sun couple were different from the other people in the village.

Whether it was gathering medicinal herbs in the mountains or building their own houses, she always gave priority to taking care of them when they were paying off debts with their work.

The weather did not improve in the following days. The heavy snow continued intermittently, causing the snow on the ground to become thicker and thicker, and the roads to the town remained icy.

In the blink of an eye, it was the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month.

According to past custom, people would go to town to buy New Year's goods around the 27th or 28th of the twelfth lunar month. But this year, it has been snowing continuously since the Little New Year, making it impossible to go out.

With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, many families in the village hadn't even prepared meat for the holiday. This sudden heavy snow disrupted all their plans.

Shen Man remembered that there was a box of smoked meat stored in her family's storage room, which was far more than the four of them could finish.

So she said to Lanxiang, "Mother, this heavy snow came so suddenly. I see that many families in the village don't even have meat for the New Year. Why don't we bring out our meat tomorrow and celebrate with the villagers? That would be more lively."

Upon hearing this, Lanxiang pondered for a moment before saying, "Alright, I'll go to the village head's house later and talk to him about this. If they all agree, let them come to our house for New Year's Eve; our house is spacious!"

After Lanxiang finished her work, she got up and went to the village head's house to tell him her idea of ​​inviting everyone to her house to celebrate the New Year together.

The village head was delighted to hear Lanxiang's words and immediately accepted her invitation.

After Lanxiang left, the village head immediately instructed his three sons to quickly spread the good news to every household in the village.

At this time, the villagers were worried about what to eat for the New Year. When they heard this good news, they were so happy that they were almost at a loss for words. Not a single household was unwilling to participate in this grand feast.

On New Year's Eve, the weather cooperated, and the snow that had been falling for several days suddenly stopped.

Early in the morning, the villagers arrived at Shen Man's house with the ingredients they had prepared.

Among them, some men helped shovel the thick snow in the yard, some helped clean the kitchen and yard, and others brought firewood from their homes to start a fire.

The women were responsible for chores such as washing and chopping vegetables.

Even Li Mufeng, who usually prefers quiet, was not idle at this time. He and Tingxian cut out a large stack of red paper, and then led a group of his students to start writing Spring Festival couplets.

With focused expressions, they picked up their brushes, dipped them in ink, and wrote down New Year's blessings and their hopes for the future, stroke by stroke.

After writing the Spring Festival couplets, paste them up one by one.

The courtyard was filled with laughter and joy, and as the Spring Festival couplets were pasted up, the festive atmosphere became even stronger.

All day long, everyone worked together, busy preparing for the upcoming feast.

This is not only a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner, but also a grand reunion for the whole village, with everyone looking forward to spending a joyful and peaceful New Year together.

As evening fell, a sumptuous New Year's Eve feast was laid out on the table.

Because of the cold weather and the large number of people, Shen Man asked Lanxiang to teach everyone how to make hot pot.

There were about ten stoves in the courtyard, each with a large pot of simmering meat broth on it. All the vegetables were washed, chopped, and placed on a large table to the side; when it was time to eat, you could simply add them to the pot.

The villagers found this novel way of eating very interesting and couldn't wait to start the meal and try it.

Before the banquet began, the village head gave a solemn speech.

"Fellow villagers, we are fortunate to gather together today to celebrate this festival. We would like to thank two people: Lanxiang and Man'er!"

If it weren't for them, many of you might not even be able to afford meat today. On behalf of all the villagers, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Lanxiang and her daughter!

After he finished speaking, he took the lead in bowing to Lanxiang, and the villagers followed suit, bowing to Lanxiang and her daughter.

Lanxiang stood up excitedly and waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "Everyone, please don't be so polite. I just made a suggestion. The food was all prepared by everyone!"

Then, the village head stood up and solemnly announced the official start of the banquet.

The villagers sat down around the stove and began to enjoy the hot pot they had been looking forward to.

As everyone enjoyed the delicious food, they chatted about everyday life and interesting things. Laughter and conversation mingled together, creating a warm and harmonious scene.

On this cold night, the villagers' hearts were filled with warmth and happiness.

While the villagers of Xiaoyao Village were joyfully celebrating the New Year, the people downstream were suffering from hunger and cold.