"Where are our father and brother?" Lian Manman asked again.

"They’re out front leading the people to sweep the snow," Xiao Qi replied, "Our brother asked me to come and tell you that in a bit, they will bring people to the back courtyard to sweep the snow off the rooftops."

"Oh." Lian Manman nodded, then led Xiao Qi into the house. Xiao Qi repeated what he had just said to Lady Zhang.

Sure enough, after a while, Lian Shouxin and Wu Lang came with two long-term workers. Some of them holding brooms, others wooden shovels, they used a ladder to climb up to the rooftop to sweep the snow.

Good snow promises a bountiful year, but at the same time, if the snow falls too heavily, it can adversely affect the lives of farmstead families. Traffic is one issue, but furthermore, overly heavy snow can potentially collapse houses. Additionally, the melted snow can erode the rooftops.

Therefore, after heavy snow, diligent tenant farmers usually do not wait for the sun to rise before they climb up to clear off the snow from their rooftops. At this time, just stepping outside, one can see almost every household’s rooftop with someone sweeping snow.

Lian Manman and Xiao Qi both sat on the edge of the kang, looking through the glazed window and saw large chunks of snow being pushed down from the rooftop by Lian Shouxin and the others, falling with a shower of snow dust to the ground.

Once the snow on the roof was cleared, Lian Shouxin, Wu Lang, and the workers came down and shoveled the snow in the courtyard into one place, then brought a wheelbarrow to transport the snow outside.

After this round of cleaning, the courtyard was cleared of snow, but Lian Shouxin intentionally left a pile of snow at the base of each tree. This snow was left to slowly melt, nourishing the trees.

After tidying up the back courtyard, Lian Shouxin and Wu Lang took people to clean other rooms and courtyards.

Xiao Qi was kept inside by Lady Zhang and not allowed to go out. Watching the people sweeping snow leave, Xiao Qi suddenly remembered something.

"...Tell my dad and brother not to take all the snow away, leave some to make a snowman..." Xiao Qi exclaimed, trying to get to the ground to chase after Wu Lang.

"What’s the rush? Eat first, then wait for the sun to come out and then go play." Lady Zhang stopped Xiao Qi and said, "There’s plenty of snow, your dad and brother surely know you, they’ll have left some for you."

Indeed, after breakfast, when the sun was high, Lady Zhang finally let Lian Manman and Xiao Qi go out.

In the front courtyard, Lian Shouxin had specifically left two piles of snow for the children.

"Put it right next to the pond, one on each side, and make it look nice." Lian Shouxin instructed the children.

Lian Manman called over Lian Zhizhi, Xiao Qi pulled in Wu Lang, and several children, wearing thick cotton mittens, laughed and talked as they built snowmen. Lian Shouxin didn’t just stand by, he helped too.

,

Da Pang and Second Fatty frolicked around them. With winter setting in, the two big wolf dogs had gained another layer, paired with their thicker coats, making them look even more majestic and imposing.

Soon, two chubby snowmen were completed. Xiao Qi ran back to the study and brought out a wooden box. Inside the box were Xiao Qi’s collected "treasures." These treasures were all quite interesting, including pretty stones found along the riverbank and some carefully chosen shells and conch shells.

The children picked out pretty little stones for the snowmen’s eyes, flat and long shells for the mouths, conch shells for the noses, and smaller shells for the snowmen’s buttons.

They played for half the day until Lady Zhang worried about the children catching cold and forcefully ushered them back into the house.

In winter leisure, the tenant farmers of Liaodong Prefecture typically stay home more, and now with such heavy snow, traveling outside becomes inconvenient, making people even more idle. Xiao Qi wasn’t attending school, and there wasn’t much happening on the family farm, so these days, the family often gathered in one room, sitting around the kang, with Lady Zhang, Lian Manman, and Lian Zhizhi doing needlework, Wu Lang and Xiao Qi reading and writing. At times, the family also chatted about various household matters, passing the warm, tranquil, and beautiful winter days like this.

That day, Lady Zhang went to the shop and sighed when she returned.

"Mom, is something bothering you?" Lian Manman asked.

"It’s not my problem, it’s about your Third Aunt and Yeye." Lady Zhang replied,

Lian Manman looked up, watching Lady Zhang.

"What’s going on over there again?" Lian Manman asked.

"It’s about those people from Old He Family, living across from your Third Aunt’s house now... they’re stealing firewood from your Third Aunt’s family." Lady Zhang explained.

When Lady Zhao and Lian Yeye came over for a visit, Lian Manman asked about the matter.

"...They don’t call it stealing, they say it’s borrowing." Lian Yeye said angrily, "Borrowing without returning."

"What can we do," Lady Zhao sighed helplessly, "They don’t have firewood, and the Upper Room’s firewood isn’t much either. In this cold weather, if you don’t burn firewood, that place could turn into an ice cellar; it’s uninhabitable. Just bear with it, it will be better by spring."

"Sister Manman, you haven’t seen how they’ve messed up that place. It’s only been a few days living there, and it’s already a mess, filthy. They really are like a family with Second Aunt. She doesn’t tidy her own room, much less the outer room. Every day, my mom and I can’t stand it and we clean up for them." Lian Yeye complained to Lian Manman.

"Without cleaning, there’s no place to put your foot in the outer room." Lady Zhao said.

"That’s not even the worst. She actually tried to be polite with us, saying we shouldn’t clean and she’d do it herself. One day, while we were cooking, she took a broom to sweep the outer room. Dust and dirt flying everywhere, firewood leaves even ended up in our cooking pot." Lian Yeye added.

"How can someone be like this, being so careless while living in someone else’s house, eating their food, using their things, doesn’t she pay any attention?" Lady Zhang commented.

"Sister Manman, let me tell you." Lian Yeye moved closer to Lian Manman, "Grandma told Second Aunt and Big Aunt to push the millstone together."

*******

First, a Chapter for now, there will be another one in the evening, please cast your pink votes. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendation tickets and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)