Hearing the sound of frogs, Xu Laidi curled her lips and lost interest.
She couldn’t get any advantage out of it anyway, and she’d just been slapped not long ago. But that didn’t stop her from running her mouth.
Song Wei gave her a cold glance. Without saying a word, Xu Laidi shrank back.
“Why are you staring at me like that? I didn’t make it up. This is what the village women are saying! And isn’t it true? Aren’t you always going to Heidan’s brother’s house?”
Although Heidan was young and didn’t fully understand adult relationships, he was sharp enough to sense that such rumors weren’t good for Sister Song. The little boy puffed out his chest and stood in front of her like a little man.
“Sister Song goes there to pick me up! What’s it to you?”
The little guy glared at Xu Laidi with a fierce, wolf-like look.
Xu Laidi retorted, “Why are you yelling at me? I’m not the one spreading rumors. If you don’t believe me, ask the others. Aren’t these the things the village women are saying?”
Ignoring her, Song Wei went straight to her room.
Li Juan quickly followed. Liu Linlin and Bai Yunjiao hesitated, unsure whether to follow since they weren’t that close to Song Wei yet.
“Song Wei, don’t overthink it. The village women are always like this. They’ll exaggerate anything. But honestly, it feels off, like someone’s deliberately spreading this around.”
Song Wei placed the frog in the backyard, using a water basin to keep it with the bag still on.
“I’m fine,” she said calmly. “Such gossip isn’t worth bothering over.”
“But do you know who started it?”
Li Juan shook her head. “Unlike you, the rest of us female educated youths can’t integrate into their circle. By the time we heard about it, the rumors had already spread everywhere.”
Song Wei nodded thoughtfully. “Alright, I’ll ask Aunt Wang about it tomorrow.”
Li Juan saw that Song Wei truly wasn’t bothered and felt relieved, though also a little impressed.
If it were her, she certainly wouldn’t be this composed.
Song Wei really wasn’t taking it to heart. No one could force her into anything she didn’t want to do. That night, she slept soundly as usual.
The next morning, when she opened the window, the outdoors looked unusually white.
Opening the door, she saw that it had snowed.
It must have started in the latter half of the night.
The northern snow was heavy. In just one night, it had blanketed the ground in a thick layer. Stepping on it left deep footprints.
“Ah, so cold!”
She quickly shut the door and put on her thick cotton-padded coat, which she had prepared in advance.
Little Heidan had also bundled up in his new coat. Excited about his warm new clothing, he walked around the room repeatedly.
“Come on, let’s start the fire and cook breakfast,” Song Wei said.
In the backyard, firewood was neatly stacked against the wall, taller than Song Wei herself.
She split a piece of wood with her machete and handed it to Heidan, who was in charge of starting the fire. Soon, they had hot water boiling.
“Let’s boil the egg in sugar water for breakfast.”
This was Heidan’s favorite dish. He never seemed to tire of it and claimed he could eat it every day.
Today, though, Heidan ate a bit hastily.
“Sister, eat faster! We need to check on the sika deer!”
Song Wei slapped her forehead. “Right! That shed didn’t have a roof. Who would’ve thought it’d snow last night?”
This first snow was supposed to be an enjoyable moment to experience the cozy warmth indoors.
After quickly finishing breakfast, they locked up and headed to Lin Zhen’s house.
Perhaps because of the snow, the streets were empty. They didn’t see a single person on the way.
When they arrived at Lin Zhen’s house, they found that the brigade leader and his family were also there.
Several men were busy putting up a roof for the sika deer’s shed.
“Song Zhiqing is here!” Aunt Xinghua called from the kitchen. She was wearing an apron, clearly busy cooking.
“Your uncle said you caught a sika deer. Since it snowed, we were worried it might freeze to death. They’re outside building a shelter for it. It’s the first sika deer in our team—a rare thing!”
After brushing the snow off her and Heidan’s clothes, Song Wei smiled warmly. “Auntie, you’ve all come so early. It’s so much trouble for you.”
Her heart felt warm. She didn’t dislike this kind of communal support.
Humans are social creatures. Living alone, as she had in her previous life, was unbearably lonely. Though she had neighbors back then, the post-apocalyptic world made trusting others impossible.
In this life, she genuinely enjoyed the bustle and warmth of human connection.
“It’s no trouble! Your brother Wenwu caught two big carp. We’ll make a pot of fish soup to warm everyone up.
In the kitchen, Song Wei found the fish, already cleaned and ready. Each one was as long as her arm and quite plump.
Lin Zhen, that tall man, had been sent to stoke the fire. Sitting on a tiny stool, his tall frame looked almost comically cramped.
When he saw her, Lin Zhen smiled, his grin somewhat silly.
Song Wei couldn’t help but smile back, then told Aunt Xinghua, “I’ll go outside to check on things and pass the men some supplies.”
“Alright,” Aunt Xinghua said. “Be careful not to slip!”
“Got it.”
Once Song Wei was out of sight, the tall man craned his neck to watch her leave.
Aunt Xinghua couldn’t help teasing him. “Song Zhiqing is a good one, isn’t she? Prettiest for miles around, capable, and even-tempered. But what good is it to just watch her?”
Lin Zhen added more firewood to the stove, mumbling, “I’ll wait until my leg’s healed.”
“When’s that going to be? You know, there’s been some gossip about you two lately.”
Lin Zhen frowned. “What kind of gossip?”
Aunt Xinghua crossed her arms, visibly annoyed. “Someone’s spreading rumors, saying Song Zhiqing’s always coming to your place because she’s not up to any good. They’re even saying she’s after your money. It’s a load of nonsense, but you know how these long-tongued women are!”
“Once the cabbages and radishes are ready, I’ll give them plenty to do. Maybe then their mouths will stop flapping about every little thing, true or not.”
Lin Zhen’s face darkened. “Who’s saying this?”
“What, are you going to pick a fight with them? My guess is it’s either that old Lin family or old Niu’s family who’s got a grudge against Song Zhiqing. These things are hard to pin down. What’s a grown man like you doing getting involved in gossip?”
Lin Zhen clenched his jaw but said nothing.
“I should talk it over with Song Zhiqing. She’s better at dealing with these things than you. Haven’t old lady Lin and old lady Niu been put in their place every time they’ve gone up against her?”
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