After the New Year, Wen Qian started her plans for the new year, which was still during the last month of the lunar calendar.
At this time of year, migrant workers who typically work outside would return home, washing up and purchasing goods for the New Year's celebrations.
However, this year was exceptionally difficult due to transportation inconveniences and severe snowstorms, causing prices of vegetables and fruits to soar.
Even for inflated prices, it was a hassle to go out and buy things on the streets.
The roads in their area were hilly, making it very difficult to walk in heavy snow.
Even with snow chains installed, Chen Lin only dared to go out during clear noontime, avoiding driving at other times.
The closer it got to the New Year, the more people with homes in the countryside would return, unless they had a house in the city, otherwise they wouldn't want to spend the New Year in a rented apartment.
Wen Qian didn't plan to go out to the streets anymore, as she had already prepared most of the things needed for the New Year celebrations beforehand.
She even bought a box of firecrackers to set off on New Year's Eve.
In their area, firecrackers were not prohibited, and people would sporadically set off some during the New Year.
In the middle of January, it started snowing again, and this time the snow was steady. During the snowfall, Wen Qian went upstairs to shovel and sweep the snow.
Following local customs during the last month of the lunar calendar, Wen Qian began preparing for the New Year by deep-frying various items, with one item fried each day.
She fried pork belly, sweet potato balls, dried small fish, potato chips, and many other items.
When Wen Qian was at home roasting peanuts and seeds, it was still snowing outside.
Wen Qian and Fang Ya chatted on their phones, with both families frying snacks. Fang Ya's family even fried peanuts and broad beans, which looked quite good.
Fang Ya said her husband was considering returning to his hometown earlier, but employees would have to follow their company's arrangements. Her husband wanted to combine his annual leave before and after the New Year to get a longer break.
This was because the snow made them feel uneasy.
In rural villages, the worst-case scenario would be being cut off from the world, but in densely populated cities, the consequences of severe cold and snow would be much worse.
A similar situation had occurred once before, which was documented in detail in a documentary over a decade ago.
If such a situation were to happen now, the response would undoubtedly be much faster than back then. But what if an even more terrifying snowstorm occurred?
The snow kept falling, and Wen Qian felt that if it continued like this, their single-story house could be buried.
Fortunately, there was ample space below her house to pile up the snow, so as long as she shoveled it away, it wouldn't be an issue.
Wen Qian's daily work was shoveling snow, even using it to build a short wall around her yard, only shoveling the snow within the yard and leaving the rest untouched.
Her activity range was limited to this area, and if she wanted to visit Chen Lin's family, she would need to bring a shovel to clear a path, so she simply didn't go.
At this time, no one came to visit her either, and Wen Qian was quite content being alone.
Fang Ya informed Wen Qian that her husband had decided to return home for the New Year after all, as the situation in the city was not ideal. Although people typically stock up on New Year's goods, the heavy snow had severely impacted highways and transportation routes.
Many items were not just a matter of price hikes, but rather a complete lack of supply as they couldn't be delivered.
Wen Qian advised Fang Ya to remind her husband to drain all the water from the pipes at home before returning to his hometown.
Fang Ya said that in the city, water pipe maintenance was already in disarray, and southern cities were ill-equipped to deal with such a severe snowstorm.
Regarding the impact of the snowstorm, people in their neighborhood had recently experienced water pipe bursts, leading them to line up at households with wells to fetch water.
While such local situations could be resolved independently, in big cities with massive populations, it was unclear where to even begin addressing the problems.
In provinces further south, where some areas essentially had no winter, they were also hit by the cold wave.
Although people had previously experienced cold snaps and purchased warm clothing, as temperatures dropped further, these more southern cities found themselves in an even more challenging situation.
Since the satellite dish was on the roof of their single-story house, Wen Qian would climb up and sweep off the snow whenever she wanted to watch TV. News channels reported that the entire northern hemisphere was experiencing similar conditions of heavy snow and dropping temperatures, along with stories of rising electricity costs and death tolls.
Before the New Year, an elderly person passed away in Da Chen Wa village.
Chen Lin helped with the funeral arrangements. The deceased was a former resident of the nursing home who was supposed to be picked up by his son to celebrate the New Year, but unfortunately didn't make it.
Since the passing occurred before the New Year, the funeral had to be arranged quickly. Nearby residents all attended, but due to transportation issues, many relatives couldn't make it.
The elderly person was cremated there, and their son brought the ashes back.
Relatives could only wait for better conditions to hold a memorial service, but the simplified funeral had to be expedited.
Those from the local hometown who could attend did so, but the funeral was quite solemn, with only three tables of attendees arranged upstairs and downstairs in the main house.
In such weather, it was impossible to set up tents outside for long periods, so everyone simply gathered indoors.
Traditionally, opera troupes would be invited to liven up funerals, but that wasn't possible this time.
However, the main family expressed gratitude to those who attended, ensuring their father's funeral wasn't too somber.
People discussed the deceased's past and commented that many elderly individuals struggle during winter, with several other elderly residents in the town having passed away recently.
They said the elderly were "leaving together, like a group departing to play cards."
After the meal, Wen Qian returned home with Auntie Chen, who seemed somewhat somber after the funeral, saying, "When people grow old, they become like this, with their bones aching at the slightest chill. So you young people must be sure to keep warm, or you'll regret it later when it's too late."
After arriving at Chen Lin's house, Auntie Chen walked Wen Qian a bit further. Seeing Wen Qian bundled up like a penguin, Fang Ya, who was pregnant and staying at home, asked how she managed to walk.
Since they carried tools with them, it wasn't too difficult, and following their original path made the return journey easier.
The next day was the burial, so they would need to attend again.
Villagers helped select the burial site, and tomorrow they would take the ashes up the mountain.
The snow in the north was on a different scale compared to the south, but northerners were skilled in insulation and heating, so they tried to stay indoors as much as possible and waited for the severe cold to pass.
This year's winter in the north would undoubtedly be longer, and they were worried their supplies might run out.
Meanwhile, people in southern villages could still burn firewood and charcoal for heat, while city dwellers could only use electricity for heating.
Even more terrifying was the prospect of water outages, which would make their living conditions extremely poor.
Especially for high-rise residential buildings without water to flush toilets, the odor would become unbearable.
City sewers were freezing up and clogging in many areas, turning the once-convenient urban life into a series of hardships.
Even at home, Wen Qian faced the issue of using the toilet, but fortunately, she had been collecting wood ash since returning to the village.
Wood ash has always had various uses in rural areas.
In the past, her grandparents used it as fertilizer and even for washing clothes and hair when cleaning products were unavailable.
Although Wen Qian hadn't found a use for it yet, she had collected all the wood ash, which came in handy now.
