Even in February, the temperature remained so low, and on days without snowfall, it was still overcast.
However, the lack of snow was fortunate. Just as people were grateful that it might not snow again, strong winds started blowing here.
The bare tree branches cracked and snapped in the wind, sometimes with the sound of breaking.
To Wen Qian's ears, it sounded like nature was chopping firewood with the wind. She thought that after the wind stopped, she might be able to go and collect some of those fallen branches.
After the strong winds, Wen Qian heard on the radio that some areas were hit by blizzards, while others experienced severe hail storms that could even punch through rooftops.
Wen Qian was a bit worried that such extreme weather might reach her area too. Her home had only one level, and she was concerned about not having a place to take shelter.
So Wen Qian added another layer of false ceiling between the roof and walls, using some boards she had in her living space to construct a simple false ceiling.
Her bed was beneath this false ceiling, so at least when sleeping at night, she wouldn't have to worry about being struck by hail.
Fortunately, there was no hail in her area, but then it started to rain and snow, and with the low temperatures, everything turned to ice, making the trees glisten.
In this situation, Wen Qian could only stay at home, with her range of activity limited to the area just in front of and behind her house. She basically had to check the surroundings of her home every day.
Because the temperature remained extremely low, with occasional light snowfall, there was no sign of the snow melting on the mountains.
It wasn't until the end of February that the snow finally seemed to diminish a little, as icicles started forming under the eaves, and Wen Qian had to knock them down with a bamboo pole every morning.
As the snowfall reduced, transportation gradually resumed, and as a result, some of the people who had gone to the city for the New Year actually returned, especially the older ones who felt it was better not to endure the harsh conditions in the city.
Chen Ming from the Chen Family also had to return to work, as he had been in the countryside for too long.
As March arrived, temperatures gradually rose, and the snow finally started to melt.
With so much snow turning into water, Wen Qian thought that if they planted crops, there should be no shortage of water. People in the village started moving around.
There was little wheat left, and they were planning to re-sow wheat.
Water dripped steadily from the eaves, and Wen Qian went up the mountain to collect firewood, as many branches had been blown down by the strong winds in February.
She collected them and laid them on the slope to dry out, planning to bring them back later.
Around this time, she started uploading outdoor videos again, as previously she had mostly been indoors, except for a few live streams of the sound of the stove burning.
Once all the snow had melted, the water level in the ditch at the entrance rose, and everything seemed to be progressing towards spring.
Within a week, the snow had vanished without a trace, and the buds on the branches on the mountain were faintly visible.
The temperature was still low, but the midday sun was warm enough for sunbathing.
With no snow to shovel, Wen Qian would sit outside during the sunny periods, sunbathing while snacking on seeds, with a foot warmer beneath her feet.
In the meantime, they went for a stroll in the town, where fruit was still expensive.
Whenever Wen Qian went to town, she would definitely buy something, even though she had a lot of supplies at home. She just couldn't resist buying a few items whenever she went to town.
The weather forecast showed another drop in temperature, so Wen Qian took the opportunity when the sun was out to wash her clothes and hang them up to dry.
During this cold spell, she had been drying her undergarments indoors after washing them.
Leaving clothes outside would only cause them to freeze into icy sheets. Many people in the small town were busy retrieving roof tiles that had fallen off their houses.
After the accumulated snow melted, their homes had developed leaks to varying degrees, exacerbated by pipes that had been cracked by the freezing temperatures. Some people started wrapping insulation around their water pipes to prevent them from freezing again, even though this was an unusual precaution in past years.
In Xiao Chen Village, two families with children had returned, saying that life in the city was too difficult for them. At first, they were just confined to their homes, then they experienced water outages every two or three days. Later, they often ended up staying at public warming shelters.
They planned to recuperate in their hometowns for a month before returning to the city, as the weather forecast predicted another drop in temperature was coming. So they decided to just stay in their hometowns for the time being.
After a brief few sunny days in March that cleared the snow from the mountains, it started snowing again, but this time with sleet.
Sleet hitting the roof tiles sounded different from regular snowflakes. Snowflakes mostly fell silently, while the sleet was noisy.
Wen Qian also found it difficult to clean up after the sleet.
The two families who had returned were out collecting firewood. Fortunately, besides firewood, there was nothing else on the mountain, although the wood was a bit damp. They managed to gather a lot of firewood from their own slopes.
They had a car, and they also bought many supplies in town.
One family's kitchen roof was damaged, so the two brothers decided to share one kitchen and eat together.
These two brothers were craftsmen, and with the bad weather, they had no business, so they just returned home.
Besides, the cost of living in the city was quite different from living in the village.
The snow in March was just annoying, but this time it didn't make it too difficult to get around.
Wen Qian could still visit Auntie Chen and Fang Ya. During the snowfall, they had almost finished the vegetables they had, so they went out and bought some more.
As for the rest, they tried sprouting beans at home. After getting tired of the bean sprouts, they eventually put some soil in containers inside the house and started growing some small greens like mustard greens.
Wen Qian also had seeds for these, so she prepared two plastic containers, dug up some soil from outside, and scattered the seeds in them near the stove.
On sunny days, she would move them outside to sunbathe, and when it was cold or at night, she would bring them back inside near the stove.
Through this process, she even managed to grow some small leafy greens.
Auntie Chen said that if the temperature rose a bit more, the wild vegetables on the mountain would start to sprout, and then they could pick some to make dumplings with pork filling. But for now, with the snow covering and then disappearing, it was just frustrating.
Fortunately, this snowfall only left a thin layer on the mountains before stopping, followed by two days of strong winds.
The temperature then rose, and by the end of March, a tinge of green appeared on the mountains, although from up close, it was still a sea of yellow.
Various grasses and leaves sprouted tiny green tips, and Wen Qian longed for the time when they would grow big enough for her to dig up some wild vegetables.
The weather forecast indicated that there would be another drop in temperature in April, which would essentially be a late spring cold spell.
People in the village complained about the strange weather, saying the cold had lasted for so long, and now there would be another drop in temperature in April.
They would have to delay their planting schedule, or else the seedlings would sprout and then be killed by the cold again.
Sure enough, at the beginning of April, the winds were as strong as they were in February.
Fortunately, the temperature forecasts had warned everyone, so they were spared much damage.
However, this meant that the green cover on the mountains would be further delayed before spreading across the land again.
By the time the wild vegetables were ready to be harvested, Wen Qian realized it was already mid-April.
It seemed that everything was finally back on track, with some villagers returning to the city and others starting to plant crops again.
Uncle Chen asked Wen Qian when she planned to go to An City.
As for the three plots of land from last year, Wen Qian had still sown vegetable seeds there, mostly fast-growing leafy greens.
She didn't expect anything else, as long as she could harvest them quickly.
