Chapter 87

As they moved further north, the weather became colder, just as Han Ying had said. Snow was falling across the entire north, and after a few days, the snow on the ground was more than a foot thick. When the two passed through a forest, the car finally couldn't move any further, and they had to stop.

Han Ying's car had a navigation system. She glanced at the map, turned to Xu Mo, and said apologetically, "I'm really sorry, I've got you stuck here too. The nearest village is about thirty to forty miles away, and it's not on the highway. The city is even further. With the snow so thick on the ground, how can we get through?"

Xu Mo smiled and said, "It's not your fault, so why apologize? When we passed by the forest earlier, I saw a few houses by the roadside. They might be the forest ranger's cabins, only three or four miles away. Let's go there and rest."

Han Ying nodded and said, "That's fine."

The two got out of the car, locked the doors, and took their luggage. They supported each other, walking back with deep, heavy steps.

The snow on the ground was really thick. Although it was only three or four miles, it still took them more than half an hour to reach the place.

There were two blue brick houses, somewhat dilapidated, with the windows' glass long broken and covered with plywood. Two cars were parked on the road beside the house, presumably belonging to other stranded travelers.

Xu Mo heard someone inside from a distance. He and Han Ying approached and knocked on the door, but no one responded.

Han Ying raised her voice and asked, "Is anyone home?"

Xu Mo smiled and replied, "No one's home, let's go in."

This answer was purely a guess. If the owner was inside, someone would have answered when he knocked. Since no one answered, the people inside were likely other travelers.

They pushed open the door, invited Han Ying in, and closed the door behind them. Turning around, Xu Mo scanned the room.

There were five people in the room: three men and two women. One man and one woman were sitting in the northeast corner, another man and woman in the southwest corner, and a man in his thirties was sitting against the wall, right behind the door.

These five people were far apart from each other. When Xu Mo and Han Ying entered, they only glanced at them indifferently. Han Ying smiled and nodded at each person, but only the man in his thirties responded, while the others remained cold.

The two put down their luggage. Han Ying took a mat from her bag, laid it on the ground, and invited Xu Mo to sit down.

The man in his thirties casually asked, "Where did your car get stuck?"

Han Ying replied, "On the road ahead." She added, "I wonder when this snow will stop?"

The man in his thirties said, "It's early yet. The weather forecast says it will snow tomorrow and the day after. We have a long wait ahead."

Xu Mo said, "With the snow falling like this, I wonder when we can leave?"

Han Ying turned to him and said with a gentle smile, "Don't worry. This is Yizhou territory, and it's on the highway. The government will eventually send people to clear the snow."

Xu Mo nodded and asked the man in his thirties, "How long have you been stuck here?"

The man in his thirties seemed a bit agitated and replied, "I've been here since yesterday." He then cursed, "Damn, there's no village or shop around here. The biggest problem is getting food. I wonder if you brought any food. If not, well..." He stopped mid-sentence.

Han Ying and Xu Mo exchanged a glance. They had never thought they would be stuck on the road, so they hadn't brought any food. Xu Mo, who had lived alone in the wilderness for a long time, wasn't too concerned, but Han Ying was worried. She asked, "What do you mean?"

The man in his thirties said, "It's not a big deal. Someone comes to sell food, but it's a bit expensive."

Han Ying said, "Oh," feeling somewhat relieved. If someone was selling food, it would be much easier. She glanced around the room but couldn't tell who was selling the food. She saw a few empty instant noodle bags on the ground in the southeast corner, which were new, clearly thrown away by the people in the room. She thought, "Could the person selling food be coming from outside?"

The man in his thirties seemed tired. After a few words, he stopped talking and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes to rest. The room was quite cold, and even though the windows and doors were tightly closed, the wind still seeped in from somewhere. The man in his thirties turned up his coat collar, crossed his arms, and shivered.

Xu Mo, with his ability to resist cold, and Han Ying, who was wearing thick clothes and had just entered, were better off.

The two spoke softly. Soon, a man and a woman entered the room. The man was about fifty, wearing glasses, and looked like a scholar. The woman was in her early twenties, like a student, and the two were very intimate.

The man glanced around the room and, like Xu Mo, quickly identified everyone. He said to the woman, "They're all passersby. Let's find a place to sit."

The woman didn't say anything and went to the northwest corner, laying a cushion from the car seat on the ground. The two sat down, hugging each other.

The man, without regard for others, kissed the woman, making smacking sounds. Xu Mo, hearing the commotion, couldn't help but look at Han Ying, who smiled and shook her head.

After a while, the man in his thirties opened his eyes, rolled up his sleeve, and looked at his watch. He muttered, "It's twelve o'clock. The seller should be here soon."

Seeing the new arrivals, he said softly, "More people have come. This place is getting busier."

He had just woken up and felt even colder. He shivered, stood up, and stomped his feet, then jumped a few times, cursing, "It's so cold, damn it, so cold." He looked around and asked loudly, "I can't stand the cold anymore. Is anyone willing to go find some branches and dry wood to make a fire?"

He asked several times, but no one responded. The new couple was still kissing, seemingly uninterested in anything else. The two men and two women in the southwest and northeast corners glanced at him and muttered something, but ultimately did nothing.

Xu Mo, with his keen hearing, easily understood. The man and woman in the northeast corner were afraid of the cold and didn't want to go out, while the man and woman in the southwest corner thought the snow was so heavy that the branches and wood were buried, and they wouldn't find anything even if they went out.

Xu Mo, who wasn't cold, asked Han Ying, "Are you cold?"

Han Ying smiled and said, "Not really."

Xu Mo glanced at the man in his thirties, about to speak, when he heard some commotion from the northeast direction outside the house.

Three people were talking as they approached, moving quickly, as if sliding on the snow.

One said, "There are two more cars on the road. It seems more people are stuck here."

Another laughed, "The more people stuck, the better. The New Year is coming, and thanks to this heavy snow, we'll make a small fortune."

Another said, "It would be best if the snow lasted longer. If it stops in two or three days, it won't be interesting."

The first speaker said, "Yes, it would be great if it snowed all year round."

"Ha ha!" The other laughed, "If it snowed every day, we'd be rich."

Xu Mo understood immediately. These people must be the ones selling things, and the prices would certainly not be cheap.

He didn't say anything and waited for the three to arrive.

A few minutes later, the three arrived at the door. They were young, about sixteen or seventeen, with thick down jackets and raincoats, wearing gloves, and carrying homemade ski boards and ski poles. Each had a backpack on their back.

They glanced around the room, and one of them shouted, "Selling food! Selling food! Instant noodles, cookies, and bread. Buy now!"

The man in his thirties said, "You're late today."

A boy in a blue down jacket said arrogantly, "The snow is getting heavier. It's already good that we made it here."

The man in the northeast corner walked up, took out four hundred yuan, and said, "Give me four packs of instant noodles."

A long-haired boy glared at him but didn't take the money, saying in a high-pitched voice, "The price of instant noodles has gone up. It's two hundred per pack now."

The man was taken aback and muttered, "It was only one hundred yesterday."

The boy heard this and sneered, "Eat it or not, your choice. The price will go up in a few days. Do you believe that if this road is blocked for a week, I could raise the price to a thousand?"

The man didn't dare to argue, checked his wallet, and frowned, "What if I don't have enough money?"

The third boy, with a silver earring in his left ear, laughed and said, "Easy, do you have a bank card?" He took out a wireless card reader from his backpack and said with a smile, "I knew this would happen, so I borrowed a wireless card reader from my cousin who runs a supermarket last night. If you don't have cash, you can pay by card. Our service is quite comprehensive, isn't it?"

The new couple finally stopped kissing. The man walked up and asked, "How much for the bread and cookies?"

The boy in the blue down jacket said, "Bread is three hundred, cookies are four hundred."

The man said, "Let me see what they look like." He adjusted his glasses and squinted to look into the boy's backpack.

The boy, impatient, said, "What are you looking at? What's there to see? Let me tell you clearly. Instant noodles cost 1.2 yuan in the supermarket, bread 2 yuan, and cookies 2.5 yuan. They are all cheap. But here, the price is this. You can buy it or not. If you don't want it, forget it."