Another heavy snow was falling. The exhaled air could turn into ice.
"Fortunately, I have this down jacket. If I could get a pair of UGGs, it would be even easier to get through the winter."
Ye Zhinan rubbed her frostbitten hands and blew warm air from her mouth constantly. She quickened her pace.
Han Xiangmei had made some extra cotton-padded trousers and jackets and asked her to send them to Xiaohu.
On the way, Ye Zhinan spotted two familiar figures. Taking a closer look, she recognized them as Li Feihu and Qin Yihuai. Their backs were to her, and they seemed to be discussing something while facing the mountain.
She intended to slip away quietly, but then a familiar voice came from behind her.
"Miss Ye, are you here to see the boss?"
Chen Zhenhai's loud voice alerted the two men in front.
Qin Yihuai shot a glare at Chen Zhenhai, but inside he was overjoyed. His eyes softened as he looked at Ye Zhinan.
"Do you have something to talk to me about?"
This man was so narcissistic.
Ye Zhinan glanced at Li Feilong awkwardly, pointed at them, and stammered, "I'm looking for... you guys..."
Before she finished speaking, a warm current suddenly flowed into her hand. Looking down, she saw a fluffy hand warmer.
"It's too cold outside. Brother Li, could we go to your place to warm up?"
Qin Yihuai's tone left no room for refusal.
Li Feilong had been waiting for this invitation for a long time. He nodded eagerly.
Every household in Fushou Village had a heated kang. No matter how cold it was outside, the rooms were warm and cozy.
As soon as Ye Zhinan entered the room, she quickly took off the hand warmer and returned it to Qin Yihuai.
Qin Yihuai paused for a moment, and a flicker of loneliness flashed across his eyes.
But Ye Zhinan just wanted to get a cup of warm tea to dispel the cold. She didn't notice the change in his expression at all.
Lu Yanlai gave her a look and handed over a cup of hot tea.
"Here, for Inspector Qin to warm up."
You should give it to him. Why are you giving it to me?
Ye Zhinan complained about Lu Yanlai's being infatuated with good looks in her heart, but still passed the tea over.
Qin Yihuai's expression softened a bit. He took the tea and stuffed the hand warmer back into her hand.
"Since you've used it, it's yours."
What a fussy man. He didn't want something that others had used.
Ye Zhinan thanked him verbally but grumbled in her heart. However, she would take anything that was given to her for free.
"Miss Ye is full of ideas. How about asking her?"
After drinking three cups of tea in a row, Li Feilong finally regained some color in his face.
Hearing this, Ye Zhinan became interested.
"Tell me. Maybe I can help."
A flicker of worry crossed Qin Yihuai's eyes.
This woman always managed to get herself involved in things.
Even so, he still wanted to hear her opinion.
"The Cold Spring Festival is approaching. According to the custom, a sacrificial ceremony is held every year in the northern border to pray for good weather in the coming year. The new magistrate, being considerate of the people, originally wanted to hold a simple ceremony. But somehow, news of the new mine got reported to the higher authorities. Then he was taught that the sacrifice was the foundation of the country and the aspiration of the people, so it must combine utensils and rituals, and there must be no violation of etiquette."
Ye Zhinan listened to Qin Yihuai's long explanation with a blank look on her face.
As a modern person, she had been educated to avoid extravagance and waste and to keep everything simple.
Although she knew the importance of the sacrifice here, she thought that even if the magistrate held a simple ceremony, there would be no violation of etiquette.
So what was the problem?
Qin Yihuai saw through her confusion at a glance and continued to explain, "The sacrificial utensils are very important during the sacrifice. They symbolize the four directions of the world and the levels of good and bad luck. So we need to prepare the four major sacrificial utensils: jue, deng, gui, and zu."
"Are these four things difficult to make?"
Ye Zhinan became even more curious.
The three men beside her nodded simultaneously, "Very difficult."
"Actually, it's not that difficult. It's just that there are not enough people to mine the copper ore, and the progress is slow. If we want to finish making these four major sacrificial utensils before the Cold Spring Festival, we need to gather everyone to do it. So we're discussing with Brother Li to borrow some manpower."
Qin Yihuai didn't like to trouble others, especially Ye Zhinan.
But Ye Zhinan didn't seem to think it was a trouble.
"Don't bother borrowing people. Leave the mining to me!"
With her space, mining didn't seem that difficult for Ye Zhinan. But the biggest problem she faced was how to mine the mountain secretly without being noticed.
She tossed and turned in bed, regretting for a second that she had agreed so casually. But thinking that she could help everyone, she knew this was a must.
Before she could come up with a solution, something happened to the Ye family again.
While Ye Zhinan was working in the field, she suddenly heard a loud noise from the mountain.
Sister Hong rushed over in a hurry to tell her that the mountain had collapsed. She was shocked and immediately rushed home.
She saw Han Xiangmei with tears all over her face. Ye Shenyan and Ye Yingfeng were lying unconscious on the bed.
Their clothes were torn and covered in blood.
Ye Zhinan quickly felt their pulses. After confirming that they were out of danger, she finally relaxed.
She simply treated their injuries, secretly took out some medicinal herbs from her space, and told her mother to feed them on time. Then, using the excuse of not having enough medicinal herbs and needing to pick some on the mountain, she secretly returned to the mine to find out what had happened.
The entrance of the mine was blocked due to the collapse, and there were government soldiers guarding it all around.
But there was a cliff behind the mine that was unguarded. She decided to take the risk and enter.
As it got darker, Ye Zhinan took out a set of climbing equipment from her space. After getting fully equipped, she sneaked in quietly. Everything went smoothly, but there was always an uneasy feeling.
Just as she entered, a dark figure suddenly appeared in front of her and blocked her way.
"You're really brave."
Qin Yihuai frowned tightly, his expression solemn.
"Father and elder brother always get injured for no reason. If I don't find out the reason, how can I prevent it from happening again?"
Ye Zhinan didn't hide her anger at all.
The miners had sent them back, and the government soldiers didn't care at all. Who else could she rely on if not herself?
Qin Yihuai clenched his fists so tightly that the veins on his hands bulged.
He couldn't guarantee their safety either. Otherwise, this injury wouldn't have happened.
"I'll investigate with you."
This was the only thing he could do for her at the moment.
Ye Zhinan remained silent and walked straight towards the accident site.
She saw that the mine cave had collapsed, and many rocks were piled up at the entrance. The direction of the piled rocks was a bit strange. Ye Zhinan checked them carefully in the moonlight.
"These rocks didn't fall by themselves."
Hearing this, Qin Yihuai leaned over. Ye Zhinan turned around and pinned him between the cliff and herself. She whispered, "Look, aren't these rocks strange?"
Qin Yihuai felt a warm breath blowing past his ear. He unconsciously moved his body to the side, but unfortunately, there was a cliff beside him, so he had to stand there stiffly.
"I'm asking if these rocks are strange?"
Seeing that he didn't respond, Ye Zhinan thought her voice was too soft, so she moved closer.
Qin Yihuai...
You can't take advantage like this.
To stop her further actions, he quickly replied, "They are a bit strange. It seems to be man-made."
"I knew someone was trying to harm our family!"
Ye Zhinan was so angry that she punched the rock. A few small rocks fell off and made a "clink, clink, clink" sound as they dropped into the valley.
Suddenly, there was a rustling sound from behind the mountain. Then, with a loud noise, a big rock rolled down from above.
"Watch out!"