The corridors and stone steps were covered by the eaves, so there was no accumulated snow.
Zhu Ci said expressionlessly, "It seems like something is crawling over here."
Crawling.. crawling over?
Fu Qiulu gripped Zhu Ci's sleeve tightly and asked in a trembling voice, "What.. what is it? Where did it go?"
Zhu Ci lowered the hand holding the oil lamp slightly, attempting to see the traces on the stone steps clearly, but saw nothing.
“Did it.. did it enter the house? Or.. or did it leave?”
Zhu Ci shook his head with a solemn expression. He turned to look at Xi Ya, intending to ask something, but then remembered that she was unable to speak.
He suddenly felt a bit of a headache.
Among the four of them, only Xi Ya could barely be considered a local, even though he had been wandering abroad for several years.
He couldn't speak, being so young, the most likely scenario was that he would end up as a little beggar or a child laborer in the county, so he wouldn't wander far.
No, he must find a way to make Xi Ya able to communicate.
Zhu Ci turned his head and said, "Alright, everyone go back. We'll talk about this tomorrow."
It was so late at night that nothing could be seen; if it weren't for the snow on the ground, this moonless night would likely have been pitch black.
Sigh, if only I could figure out how to generate electricity.
No, having electricity isn't enough; I also have to come up with light bulbs. If I calculate it, the appearance of the world's first light bulb seems to be only about a hundred and some years away from now.
Zhu Ci walked carefully with an oil lamp while lost in thought, wanting to investigate where that thing had actually gone.
Although he appeared quite calm, he was actually feeling quite uneasy.
Whether it be a thief or a bandit, they are not particularly worrying; it is only the invisible and unknowable that leaves one on edge.
Unfortunately, he saw nothing on the way back, instead, he was nearly frozen to death.
Feeling as though his body was itching from the cold, Zhu Ci said decisively, "Let's head back. It's too cold outside; let whatever happens, happen."
After he finished speaking, the three people standing behind him exchanged glances, each letting out a sigh of relief with expressions of having narrowly escaped death.
When Zhu Ci returned to his bedroom, he found a little tail following behind him.
He turned to look at the other three people with a hint of helplessness. "Go back to sleep. We can discuss everything tomorrow."
Fu Chunsheng said pitifully, "Young Master, I'm scared. Can I sleep on the floor in your room?"
Xi Ya, standing to the side, was speechless and could only nod frantically in agreement.
Zhu Ci looked at these two big fellows, who were even taller than himself, for a moment, he was quite speechless.
Fu Qiulu said softly, "Young Master, we don't know if that thing has left yet; we'll be safer staying with you."
Zhu Ci thought about it and decided it wouldn't be a bad idea, so he said, "Extinguish the stove in your room, then come to my place."
Seeing that the three of them were nearly scared to death, what else could he do? He could only agree.
Zhu Ci even suspected whether the Fu siblings were faking it, but they didn't seem to be. With such little courage, how would your masters dare to send you out to do work?
..
When the next day arrived, Zhu Ci woke up intending to continue monitoring the situation in the backyard, but as soon as he pushed open the window, he realized that all clues were gone. The heavy snow had fallen in a thick layer, covering all the original traces in the backyard, any remaining details had vanished without a trace.
Fu Chunsheng and Fu Qiulu had long since risen to begin sweeping the snow from the courtyard, while Xi Ya sat under the corridor continuing to make Beehive coal molds.
Zhu Ci put on a thick cotton coat and walked out. He snatched the broom from Fu Qiulu's hands and said, "Give it to me, you go cook the food."
Fu Qiulu gripped the broom with both hands and refused to let go, saying, "The food is already cooked; it's all being kept warm on the stove. Please let go, Young Master, how can you do such a thing?"
Zhu Ci was ultimately stronger than her; after snatching the broom, he said, "Then go to a warm place to do some needlework or something. How can a young girl endure the cold? Go, go quickly."
Fu Qiulu stood there dazed for a long while before saying, "Then.. then I will go sew another set of winter clothes for the Young Master."
Zhu Ci waved his hand at her, telling her to head back quickly.
Zhu Ci cleared the thick snow from the ground, momentarily wondering whether he was in the Northeast or in Suzhou.
This is too ridiculous. How could it be snowing this heavily? The temperature must be below zero by now, right?
Just as he was thinking about this, he suddenly felt tiny spots of coldness on his face and neck, upon looking up, he discovered that it had started snowing again.
Fu Chunsheng could not help but feel a sense of despair. "Why is it still snowing? The river is freezing over; life is getting far too difficult this year, isn't it?"
Zhu Ci simply tossed the brooms aside and said, "Let's go, I'm done sweeping. I'll go buy a shovel later."
Upon hearing this, Fu Chunsheng immediately put the two brooms away in the corner and followed Zhu Ci all the way to the dining hall.
There were two tables in the dining hall, a larger one in the center and a smaller one in the corner.
The larger one was naturally already there, while the smaller one was specially commissioned by Zhu Ci for Fu Chunsheng and the others to use for meals.
If it weren't for this table, the three children would have to squat in front of the stove to eat.
Just looking at them made me feel like I was mistreating minors.
Zhu Ci asked while eating porridge, "Is there enough food? If not, I'll take Chunsheng out later to buy some."
Xi Ya was useless, Fu Qiulu.. in this freezing weather, don't let the young girl run outside.
Even if one suspected Fu Qiulu had ulterior motives, she had indeed been taking very meticulous care of him these past few days.
Fu Qiulu immediately said, "Young Master, when Chunsheng was opening the doors to sweep the snow this morning, he discovered several large baskets placed outside. They contained bok choy, Chinese yam, radishes, taro, but there was no meat."
Zhu Ci was stunned for a moment. "Do you know who sent them?"
The three of them shook their heads together. Fu Qiulu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Actually, people have been sending things before, but they never sent much, they always left them at the doors before dawn. They were left at both the front and back doors, so we never knew who sent them."
Zhu Ci immediately understood that these must have been sent by the villagers, likely as a way to express their gratitude to him for protecting Xialiang.
Zhu Ci thought to himself that he should go back and have a word with the Baochang; everyone was not well-off, most people could barely make ends meet; if they gave these things to him, their entire families would likely have to tighten their belts to survive.
Just as he was thinking about this, Xi Ya suddenly ran over excitedly, holding a pile of things and bringing them directly before his eyes.
Zhu Ci looked closely and saw that the Beehive coal mold was finally finished.
He cast all other matters to the back of his mind, stood up, said, "Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go try it out."
-----------------------
Author's Note: Zhu Ci: In this weather, anything one could crawl around outside with can't be anything decent. A kitty running all the way back into the room with its paws trembling. jpg
Next update at 12:00 PM~
Chapter 30
With the mold, making beehive coal became much easier.
Although Xi Ya could not speak or read, Zhu Ci still personally worked out the proportions just to be safe, then handed the mixed materials to Xi Ya to press them into shape.
When the first beehive coal mold was released, Zhu Ci looked at the rare, familiar object with an indescribable feeling.
He held the base of the mold and admired the beehive coal for a long time before saying, "Let's wait a bit longer; we can try it once it's dry."
However, the weather had been damp and cold lately, making it difficult for them to dry anytime soon, so he simply had Xi Ya make a few more pieces of Beehive coal.
If successful, they could be taken directly to the county.
And that very night, Zhu Ci faintly heard that voice once again.
He fell silent for a moment, then rolled over, deciding to ignore the sound.
However, the other three minors clearly could not ignore the sound.
Zhu Ci first heard the sound of the door being opened, followed immediately by Fu Chunsheng asking, "Qiu.. Qiu.. Qiulu, did you hear that sound?"
Good heavens, even her voice had begun to tremble.
Fu Qiulu's voice was also trembling: "I.. I heard it, Brother, what is it? What should we do?"
"What about the Young Master?" Fu Chunsheng lowered his voice.
It seems the Young Master is still sleeping.
How about.. how about we hide in the Young Master's room for the night, then we'll head back once it's light outside?
Fu Qiulu felt somewhat frustrated by their lack of resolve: "Can't you two grown men go see what it actually is? When something real happens, are you really going to rely on the Young Master to protect you?"
Fu Chunsheng and Xi Ya both remained silent; well, Xi Ya had no way to speak up.
Zhu Ci felt exhausted from listening, so he got out of bed and said, "Let's go and see what is actually happening."
He said as he got up to put on his clothes and picked up his Yanling Blade.
He had originally put the Yanling Blade away, as carrying a blade in and out of the countryside was a bit too intimidating.
However, this blade clearly gave them confidence now.
Fu Chunsheng lowered his head in shame. "Young Master, did we wake you?"
Zhu Ci shook his head. "I heard that voice too."
However, this time they still came up empty-handed, discovering only that there were snowprints on the stone steps.
Zhu Ci could only once again allow Fu Chunsheng and Xi Ya to sleep in his room.
By the third night, that sound appeared once again, this time there were even dragging marks in the front courtyard, yet still no clues could be found.
After this had happened for three consecutive days, Zhu Ci felt a bit unnerved.
On the fourth day, Zhu Ci saw that the Beehive coal mold was not yet dry, so he simply took a piece of wood and a small carving knife and began squatting in the study to carve something.
Fu Qiulu was somewhat surprised when she brought him hot tea: "Young Master, you know how to carve as well?"
“A little bit, just for fun,” Zhu Ci said without even looking up. “By the way, find me a red string, don't let it be too short.”
Fu Qiulu didn't ask many questions and went directly to find a red rope.
By the time she returned, the item in Zhu Ci's hands was almost finished being carved.
Fu Qiulu looked at it curiously, seeing only that it was a somewhat irregular circle, about the size of a baby's fist, with intricate patterns finely carved upon it, though she could not understand what they were.
She asked curiously, "Young Master, what is this?"
Zhu Ci said with a serious expression, "An amulet to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune."