Immortal Clan: I have a Tree of Creation

The snow has stopped, it really has stopped.

The heavy snowfall disappeared, replaced by sparse snowflakes.

Zhou Chengnan, holding Yi'er and pulling his wife and daughter, hurriedly climbed out of the cellar.

A clear sky and sparse snowflakes came into view.

They hadn't seen such a clear blue sky in a long time.

A tremendous shock, followed by a belated surge of ecstatic joy, instantly overwhelmed me.

"It's stopped, it's really stopped..." Wang Shuzhen murmured.

Zhou Yuanyu held her mother's hand tightly and jumped up happily.

Little Yi'er curiously stretched out her little hand, wanting to catch the few snowflakes that were slowly falling.

In Jinyang Village, many families have started to emerge.

The snow stopped, the wind stopped, and an uncontrollable wail came from a certain direction.

The emotions that had been building up for months and were suppressed to the extreme finally found an outlet.

"Good heavens, the snow has stopped! The snow has stopped!!!"

"We're saved! We're saved!" The women's cries of joy and tears echoed throughout the room.

"Father! Mother! Come out and see!"

The doors of every household were pushed open.

One by one, faces filled with sorrow peeked out, only to be replaced by an unbelievable surge of joy.

"Heavens, open your eyes!" The burly man knelt down in the snow and kowtowed repeatedly to the sky, oblivious to the snow covering his forehead.

"Quickly tell Aunt Zhang and Uncle Li, the snow has stopped! The snow has stopped!"

People helped each other up, staggered out of their homes, embraced each other, and cheered incoherently.

The entire Jinyang Village was in an uproar; the silence that had lasted for more than three months was broken by a wave of joy.

Cheers, cries, and laughter echoed through the pristine world after the snow.

People greedily inhaled the cold air, as if it were the sweetest nectar in the world.

However, there was one household with a completely different atmosphere.

Jinyang Village, Zhao Family Mansion.

Zhao Jingfeng looked out the window at the cheering villagers.

His handsome face showed no joy whatsoever; instead, it was so gloomy it seemed to drip water.

He fidgeted with the jade thumb ring on his thumb.

"Hmph..." Zhao Jinglin didn't hold back, slamming his fist hard against the window frame, causing the snow to fall in a flurry. "We've only collected less than 40% of the village's land deeds!"

"Father, those poor wretches were about to give up and hand over the rest of the land deeds, and then this damned snow... why did it have to stop!"

Zhao Changming sat upright in the armchair, the tea in his hand already cold.

A cold smile slowly curved at the corners of his lips.

"Yes...that's a real shame."

"What a fantastic opportunity...a once-in-a-century chance!"

"Hold on a little longer... and all the land in Jinyang Village will belong to the Zhao family."

The snowflakes fell for a day and then gradually disappeared.

The blizzard is finally over, and while people are excited, they are also getting busy.

It is said that "a timely snow promises a good harvest," but unfortunately, this snow has long exceeded the scope of "a timely snow" and has become an unprecedented snow disaster.

The vegetables in the field that were originally resistant to frost have long since frozen to death.

A thick layer of snow covered the front and back yards of every household, the fields, and even the village roads.

To restore life and resume farming, all the snow must be cleared away as soon as possible.

The heavy snow that lasted for months left many places with snow higher than the houses, making clearing it extremely difficult.

People tightened their belts to survive, and many went hungry, making it even more difficult to work under such circumstances.

Most families had no time for anything else but clearing the snow from their fields.

Now is the time to plant the vegetable seeds as soon as possible.

After staying at home for several months, every household had saved up a considerable amount of money.

But the heavy snow had just stopped, and the county roads were still closed, so even with money, they couldn't buy food.

Most of the people were holding their breath.

Once we get through this period, things will always get better.

Wealthy families still had a lot of surplus grain, and some kind-hearted families offered grain and meat.

Zhou Chengnan couldn't bear it, so he took out some of the wild boar meat that he couldn't finish and shared it with his neighbors.

Of course, it's not free; the money still needs to be collected.

It was still an income of several dozen taels of silver.

The heavy snow stopped, and once the county roads were reopened, silver remained as precious as ever.

Two days later, the snow stopped completely, the sky cleared, the weather improved, and it became very warm.

The snow is melting faster, which saves people a lot of trouble.

A few days later, most families returned to their normal lives.

Food is still scarce, but at least we don't have to live in fear every day anymore.

The Zhao family sent out servants and guards, and two teams of people cleared the snow all over the village. In just a few days, the village roads were basically all accessible.

Of course, the Zhao family wasn't doing this out of kindness.

The reason they are acting so proactively is because the Zhao family has acquired too much land.

Today, over 40% of the farmland in Jinyang Village has fallen into the hands of the Zhao family, who have changed their surname to Zhao.

The Zhao family was clearing the snow in order to take over "their own" fields.

The villagers were furious, but there was nothing they could do.

Not to mention that no one has the ability to contend with or fight against the Zhao family.

Even if the land deeds signed by everyone themselves are taken to the government, there is no way to get justice.

The Zhao family was the wealthiest family in Jinyang Village.

After this ordeal, he became even richer and had become a major landowner.

Everything at the Zhou family's house was as usual.

Zhou Chengnan and his son Zhou Yuanshan possessed astonishing physical strength.

In one day, they cleared all the snow from the front and back of their house, and while clearing the farmland, they also took care of Old Sun's family.

The elderly couple are getting on in years, and if no one helps them, they may have to wait until all the snow has melted.

The seeds have been replanted in the fields, and with the nourishment of the snowmelt, a bumper harvest is expected.

Wang Shuzhen was worried about her parents, so the couple went back to visit them together.

The Wang family was already well-off, and Old Wang especially loved making cured meat and pickled vegetables. They had a cellar full of food at home, so they were never hungry.

The mother-in-law, Xu, felt very guilty towards her daughter and son-in-law.

"Shuzhen, Chengnan, your father thinks about you two all day long and wants to send some meat to the children."

"But that day, I ran into a bear cub as soon as I stepped outside, and almost lost my life..."

Zhou Chengnan naturally had no doubts about his father-in-law.

It's true that the black bear came down the mountain. If Old Wang had come to Jinyang Village back then, something really bad would have happened.

......

About two weeks later.

The county road is finally open.

Zhou Yuanshan is going to practice martial arts, and Zhou Yuanyu is going to the workshop.

Zhou Chengnan personally took the two children to the county town and only felt relieved after seeing the martial arts school reopen and the workshop open for business.

Soon, people from the county government arrived!

A group of yamen runners carrying thick volumes of files stepped into Jinyang Village.

"Each household head shall stand in front, review the household register, and verify the number of persons in the household. If any deceased or missing persons are found, they shall be reported immediately."

The snow disaster was merciless, claiming lives in various places.

The government officials have come to take stock of the household registers...

As expected, this inventory revealed that Jinyang Village had lost quite a few people.

The Li family, the Deng family, the Zhang family who were carpenters, the Wu family who sold fish...

Six households in Jinyang Village died, totaling twenty or thirty people.

"My lord... something has happened." A constable stepped forward in a fluster and bowed.