Although it was not long before winter began, snow began to fall in some parts of the north.

Especially in the mountainous areas, walking in the mountains and ridges, you can often see some peaks covered with thick snow, whether they are rocks or plants, they are all the same.

Seeing that the sun was already noon, Fang Chang stopped.

He did not walk on the road, but followed his temperament and passed through the mountains directly. After all, his feet were extraordinary, and even the cliffs could not stop him from moving forward.

Around him, he found a few big rocks behind the leewards, and found a few dead branches to sweep away the snow that was much thinner than elsewhere, revealing the ground. He collected some firewood and hay and gathered it together, took out the fire broke out from his arms, shook the flames slightly, ignited the pile, and then shook it away and put it away again.

But after so long travel, the homemade straw paper had been used up. Now it was the fire he bought at the market and borrowed from the hotel when he came out in the morning.

I roasted two pieces of dry food and ate it while it was hot. Fangchang also scooped up the snow next to the fire and cooked it. I took two sips.

Not far away, plum blossoms bloom on the hillside.

The plums stand upright in the snow, stretching branches like arms, and the white flowers gather into the sea, and the fragrance spreads everywhere, complementing the white earth covered with thick snow. If you don’t look carefully, it will be difficult to tell whether it is a flower or a snow on the earth under the blue sky.

"The plum is three points whiter than the snow, but the snow is one piece of fragrance, haha."

Fang Chang said to himself.

He got up and put out the fire, moved in a different direction, and walked around Merlin.

Not far away, a faint smoke rose, maybe someone else's house.

…………

Two mountain villages are far away from each other, and on both sides of a valley, there is a little smoke coming out of each other.

The valley is relatively flat, and it is the fields of two villages, but it is also covered with snow. It is impossible to see where the fields are ridges and fields are. However, some slopes have clear shapes of fruit trees.

The road can be seen here, and many footprints of the journey are left on it.

Following the road, he walked towards the nearer mountain village.

Although the weather was cold, as the villagers collected enough catkins, reeds, and furs, the villagers had rich ways to keep the cold, and they could see many people talking outside the house. There were also children running wildly outside the house, jumping and playing while singing nursery rhymes, or chasing and fighting with each other with snowballs in their hands.

Although there are a few smokes in the village, it is not lunch.

Due to poverty, three meals throughout the year have not been popularized like other places in the world. In the winter, the village usually only eats two meals a day, but one of them is dry meals, which is also a gift for the harvest year after year.

Fang Chang walked into the village.

According to normal circumstances, when someone saw strangers entering the village, someone had already come up to talk to him. But it seemed that it was because of the busyness. Today, everyone just looked at him and then was busy with their own things, and no one came up to ask questions.

He didn't go to find the villagers to talk, but walked slowly from one end to the other.

However, the chat content of the villagers in the mountain village interested Fang Chang very much.

“…How long does it take to set off?”

It was the voice of a peasant woman, and she seemed to be asking her husband.

"Don't worry, at least two more hours, and we have to wait for the people from the mountain village to prepare. At that time, they will come to inform us." The man comforted with a calm voice, "It's like this every year, and it's always going smoothly."

"Don't miss the time, otherwise the mountain master will be angry, which will affect the harvest next year, which will be a big bad thing."

The peasant woman was still a little worried.

The man's voice continued: "Well, if the time is approaching, no one has come yet, the leaders of the two families will ask people to go to Xiashan Village to ask. Don't worry, you won't miss the problem. Prepare dry food. You have to walk on the road for most of the day, and you won't be able to lose your energy."

"Oh, I don't know why the mountain master set the tribute time in the morning. He had to spend the night on the mountain, and a lot of firewood alone had to be burned." She complained slightly.

"Can you talk too much? Be careful when you hear the punishment." The man's voice rose instantly, with a little horror. "It's not just the mountain master, but if the Yellow Flower God Five Stone God heard it, he would not have to punish the mountain master, which would cut off our family's livelihood. When we set off, you can go to the temple at the end of the valley to burn incense and worship each other, and don't talk much at that time."

"I'm wrong, I'm wrong, I'm wrong, blame me for being too talkative, the mountain master should not blame me." The peasant woman patted her cheek gently, which means she had been punished. Wang Kong accused him of guilt for a few words, and then asked her husband:

"Whose family gave the tribute this time?"

"Old San's family in Xiashan Village, our Shangshan Village and Xiashan Village take turns. This year it's Xiashan Village. They will give tributes. We just need to follow us. It's our turn next year."

"Oh, I don't know who will be there next year. It's a pity that the five daughters of Zheng Dashi's family were born last year."

"Yes, but for the sake of next year's harvest, these are worth it..."

Fang Chang in the village frowned.

He has a very good hearing. Although the village is not small in size, it is far inferior to the city. It has no blind spots for him and can hear anywhere. Therefore, he just heard these words on the wall that he accidentally heard.

However, the meaning of the conversation between the two couples made him a little alert.

As he thought about it, the Lingquan sword behind him even tinged in the sheath.

Fang Chang moved his footsteps and walked towards another village. He was about to go to Xiashan Village first. Since he met him, as a nosy practitioner, he would not ignore it when he encountered it.

In the afternoon, the sun is fierce. After the surface of the snow is sunny, it will melt slightly and then freeze. Therefore, the surface is no longer as soft as when it first fell, but instead forms a hard shell. The wind blows, and the direction changes, but from the hard snow surface, nothing can be blown up. The dead leaves that fall after only a few snow can be rolled up and gone away.

Outside Xiashan Village, the scene you see in Fangchang is similar to that in Shangshan Village.

However, there was a half-grown girl dancing on the snow pile, but there were no children watching, and she was lonely.

Fang Chang walked over and asked, "Little girl, are you dancing?"

"Um."

The girl stopped, looked at Fang Chang, and said, "I like dancing, come here again today."

The tone revealed a little Xiao Suo who was not in line with his age, which made Fang Chang a little curious. He then asked, "What's your name?"

"My name is Yang Xiangyu, and my father is the third child of the Yang family."

The names of villagers are very simple, and so are girls. The names are nothing more than spring, autumn, winter, summer, wind, rain, snow, and beautiful flowers.

But then, the little girl looked at the village and said, "Uncle, I can't chat with you anymore. I'm going home when the time comes."

Then she ran into the village quickly.

Fang Chang watched her run into the village, frowned and let go of his ears, and listened.
Chapter completed!