The road is usually frequented by people and donkey carts, so the snow doesn't seem too thick.
However, the snow in the wasteland on either side of the road has accumulated for who knows how long, and when you step into it, there's a feeling of stepping into emptiness, as if there's no bottom.
"Mom, I'll go ahead and clear the path for you; you just follow my footprints," said Jiandong.
Yue Jiandong probed the path, the thick snow reaching his knees, making every step extremely difficult.
Yue Jianxi and Yue Jiannan followed closely behind, trying to pack down the snow to make it easier for the women behind them to cross.
Lin Chunju asked Yue Xiaofang to stay on the road.
"The snow is too thick; you're weak, stay here and wait for us," she said.
Jiannan couldn't help complaining, "Mom, you used to beat me for going to the barren hills. Today, on such an important occasion, why must we walk into the wasteland? Is there gold buried here?"
If she weren't holding her granddaughter, Lin Chunju would have smacked him on the head.
"Less nonsense, just move forward," she snapped.
So Jiannan had no choice but to grumble quietly to himself as we watched the path.
Around the wasteland, some irregular trees grew, all of them quite old.
After shedding their leaves, only the thick branches were left, covered with a layer of silver white.
After several minutes of silent walking, just when Jiannan was about to start complaining again, Jiandong suddenly shouted.
"There's someone behind the tree, and they're hurt!"
Only then did everyone notice, amidst a few trees, an elderly man in a green military coat lay in the snow, part of his leg buried in it.
Around him were sporadic brownish bloodstains which burnt several holes into the white snow.
The old man was half-unconscious; upon hearing voices, he struggled to open his eyes.
Jiandong quickly ran over and crouched down to assess the situation.
It wasn't clear how the man had gotten there, but he had accidentally fallen into a hunter's trap.
His leg was caught in a hunting clamp, unmovable; struggling for a while had been futile except for making the blood flow even more.
Jianxi curiously remarked, "Mom, how did you see with such perceptive eyes? You were able to see someone behind the trees from so far away."
Lin Chunju glanced at Yue Qingqing without leaving a trace, pretending to hum.
"My eyes are very good, ever heard of 'fiery eyes and golden vision'? So, young man, don't even think about doing something bad," she said.
The Yue family members didn't raise any suspicion, assuming that Chunju must have noticed a corner of the man's military coat.
Indeed, having something green on oneself could sometimes save a life.
"Does anyone have a knife on them? We need a sharp tool to break the trap's spring mechanism," said Jiandong, sweat pouring out, yet not daring to move rashly.
The trap set by old hunters could catch large animals; the more the beasts struggled, the tighter the sharp edges clamped down.
The Yue family members looked at each other in dismay – who would bring a knife when going out?
It was only Jiannan who muttered under his breath, "I said we should take a kitchen knife with us when we went out, but Mom wouldn't allow it."
Chunju glared at him, "Murder is punishable by death."
"But the Ma family are animals; my sister doesn't have a patch of good flesh on her body," he retorted.
When Chunju thought of her daughter's injuries, she also fell silent.
The old man on the ground lifted his eyelids and glanced at the people around him but said nothing.
Zhang Ying, anxious, said, "Otherwise, let's leave a few people to look after him here, while the rest go find someone in Jinshan Village. Ask a hunter from the village to bring tools for the rescue?"
"He won't last, he might die any minute now," someone objected.
With saving a life being paramount, Jiandong gritted his teeth and attempted to pry the trap open.
The sharpened spikes cut through the palm of his hand, and his blood flowed along.
Jiandong was already very strong, but he couldn't open the clamp completely.
Seeing this, Jianxi also helped out, each of them holding one side of the trap, straining with all their might.
The dripping blood hit the ground, and as Chunju looked on with distress, she didn't stop them.
After all, they were saving a human life.
With a snap, the bottom spring finally gave way, and the iron clamp fell helplessly to the sides.
"Thank you... thank you," said the old man.
His white hair was tousled by the wind as he struggled to rise.
But the leg that had been trapped was powerless, and in the end, Jiandong had to stabilize him.
Seeing this, Chunju decided to change the plan, "Eldest son, second son, quickly take this man home first; we'll follow the original path to Jinshan Village."
Jiannan protested anxiously, "But if big brother and second brother don't go to , the Ma family will definitely not back down. What if they start something in front of us again?"
He knew he was not physically strong, not a match for Ma Jinbao, and his mother and sister-in-law were even less capable.
The old man being supported by Jiandong suddenly looked up.
"That's perfect, I'm also from Jinshan Village. You can take me there on your way; it won't delay anything," he said.