Chapter 32

“Oh, Mom, why do you care what Taohua’s delivering? What a couple does is their own business!”

“The mountains are cold. You two young girls need to be careful. Wait here for a bit, and I’ll fetch you each a hand warmer!”

“Oh, we don’t need it, Mom!” Sun Xiaolan grumbled impatiently. “How can we get cold when we’re walking?”

“It’s not like you have to make it yourself. Just stand there and wait a moment, will you?” Auntie Sun muttered as she quickly went inside and returned with two hand warmers.

They were small clay pots with handles, filled with embers from the stove and topped with a layer of ash to keep the heat in. Perfect for carrying warmth on cold days.

Halfway down the road, Sun Xiaolan changed her tune.

“Good thing we didn’t rush off. This hand warmer is so cozy! My mom is the best!”

“She is,” Taohua agreed as she warmed her hands, smiling. “My mom is great too.”

“Hehe,” Sun Xiaolan chuckled. “We’re lucky our moms aren’t the type to favor sons over daughters. We really hit the jackpot.”

Taohua nodded. “You did. If my dad hadn’t passed away from illness, our family would probably still be living happily together. Sigh, let’s not talk about that. How much farther do we have to go?”

“Should be close. I think I can hear the clinking sounds of them breaking stones.”

The two soon arrived at the riverbank and saw the village men working with hoes and tools.

But as Taohua scanned the group, she didn’t see Qin Feng.

Anxious, she grabbed Sun Xiaolan’s arm. “Big Brother Qin isn’t here, and I don’t see your husband either!”

“Yeah, my husband’s not here either. Maybe they split into groups to work in different areas? Oh, but I see my grandpa over there!”

Sun Xiaolan pointed ahead. “Come on, let’s go ask him.”

They quickly approached the village chief, who, along with the others, looked puzzled to see them.

“What are you two doing here?” The chief frowned at Sun Xiaolan. “Did something happen at home?”

“It’s not about home—it’s here!” Sun Xiaolan explained. “Taohua had an incredibly vivid nightmare. She dreamed something bad would happen here, so we rushed over.”

“What?” The chief looked at Taohua and his granddaughter in disbelief, then waved dismissively. “You girls are overreacting. Stop causing trouble here and go home. Your mother must’ve lost her mind letting you come out for no reason.”

“No, Grandpa, we’re not making this up!” Taohua, frustrated by the chief’s disbelief, urgently explained,

“I really dreamed about this place. Isn’t there a sharp bend in the river up ahead? This is exactly like what I saw in my dream!

“Tao Hua, this is just a dream, nothing real. You should all go back. This isn’t a place for you to stay.”

“But Village Chief Grandpa, even if this dream isn’t real, please let me finish speaking, okay? If it isn’t true, that’s the best outcome. But being cautious doesn’t hurt either.”

“Alright, then tell me.”

“I dreamed that Brother Qin and the others went to the river bend to lift a big stone. They said the stone was so large that it might block the ice in the future, so they wanted to move it first.

Then Brother Qin and the others went down. Not long after, a big whirlpool suddenly appeared in the river. It spun very fast, and many people were sucked into it.

There was also a registrar, someone sent by the county magistrate, I think. He got caught in the whirlpool too and couldn’t get out.”

At first, the village chief thought Tao Hua was just fooling around with his granddaughter. But the more he listened, the more unsettled he felt.

Because what Tao Hua said about moving the big stone was true, and it had only been decided that morning.

But Tao Hua wasn’t even there in the morning. How could she know about their plan?

And she also mentioned the registrar sent from the county office.

“Tao Hua?” The village chief’s expression grew serious. “Where did you hear that a registrar came here? Do you even know what a registrar does?”

“I don’t know what a registrar does. I just heard someone call him that in my dream! No one told me he would come, so he’s really here, isn’t he?”

“Yes!” The registrar had indeed arrived only that morning, and the village chief himself hadn’t known beforehand. But Tao Hua had dreamed about it!

The village chief started taking Tao Hua’s dream seriously. After pacing in circles, he suddenly said to her:

“Come with me! They should already be at the river by now. Let’s hurry over and check—hopefully, nothing has happened!”

The closer they got, the more uneasy Tao Hua felt, because all the scenery in front of her was exactly like in her dream! The whirlpool in the river would appear very soon!

Soon, Tao Hua saw Qin Feng and the village men.

They were about to enter the water and were currently on the riverbank taking off their clothes.

Seeing the men rolling up their sleeves and pant legs, Sun Xiaolan quickly turned Tao Hua around.

“Oh my, why are some of them down to just their shorts? Aren’t they cold?”

Some sharp-eyed men heard the commotion from their side, turned around, and immediately burst into laughter.