Chapter 276: Chapter 276

Perhaps it was Tang Zan’s overly gentle tone that gave Shu’er a sense of being immersed.

Noticing Tang Zan getting closer, her heartbeat accelerated, and she clenched her fists nervously.

Tang Zan’s expression became more focused, his gaze fixed on Shu’er’s red lips.

The sensation of those lips was still vivid in his memory.

Soft, tender, with a sweet fruity scent.

Just as his lips were about to touch Shu’er’s, Xuan Liu knelt on one knee.

"Reporting to the master, people have already been arranged to clean up the stall, and the items have been inventoried."

Tang Zan sat upright and nodded to Xuan Liu.

Yet Xuan Liu felt as if the master was hissing cold air, was it his imagination?

Tang Zan looked at Shu’er, whose gaze had already lowered, focusing intently on the ground.

She was muddled too. Even though this place seemed deserted, it was essentially a trading point. Why did she think Tang Zan wanted to kiss her?

In ancient times, people were very conservative, not so open-minded.

Even if Tang Zan didn’t show it now, she knew that such a deep hatred couldn’t just be dispelled with a simple move on.

She had once again indulged in wishful thinking.

Shu’er stood up and said, "I should head back first, I have matters to attend to at home."

"I’ll go with you, I have something to discuss with you," Tang Zan said.

Shu’er nodded and walked alongside Tang Zan, each leading a horse.

As they walked, the once overcast weather suddenly began to snow.

Snowflakes landed on their shoulders, and they were both taken aback.

It’s only mid-September, how could it start snowing?

It was half a month earlier than usual.

Recalling how cold it got last winter, Shu’er shivered involuntarily; many people had frozen to death on that occasion in the Deserted Mountain.

Moreover, there were still some crops in the fields that hadn’t been harvested yet.

Shu’er quickly mounted her horse and rode toward the Deserted Mountain.

Tang Zan followed closely, watching the slender figure of the woman in the dress before him, his eyes full of tenderness.

Once they reached the Deserted Mountain, Shu’er rode her horse straight through the city gate.

As she passed the gate, she spoke to the guard.

"Gather everyone to the stone house, quickly."

Since there were many laborers and soldiers, today’s arrangements were made at the stone house entrance.

Shu’er spoke to everyone, "Now, harvest the crops and store them in the cellars of each household."

With the soldiers’ help, and since there weren’t many crops left in the fields, the harvesting was quickly completed.

Now that the houses in the Deserted Mountain had just been completed, there was no other work to do.

Shu’er wasted no time and promptly addressed the other people of the Deserted Mountain.

"Everyone, follow me to the back mountain now: hunting, gathering, and protecting the fruit trees from the cold."

Although it was already late, and the snowfall seemed to be increasing, she feared it might grow heavier.

Even though some winter food had been prepared when the weather was still warm, the meats were prone to spoilage, so not much was prepared.

Now, with winter suddenly arriving, they had no choice but to prepare for winter supplies in advance, otherwise another batch of people would perish this winter.

As others headed toward the back mountain, Shu’er spoke to a few soldiers.

"Could you please head to the trading post and stand guard? I’m worried that fugitives might cause trouble and steal food."

Now, these people were officials, and with just 20 of them, the fugitives would surely be cautious.

The commoners feared the officials, a rule and memory engraved in them since childhood.

When the soldiers arrived, they indeed saw a swarm of fugitives trying to snatch things, but as soon as the soldiers drew their swords and displayed their aura, those people immediately dared not move.

The soldiers marveled at Shu’er’s foresight; the trading post really did look like a tasty morsel, and every fugitive wanted a bite.

A soldier approached Yinxing’s stall and said, "Miss Pei wants you to pack up the stall. Over the next few days, during winter, you cannot set up stalls anymore."

Otherwise, these stall owners would be like lambs to the slaughter.

When these people were escorted back to the Deserted Mountain, those fugitives still followed at a distance.

Their eyes gleamed like wolves, as if eager to pounce and tear off a piece of them.

Once home, when everyone had neatly arranged their goods, the soldiers spoke up.

"Everyone else is in the back mountain hunting and gathering wild fruits and vegetables; Miss Pei wants you to finish up and hurry there."

No one dared to delay, and they quickly followed.

At this moment, Shu’er was in the back mountain, having assigned a group to gather wild fruits and the more physically capable ones to hunt.

Some with weaker bodies were tasked with protecting the fruit trees from the cold.

Given the harsh winter here, the fruit trees would certainly die without proper care.

Due to the large number of fruit trees, frost protection was a meticulous task.

She prepared a whitewashing agent and distributed it to everyone, instructing them to whitewash the trunks and then wrap the trees.

Shu’er planned to arrange for people to use smoke to combat the coldest winter nights, which would require night shifts.

On the other side, the gatherers didn’t find many fruits.

Some were in particularly high places, and some of the well-growing fruit trees were actually inedible.

Shu’er immediately had those trees cut down, as their fruits were poisonous, unsuitable for growth, and dangerous if consumed accidentally.

Moreover, now being cut down, they could still serve as firewood.

Shu’er herself joined in picking the fruits; there were plenty in her space, waiting for the right moment to bring them out.

As she picked, fruit occasionally fell, but with the snow-covered ground, they weren’t damaged, so everyone picked them up from the ground.

Everyone was so eager to pick them up that harvesting wasn’t a concern anymore. Get full chapters from 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡⁂𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⁂𝘯𝘦𝘵

They believed that being next to the Young Madam, they didn’t need to harvest, just pick up.

Their Young Madam, truly, was the Heavenly Destiny Blessed Girl—bringing so many opportunities, benefiting even them.

An hour later, everyone realized that after just picking a small piece of land in the back mountain, not seemingly having many fruit trees, over a dozen wheelbarrows had been filled.

Everyone happily pushed the fruits into the stone house cellar, where they were stored in the warehouse, waiting for sorting and distribution later.

Upon returning to the back mountain, another dozen wheelbarrows were filled with fruits, and everyone cheerfully pushed them back to the stone house.

The supplies in Shu’er’s space certainly exceeded these, but this was already her limit for bringing them out.

Any more and it would be suspiciously excessive.

From then on, they’d pick one batch after another, and when the fruits had mostly been gathered, they’d move on to gather wild vegetables.