Chapter 182: Chapter 182: People’s Safety Comes First

Fu Xiaoxiao sat beside Aunt Wang, watching her make arrangements one by one. The villagers had no objections, and even the village chief listened to her, finding it quite novel.

After Aunt Wang had finished giving out orders, she sat next to Fu Xiaoxiao and said, "Xiaoxiao, you better not go back! It’s not safe to travel in this weather."

Even though the military base wasn’t far away, usually you’d have to walk for a while; now with the heavy snow, it was impossible to walk as easily as usual, especially since she had two kids with her.

"If the snow doesn’t stop, I’ll just stay here obediently," Fu Xiaoxiao didn’t refuse. Aunt Wang was right, even if not for herself, for the two kids; in such bad weather, there was no need to act tough.

"Alright, I’ll have them bring more bedding later." Seeing that Fu Xiaoxiao didn’t refuse, Aunt Wang smiled and patted her hand.

"Thank you, Auntie! Without you, I wouldn’t know what to do!" Fu Xiaoxiao smiled at the several aunties.

"See, always so polite with us, huh?" Aunt Zhang said with a smile, an understanding child always made people feel more compassionate.

Aunt Zhang held Lu Chen and Lu Lin, genuinely liking them.

After half an hour, several people who had just gone out came back, with Xiao Heng carrying someone on his back. Seeing Xiao Heng’s serious expression, Fu Xiaoxiao guessed that the old man’s condition was not good.

Fu Xiaoxiao quickly took a bowl of ginger soup over, and Xiao Heng placed the man, frozen stiff, in the corner. Fu Xiaoxiao then fed the ginger soup into his mouth.

"How is he so frozen like this, wearing so little in this weather..." Aunt Wang and others gathered around, saw the thin clothes on Lin Jun, and then his pale complexion, his body cold, clearly frozen stiff.

They didn’t say anything further, knowing his identity, the good clothes had been destroyed by those people, so it was no wonder he was dressed like this.

"He has hypothermia," Fu Xiaoxiao turned to Aunt Wang and said.

"Tell us, what should we do?" Aunt Wang asked seriously after hearing Fu Xiaoxiao’s words.

"Aunt Zhang, could you please boil some hot water?"

"Aunt Wang, can you gather some people with warm body heat?"

After Fu Xiaoxiao finished speaking, the two aunties immediately went.

"Xiao Heng, come over here, like me, rub his body." Fu Xiaoxiao said to the anxious Xiao Heng.

While quickly rubbing the old man’s frozen hands and feet, she explained to Xiao Heng.

"Alright." Xiao Heng squatted beside grandpa, learning from Fu Xiaoxiao how to rub his body.

After rubbing for quite a while, the frozen Lin Jun slowly exhaled, finally letting out a breath and feeling alive again.

"The people are here," Aunt Wang brought several young men over and said to Fu Xiaoxiao.

"Please have them press their backs against him." Without any blankets, they had to use the simplest method.

Fu Xiaoxiao had the warm-bodied young men press against the old man, using their body heat to slowly warm him.

"Sure thing." The young men didn’t hold back, immediately exposing their backs to press against the old man’s body.

It was in a corner where the cold wind couldn’t get in; the warmth of the young men started to take effect, and Lin Jun felt himself surrounded by warmth, slowly opened his eyes.

Seeing several young men pressed against him, Lin Jun’s eyes widened in surprise, not yet comprehending the situation; Fu Xiaoxiao saw Lin Jun awake and explained.

"Your body has hypothermia; they’re using their body heat to rescue you."

"...Thank you." Lin Jun looked at the people around him, then saw Aunt Wang and others standing beside Fu Xiaoxiao, their gazes filled with concern, deeply moved.

His gaze landed on Xiao Heng, nodding lightly towards him.

Xiao Heng exhaled deeply, the tension on his face dissipating quite a bit.

"Hot water’s here!" Aunt Zhang brought the water over.

"Put your feet in to soak," Fu Xiaoxiao added some snow to the hot water to bring it to a suitable temperature.

Lin Jun nodded, sat up and put his feet into the warm water. The moment he did, his frozen feet felt like they were in scalding hot water, and his face changed dramatically.

Fortunately, Lin Jun gritted his teeth and endured, and after adapting to the water’s temperature, his whole person visibly became much more rosy.

At this moment, warmth surged in Lin Jun’s heart, and he truly felt his body coming back to life, the rush of blood making him feel warm all over.

"Thank you," Fu Xiaoxiao smiled at the men who had been pressed against him; Lin Jun’s condition had eased, and they didn’t need to stay pressed against him anymore.

"It’s no big deal, no need to thank us," the young men blushed and walked away, embarrassed.

Seeing the person rescued, everyone returned to their spots.

Lin Jun signaled to Fu Xiaoxiao with his eyes; since he had recovered, it wasn’t suitable for her to stay beside him anymore, to avoid attracting unnecessary attention.

Fu Xiaoxiao nodded and returned to her previous spot with Aunt Wang and others.

Xiao Heng received Lin Jun’s warning glance and had to distance himself as well.

Lin Jun sat alone in the corner, waiting until the warm water at his feet gradually cooled down before pulling his legs back and staying quietly in the corner.

In the hall, many people leaned against each other, in the quiet environment, many had fallen asleep.

Time passed slowly, and Lu Lin and Lu Chen also grew sleepy, leaning against Fu Xiaoxiao and falling asleep.

Fu Xiaoxiao checked her watch; outside, the wind and snow showed no signs of abating, snow had accumulated to knee-height, and the most worrying situation had indeed occurred.

With a loud "bang," everyone was startled awake.

Someone rushed to the door to see, and sure enough, the scaffolding they had built collapsed under the weight of the snow.

"Chief, it’s not good, it’s all collapsed." A villager called out to the village chief with a somber face.

The villagers’ expressions were serious, with this collapse, their lives next year would be difficult.

"It’s not good, Old Li, your house is about to give out." Someone watched one of the mudbrick houses in the distance, swaying under the snow, worriedly said.

No sooner had the words been spoken, than the swaying house collapsed with a loud crash, the roof crushed under thick snow, the tiles shattered.

Many villagers went pale, most of the villagers’ houses were also mudbrick, and the rest likely wouldn’t last much longer.

"Alright, this was an anticipated outcome, as long as people are safe, that’s what matters. When the snow melts, we’ll repair the roof," Aunt Wang came out to speak to everyone.

"We might as well take this opportunity to reinforce the roof," the village chief agreed.

Faced with the situation, everyone had no choice but to accept this result. As long as their families were at their side, it didn’t seem so difficult.

Just then, a sound of uniform and strong footsteps approached from the distance.

Everyone was stunned, looking through the wind and snow to see a troop running towards them in the snowy wilderness.

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