NOVEL NEXT Chapter 313 Snow Stops
The second day was spent in a flurry of activity.
Jiang Xiaoxiao still helped the old man cook.
By the third day, the heavy snow surprisingly hadn't stopped.
Inside the house, Hu Zi and the others watched the heavy snow outside, their expressions gradually growing grim. They originally thought they could descend the mountain once the snow stopped.
But who knew that this snow, which no one anticipated, would last for three days, enough to completely block the mountain road.
This means that it's a dream for any vehicle to come in, unless the snow melts.
Moreover, after three days of snowfall, there's at least waist-deep snow.
Even before the snow melts, there's no telling on which day it might snow again.
The snow season here is just around the corner. When the heavy snow seals off the mountains, it will stay closed until spring the next year.
These people staying in the mountains can forget about going out.
They had originally planned well, having stayed in the mountains for two months.
They intended to quickly finish this batch of work before the heavy snow sealed off the mountains, then use the earned money to go home and enjoy life.
Who knew that unexpectedly, these two snowfalls would trap them here, making it impossible to get out now.
The most important issue is that the food they prepared isn't meant to last this long. At this rate, waiting on the mountain until next spring means several months, and these supplies won't sustain till then.
Everyone started becoming anxious.
This mood made them more irritable.
Punching and kicking Song Moting and Zhang Baocheng became common. Fortunately, Song Moting worked diligently and knew how to talk.
Most times it's just a couple punches to vent their anger.
Besides, they still needed them, so they didn't go too hard.
However, Zhang Baocheng became increasingly silent, often spending the whole day without uttering a word.
The snow didn't fall for just three days, it snowed for four days and nights.
During these four days and nights, Song Moting and Zhang Baocheng, even Jiang Xiaoxiao and the old man went out to help clear the snow, otherwise the heavy snow could collapse the house.
It had even blocked the house so much that the door couldn't be opened.
Everyone had to start working. At this moment, no one could care about anything.
It was also this special opportunity that allowed them to discover some traps, at least these people didn't want casualties now.
They still needed these people; who knows what might happen.
Jiang Xiaoxiao and Song Moting were extremely worried about this situation. They wanted to escape, but the difficulty was doubled.
After the heavy snow sealed the mountains, walking through the snow, moving within the mountains, posed greater risks.
Now, they and the opposing side were trapped here.
In the same situation, Jia Shu and He Aiguo were equally at a loss.
Although that day they saw a faint trace of smoke in the mountains.
However, given the current situation, trying to detour to the mountain's base to investigate was simply a daunting task.
The heavy snow had completely blocked the development of this matter.
Wanting rescue seemed nearly impossible.
At this moment, everyone sat in the house silently.
A week had passed from that moment to now, and a lot had happened during this week.
The possible incidents were even more numerous, and being trapped in the mountains now, if they survived.
With no way to rescue after being stranded for seven days, one can imagine what the final result could be.
Furthermore, after the heavy snow it was clear the temperature in the mountains had dropped significantly.
Now the temperature in the mountains was at least down to minus 30 degrees, and if the wind blew, the temperature at night might exceed minus 50 degrees.
At minus 50 degrees, surviving outside without dying was simply miraculous.
Not to mention no food, no drink, no warmth, relying only on the cotton coats they were wearing to cope with minus 50 degrees was no joke.
The problem was the weather forecast had already reported, another heavy snowfall was coming in three days.
Nobody knew how long this snowfall would last, and continuous heavy snowfall already signaled the start of winter.
In a best-case scenario, they could find the people in three days, and maybe this situation could be avoided, but in three days going from the mountain forest to the mountain base wouldn't be complete.
Not to mention checking all these sections, even finding people.
Even organizing the entire team, and a few nearby teams, might still not be possible.
Moreover, it would be impossible to have so many people do these tasks.
The forestry station had only around 200 people in total, and excluding the elderly and children, there were only about 100 people left.
Could they all go into the mountains?
If they encountered a snow disaster and were trapped in the mountains, that's 100 people, 100 lives.
No one could take the responsibility.
Everyone was somewhat discouraged.
He Aiguo glanced at Jia Shu; this girl had been jumping around there for four days now, wishing she could fly into the mountains.
He didn't know whether others would search during these three days, but he knew Jia Shu certainly would.
So, he would certainly go.
Given this, it's better to plan early, it's impossible to let everyone in the forestry risk themselves.
However, he would certainly do what he could. For Jia Shu, for Jiang Xiaoxiao, for Song Moting, for their former friendship, and for Jiang Xiaoxiao's brother Jiang Lei, who was far away.
He couldn't go back on his promise to take care of his sister.
"Three days is really tight, I know everyone can't search everywhere. But still, not trying to search leaves us uneasy. Given the situation, I want to organize some people to check the place where we saw smoke that day.
If there's nothing, we'll quickly withdraw. This way, the range would be much smaller, and we could get help from nearby villagers, reducing the greatest loss and risk. What does everyone think?"
When the others heard this, they nodded one after another; this was a good idea, for it involved going to only one location, three days would be enough for a round trip.
Given their walking pace, as people living in the mountains.
Every winter, journeying up and down the mountains was regular practice, although the snow sealed the mountains, they still went to the forest to hunt for wild game and walked around, sometimes, when the weather permitted, they even went up the mountains to fell trees.
These tasks weren't particularly difficult for them.
Many people agreed with this suggestion.
Thus, under He Aiguo's leadership, He Aiguo led the team as captain.
A total of 20 rescue team members were selected, consisting of experienced old workers from the forestry with extensive knowledge of the terrain, along with young and strong people among the educated youth.
Jia Shu wanted to go, but they didn't allow her.
First, she didn't have the strength, and secondly, her pace couldn't keep up with them.
Three days was actually tight for them.
If they truly found the people, they'd have to bring them back, bringing Jia Shu would be a burden.
After explaining the situation, Jia Shu agreed to stay behind.
They equipped the 20 people well, prepared with food, drink, and warm clothing, and everyone carried some gear to ensure that if they found Jiang Xiaoxiao and the others, they could deploy rescue efforts to bring them back.
If unable to return directly to the base, the farm at the bottom of the mountain was close.
Forestry station head Guo Dongjun even gave them firearms for defense, with each person taking one gun, the whole team had two guns.
These hunting rifles were meant to protect forestry workers from wild animals, in fact, the forestry station had a total of ten, but they couldn't take all of them.