Early on the morning of the 23rd, just as the sky was beginning to lighten, Li Xiang used the Divine Movement Technique to head to the county town. Ever since he got this skill, he couldn’t be bothered to drive his three-wheeler unless absolutely necessary. The heavy snow hadn’t completely melted yet, so riding the three-wheeler wasn’t a great option anyway.

The only problem was that using this skill was like being a thief; he had to be sneaky about it. The main issue was that he ran too fast. If anyone saw him, it would be utterly shocking. So, he took advantage of the pre-dawn dimness, sticking to the less-traveled mountain forests.

Once in town, he bought the Christmas presents he needed, restocked on snacks for the house, and figured the festive atmosphere would need some music. Since his laptop’s speakers were too quiet, Li Xiang went back to the digital store he’d visited before, planning to buy a speaker.

The shop owner was delighted to see him—a regular, a big spender, and a newly-famous internet streamer. He immediately gave Li Xiang a warm welcome.

The owner had seen plenty of internet celebrities online, but a local one he could actually meet in person was a real novelty.

Li Xiang’s follower count had been skyrocketing, and the shop owner had followed him too. Since many of the videos that had made Li Xiang "famous" were shot with equipment from this store, the owner felt a sense of shared pride when talking about it.

A few of the lively and playful saleswomen eagerly asked for a photo with Li Xiang. Being newly famous but still very down-to-earth, he naturally agreed.

The owner was very professional as he introduced his products. In the end, Li Xiang bought a pair of good-quality Bluetooth speakers. He was very satisfied with them during the in-store test, and the price wasn’t too expensive. At a little over two thousand, the owner gave him a 20% discount. Li Xiang checked the price for the same model on his phone and confirmed it was indeed a very fair deal.

The speaker’s battery life was quite impressive: 6-8 hours at high volume and 8-20 hours at medium-to-low volume. It also boasted plenty of other features, like 60W of power, a super-heavy subwoofer, and a portable, waterproof design for outdoor use.

Carrying the speakers, he left the store and found a secluded alley. With a slight movement of his hand, the speakers vanished. He had, of course, tossed them into the system’s Alternate Dimension Space.

On the way back, he saw a roadside stall selling guokui flatbread, so he bought a few and tossed them into his space as well.

The sky had cleared after the heavy snow, and more people were out on the roads. However, the secluded mountain forests still provided excellent cover. Li Xiang raced along, reaching the area near his home in just half an hour. He then took out some of his purchases from the system’s storage and headed home, laden with bags big and small.

By this time, it was already late morning, and his grandmother and the others were long since awake. He couldn’t just show up empty-handed and have all these new things magically appear in the house, or they would surely have questions.

’Once the roads are clear, it’ll probably be better to just take the three-wheeler to the market,’ Li Xiang thought. ’Or maybe I should consider buying a pickup truck.’

Third Granny was still staying at Li Xiang’s house, but he heard from his grandmother that her daughters and sons-in-law had already contacted a mason. They planned to build her a new house as soon as the snow melted a little more.

Li Xiang had initially thought about paying to have the house built for her, but since her daughters were taking charge, he decided not to interfere. At most, he would lend a hand if they needed help during construction.

He mulled it over. ’Once the snow melts, I need to start building the wall around my backyard.’ It was because there was no wall that the huge wild boar had attacked, leading to Dahuang’s tragic death. Every time he thought about it, he felt he had truly let Dahuang down.

’The thought of Dahuang made him wonder—’Huh? Where’s Er Huang? I haven’t seen him around.’

"Grandma, where did Er Huang go?" Li Xiang asked.

"I saw him run off toward the back mountain earlier," his grandmother said. "He probably went to play with Dahuang."

Li Xiang was speechless. ’Such deep brotherly love,’ he thought wryly.

Er Huang did, in fact, often go to visit Dahuang. He would lie on the grave, whimpering, as if sharing secrets with his brother underground. Sometimes, when he grew tired, he would just fall asleep there.

He had pawed the snow on the grave mound completely clean. Since the grave was halfway up the mountain, this was relatively easy to do. Between the distinctive trees in the area and the stone marker Li Xiang had placed on the grave, the dog was Spiritual enough to find the exact spot every time.

However, what Li Xiang and the others didn’t know was that at this very moment, Er Huang was chasing a small, fiery red figure through the snow.

The figure was incredibly agile, with alluring eyes.

When lunch was served, Er Huang still hadn’t returned. ’He’s probably fine,’ Li Xiang figured. After the massive, village-wide wild boar hunt, there were no large predators left near the village.

Although official regulations stipulated that only wild boars could be hunted and that harming any other protected animals would result in severe punishment, the sheer scale of the human activity, with numerous hunting parties sweeping the mountains, had scared off any even slightly larger beasts, sending them scurrying into hiding.

Er Huang was a smart dog; he shouldn’t be in any real danger. Besides, it was the middle of winter. The "Spicy Strips" were all hibernating, so there was no risk of him getting bitten and poisoned by a snake.

Speaking of Spicy Strips, Li Xiang had caught a few too many during his last sweep of the mountain. His grandmother and Third Granny wouldn’t eat them, so Li Xiang picked the fattest one, stir-fried it, and found the taste rather mediocre. He ended up giving it to Er Huang.

As for the rest, he gutted them, removed the venom glands, and stretched them on small bamboo sticks to air-dry. He set aside a few of the best ones and some rarer species, planning to infuse them in wine with other medicinal herbs. The remainder was all left to improve the diet of Er Huang and the cats.

Snake meat is actually very nutritious—high in protein, low in cholesterol, and rich in various vitamins, trace elements, and natural taurine. Li Xiang also often added some Tier One Spiritual Medicine to their snake porridge. As a result, his dog and cats were growing healthier and stronger, not to mention their fur, which was as smooth and silky as satin, making them adored by all who saw them.

Around two in the afternoon, Jiang Cai’Er came over. She and Li Xiang decorated the Christmas tree, strung colorful streamers around the backyard, and even added some decorations to the Ice and Snow Castle.

The sun was getting a bit strong now, and the Ice and Snow Castle, which had stood for nearly twenty days, was beginning to melt. Li Xiang used a shovel to gather snow from elsewhere to reinforce and patch it up, but he knew it wouldn’t last more than a few more days.

Snow in the south melted quite quickly; it had been sunny for less than two days, and a third of the snow was already gone.

Jiang Cai’Er was wearing a thin red sweater and light blue jeans, brimming with youthful energy. Her figure was long and graceful. She absolutely loved the new Bluetooth speakers Li Xiang had bought. She tried connecting her phone and played a song; the sound quality was fantastic.

Some of the village children were drawn over by the music, and Li Xiang brought out the new snacks and pastries he had bought to treat them.

The slide on the Ice and Snow Castle was still usable, and the children had a blast playing on it.

With music, good food, so many beautiful Christmas presents, and a meticulously decorated tree, the children’s laughter never ceased. His grandmother and Third Granny were also smiling from ear to ear. It was so lively. It really took young people to create this kind of excitement.

If his grandmother were home alone, the courtyard would be cold and desolate. No, without Li Xiang coming back to fix things up, this place would still be a wild, chaotic mess. How could it compare to now, when it was as bustling as a market street?

When people get old, what they really fear is the quiet.

Third Granny had been looking forward to her new house, but now she felt that living here at Li Xiang’s was much better.

When dinnertime arrived, the children all went back to their own homes, but they all came running back as if by unspoken agreement right after they finished eating. Jiang Cai’Er, on the other hand, hadn’t gone home at all, staying to eat at Li Xiang’s.

She wasn’t the type to not lift a finger, either. She helped out and even took charge of the cooking, making a small "three-delicacy" hot pot that included her favorite tofu balls.

Grandma said she liked the tofu balls too. Compared to meatballs, the tofu version was lighter and less greasy. The recipe was actually similar to that for meatballs, but the main ingredient was firm tofu.

After crumbling the firm tofu, you add egg, a small amount of minced meat, cornstarch, and then seasonings like salt, chicken bouillon, five-spice powder, chopped scallions, Sichuan peppercorn powder, white sesame seeds, and light soy sauce. Everything is mixed well, formed into balls, and then deep-fried until golden brown and crispy.

During the snowy weather, the fried tofu balls were easy to preserve and convenient to eat—you just had to toss them directly into the hot pot.

Of the tofu Li Xiang had made earlier, besides the portion they ate as jellied tofu right at the start, the rest had been pressed into firm tofu using a stone mill. Some of it was used to make the tofu balls, some was used to try out dishes like Homestyle Tofu, Tofu Stewed with Pickled Vegetables, and Mapo Tofu, while another portion was put in the storage room to be made into fermented bean curd.