Chapter 111: Chapter 109: Speaking of Which, the Original Owner Was Rather Miserable

Upon hearing this, Ruan Mian let out a bitter laugh and waved her hand, unwilling to bear the blame for harboring old feelings.

"Does the master think I still have feelings for him?"

She couldn’t help but laugh, with a hint of frost on her long eyelashes, which made her look exceptionally beautiful.

Before Xie Huai’an could speak, Ruan Mian told him, "Ending him with a single knife wouldn’t vent that anger."

"Since the master has investigated my past, you should know what I endured during those three years of widowhood."

Using her dowry to support the entire Qi Mansion, considering the two-faced Liu Family as her dearest mother-in-law, and taking care of the paralyzed little sister-in-law, doing all the dirty work.

To say the original host was a bit tragic.

But along this path of exile to Wuheng, the Qi Mansion didn’t gain any benefit either.

Then, she leaned closer to Xie Huai’an and whispered, "Master, although I didn’t kill him, I made it so that he could never be a man again for the rest of his life. Do you think that strikes at the heart?"

A strange emotion flashed in Xie Huai’an’s eyes, and he smiled thoughtfully at Ruan Mian.

"Indeed... a woman’s heart is the most poisonous."

"It’s nothing, master, those three years of widowhood made me see a lot clearly, it’s like being reborn. My future is now in my own hands, and I will surely lead my family to live a good life."

Upon hearing this, Xie Huai’an laughed, with his eyebrows curved.

"In this icy wilderness, are you sure you can live a good life?"

"Why not? Isn’t this wilderness another kind of paradise? Away from the turmoil, staking a claim here, and when the situation in Wuheng stabilizes, we can look around, start a business, and taking over all of Wuheng is no problem."

Xie Huai’an didn’t expect her to have such ambition.

But at this time, he did not know that Ruan Mian’s ambition was not just limited to this.

Let alone Wuheng, with wealth in hand, reaching a certain level, the entire Capital could be controlled.

Of course, even with space, it’s not something that could be achieved overnight.

The urgent task is to develop that Fasting technique.

...

They walked for two whole days and finally arrived at the place of Fasting, where the forest was deep and covered in white snow.

The valley was silent, and the surrounding mountain ranges obstructed their view. Looking ahead, it seemed more like a Yellow Spring Road leading to nowhere, with snow vapor swirling incessantly and no end in sight.

Even in broad daylight, there was a sinister feel to the place that inspired fear.

Wu Jie advised them, "If you want to survive, it’s best not to wander aimlessly; you could easily get lost and become food for wild beasts if you can’t find your way out."

"I see that the terrain here is relatively flat. Let’s search nearby for any caves to take refuge in, and also assign some people to chop some firewood, otherwise, without warmth, we could all freeze to death when night falls."

The members of the Jinsha Clan volunteered for the task of chopping firewood, given their experience living in Longchang Mountain, which surpassed that of these convicts.

The others grouped together to find caves.

Still, seeing this, people were somewhat afraid, even Ruan Qingsong was unsure at heart.

Ruan Mian saw his worried face and approached to say, "Brother, what are you thinking about?"

Ruan Qingsong sighed deeply, for he had always harbored guilt up to now.

"I thought we had some hope of survival upon reaching Wuheng, but hiding here is extremely dangerous, and who knows how long the mutiny will last; what if we..."

"Brother, there’s no one here, so why don’t we consider this our home?"

"Claiming the mountain as our kingdom, as long as we’re alive, we’ll find a way!"

Ruan Qingsong, inspired by his sister’s determined gaze, felt a surge of inexplicable excitement.

Though there’s nothing here, having family around is also a form of wealth, isn’t it?

Ruan Mian patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Brother, the mutiny in Wuheng might last a while, so we should just focus on protecting ourselves."

With those words, she went to inspect the terrain nearby, finding that they were near a river and deep in a valley. There were few rocks nearby, and even if there were caves, they would likely be shallow, unable to accommodate many people.

Spreading out too much would be dangerous for everyone.

As she pondered, she saw Rui and the other children’s faces were like little flowered cats, as they played around.

Mrs. Zhang hurriedly called her good grandson, "Look at this big flowered face, wipe it off quickly."

Ruan Mian looked in the direction and suddenly thought of something, "Wait a moment!"

She stopped Rui and found that the child had some soft mud smeared on his cheeks, and upon touching it, it turned out to be natural good clay.

Moist and sticky.

A delighted expression appeared on Ruan Mian’s face, and several ideas popped into her head, "Rui, where did this clay come from? Quickly, take your aunt to see."

Rui enthusiastically led Ruan Mian to the riverside, where a group of kids stumbled upon it by chance.

Ruan Mian brushed away the layer of snow on top, though initially hard to touch, the deeper she dug the softer it became, and the warmer it felt.

Then, looking at the place they had passed earlier, there were many large pits caved in halfway down.

Rather than finding natural caves for shelter, why not build houses here?

She picked up a tree branch, called over her brother and Vice Minister Dong, and then drew a simple plan in the blank snowy ground, sharing her thoughts with them.

The houses she wanted to build weren’t difficult. Half of them were dug into the ground, and the other half had roofs. If built by themselves, it would take some time, but it could gather everyone together, keeping them both warm and together.

After selecting a pit, several people began digging downwards, as the soil here was loose, different from the rocky mountains, they dug quickly.

Meanwhile, they collected tree branches, tying them together orderly to make wind- and snow-proof roofs, and then covered the roofs with that clay.

Weight was used to press it tight, ensuring no cold wind could get through.

After digging the underground pit to its maximum, enough to accommodate a family, they also moved some stones as steps into the house.

The door was simply a makeshift plank of wood branches.

With their family’s efforts, they quickly completed a semi-subterranean house.

Seeing this, others came to Ruan Mian for advice, and Ruan Mian unconditionally shared her methods. Once the housing problem was solved, the next issue was food.

Though she had stocked up quite a bit in her space, taking it out openly to feed so many people wasn’t feasible.

Moreover, relying solely on reserves would lead to depletion eventually. To achieve her aspirations and truly develop this place, it was better to teach them to fish rather than giving them fish, allowing them to survive with their own hands.

Therefore, Ruan Mian decided that once the spring thaw arrived, they’d immediately clear the land to plant crops.

This place’s naturally fertile soil, apart from the long cold winters, is an excellent growing ground during other seasons.

For now, they needed to rely on the mountains for survival.

Engaged in building houses, chopping wood, and digging, everyone got by on some biscuits and dried food. After a day’s rest, none could afford to just sit and wait for death.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com