Hearing Pei Jing’s cheers, Jiang Ran’s hands were itching to join in.

Breaking icicles, something she hadn’t done in a long time, she wanted to play too!

Just as this thought popped into Jiang Ran’s mind, a bamboo pole was already extended in front of her.

Looking at the bamboo pole that suddenly appeared before her, and the slender hand holding it, Jiang Ran laughed.

Is this what they call a mutual understanding?

Even if it’s not, it certainly shows that Pei Huai is always paying attention to her.

Otherwise, how could he so perfectly hand the bamboo pole over to her?

Jiang Ran reached out and took the bamboo pole and started breaking icicles from the other side.

The mother and son, like playmates of the same age, knocked down icicle after icicle.

No matter who knocked down an icicle, it always elicited a small exclamation from Pei Jing, followed by laughter.

Even with just Pei Jing, the little boy made the whole courtyard lively.

Wang Cuilan and Pei Baoshan didn’t have much to do, so they sat under the porch, watching this scene with satisfied smiles on their faces.

What could make the elderly happier than having children and grandchildren around, with laughter and chatter?

All the icicles in the main courtyard were knocked down, but they didn’t bother with the other two courtyards.

Those two courtyards were rarely used anyway, so there was no concern in leaving the icicles there.

The main courtyard icicles were knocked down just in case.

It snowed yesterday, and they stayed cozy at home.

Today the weather cleared up, and they felt like going out.

Wang Cuilan wanted to go buy some vegetables and meat.

As soon as Jiang Ran heard this, she wanted to join in too.

Jiang Ran wanted to buy some lamb and beef to make hotpot when they got back.

Snowy days pair perfectly with hotpot!

Originally, Wang Cuilan planned to go with Pei Baoshan, but since Jiang Ran also wanted to go, and Pei Jing wanted to tag along, Pei Huai naturally decided to join, so the group of two turned into five.

The road was covered with snow, making it impossible to ride the tricycle, so they had to walk.

With Jiang Ran and Pei Huai, both strong and fit, it also meant they wouldn’t worry about not being able to carry things back.

There’s a market nearby their place.

They could basically buy all the ingredients they wanted there.

Besides ingredients, they could also find seeds, tools, and pets.

People tend to crave excitement, and just as the weather cleared, many people came out.

By the time they got to the market, there were even more people.

Watching so many people walking slowly, selecting what they wanted, it felt almost like buying goods for the New Year.

But in reality, the New Year was still a long way off!

At the mutton stall, Jiang Ran saw a freshly slaughtered sheep.

While there weren’t many customers, Jiang Ran chose what she liked and got quite a bit, filling more than half of a large basket.

Not many people were eating mutton at that time.

Mutton was cheaper than pork because most people found it gamy.

If there was one phrase to describe mutton, it might be "Today you ignore me, tomorrow you’ll be out of my league."

In a few years, the price of mutton would skyrocket.

Everyone would want to eat it, making it even more expensive.

Jiang Ran liked beef too, but there was even less beef being sold.

To get beef, you needed a good relationship with the beef seller to reserve some in advance.

Otherwise, by the time you arrived, it would usually be almost sold out.