Chapter 24: Vitality

  Fortunately, Dīnghǎo had been on his guard since he saw Dīngyùluò's unusual expression earlier. Now, in the heat of the moment, Dīng hǎo didn't have time to think twice and immediately cracked his whip, swinging it with a loud "crack". The tip of the whip shot out like a snake slithering through the air and struck Dīngyùluò's wrist.

  Ding Yuluo let out a painful cry, and her five fingers unconsciously loosened, the sword in her hand slipping free and falling to the ground with a soft "pu" sound as it sank into the snow. She lowered her arm, staring at Ding Hao in shock, a line of bright red blood flowing down from her wrist, splashing onto the pristine white snow like silver.

  Ding Hao dropped his whip and rushed over through the deep snow, grasping her wrist tightly. "What are you doing? Why are you trying to kill yourself?" he shouted.

  Ding Yuluo said with a sigh: "If the battle of Guangyuan is unfavorable, even if it's not because of the grain and grass problem, I'm afraid this crime will also be pushed onto the Ding family. In any case, the Ding family can't escape this disaster. The Ding family has committed such a great sin, according to the law, the male members should be beheaded, and the women must be sent to the official brothel. Now that I'm dead, I can still die with a clear conscience..."

  The Song Dynasty can be said to be the best dynasty in terms of rule of law throughout history, especially noteworthy is that the Song Dynasty did not kill scholars and officials, unless they committed treason or other serious crimes, generally they were just exiled. However, those who committed serious crimes would still have their property confiscated, for example, Ding Wei, a prime minister who was once in power, was dismissed and exiled to Hainan where he became a minor official, his family's property was also confiscated, and his four sons who were officials were all demoted.

  But this leniency system only applies to scholars and officials, not ordinary people. It's a bit like the idea that "punishment does not extend to high-ranking officials". If an ordinary person commits a serious crime, such as theft or banditry, their female relatives may be forced into servitude as official slaves or concubines, and sent to the government brothel. In some remote areas far from imperial control, even women suspects awaiting trial were forcibly conscripted into prostitution.

  Ding Yuluo was a young lady from a wealthy family, and she wasn't afraid of death. However, she couldn't bear the humiliation. Seeing the heavy snowfall and the freezing weather, she knew that food wouldn't be able to arrive in time, and the Ding family would face disaster. This thought sparked her intention to die.

  She finished speaking and bent down to search for the sword in the snow. Ding Hao was shocked and stretched out his hand to pull her, but Ding Yuluo was a skilled martial artist. Although she usually walked gently like a willow tree swaying in the wind, her true abilities were now revealed. With just one struggle, Ding Yuluo used some unknown technique, and Ding Hao, who believed that a man's strength shouldn't be measured by his muscles, found himself lifted off the ground and sliding across the snow for over three meters, ending up dazed and disoriented.

  Ding Yuluo bent down and picked up the long sword from the snow, saying sadly:

  "Dying isn't a big deal, let me die, it's actually good for me... Ah-Dai..., Yuluo is dying, I'm calling out to you, Second Brother, just ask that after I die, you'll send Little Sister's body back to Ba Zhou, so she won't be left to wander in a foreign land, becoming a lonely ghost!"

  Ding Hao's voice was hoarse as he hastily said: "Who says the grain will definitely not be delivered, but there is a glimmer of hope, we should not give up!"

  Ding Yuluo smiled miserably and said: "Hope? Where is the hope? With such a big snow, no matter what, the grain can't be delivered."

  "Not necessarily! I have a way!"

  Ding Hao saw Ding Yu was about to kill herself with a horizontal sword and, in her urgent wisdom, suddenly thought of a plan.

  He jumped up and said hastily: "I've thought of a plan, maybe it will work."

  "Aren't you deceiving me? Is there really a way?" Ding Yuluo wanted to believe him, but was also afraid that he was deceiving her into giving up on killing herself, and her heart was filled with anxiety and uncertainty, looking pitiful.

  "Come on, let me bandage your wound first..."

  Ding Yuluo hastily asked: "Looking at it, our lives are almost gone, what's the point of bandaging wounds? Do you have a solution? Really have a solution? Then quickly tell me!"

  Ding Hao then told her his idea, and Ding Yuluo asked in surprise: "Really... is this feasible? Can we really walk on the snow like this?"

  Ding Hao thought to himself, "Could it be that people at this time still don't know what a snow shovel is?" He hastily replied, "This method... uh... was told to me by an old beggar who passed through our village. I kindly gave him a bun to eat and chatted with him casually. He said that in the far north, people use this method to transport things during winter, but... I'm not sure if it's definitely feasible."

  "It sounds like it's very likely." She thought for a moment, then bit her silver tooth and said decisively, "Alright! Let's treat the dead horse as if it were alive and do it this way!"

  "What's going on here?" Li Shouyin looked at everyone following Ding Yulang's orders to unload the mules, unload the grain, and finally completely destroy all the carts. The axles and wheels were dismantled, the entire cart body was turned over, and the cart shafts and some wedges were fixed upright under the empty cart, leaving him bewildered.

  Liu Shiyi stood on the side with his head hung low, his eyes wide with fear, muttering: "The Ding family is finished, the Ding family is finished... Eldest Miss has gone mad..."

  Chen Feng and Yang Ye, two tenant farmers, sat at the side of the road, looking gloomily at the busy militiamen. Chen Feng let out a long sigh and said: "The Ding family is finished now, our good days are over too."

  Yang Ye said disapprovingly, "Not necessarily. No matter who is the host, they can't do without good farmhands. If you want to have good farmhands, can you leave us local snakes behind?"

  Chen Feng said listlessly: "I hope so, but it's not easy to find another master as kind to us as Master Ding."

  Yang Ye said with a "hey": "Alright, let's see what happens to the Ding family. We should be content..."

  Ding Yuluo took off her leather hat, busily directing and gesturing, with sweat dripping down her forehead. Her head was steaming in the snowy ground. Ding Hao was even more so, his voice was hoarse from shouting, and his words were somewhat out of tune, sounding a bit comical, but his tone was stern, making people dare not laugh.

  Everyone was busy for half a day, when all the cars were dismantled and re-organized, the grain was piled up, and the ropes that bound the grain were made into thin strips. By then, most people had finally figured out some of the tricks.

  Crawling sledge, a winter transportation tool invented by the northern ethnic groups. Initially, the ethnic groups living in the icy and cold north invented a means of transport very similar to modern snowboards, which was discovered and recorded by travelers during the Sui and Tang dynasties, but did not attract widespread attention from the Han people in the Central Plains. Later, inspired by snowboards, the northern ethnic groups invented the crawling sledge, a tool that had never been seen before on Han territory.

  However, these things may not have thought of them, but it does not mean that they are not recognized even if they see them. As soon as these things are placed on the snowy ground, the grain is stacked, and the thread is left out, a keen-eyed person can understand the purpose and usage of doing so at a glance.

  Chen Feng and Yang Ye stood up in surprise, stretching their necks to look at the snow shovel plows on the snowy ground. After a long time, Chen Feng exclaimed: "Big sister is going to... hey! This is really awesome, she actually thought of such a method, but... can this work?"

  Yang Ye glanced at Ding Hao, who was busy gesturing and looked like he was in a hurry, and snorted: "Look at that look in your eyes, is this the idea of the young lady? This is something that stupid guy came up with. Stupid... not stupid after all, at a time when the great hall is about to collapse and people's minds are changing, he still has this composure, this spirit, this thoughtfulness, what a character!"

  The wind picked up, and the snowflakes began to flutter again. He tucked his hands into his sleeves, licked his chapped lips, and hunched his neck, sneering coldly: "Ding Lao Da is finished, whether he can get back on his feet is uncertain. Ding Er is a useless dandy who only knows how to exert himself on women's bellies, he's nothing when it comes to managing the Ding family business. The Ding family's vast fortune, if only they had this Ding Hao as the head of the household... Tsk, tsk, what a pity! The master threw away a treasure that could have brought glory to the family just for the sake of a good reputation..."