I relied on a system to prolong my life in ancient times.

Chapter 52 Aftermath of the Snow Disaster

As time went by, a large number of refugees flocked to Peach Blossom Town. Finally, the imperial court issued an order for the local governments of each county to resettle the refugees.

On this day, county officials led a group of refugees to Xiaojia Village.

“Village chief, these people need to be settled in Xiaojia Village. Please make the arrangements,” a yamen runner said.

"Sir, why are so many people being allocated to Xiao Family Village?" The village chief asked, frowning as he looked at the hundred or so people before him. It wasn't that he was heartless; the more refugees there were, the harder they were to manage.

“Your Xiao Family Village is large but has a small population, so we’ve allocated more land to you. You’d better hurry up and make arrangements for your children,” the constable explained impatiently.

"Alright, alright, sir, I'll arrange it right away," the village chief said hastily, seeing the constable's impatience.

In the following days, the people of Xiaojia Village saw refugees clearing land and building houses every day, and of course, kind-hearted people in the village would also go to help.

Xiao Siyue also wanted to go out and see how the houses of these people were being built. The site arranged by the village chief was at the west end of the village. It was originally a large wasteland, which was relatively flat and suitable for settling the refugees. It was a bit far from the original residents of the village, but not too far.

Xiao Siyue could see the busy people from afar. They were easy to identify; each of them was emaciated and dressed in rags.

Xiao Siyue suddenly saw a little girl, about four or five years old, squatting on the ground in front of her, her head down, not knowing what she was doing. Curious, Xiao Siyue walked over to the little girl.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Siyue approached and found the little girl wiping away tears with her head down.

The little girl looked up at Xiao Siyue with tears in her eyes, then quickly lowered her head to wipe away her tears, and looked up at Xiao Siyue again.

Xiao Siyue then got a good look at the little girl's face. A pair of large eyes were set in a rough, small face, but because she was so thin, the large eyes seemed somewhat out of place. However, upon closer inspection, her features were quite striking. Xiao Siyue thought that if she were a little chubby, she would definitely be a very cute little girl.

Looking closer, the girl was dressed in thin clothes, wearing only an ill-fitting, patched dress in the cold winter. Her small hands were covered in chilblains, with almost no part of them unaffected.

As Xiao Siyue looked at the girl, the girl was also sizing up the exquisitely beautiful Xiao Siyue, her eyes filled with envy. She had never seen such a pretty girl before, and her clothes looked so warm. Looking down at herself and then at Xiao Siyue, she felt a little inferior.

"What's your name?" Xiao Siyue squatted down and asked the little girl.

"My name is Xia Ling," Xia Ling said in a soft voice.

"My name is Xiao Siyue, I'm from this village, I live over there," Xiao Siyue said, pointing in the direction of her house.

"Why were you crying just now? Is your hand hurting too much?" Xiao Siyue asked.

"No, I miss my parents." Xia Ling said, and then started crying again.

Xiao Siyue was at a loss; she didn't know how to comfort the little girl.

"Don't cry, it was my fault just now. Here, have a piece of candy." Xiao Siyue had no choice but to take out a piece of rock candy from her small purse. This was something Old Lady Xiao had packed for her earlier, and to prevent the rock candy from melting, it was wrapped in oil paper.

"Thank you, but I can't accept it." Xia Ling stopped crying and refused Xiao Siyue.

"Take it." Xiao Siyue handed the candy to Xia Ling without saying a word.

After that, the two gradually became familiar with each other, and Xiao Siyue learned a lot about Xia Ling from her words.

It turns out that Xia Ling and her family were from a small village under the jurisdiction of Lizhou Prefecture. Although they were not wealthy, the family was harmonious and lived a very happy life.

But the tranquility was shattered by a sudden blizzard. The house collapsed, and her parents, trying to save her and her grandparents, were trapped underneath and never came out. In the end, only her grandparents and her uncle's family, who had gone to her maternal home, survived.

After the snow stopped, her uncle's family returned and took her grandparents and her to flee. Unfortunately, on the way, her grandfather gave his clothes to her grandmother and froze to death.

After many days of travel, they finally arrived at Peach Blossom Town, having run out of money and forced to beg for a living. It wasn't until the imperial court issued an order providing them with resettlement funds that they were able to reach Xiao Family Village.

"Is your uncle good to you?" Xiao Siyue asked. In such a society that favors girls over boys, Xiao Siyue was a little worried about Xia Ling, an orphan.

"My uncle's family treats me very well, they love me like their own child," Xia Ling said with a smile. But even though they treat me very well, she still misses her parents very much.

"That's good. You look younger than me, so why don't you call me 'older sister' from now on?" Xiao Siyue said.

“I’m six years old this year,” Xia Ling said.

"Huh?" Xiao Siyue was surprised. He was actually six years old, but he looked only four or five.

“Then you’re a little older than me. I’ll be six after the New Year. Let’s call each other by our names from now on,” Xiao Siyue said.

Xia Ling glanced at Xiao Siyue but said nothing. However, Xiao Siyue understood Xia Ling's meaning: 'Shouldn't you call me 'sister'?'

However, Xiao Siyue pretended not to see it. She was over twenty years old, how could she call a six-year-old girl "sister"?

"Xia Ling, let me take you to my house to play," Xiao Siyue invited, wanting to take Xia Ling back so she could bandage her hand.

"I..." Xia Ling hesitated. She liked Xiao Siyue very much, but she was also afraid that Xiao Siyue's family would look down on her.

"Let's go," Xiao Siyue said, pulling Xia Ling along as they prepared to leave.

"Siyue, wait a moment, I'll tell Grandma." Xia Ling finally decided to go.

“Okay, I’ll go with you.” Xiao Siyue said, and the two of them headed towards the Xia family’s location.

"Grandma, this is Xiao Siyue, a new friend I just met," Xia Ling introduced to Grandma Xia.

"Hello Grandma Xia, I'm Xiao Siyue. I live over there. I'd like Xia Ling to come to my house to play, is that alright?" Xiao Siyue looked at the wrinkled, thin old woman in front of her.

"Oh, okay, Ling'er, go ahead." Grandma Xia knew about the Xiao family. She had heard people in the village say that the Xiao family was wealthy and that one of their members had passed the imperial examination. She remembered the envy on the person's face when they talked about it.

She also knew that the Xiao family only had one granddaughter, whom the family doted on. It must be this little girl in front of her; she was indeed pampered. Grandma Xia watched the two little girls leave, her heart aching. They were about the same age, yet her granddaughter had suffered so much.

"Grandma, I'm back. This is my new friend, Xia Ling." Xiao Siyue happily led Xia Ling into the main room of the Xiao family home.

"Hello, Grandma Xiao." Xia Ling greeted Grandma Xiao somewhat awkwardly.

"Hey, Xia Ling, welcome to my house!" Old Mrs. Xiao was also very happy. Her granddaughter had basically stayed at home for the past few years and hadn't made any close friends. Now, she was earning money for the family like a little adult. She looked at the little girl named Xia Ling. Although she was a bit shy, her eyes were clear. She was a good girl.

Old Mrs. Xiao thought about it and went to get another plate of snacks for the two girls, but Xia Ling didn't touch them.

Xia Ling felt a little awkward as soon as she entered the Xiao family's house. The beautiful courtyard and house were much nicer than their previous home.

Xiao Siyue noticed that Xia Ling was a little uneasy, so she picked up a snack and led Xia Ling to her room.

"Xia Ling, have some snacks first, I'll go find some ointment." Xiao Siyue pulled Xia Ling to sit down.

Xiao Siyue picked up a pastry and placed it in Xia Ling's hand. Then she went out to find some ointment and bandaged Xia Ling's hand.

"Thank you, Siyue," Xia Ling said, her eyes welling up with tears.

The two sat for a while longer. When Xia Ling left, Xiao Siyue gave her one of her clothes and the remaining snacks to take with her.