CH 14

There was no hotel in Cowes Town, so Zhao Huasheng's group all stayed with the local residents. Zhao Huasheng stayed in the best room in the town. There was an elderly couple, their daughter, and their granddaughter, a seven-year-old adorable girl.

Perhaps due to the long absence of outsiders in Cowes Town, Zhao Hua's group was warmly and grandly received. Almost all the townspeople came out to welcome the guests, and many people had been busy since the morning. Many delicious wines and delicacies began to gather and then released a tempting aroma in a moment.

Zhao Huasheng woke up in the morning sunshine. The Arctic was in the middle of the day and the night in Cowes Town was also very short. The sun only went down for less than two hours before it rose again. Zhao Huasheng looked at the time and found that it was already eight o'clock in the morning, so he got up from the bed.

In this well-insulated room, Zhao Huasheng didn't feel any cold. The fatigue from his long journey also let Zhao Huasheng get a good night's sleep that he hadn't had in a while. When he got up in the morning, Zhao Huasheng felt that his spirit had greatly improved.

Suddenly, voices came from outside the room, a young girl's voice: "Mom, can I go into Uncle's room to wake him up?"

A young woman's voice also came in: "Freya, Uncle is a patient; he is sleeping; you shouldn't disturb him."

"But I want to give Uncle his present quickly." The little girl said

"Go prepare breakfast first; Uncle will wake up soon."

At this moment, Zhao Huasheng opened the door of the room and saw Freya and her mother talking. He smiled and greeted them, "Good morning. Freya, good morning."

"Uncle, you're awake!" The little girl ran over joyfully, "Uncle, I have a gift for you."

Freya held something in her hands that looked like a reindeer made of clay, but the craftsmanship was a bit poor. Not only was the color wrong, but the shape was also ugly, just like a black donkey.

The little girl stood on her toes with hope, holding the thing in her hand and presenting it to Zhao Huasheng. Her mother, the young woman, was a bit embarrassed but still said to Zhao Huasheng, "Mr. Zhao, this is what Freya sacrificed her sleeping time to make. I hope you like it."

Zhao Huasheng was filled with surprise as he held the thing in his hands and examined it carefully, marveling, "Freya, did you really make this? Is it for me? It's so beautiful, I love it."

Finally, a relieved smile appeared on the little girl's face. Seeing that Zhao Huasheng liked the gift she had made by hand, she seemed even happier than he was.

"You gave me such a precious gift; I also have a gift for you." Zhao Huasheng patted Freya's head, then took out a pearl necklace from his pocket and put it around her neck.

"I love it, Uncle. Hug me." Freya opened her arms, and Zhao Huasheng picked her up. Seeing this scene, the elderly couple as well as the young woman all laughed together.

After a brief chat, the group came to the table. Despite it only being breakfast, the meal was quite abundant. Zhao Huasheng's appetite was aroused by the distinctive dishes, and he kept eating until he could no longer.

"We are having a welcome lunch for our guests at noon today. If Mr. Zhao has time, please join us," said the young woman after the meal.

Zhao Huasheng nodded, "Thank you for your hospitality, I will definitely attend."

"Mr. Zhao, are you from far away?" asked the young woman.

"Yes, very far," Zhao Huasheng said. "I'm from Hope City. It takes several hours by plane to get here."

"Uncle, where is Hope City?" Freya asked. 

Hope City is south of here... it's the capital city of our Human Alliance, and it's home to a large number of people, Zhao Huasheng said as he warmly patted Freya on the head.

I heard from the town broadcast that our capital is going to be moved to Equator City soon. They said they are doing an Equator Project and almost all the young people in our town have gone there. Now almost all that's left in the town are the elderly.

"Why don't you guys go to Equator City then? You can live well there," Zhao Huasheng asked. 

The young woman shook her head: "Dad and Mom don't want to go. I want to stay here to accompany them. But recently, I don't know why, the weather has become colder and colder even though it's still summer. We have to go to very far places to go fishing."

"Uncle, do you know why the weather is so cold?" Freya said, "Mom has forbidden me to go out and play."

Zhao Huasheng felt a pain in his heart but still kept a smile on his face: "That’s because the Sun is taking a rest. When the Sun has rested well, the weather will be warm again."

"I always feel like something is wrong." The young woman said sadly, "The weather is getting colder and colder, and it’s getting harder and harder to catch fish. If the weather gets colder, we’ll have to go to the Equator City."

Hearing the young woman say this, Zhao Huasheng relaxed in his heart. "It is getting colder here. The Equator City is very warm, and the government has such good policies so you don’t have to worry about living there."

"Maybe." The woman nodded.

"Lovitha, we are leaving," an old man's voice came from outside. Hearing the call, the woman stood up and said to Zhao Huasheng, "Mr. Zhao, we will go out first. If you feel bored at home, you can go to the town center church, where they are preparing lunch and it's very lively."

"Where are you going?" Mr. Zhao asked.

"Oh, we are going to collect the net. The net we put down yesterday should have some harvest today. When we bring the fish back, we can have a fragrant and delicious grilled fish for lunch." The woman smiled, "Freya, you go to Mrs. Vicky's first; go and play with little John for a while; we'll be back soon."

"Are you going by sled?" Felicia asked.

"Of course."

When she heard the word "sled", Freya was immediately excited. The woman hesitated for a moment and finally agreed.

The woman went back to the room to put on thick clothes and wrapped Freya into a round ball. At this time, the shouts outside came in again. The woman smiled apologetically at Zhao Huasheng and carried Freya out of the house. Zhao Huasheng also followed to the door and saw that there was a sled stopped there, with seven or eight big dogs pulling the sled and panting heavily.

The old couple were already sitting on the sled. The woman carried Freya and sat on the sled. Freya turned her head hard and waved to Zhao Huasheng: "Uncle, wait for us to bring back fish for you to eat!"

"Okay, thank you, Freya," Zhao Huasheng nodded and said to the woman, "Be careful in the bad weather."

"Thank you; you go back to your room and rest first; we will be back soon." The woman waved at Zhao Huasheng, and at the old man's command, the seven or eight big dogs that were pulling the sleighs immediately started running and pulling the sleighs away.

Zhao Huasheng returned to his room, dressed in his thick winter clothes, and walked out of the yard. The weather was still cold, but in this small town that seemed like a paradise, there was a festive atmosphere everywhere. Everyone Zhao Huasheng met on the road had a sincere smile and warm words. Zhao Huasheng's mood gradually improved without knowing it.

When he reached the door of the church, Zhao Huasheng realized that Meng zhuo and the medical and security team had arrived. At this moment, they were preparing lunch with the villagers. Even Meng zhuo, who was always unsmiling, was helping out.

When Zhao Huasheng came, Li Wei gave him a slight nod without saying anything. Zhao Huasheng smiled back and then went over and started working.

It had been two hours of bustling activity. It was almost noon, but the sky had gotten dark without notice. After a while, snow flakes started to fall.

"It's snowing," an old man sighed, "the weather is really getting strange."

Zhao Huasheng had a bad premonition in his heart. He stepped forward and said to the old man, "The Freyas' family went out to collect nets. In this weather, will something happen to them?"

"How long have they been gone?" The old man asked.

"About three hours," Zhao Huasheng said solemnly.

The old man furrowed his brow and turned to a middle-aged man of about fifty and said, "Yance, go and find out why the Freyas' family hasn't returned yet." Yance nodded and left. The old man comforted Zhao Huasheng, "Freyas' grandfather is the best fisherman in our town, he must be fine, don't worry. It's cold outside, let's go to the church to take shelter from the storm."

Zhao Huasheng entered the church uneasily, but he couldn't sit still. He went back to the church entrance and noticed that the snow seemed to have gotten heavier and the cold wind had started to blow.

A feeling of unease began to spread throughout the church. Zhao Huasheng sat anxiously, until he could no longer bear it and came to the old man again, saying: "The snow is getting heavier and heavier, and the Freya family has not returned yet. I'm worried that something might happen to them. I think we should set off to look for them."

The old man meditated for a moment and finally nodded: "Yes, let's go look for them."