It was time to put the snow-clearing machine on the agenda: with snow this heavy, to think

Snow fell frequently that winter. Less than ten days after the first heavy snowfall, an even heavier one came. It snowed for a full day and night, leaving at least fifty centimeters on the ground.

Nobody came to the Purchasing Station. Gu Boyuan, Liang Shuangcheng, and Sun Jiaqiang from next door spent a whole day clearing its snow.

Li Long and Sister Yang spent most of the daylight hours clearing the snow from the Front Courtyard of the Big Courtyard and hauling it away.

The snow in the Back Courtyard was more troublesome. Li Long first cleared wide paths, then piled some of the snow into a wall, shaping the top into battlements like those of the Great Wall. He also made two rather odd-looking warriors.

Odd-looking as they were, Mingming and Haohao were delighted. In the past, they had always made those simple, goofy snowmen after it snowed. With a new style to try this time, the two children excitedly wanted to join in and help.

Some of the snow was hauled straight into the greenhouse. Of course, it could only be a small portion, or burning the stove in there would have been pointless.

Winter days were short, and Gu Xiaoxia left early and came home late. When she returned and wanted to help clear the yard, Li Long stopped her. He knew she had to shovel snow at work as well as do her job, so he could handle things at home himself.

"Ah, if only that snow-clearing machine you mentioned could be made." As soon as snow-shoveling season arrived, Gu Xiaoxia remembered what Li Long had said. "These first two snowfalls this year have already been so heavy. We spent most of the day doing nothing but shoveling snow. Every workplace in the county was the