What do you mean by the long river of the world?

There is a passage in Long Rivers of the World in which a woman deliberately tells some cold jokes in order to attract her husband's attention. This kind of cold joke not only didn't make her husband laugh, but made her husband's expression more vicious. Contrary to her husband's indifference, the wife ignored her husband's reaction and laughed. Some couples laughed from ear to ear and froze to death. It is really two extremes. Not to mention how embarrassing the scene is.