The family slept soundly through the night.
At dawn the next morning, Gu Yu and his family were already dressed and ready. After enjoying a steaming bowl of fish soup for breakfast, they set out once again.
The weather didn’t look promising. The sky was overcast, and a strong northwest wind howled through the trees, carrying a real hint of winter.
Gu Yu originally wanted Tang Jiao and An’an to stay behind in the cave while he handled the transport alone. But Tang Jiao pointed out that harsher weather was only a matter of time. It wasn’t truly cold yet, and if they didn’t start adapting now, things would be even harder later.
So the whole family headed out together—fully prepared. Well, mostly An’an was fully bundled up. Tang Jiao and Gu Yu were constantly on the move and wouldn’t get cold easily, and too many layers would only slow them down.
That day’s main task was hauling bedding: quilts, mattresses, sheets, duvet covers—along with clothes and shoes.
People always complain about having nothing to wear when the seasons change, but once you actually start packing, there’s far more than expected.
As for why there’s “nothing to wear,” it usually comes down to things like: this one’s outdated, that color doesn’t flatter me, or last year’s clothes just don’t match this year’s me.
But now? Tang Jiao couldn’t afford such luxuries. As long as there were clothes to wear—and they were warm—that was more than enough. Style and color? She had no room to be picky.
Gu Yu had no comment on that.
Over the next few days, the family settled into a steady rhythm. Every morning, they went out to transport supplies. In the afternoons, they returned to process the fish and reset the traps.
Yes—they changed their original plan of setting the fish traps at night and collecting them in the morning. Now they set them in the evening and collect them the following afternoon. Morning collection took too much time, and after several rounds, the catch dropped off sharply.
Whether the fish had grown smarter, been mostly caught already, or simply hidden away because of the cold, no one could say.
In any case, their main focus shifted fully to transporting supplies.
Recently, Tang Jiao noticed something interesting—whether it was just her imagination or her body finally adapting to the strain, she wasn’t sure. But she no longer woke up locked in a battle between mind and body. Instead, she felt refreshed and energetic every morning.
The muscle soreness from the intense labor of the first few days had completely vanished. Her body felt lighter than ever, and the once-dreaded supply runs had somehow become something she looked forward to.
Gu Yu felt the same. Their endurance and carrying capacity had improved dramatically. If time allowed, he would even make an extra trip each day, bringing back smaller, lighter items.
In short, the whole family was busy—and strangely enjoying it.
After more than ten trips spread over ten days, they finally transported everything back except for the large ceramic storage jars. What had once been a wilderness overgrown with weeds and thorns had been trampled and dragged into a clear path.
Looking down at the trail beneath her feet, Tang Jiao couldn’t help but sigh in amazement.
“No wonder Lu Xun said, ‘There is no road in the world to begin with—when many people walk it, a road appears.’”
Looking at this path, wasn’t that exactly how it had come to be?
In truth, Tang Jiao hadn’t wanted to give up the large earthenware jar at all. Even though it had developed cracks and could no longer hold water, it was still perfectly suitable for storing grain and other dry goods. Besides, it was something that had come with them from home.
Anything that had crossed over with them—even a single plastic bag—Tang Jiao couldn’t bear to throw away.
Unfortunately, the clay jar was simply too big, too heavy, and far too fragile. If it had been as sturdy and knock-resistant as the two large metal cabinets, they might not have abandoned it, even if it was heavy.
They had only managed to bring it here from the tall grasslands because the ground was flat and mostly free of rocks. They’d rolled the jar the entire way. But rolling it up and over a mountain was simply impossible now, so they had no choice but to give it up with heavy hearts.
After saying goodbye to the weathered clay jar and completing their final supply run back to the cave, both of them finally let out a long sigh of relief.
The weather was growing colder by the day. During the transport period, they’d even been caught in two fairly heavy rainfalls. As the saying goes, each autumn rain brings another wave of cold—and now it was cold enough that padded jackets were becoming necessary.
Tang Jiao and Gu Yu were fine. Whether old or new, they had enough clothes to wear. The bundled sets of clothing for all four seasons they’d brought back from the city had been sent directly to the small livestock farm on the mountain.
An’an, however, was another story. He did have clothes, but most were from last year, and many no longer fit. The new clothes bought this year were all at his grandparents’ house. Since An’an attended kindergarten, living on the mountain made daily pick-ups inconvenient, so he stayed with his grandparents, who handled school runs. Naturally, most of his new clothes stayed there too.
When the weather was warm, wearing slightly small clothes was manageable. But once it got cold, even a little exposed wrist, ankle, or neck made him feel chilled no matter how thick the rest of his clothing was.
And Tang Jiao still hadn’t unlocked the “sewing skill” yet.
So once the temperature dropped further, it wouldn’t be suitable for An’an to go out frequently. They needed to speed up their efforts to find and stockpile food.
Fortunately, during breaks between hauling supplies, they’d dug up plenty of wild vegetables and caught large amounts of fish and shrimp using fish traps. Tang Jiao either dried or pickled them. The dried fish alone amounted to over a hundred kilograms—enough to last them quite a while, though their consumption during this period had also been considerable.
Still, they couldn’t survive on dried fish and dried vegetables alone. Carbohydrates and fats were essential, and going without fruits and fresh vegetables for long periods wasn’t an option either. The more diverse their food sources, the better.
Tang Jiao did have vegetable seeds, but she wasn’t sure how harsh the winter here would be, or whether seedlings would freeze to death. So she hadn’t planted them yet. She planned to bring in soil and plant some inside the cave instead. A cave with people living in it would be much warmer, increasing the survival rate. With so few seeds on hand, caution was the wiser choice.
Only after all the supplies had finally been transported did Tang Jiao begin to properly take stock—counting, sorting, categorizing, and organizing everything.
They had two metal wardrobes. She’d chosen metal for two reasons: first, there had been rats on the mountain, and rats loved chewing wooden furniture; second, the mountain was damp, and wooden cabinets would mold over time.
Back then, Tang Jiao had even considered building a brick cabinet and using storage boxes on top—cheap and moisture-proof. But just as she was debating it, a vendor came through the village selling metal wardrobes at a low price. She bought a set on the spot.
Now, the metal cabinets were placed inside the smaller inner cave. The transport process had been brutal, leaving them dented and battered, but because they’d been wrapped in straw mats woven from reeds, very little paint had chipped. Aside from a few dents, they were perfectly functional.
Once Tang Jiao finished sorting the clothes and placing them into the cabinets, the cave immediately felt tidier and far more spacious.
The small cave now looked surprisingly livable. Tang Jiao and Gu Yu had carefully organized and improved it bit by bit whenever they found time during their hauling trips. After all, this was their future shelter—the place that would very likely be their home for a long, long time to come.