Since they only needed to clear a small patch of land, it didn’t take long to finish.
The soil where the plants had just been pulled out was still quite loose, so digging wasn’t especially difficult.
They only had one shovel—Gu Yu’s multifunctional military entrenching tool. Tang Jiao had bought it for him, and it could be transformed to serve many different purposes.
It could shovel and pry, and could also be converted into a pickaxe head, spade, small knife, flathead and Phillips screwdriver, wrench, awl, and small saw. It even came with a whistle, a magnesium fire starter, and a compass. In short, it was incredibly versatile—though, naturally, much more expensive than an ordinary shovel.
As mentioned before, Tang Jiao simply loved multifunctional tools. And needless to say, she’d bought it after reading too many novels…
But now even Gu Yu had to admit that her habit of reading and buying things was genuinely useful.
Since there was only one shovel, it naturally went to their strongest fighter—Gu Yu—so its effectiveness could be maximized. As for Tang Jiao and An’an, their usual “primitive digging tools” came into play again: broken tree branches with slanted ends.
Tang Jiao found gloves for all three of them to prevent blisters, and then the whole family dug in with enthusiasm.
The funniest part was Yuanyuan the dog. Seeing his humans working so hard at digging, he actually started scratching away with his paws as well. Tuantuan the cat, on the other hand, had already had enough fun. He sprawled out on a nearby pile of grass, licking his paws and washing his face, occasionally lifting an eyelid to cast a disdainful sideways glance at the three humans and one dog toiling away, his expression full of feline arrogance.
The sight had them laughing nonstop, adding a bit of humor and cheer to the otherwise tiring, monotonous task.
After digging for most of the afternoon, they had only managed to reach a shallow depth, even according to their planned area.
That was with the terrain near the cave being relatively flat and low in stones. If it had been like the yam-digging area from before, where rocks were everywhere, the work would have been far harder.
As it grew late, the family called it a day and returned to their cave home.
Gu Yu then prepared to make two trips to the river to fetch water, and to set the fish trap while he was there.
The day before yesterday, seeing that rain was coming, Gu Yu hadn’t set the trap, so there’d been no catch for the past two days. Even though the recent harvests had been small, a little was better than nothing. Besides, fishing this way costs them almost nothing—just some physical effort. It was practically free food, and right now, all they really had in abundance was strength.
By the time Gu Yu returned from the river on his first trip, Tang Jiao had already lit the fire and started boiling water. Lunch had been hearty, so dinner would be simple—just a pot of noodle soup. A warm bowl was enough to heat the body from the inside out.
There were no fresh wild vegetables left at home, so Tang Jiao went to the river with Gu Yu. The riverbank had more varieties of wild greens, they were plumper and more tender, and washing them there was convenient. After reminding An’an to stay in the bedroom cave and play safely without wandering off, the two of them set out together.
By then, the sky was already growing dark. Even though they carried a lamp, Tang Jiao still felt uneasy. Ever since Gu Yu had heard wolves howling, they’d heard animal roars several more times. Though the sounds hadn’t seemed close, there was no guarantee the animals wouldn’t come their way.
Daytime was better, at least with clear visibility. Darkness itself was frightening—especially in an environment like this.
Just as Tang Jiao was lost in anxious thoughts, something suddenly darted past them at high speed, not far away, then plunged into the grass and disappeared into the distance…
Tang Jiao screamed in fright and instantly threw herself into Gu Yu’s arms. Gu Yu wrapped an arm around her to calm her down and swung the miner’s lamp toward the rustling grass. He only caught a glimpse of a gray blur before it vanished into the undergrowth.
Gently patting her back, Gu Yu said, “Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. It’s already gone. Probably a wild rabbit or something like that. How about I walk you back first, or we can come for water tomorrow instead?”
Tang Jiao really had been badly startled, but since they had already come this far, she didn’t want to turn back. Besides, she knew she would have to get used to these things sooner or later. Tonight, she’d just been unprepared and overreacted a bit—at least, that was the excuse she quietly made for herself.
So the two of them quickened their pace toward the river. It was dim now, but not completely dark yet, and they could still see the path clearly.
Once they reached the river, they hurriedly dug up some wild vegetables, washed them clean, filled their containers with water, and quickly headed back to the cave. It wasn’t until they were safely inside that Tang Jiao finally let out a long, silent sigh of relief.
By the time they returned, the water left boiling at home was already at a rolling boil. Tang Jiao immediately added the dried noodles. After they came back up to a boil, she tossed in the wild greens, then seasoned the pot with a spoonful of light soy sauce, a bit of salt, a touch of chicken bouillon, and some spices. Just before serving, she sprinkled in chopped scallions and drizzled in sesame oil. In no time, a pot of fragrant clear-broth noodles was ready.
The whole family ate with the same enthusiasm as always, finishing the entire pot down to the last strand.
After eating and washing up, they all returned to the bedroom cave to rest.
Neither Tang Jiao nor Gu Yu planned to work late that night. Even with a fire, the main cave wasn’t very warm at night, and lighting a fire in the bedroom cave would cause smoke buildup. Ever since moving here, unless something urgent came up, they rarely stayed up late. Usually, they went to bed not long after dinner.
It truly felt like living by the rhythm of sunrise and sunset. As a result, their daily schedule and meals had become much more regular, and their sleep quality had improved dramatically.
Perhaps because of the constant physical labor and healthier routine, both of them felt noticeably stronger lately. Many of the minor ailments they used to have hadn’t flared up at all.
Tang Jiao, in particular, had long lived in a state of sub-health. Issues like neck pain, insomnia, and frequent “internal heat” had plagued her endlessly in the past—but recently, not a single one had resurfaced.
It just went to show that the frailty and frequent illness common among modern office workers often stem from irregular schedules, poor diets, and a lack of exercise.
The three of them slept soundly through the night.
Because they went to bed early, Gu Yu woke up at the first hint of dawn. He couldn’t lie still, so after washing up, he started preparing breakfast and planned to get in some exercise as well.
Once, while reading a novel whose heroine was a traditional Chinese physician, Tang Jiao had learned about two health-preserving exercises: the Five-Animal Frolics and the Eight Brocades.
For a time, she’d been quite enthusiastic about them—though, true to her nature, it lasted only three minutes. Still, she had downloaded detailed tutorial videos and even dragged Gu Yu into practicing with her.
Gu Yu had reluctantly gone through a few motions with her, but never really learned it. Later, when Tang Jiao herself lost interest, she naturally stopped pushing him.
A few days ago, while scrolling through the phone again, Gu Yu rediscovered those videos and decided to relearn the routines. Out here, with no doctors and no medicine, keeping their bodies strong would save them a lot of trouble. He planned to practice twice a day to build up his health.
Once he became proficient, he even intended to rope Tang Jiao and An’an into it—making it a daily family routine.
Tang Jiao, however, had no idea of Gu Yu’s plans. Though she was already awake, she was still snuggled in the blankets, reluctant to get up at all…