The amount of physical activity today was enormous for Tang Jiao. On a normal day, she wouldn’t even walk this much in half a month. So the moment she lay down, she didn’t want to move at all.
Not to mention Gu Yu, whose workload was at least three times hers—though he didn’t say it out loud, he was just as exhausted.
At this moment, the only ones still brimming with energy were little Gu Wei’an and the two small animals. But even young creatures have biological clocks. Before long, steady breathing and soft snores echoed through the cave…
…
Early the next morning, just as expected, Tang Jiao’s mind and body were in complete disagreement.
Her consciousness told her it was time to get up, but her body refused to cooperate. It felt as if she’d been run over by a truck—heavy, sore, and aching all over. She could only lie there in silence, wanting to cry but unable to shed a tear.
Gu Yu had just woken up as well. Over the past two days, his nerves had been constantly stretched tight, and the physical exertion had been intense. Sleeping in the cave last night felt much safer and more secure than before, so once he finally relaxed, he fell into a deep sleep.
However, sometime during the night—half asleep, half awake—he vaguely heard the sound of wolves howling. The noise startled him fully awake in an instant.
He listened carefully for a long time. Only after confirming that the howls were coming from far away and showed no signs of drawing closer did he finally fall back asleep.
Even then, before drifting off, he was still thinking: The cave is high off the ground and relatively safe, but the entrance is too wide. It really needs to be blocked somehow—maybe even fitted with a door. But what could we use?
Because of that, his sleep wasn’t particularly restful.
Tang Jiao, on the other hand, was naturally carefree—and she had been utterly exhausted the day before. She didn’t wake up at all during the night and never heard the wolves.
After waking up, Gu Yu hesitated for a long time, torn over whether he should tell Tang Jiao about the wolves. He was afraid that if he told her, she’d be terrified and anxious. But if he didn’t, he worried that not encountering any dangerous animals these past two days might make her lower her guard.
In the end, he decided to tell her.
As expected—
The moment she heard it, worry and fear washed over her. When she saw her son sleeping peacefully beside her, the panic intensified. She even forgot most of her body aches and suddenly shot upright with a sharp gasp!
Gu Yu spent a long time calming her down before she finally relaxed.
But the moment her mind eased, the pain came rushing back. Her body immediately lost its strength, and she collapsed back onto the bedding with a cry:
“Ouch! That hurts so much!”
Gu Yu looked at her helplessly—both amused and heartbroken. As he gently massaged her sore muscles, he said,
“Go back to sleep for a while longer. I’ll move the supplies myself today. You and An’an rest here.”
Hearing this, Tang Jiao felt deeply touched—and guilty as well. She truly felt like she was holding everyone back.
She didn’t say anything. Only after Gu Yu finished massaging her, helped her put on her outer clothes, and went outside did she try to get up on her own.
The moment she moved, a wave of soreness crashed over her again. The sharp, burning ache made her hiss out loud,
“—Sss!”
Gritting her teeth, she endured the stiffness, heaviness, and pain throughout her body. Slowly and awkwardly, she got up, got dressed, and shuffled forward step by step while leaning against the cave wall.
She reached the cave entrance and gazed out at the mountains and forests, which looked like a fairyland on earth. Taking a deep breath of the crisp, almost spiritual air, she gently stretched her limbs and moved her heavy body.
To her surprise, the pain eased noticeably.
She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly: So it really is true—life lies in movement. The ancients didn’t lie after all.
When Gu Yu returned from outside and saw that Tang Jiao was already up, he immediately asked with concern,
“Didn’t I tell you to rest a bit longer? Why are you up already? Does it still hurt a lot?”
Tang Jiao said, “I’m feeling much better now. Let’s go back and move the supplies together. Even if having more people doesn’t mean more strength, at least we can watch out for each other. And didn’t you say you heard wolves howling last night? I won’t feel at ease if you go alone. It’s better if we go together.”
Gu Yu tried to persuade her a bit more, but Tang Jiao blinked at him and looked up with pitiful eyes. He surrendered instantly.
Yes—Gu Yu had absolutely no principles when it came to Tang Jiao acting cute…
They each packed up their things, ate some food, and drank water. They also portioned out food and water for the two small animals. An’an had woken up as well, so they gave him snacks and milk to eat and drink along the way. The two little animals were left in their cages to guard the cave, and then the family set off.
They hadn’t started particularly early that day, and time was tight, so they could only make one trip. Along the way, they discussed how to make the most of this run by using tools—after all, the use of tools is a hallmark of human progress, isn’t it?
Gu Yu said, “I wonder if there’s bamboo nearby. If we could make a shoulder pole, it’d save a lot of effort and let us carry more. If we just use our backs, we can only take this much at a time—way too inefficient.”
Tang Jiao sighed, “If only our living room had come with us. Our little three-wheeled cart was parked there, right? The fuel tank was just filled, and we even had a full spare can of gas—enough to go really far! And there was a handcart too, one that doesn’t even need fuel. Plus the fridge, full of fruits, vegetables, and meat… and that bag of sweet potatoes, tender corn, and peanuts we brought from Mom’s place yesterday…”
The more she spoke, the more dejected she sounded. When she finished, she let out a heavy sigh.
Gu Yu was just about to comfort her when Tang Jiao added, “But thinking about it, we actually brought quite a lot already. In so many novels, people who get transported to the wilderness only have a single backpack—and they’re usually alone. At least our whole family is together. We have each other to rely on. I should be more grateful.”
Watching her go from complaining, to comforting herself, to self-reflection, Gu Yu suddenly thought: How can my wife be this adorable?
Tang Jiao was still sore all over, so they walked and rested along the way. Whenever they reached flatter ground, Gu Yu would even let An’an walk on his own for a bit. As a result, they moved even slower than they had the day before.
By the time they returned to the small cave where they had stored the supplies, it was already past noon. After resting briefly and eating a simple lunch, they got to work.
Their plan for the day was to take food first. If they had any extra capacity, they’d bring clothes or blankets—those were the most urgent necessities right now.
With a clear plan, packing went much faster.
Tang Jiao had been the one to organize everything before, so now she pulled the supplies out from various containers and temporarily piled them on the ground, planning to sort and pack them based on how fragile they were.
Meanwhile, Gu Yu and An’an worked on the tree branch they’d cut along the way, preparing it to serve as a temporary shoulder pole. They didn’t know what kind of tree it was, but it was flexible enough, and the thickness and length were just right.
There wasn’t much to do, really—they didn’t know what made a good shoulder pole beyond basic flexibility. Gu Yu and Tang Jiao had only seen them used when they were kids, and with modern technology and machinery so widespread, almost no one used shoulder poles anymore. As for An’an, he’d never even seen one before.
So they simply used a knife to smooth the surface of the branch as much as possible, so it wouldn’t dig into their shoulders. They also twisted vines into sturdy ropes to tie things up later.
By the time Gu Yu finished his improvised shoulder pole, Tang Jiao had gathered all their food into one pile and started sorting and packing it.
It was only when everything was laid out that they realized—
There was actually a lot more than they had expected.