“Hubby, there’s a cave here. Let’s sleep in it tonight,” Bai Nianqing said, spotting a cave as dusk approached.
“I’ll take the torch and check inside first. You wait outside,” Shen Wenhe said, worried there might be animals in the cave.
The torch had been prepared in advance. Bai Nianqing did have a flashlight in her space, but at this moment, it was still better to use a torch—after all, small animals fear fire.
Shen Wenhe cautiously entered the cave to inspect it.
Soon, he came out. “Wife, come in.”
The cave was spacious, over two meters deep, and fairly clean. Aside from dust and leaves, there was nothing dirty inside.
Bai Nianqing went in to look and deemed it suitable, so she brought out the tent.
“Hubby, set up the tent. We’ll rest here tonight. But the cave entrance is large; we should build a fire at the entrance for safety,” Bai Nianqing instructed.
“All right. Once I set up the tent, I’ll go gather firewood,” Shen Wenhe said. It was his first time setting up this tent.
He knew Bai Nianqing had all sorts of strange items in her space, so he wasn’t surprised. Once he had the tent ready, he commented, “Wife, this tent is great. Lying inside, it doesn’t feel drafty at all.”
He had just sat inside for a moment and felt how well-made it was. He couldn’t tell what material it was, but he guessed it wouldn’t let in rain.
“Of course, it’s good. It’s made of waterproof fabric—windproof and rainproof. Essential for surviving in the wild. I bought two, just in case we had to stay out in the wild,” Bai Nianqing explained.
“This is great. Even if we sleep outside, we won’t have to worry,” Shen Wenhe said.
“Wait here, I’ll go collect firewood,” Shen Wenhe said as night approached.
“I’ll go with you. There aren’t many dead trees nearby, so we should cut a few and store them in the space,” Bai Nianqing said, taking out a machete.
“Whoa, wife, you even have a machete? You’re prepared for everything!” Shen Wenhe was startled.
“Yes. I knew we’d face challenges after coming here, so I bought what I needed. Two machetes for protection. Besides these, I’ve prepared a lot more—you’ll see later,” Bai Nianqing said.
In truth, Bai Nianqing already knew exactly what she had prepared, making sure to have enough of everything she might need.
“Let’s go. It’ll be dark soon,” Bai Nianqing said, looking at the fading light.
The mountains had plenty of trees, but most were dead from the drought. As they walked farther, they found several dead trees. Shen Wenhe cut them, and Bai Nianqing stored them in the space.
After some time, they returned to the cave entrance. Bai Nianqing brought out a battery-powered chainsaw from her space and had Shen Wenhe saw the dead trees into sections.
She had bought the chainsaw at a hardware store as a precaution; now it came in handy.
It could only be used this once since it was battery-operated and she had no way to recharge it in the space.
That was fine; she also had a few old-fashioned manual saws.
“This is really handy,” Shen Wenhe said, sawing the trees efficiently.
Bai Nianqing stored the cut wood in the space. Working together, they finished sawing several trees in about an hour.
“Hubby, I’ll heat some water for you to wash up. You’re too dirty to sleep like this,” Bai Nianqing said, seeing him covered in sawdust.
“All right. I’ll get the fire going first,” Shen Wenhe said, lighting the portable stove.
This was one advantage of having a space: the stove, bought yesterday, was stored inside and now ready for use. Water and a kettle were available as well, making it convenient to boil water.
Unfortunately, the space didn’t have a bath tub, but Bai Nianqing found a large plastic tub. Shen Wenhe, being a large man, could fit inside perfectly.
For dinner, Bai Nianqing cooked instant noodles. Previously, Xiao Chun usually did the cooking, so she hadn’t had the chance to eat them.
“Wife, these noodles are delicious,” Shen Wenhe said politely, slurping them up.
“Good, right? I think so too. But don’t eat too much—it’s not great for your health,” Bai Nianqing said.
After dinner, Shen Wenhe arranged some wood at the cave entrance for a fire. Bai Nianqing brought a mattress into the tent, and they slept.
The next morning, at Shen Wenhe’s request, they again had instant noodles for breakfast, this time with added ham and a fried egg. Bai Nianqing cooked some dumplings she had made yesterday with chive and egg filling, fragrant and delicious.
After breakfast, they continued their trek into the mountains.
After crossing another mountain, the situation improved slightly—they could see patches of green.
Wild rabbits and chickens ran across their path.
“Hubby, I think there must be water here. Look at these trees—the leaves are still green. And there are more animals than yesterday,” Bai Nianqing observed, looking at the half-yellow, half-green trees.
“Yes, I think there’s a water source nearby. Let’s go further and look around for a stream or something,” Shen Wenhe said.
Having crossed four mountains, they were nearly at the edge of the deep mountain center.
Further in, there would be tigers and wolves. Shen Wenhe remained extremely cautious, never letting go of his machete.
Fortunately, they hadn’t encountered any tigers or wild boars.
“Wife, let’s go this way,” Shen Wenhe said, carefully observing and leading Bai Nianqing southward.
“Why this way?” Bai Nianqing asked curiously.
“Because this side is more likely to have water. Look—the grass here is greener than the north,” Shen Wenhe pointed ahead.
Bai Nianqing looked and saw it was true. The grass was indeed greener to the south, becoming increasingly lush as they went further.