Chapter 138 - 56: Entering the Rainy Season
On the night of February 16th, Chen Zhou slept very comfortably.
Ever since he started this challenge, he hadn't slept with such a sense of security for a long time.
While sleeping in a hammock on the boat, he always had to worry about storms and tides, not yet accustomed to the heavy workload, dreaming of sawing wood.
When the hammock swayed, he occasionally felt like he was falling into the sea, with the sound of mice gnawing on wooden boards often waking him up.
After arriving on land, although he no longer had to worry about storms and angry waves, he lived in a house without exterior walls.
Before sleeping at night, he could gaze out of the cave in one glance.
Wind, rain, light, insects, snakes, mice, everything in nature could freely traverse in and out.
For Chen Zhou, who was used to resting in enclosed spaces, this also made him uncomfortable.
However, this discomfort could be endured, far less than the psychological pressure storm brought him while resting on the boat.
Otherwise, he would have long put down other work and concentrated on building walls.
...
In the early morning, rubbing his eyes.
Looking at the dim room, Chen Zhou, who had become accustomed to "living with open walls," still felt somewhat unfamiliar with this semi-enclosed space.
After getting dressed, he climbed up, sniffed the smell on the bedding, thought about doing a major cleanup during the rainy season when staying at home, and pushed the door open to head outside.
The sky on February 17th was covered with clouds, looking gray, giving off an impression that it was going to rain.
Thinking about getting a haircut today, after breakfast, the first thing Chen Zhou did was go to the camp to get the mirror.
Soon, he arrived at the camp, found two mirrors with brass frames over seventy centimeters high in the shed, and placed them leaning against the shed.
While taking the mirrors out, Chen Zhou thought of the frequent rainfall in the next two months, the test on the shed would be much more severe than the entire dry season that had just passed.
To prevent the unused materials from being damaged, he needed to check in advance whether the shed had leaks or structural damages.
These small sheds built to shelter from wind and rain were initially meant for temporary storage of materials, having worked for over a hundred days since their construction, their inherently flimsy and not very tight structures were surely to have a variety of small issues.
Moreover, the wooden frames supporting the sheds were not treated for waterproofing and pest-proofing, just stuck directly into the woods, inevitably suffering from soaking, pest infestation, and gnawing by mice.
Chen Zhou estimated that even if this maintenance and reinforcement were done meticulously, the shed wouldn't likely withstand the entire rainy season.
Before it rains, he had to move the water-sensitive materials to the mountain as soon as possible.
"Wish the rainy season would come two months later."
While covering the shed with branches, Chen Zhou thought.
With another two months, he would have been able to move all the clothing, fabrics, bedding, ironware, furniture, and barrels of rum to the mountain.
"Unfortunately, time waits for no one!"
After maintaining the most important sheds, he tied the two mirrors together, put them on his back, and returned to the cave dwelling.
...
A mirror can not only straighten one's appearance, but as a decoration, it also has a function that other decorations don't have—brightening.
In the past, the earthen houses had small windows, dirty glass, and poor light transmission.
In winter, adding a layer of storm windows outside, it often made the indoor light dim, with mornings often feeling like afternoons and afternoons like twilight.
Elderly people would hang mirrors on the side or opposite of the windows, with sunlight shining into the room through reflection, like a big lamp, brightening the whole room considerably.
The two-bedroom windows on the wall were even smaller than those in earthen houses, with limited light coming into the room, not reaching the innermost part of the bedroom at all.
Chen Zhou initially wanted to place the mirror on the side of the room to reflect sunlight.
But since the mirror didn't have a stand, it couldn't stand upright.
The side of the room also didn't have walls to hang it, only six load-bearing columns.
Helpless, he could only lean the mirror against a load-bearing column, waiting to arrange the furnishings properly once the interior walls were built.
...
Not in a rush to cut hair, on the afternoon of the 17th, Chen Zhou started moving clothes and bedding up the mountain.
These clothes were originally stored in wooden boxes, not convenient for transport.
But after breaking down the packaging for edible soil, there were plenty of nylon bags left, just right for packing clothes.
...
He busied himself until the evening and built the wall for a while—the foundation dug up there had not been filled.
If a heavy rain suddenly started, the foundation would become a reservoir.
Frequent trips in and out of the earth trench, mixing mud, moving stones, made him covered in dirt.
At the end of the workday, Chen Zhou observed the sky.
Clouds obscured the moon, stars couldn't be seen, yet it didn't feel sultry and humid, guessing that rain might not fall tonight.
He made a fire to boil water, the large iron kettle was occupied.
Thankfully, Chen Zhou had a newly built stove and copper pot.
Adding two more scoops of seal oil, he cut the hard flatbread into thick slices, fried it in hot oil until golden brown, then sprinkled a pinch of salt before serving.
The fried slices were somewhat similar to baked bread slices, the outer layer soaked in oil, crispy and fragrant to eat, while the inside, heated to perfection, was slightly soft, tasting of wheat fragrance.
Accompanied by well-cooked seal meat and hand-squeezed wild lemon juice.
This meal had meat and vegetables, cold and hot dishes, sweet and salty flavors.
Vitamins, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, none of them were missing, on an isolated island, such a meal was considered sumptuous.
After having dinner, he poured out half a pot of hot water for washing and cutting hair, using the remaining water in the iron kettle to cook a few pieces of meat for Lai Fu and the two cats.
Xiao Huihui used to always cozy up to Tizi, but since Tizi was let out on the 10th, it suddenly changed its behavior, acting timidly around Tizi, no longer daring to approach.
Lately, Chen Zhou had been busy, seeing Xiao Huihui moving freely, still chubby, not knowing it had been clawed by Tizi, he thought Xiao Huihui might be socially anxious, and let it be.
As for Tizi, it had adapted well to the environment since being tied in the kitchen, becoming increasingly cheerful.
Though a wild cat, it knew to keep its resting area clean, tugging the rope tight to defecate, digging a pit in sandy soil to make a temporary toilet, and burying its waste after finishing.
However, the buried cat waste still had a strong odor, Chen Zhou would clean up the kitchen's waste every morning, including the chinchilla's waste.
Xiao Huihui was free and never relieved itself in the cave, its hygiene was hardly a concern, only needed to check frequently for parasitic ticks on it.
After feeding the cats and dog, Chen Zhou untied the rope and took Tizi for a walk.
The wound on Tizi from the rope was already healing, with the scab falling off soon, and might fully recover in another day or two.
However, the hair wouldn't grow back quickly, it would be a long recovery process.
During walks, Tizi would carefully sniff every corner of the room, including the fish-drying area, jerky area, and even Chen Zhou's bed and furniture like the dining table, as if memorizing the scent of its new home.
Naturally active, after a couple of rounds indoors, it would meow, asking Chen Zhou to take it outside.
Chen Zhou would usually only take it to the platform at the door, pacing back and forth twice, never going down to the farmland or further to the forest edge.
After all, Tizi wasn't a house cat, Chen Zhou feared that being reminded of its past free life in the forest, it might escape stealthily.