Chapter 139 - 57: Reappearing Traces
He lit the oil lamp and placed it around the mirror to provide ample light.
Chen Zhou used the warm water mixed from the wooden bucket to wash his hair clean, then picked up the razor to start trimming his own hair.
These razors were mostly unused, with sharp blades.
Usually, Chen Zhou would use them to shave his beard, but it's the first time he's shaving his head.
Carefully lifting strands of hair, he focused intently on the mirror, slowly using the razor to cut the hair at the root.
The mirrored image always created illusions, making it inconvenient to shave, and Chen Zhou was worried about accidentally cutting his scalp if he applied too much force, so the progress of shaving was particularly slow.
The damp hair fell to the ground, and he gradually shaved half of his head.
He adjusted himself in front of the mirror, ensuring a clean shave without any patches of hair left, Chen Zhou continued his work.
After about an hour, his arms were somewhat sore from holding the hair and razor, and he finally had shaved all his hair.
The hairstyle from the razor was even shorter than a buzz cut, his head felt light and cool, but that was the sensation Chen Zhou wanted.
He cleaned the razor, used warm water to wash off the residual hair stubble on his head, occasionally rubbing his bald head with his hand, feeling the slightly prickly texture, then looked in the mirror at the handsome guy inside.
Hehe~
With a silly smile, he packed his hair into a plastic bag – maybe one day he could use it to make a brush.
...
On February 18th, the long-anticipated rain finally fell.
In the early hours, Chen Zhou heard the pattering rain, but this time he didn't feel the cold wind creeping into his bed, and the rain was not heavy, so he didn't get up to check the farmland.
Listening to the white noise of nature, he drifted into sleep, waking up at daylight.
When he got up, the rain had stopped, but the air in the cave was filled with moisture, feeling much cooler and damper than usual.
"The real rainy season is here."
While starting a fire to cook, Chen Zhou realized he should store some firewood in the kitchen.
Otherwise, in continuous cloudy days, it would be difficult to light those wet branches.
And the stove, it was built outside the cave, if the rain was heavy, the chimney could easily get water in it, so he needed to build a small rain shed for it outside.
Besides the lack of firewood reserves, he also thought about the stacked spare wood drying in the forest.
Continuous rain for half a month or even a month could soak them, he must move those good-quality timber suitable for making boards or furniture to the storage room.
And there were some rattan and willow branches drying outside, which he hadn't managed since he put them back outside; this rain soaked them, wasting the long drying time, ruining them all.
Fortunately, the amount of vinegar made last time was considerable, and only a few cups had been consumed till now, without any further drying.
If the rum drying outside or barrels of vinegar got spoiled by the rain, it would break his heart.
...
After eating, Chen Zhou put on thick clothes and a broad-brimmed hat and went to check the farmland.
The previous storm had tested the quality of the ridges, this light rain couldn't impact the crops at all, whether it was rice or wheat they were thriving, even those two plants pecked by birds had somewhat revived, sprouting new leaves.
He walked through the fields, casually pulling out newly sprouted weeds, then headed down the slope.
The gentle rain washed the forest, and the air felt fresh.
The long-lost sound of frogs croaked again in the woods, causing Lai Fu to leap around ahead, exceptionally lively.
Arriving at the camp, he checked each shelter, peering inside to inspect whether the tarpaulin covering the roofs leaked.
If there were leaks, he left a mark at the entrance indicating the materials inside needed priority moving.
Unconsciously, he had made a full inspection round.
Silently keeping count, Chen Zhou found the situation not optimistic.
One-third of the shelters leaked.
These shelters not only contained ironware but also cloth and furniture.
Just after a light rain, they started leaking, they would surely collapse if faced with continuous rain for two months.
This was even after the special repairs and reinforcements yesterday; Chen Zhou dared not imagine how many shelters would leak without those fixes.
"Either build another batch of shelters and delay for two months. "
"Or start moving things straight away, even if it rains, don't stop working easily. "
"Otherwise, all the supplies I painstakingly moved up here will go to waste."
Pulling off a soaked tarpaulin, he covered the shelter with new canvas and weighed it down with several layers of branches.
In the process of repairing shelters, Chen Zhou even regretted why he moved so much stuff up here.
If he was like Robinson, only took food and a few clothes and weapons, he wouldn't have this dilemma.
Like those carved wardrobes, storage shelves, bookshelves, and long sea tables, though exquisite and expensive, they hadn't moved since being placed in the shelters.
They were large and heavy, when moving them to the mid-slope it already left a psychological shadow on Chen Zhou.
Moving them uphill required more effort, the road was rugged, without a cart, carrying them by hand or shoulder, in a day he could only move two large pieces of furniture up.
But if he had to chop them up for firewood or let the rain soak them to rot – sorry, Huaxia People don't have the habit of wasting good things.
...
Meals must be eaten bite by bite, and tasks must be done one by one.
Facing the arduous task of moving supplies uphill, Chen Zhou began to revive the idea of making a trolley.