Chapter 323 Chopping Wood

It is also possible to cut off the branches of the tree. They are not as big as the whole tree, and it is easier to dry them after cutting them down, or add some oil to burn them. The latter will just produce more smoke, but there is no other problem.

The snow this year is actually not as thick as last year. Last year, the thickest snow reached the middle of the thighs, but this year it is only around the knees.

But this year is much colder than last year.

Even now it was daybreak, Mu Xi placed the watch outside to test the temperature, but the watch remained in a stagnant state, just like a cell phone that was stuck and did not move.

It is definitely impossible to wait until the snow melts. Judging from the inventory, it is best to go out and get the firewood as soon as possible.

The two men put the pot on the stove, and after the water boiled, they threw dozens of dumplings into it.

Over the winter, Zhao Yeqing's appetite increased from seven or eight dumplings per meal to twenty dumplings per meal.

At the beginning, when the temperature was not so cold, the two of them did not work at home and consumed less, so she was full with five or six dumplings in one meal.

Later, the temperature dropped sharply, and the sky darkened. Due to emotional reasons and the body's need to resist the severe cold, her appetite gradually increased. Now a meal of twenty or so is just breakfast, and she can eat a few more at noon.

Boiled dumplings are the easiest to make. After eating the dumplings, you can drink some dumpling soup to warm your body.

Zhao Yeqing gently bit through the dumpling skin and smelled his favorite pork and cabbage filling inside. He blew air into the hole in small bites.

While blowing air, he raised his eyes and asked Mu Xi, "Shall we go out later?"

To be honest, she still felt a little uneasy, fearing that it would be dark again the next day after she woke up from a good sleep.

Mu Xi was also worried, but after thinking about it, he nodded, "Then let's go today. I'll get ready. Don't you want to bring the dog?"

"No, the weather is too cold. Don't catch a cold if you go out."

Anyway, it’s not going to the birch forest or the pine forest. It’s just at the bottom of the gentle slope behind the house, not far away, and there are relatively few wild animals.

The disadvantage is that there are few trees, mostly bushes and young trees.

After the two finished eating dumplings, Mu Xi took out the gun to check and maintain it. He made sure that there would be no jamming problem again before putting it on his back.

Zhao Yeqing also carried the spear made by Mu Xi. This spear was much better than the one she made before. The spear head was made of wolf bones. At that time, the environment outside the house was bad and there was no way to get molten iron for pouring the spear.

The bone spear head was sharpened and honed to be extremely sharp, no worse than a knife. The length of the spear was set according to Zhao Yeqing's body shape, and it was just the right length so that it would not be too long to withstand the force.

With a weapon on my back, I feel a little more secure for some reason.

Neither of them was very nervous about going out this time. Considering that the distance was not far, they planned to clear the snow on the road first, so that it would be more convenient when transporting.

It would take a long time to get enough firewood to last until the snow melts. Plus, there isn't a lot of firewood here, so it might take even longer.

Try to get as much as possible in one trip, so you can make fewer trips back and forth.

It’s the same old saying, if you want to get rich, you must first build roads and make the roads easy to travel on. Then you might even be able to pull out a sled and tow it.

After the temperature continued to drop some time ago, it snowed and the wind blew from time to time, and without sunlight, the snow was very soft. We could only clear most of the snow to the side and make the road firm so that we could pull the sled.

However, when they went there for the first time, the two men did not plan to repair the road first. They wanted to see if there was enough firewood at the bottom of the gentle slope. Otherwise, they would find that there was nothing after repairing the road, and their efforts would have been wasted.

I planned to go out through the back door of the yard, but it took some effort to get there because the backyard had never been visited and the snow had never been cleared.

I cleared away the snow that was blocking the door, opened the door, and the snow outside fell down again.

After clearing away the fallen snow, the two of them walked out and closed the back door.

Regardless of whether he would encounter danger on this trip, at least Zhao Yeqing was in a very good mood now.

She had been trapped in that small house for nearly half a year, and even though the weather was still very cold during this trip, it couldn't hide her happiness.

Mu Xi heard someone behind him humming a tune. The singing sounded a little muffled coming from the kidnapper's hat, but the tune was cheerful and it was obvious that he was in a good mood.

Feeling the joy of the person behind him, Mu Xi also smiled.

Two people were walking in the snow, and the snow covered their knees as soon as they stepped on it. It should have been very difficult to move forward, but as one of them hummed a light tune and the other listened with a smile in front, the road didn't seem so difficult to walk on.

Mu Xi walked in front to lead the way, and Zhao Yeqing followed in his footsteps. They basically didn't touch any snow. He was afraid that his knees would not be able to bear it after walking for too long, so he asked with some concern:

"Are you cold? Do you want to stop and rest for a while or let me go first?"

Mu Xi stopped and shook his head, then took a sip from the thermos at his waist. "No, these pants are reinforced with animal skins, so they won't be cold."

Mu Xi's trousers have an extra layer of animal skin sewn on the section from the calf to the knee to the middle of the thigh. The animal skin is divided into sections above and below the knee, which keeps warm without affecting walking.

He took a sip of water and then handed the kettle to Zhao Yeqing, "Take a sip quickly. It's only been out for a short time. The boiling water in this kettle is only a little warm. It might turn into ice water in a while."

Zhao Yeqing took the kettle, pulled up his kidnapper's hat, took a sip, and then quickly put the hat down.

I have been out for half an hour. The place that used to take me ten minutes to reach has now only been walked more than halfway.

The two of them hurried forward, and finally reached a gentle slope, looking down the slope...

The snow covered most of the bushes, and the exposed bushes were already depressed, with only bare branches left.

Even the younger trees nearby had lost all their leaves.

Zhao Yeqing looked carefully at the small tree closest to them, and felt something was wrong. He raised his hand and pulled a branch to get a closer look.

Unexpectedly, with just a slight pull, the main trunk below, which was about as thick as a calf, was completely broken.

The noise startled her and she let go of the tree, which fell and hit the snow, splashing loose snowflakes.

“Is this tree frozen to death?”

Mu Xi nodded and shook his head, "It has something to do with the temperature, and probably also with the polar night before."

Without light and with low temperatures, it is estimated that only a few plants can survive.

Mu Xi had an impression of this tree. When he came here to burn charcoal before, it was a little hot while working, so he took off his coat and hung it on this tree.

Before winter, it was full of vitality and had sprouted many new leaves, but now it has withered and died in the snow.

Be it animals, plants, or even humans, if you have never had any intersection with them, you will only sigh and feel sorry when you see them die. But once you have had an intersection with them, no matter what species it is, you will feel sad when you see them die.