The surrounding area is filled with snowmelt. The water tastes alright after the snow melts, although it still has a slightly earthy taste and isn't as delicious as fresh water.

However, we came here to collect firewood and couldn't bring water. Fortunately, we brought a clay pot and simply washed the wild vegetables that we found in the snowdrifts, which had already wilted from the cold. Then we put them in the pot, added some shellfish, and made some soup. It tasted pretty good.

The campfire was burning brightly, and Wang Ping's expression softened considerably as he sat to the side.

"I thought this winter would be very difficult, but thanks to everyone's efforts, we managed to get through it without any major incidents. However, all of this is thanks to Sihai. If it weren't for you leading us, we wouldn't even have a goal by now."

I looked at Wang Ping and shook my head: "This is all thanks to everyone, how can it all be attributed to me? But let's all hurry up and get it done, and then go back to stay here as soon as possible, since it's so cold and eerie."

The foreigners nodded repeatedly, eating the soup in the pot to warm themselves up while sighing contentedly.

When we finished eating and were cleaning up the campfire, Wang Ping exclaimed "Huh?" and then I saw him squat down and poke at the fire with a stick. His expression was a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

As she fiddled with it, she turned to look at me and asked, "Sihai, what is this?"

Another male colleague heard the noise and quickly came over to take a look before nodding.

"This is a stone, but a heated stone. I used to eat this kind of stone-grilled meat when I was in the city. They heat the stone until it's very hot, then pour oil on it and grill the meat slices on it. The taste is quite unique."

After he finished speaking, several male colleagues next to him swallowed hard. After all, although we had hunted a great polar bear, we had been reluctant to eat the meat, fearing that if heavy snow blocked the mountain and we were trapped in the camp, we would be even more miserable if we went hungry.

Hearing him say that now does make my mouth water.

But Wang Ping didn't say anything, and I lowered my head and looked at it for a while before realizing that it wasn't a red-hot stone at all; it looked like iron.

Meanwhile, another foreigner with an axe came over. Wang Ping placed the object on a rock, and the foreigner hit it twice with the axe. The reddish, stone-like object actually changed somewhat.

Wang Ping's face lit up with joy, and I couldn't help but be surprised as well. If an iron ore mine had really been discovered in this place, our situation would be completely transformed.

First of all, we can make a lot of weapons, and we can also make an iron pot. Iron pots heat up faster than clay pots and are more practical.

Most importantly, once we have weapons, nothing else matters.

Even if those indigenous people dare to attack again, since they are all using cold weapons, we won't be at a significant disadvantage.

Moreover, the knives, axes, and saw blades we have are already worn out. If there really is iron ore in this area, we can make a lot of things.

Wang Ping looked up at me several times, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping, though the surprise in his eyes was undeniable.

I was also quite excited; I never expected things to work out in the end.

My previous worries vanished, and I quickly and carefully moved the metal block again, unable to contain my excitement.

"Let's put aside the firewood for now. Quickly check if there's anything similar around here. Let's collect some first. If we can really forge weapons, our chances of getting back will be much greater!"

"Yes, as long as we can find iron, we can build a ship. It may take a long time, but there is always hope!"

Everyone was immediately drawn in by my tone, and they all put down the firewood they had just collected and began to gather similar stones.

There was no way to explain these stones, but after picking up a few, I gradually came to a conclusion.

That is, all such minerals have a more pronounced luster than rocks.

We hurriedly picked up quite a few stones and threw them all into the bamboo basket we had brought with us.

After we got back, the camp had already started preparing food. When they saw us return, Xiao Qiang and the others quickly glanced at us with smiles.

“It’s not easy to gather firewood these days, and it’s not convenient to go out with such heavy snow. I think this firewood is enough for two days, so let’s use it sparingly and you won’t have to work so hard.”

Wang Ping, however, smiled and waved at Xiao Qiang.

"Even if we don't go out to gather firewood this time, we should at least go out and gather something else. Sister-in-law, hurry up and tidy up that campfire. Now, we can forge our own weapons!"

Xiao Qiang was taken aback when she heard Wang Ping say that, and then looked at me with a puzzled expression.

I nodded with a smile and told Xiao Qiang about how we discovered the iron ore there.

Xiao Qiang's eyes lit up with joy upon hearing this: "Really? If that's the case, then we can build a boat and leave this place, right?"

I nodded. Leaving this place had become a real worry for me.

That's true, but if you want to forge iron, it might be quite difficult.

The iron needs to be heated to a very high temperature, which our current campfire obviously cannot achieve. So, we'll probably need to build another furnace or kiln in the next couple of days. Anyway, I don't really understand this stuff.

After a quick tidy-up, our workload will increase as we need to go back to the beach to collect soil from there.

The soil there can be fired into clay bowls, so building a kiln shouldn't be too difficult.

After we finished eating that evening, we discussed tomorrow's plans in detail with Wang Ping and the others, and then we all went to bed early.

The next day, just as dawn broke, Wang Ping came to call me. We packed the car and tools, and together we set off for the beach.

After three or four days of back and forth, I finally got all the soil I needed. The next step was to work on these iron blocks.

These iron blocks were very hard, but after being placed in the earthen kiln, they did not change at all and remained in their original state.

Chen Jian was getting anxious. He said that the temperature might not be high enough, but how could they possibly reach the temperature at which the iron block could melt under these circumstances?