Almost all the young men of similar age in the village know this technique, which is considered a basic survival skill in the wild in winter. It has been passed down from generation to generation, and everyone has understood what kind of snow nest is more windproof and warm.

In the past, hunters would not come out of the mountains for ten days or half a month. There were many trees on the mountain, so there was no shortage of materials for building huts. However, those huts were not only cumbersome to build, but also not windproof or warm, and could not withstand attacks from black bears and wolves. Digging snow huts could perfectly solve this problem.

After digging the first snow cave, they went to dig the second one. There were more than ten people in total, so at least three were needed to live in. Moreover, there was a girl in the team, so they decided to dig four, and one for Tian Cai to live in.

It was also the first time that Tian Cai saw this thing. She found it very novel. After learning that the last snow nest was for her, she followed others in to set it up.

"This half-meter-high hole is the door, right? What if a wild animal comes in from the cave at night? And the wind and snow will blow in too, right?" Tian Cai crawled back and forth from the cave entrance several times and couldn't help asking Hu Gang.

Qin Ling heard it and without waiting for Hu Gang to answer, he dug a large piece of snow from the side, then cut it into a square piece of snow with the hatchet in his hand, and pushed it directly to the entrance of the cave.

Tian Cai suddenly realized that this was a moving door, which blocked everything.

It gets dark early in winter, and they were in the mountains. It was completely dark as soon as four o'clock. The four big roe deer had been cleaned up and buried in the snow cellar that had just been dug, and marked on the nearby branches.

Everyone divided the work and built a fire in front of the snow cave to boil water, heat dry food, and roast roe deer meat.

Yu Mingjiang, a city dweller, felt the same as Tian Cai when he first saw the snow caves. He felt very curious and crawled in and out several times with shining eyes. He crawled in and out of the four snow caves and finally chose the one in the middle. He originally thought he had great fighting ability, but it seemed that he was nothing in this group of people. It was safer to choose a place in the middle.

The main force in roasting roe deer meat was the Hu brothers, and Tian Cai also contributed his own barbecue ingredients. For a while, the aroma of meat could be smelled all around the camp.

A half-grown robe was shared by more than ten people, and each person could only get a small piece. Tian Cai gave half of her share to Mimi, and ate the remaining small half with dry food and pickles. She felt that eating only meat was too greasy, and it was just right for her to eat some pickles to relieve the greasiness.

Everyone thought that meat was particularly delicious. The only ones who shared the same idea were Qin Ling and Yu Mingjiang.

"What is this made of?" Yu Mingjiang couldn't help but pick up another piece of pickled vegetable with chopsticks. This small pickled vegetable was very chewy in the mouth. It was called "gen jiu" in the local saying. Moreover, Tian Cai also added a lot of chili peppers when making it. The salty and spicy taste was very refreshing.

Tian Cai glanced at the bamboo tube he had just picked up, "Radish strips."

Yu Mingjiang picked up another one and looked at it against the firelight. "It doesn't look like it. It's different from the radish strips I've eaten before."

Qin Ling watched him find excuses and picked up several more pieces of pickled vegetables with chopsticks in the name of research. He didn't help but reach out and push the bamboo tube towards Tian Cai until he made a hole in the pickled vegetables.

Tian Cai chuckled, "This radish needs to be dried first and then soaked in water before adding seasoning. It's quite laborious!"

Yu Mingjiang also saw Qin Ling's actions and looked at him with resentment. Seeing that he was unmoved, he lowered his head and started to gnaw on the roe deer meat.

It's so annoying.

After everyone finished their meal, the eldest of the Wang family put out the fire with snow, and then went to each snow cave to check the ventilation holes. Only after making sure there were no problems did he let everyone disperse and go in.

Just when a few people were barbecuing, someone brought in a lot of branches and leaves, and spread them thickly. Then they put blankets or leather brought from home on top. People lay down on them, and they felt so soft that it was more comfortable to sleep on than on a kang.

Moreover, three or four people shared a snow cave, huddled together, wore thick enough clothes, kept their hats and shoes on, and went straight into sleep mode.

Of course, no one slept against the snow wall. Everyone made room for them, otherwise people would be frozen if they leaned against the cold snow wall for a whole night.

Qin Ling walked Tian Cai all the way to her snow cave, then went back to get a quilt and handed it to her, "Put this quilt underneath and cover it with the one you brought. Then let Mimi sleep next to you, and you won't be cold at night."

Tian Cai didn't answer, "What about you?"

"We guys are so cold when we're all huddled together. We all sleep with our clothes on and don't need blankets. Take it, or we won't be able to cover the four of us with just this one blanket."

Tian Cai finally accepted the blanket. This wasn't the first time she had accepted Qin Ling's kindness. Perhaps it was because the surroundings were too quiet, she scratched her head slightly uncomfortably and whispered, "Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?" Qin Ling looked at the dark sky above him and said nothing. "Hurry up and go in. I'm in the snow cave next to you. Call me if you need anything."

After she and Mimi entered Qinling Mountains, she helped push the door shut and went back to her own snow nest.

At first, Tian Cai took off his shoes and curled up in the quilt, but after a while he felt his feet getting cold, so he got up, put on his shoes, and lay down next to Mimi.

The wind and snow outside were blocked by the snow pits. The winter forest was very quiet. Everyone talked excitedly for a while and then gradually quieted down. Soon, the only sound they could hear was the snoring of the people around them.

At first, Tian Cai would prick up her ears to listen to what they said, but later she didn't care anymore. With Mimi in the quilt, the whole bed was warm, and sleepiness quickly came over her, and she gradually fell asleep.

The next afternoon, after they had hunted two more bucks, they found wild boar prints at the foot of a cliff.

Several people looked at each other and knew that the most exciting moment was about to begin. The rifle they brought had been carried on Fang Tiezhu's back, and now he took it off and slung it over his body.

This creature is much more difficult to hunt than roe deer and deer. When necessary, a gun is the most effective.

The ten-man team dispersed according to Qin Ling's gesture. Mimi sniffed at the footprints and ran along the mountain wall.

Tian Cai didn't stop her. The little guy had a very sharp nose, and it was the fastest way for him to find the wild boar. She didn't worry at all that Mimi wouldn't be able to beat the wild boar. If she couldn't beat it, she could just run away. How could the wild boar, with its stupid body, possibly outrun it?

Soon, there was movement ahead.

“Ahhh——”

"Ah!"

Tian Cai ran to the ridge of the hill first, and saw three huge wild boars surrounding and attacking Mimi on the gentle slope on the other side of the mountain.