Chapter 114, exclusively published on Jinjiang Literature City: Treasures After the Wildfire
After the villagers excitedly ran out of the small exit, they found themselves in a desolate wilderness where they couldn't even tell where they were. Their ecstatic expressions froze, and their eyes became blank.
Where is this?
"Look over there!" Chen Rong pointed with wide eyes to the back of the crowd. "Isn't there smoke over there? Could it be that we haven't escaped the wildfire area yet?"
The other villagers panicked, "They've been gone for four days, have they come full circle?"
Lu Xuan glanced at the location on the weather app. "No, it's already very far." It's just that the Yunlu Mountain Range covers a vast area, and the fire has a wider reach. It only took four days to spread here.
He looked around and reassured the uneasy villagers, "There's hardly anything growing around here, so the wildfire won't reach this area."
There's also good news.
The peak of the extreme heat has passed, and the outside temperature has dropped significantly. When the wildfires were burning, the temperature reached 60 degrees Celsius, but in less than five days it has dropped to 35 degrees Celsius, and it will continue to drop further.
The others, alerted by Lu Xuan, noticed the change and their faces lit up with joy.
"It really is true! Wearing the bio-suit, we weren't hot to begin with, so we didn't even realize how much cooler it was!"
"This damn hot season is finally over!"
Li Tie, the village chief, also showed a genuinely relaxed smile.
More than two months of high temperatures!
In a situation where surrounding villages were almost entirely wiped out, with only one in ten surviving or even all of them destroyed, their village miraculously survived unscathed! What an astonishing feat!
Although Lu Xuan was the greatest contributor, Li Tie still felt a surge of pride.
The calm and collected Lei Yan was the first to recover. "What do we do next? Should we go even further?"
Lu Xuan glanced at the group, whose focus had clearly waned after relaxing, and said, "Everyone has been traveling for several days, and their spirits have been constantly on edge. Let's rest here for a few days."
Not only people, but also the pheasants, cattle and sheep that they had brought along were quite frightened by the commotion caused by the giant python and needed to calm down.
Li Tie looked around and saw that many of the women and children looked unwell. He agreed, "They should rest for a few days."
Exhausted, the villagers learned that they could rest on the spot and immediately took out the cabins from their space or the tents that Lu Xuan had given them and set them up.
The women took out food, water, and other daily necessities to provide logistical support.
Xiong Mao, Zhang Chengming, Wei Xiang, and the other superhumans who didn't have a chance to use their abilities when fighting the giant python went to wander around the area and clear out any wild animals that might be in the wilderness.
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As night fell, the group heard wolf howls and several other strange noises coming from somewhere. Without the cave and security door to keep them awake, they dared not sleep soundly at all.
Tents offer poor sound insulation and protection; while modular shelters provide sound insulation, they raise concerns that people inside might not be aware of any danger that might occur.
In the end, Lu Xuan took out more safe houses and resettled everyone.
The earthquake struck as expected the following day.
Because the earthquake wasn't too large, the experienced villagers were no longer panicked, and once it stopped, they went about their business.
Over the next few days, the group settled in this wilderness.
The villagers gradually adjusted their mindset and accepted the fact that they had lost their permanent shelter.
Then, they started asking the village chief and Lu Xuan if they should move to another place.
We can't just stay here forever, can we?
There are almost no resources in the vicinity, and the view is too open, so the villagers who are used to living in caves have no sense of security at all.
Even if there are safe houses, it won't work, because they can't stay in the houses all day without coming out.
Lu Xuan said, "No rush, let's wait two more days."
The villagers and spectators all looked puzzled. What were they waiting for?
Lu Xuan: Of course, we'll wait for the rain.
Two days later, the temperature dropped to 20 degrees Celsius, and the parched land, which had been dry for more than two months, finally welcomed a long-awaited heavy rain.
It's raining!!!
The villagers, busy in the camp, felt the raindrops falling on their bodies and cheered from the bottom of their hearts, so excited that they were almost in tears.
It's finally raining!
The children jumped and skipped excitedly in the rain, grinning and laughing, as happy as a bunch of silly kids.
Li Tie chuckled for a while, then seemed to remember something and reminded the others: "Stop getting too excited, hurry up and get a container to fill with water."
They've been using the waterfall water they've stockpiled these past few days. Since they've never lacked water before, they didn't stockpile much, and they've already used up more than half of it in just a few days. This rain is a timely rain in every sense.
After regaining their senses, the villagers immediately sprang into action in a flurry of activity.
The water tank, wooden basin, and the plastic box that they had exchanged with Lu Xuan were all emptied out to collect water.
Even though they won't lack water in the next catastrophe, they should stockpile it as soon as possible without any effort; it won't be a loss.
The rain lasted for three days, which not only allowed the villagers to store a lot of water for daily life, but also gradually extinguished the raging wildfire that was spreading. When the rain stopped, the last embers were extinguished.
The wildfires have finally been extinguished.
After waiting for another hour, Lu Xuan said, "Let's go, let's go up the mountain to collect treasures."
Lu Chen's small face was filled with great confusion, "What treasure?"
Lu Qing and Lei Yan nodded in agreement. The mountains were probably all burned down, so what treasures could there possibly be?
The audience didn't understand either.
In fact, there are quite a few.
Animals that were unable to escape the wildfire had their fur burned and some of their meat cooked, but still contained a large amount of fresh raw meat inside.
In addition, there are countless newly formed charcoal trees, soaked and dripping wet from the rain, covering the entire mountainside.
The conditions for charcoal formation are complex yet simple; it simply involves heating wood to high temperatures in an oxygen-deficient environment.
While the conditions of wildfire and heavy rain may not be entirely met, there is indeed a certain probability of obtaining some charcoal formed from incomplete combustion.
A low probability isn't a big problem, as long as the scope is broad.
During the upcoming rainy season, temperatures can drop to below ten degrees Celsius, and after winter sets in, the climate will become extremely cold, the exact opposite of the hottest season.
Although air conditioners and other various heaters are usable, they are the most cost-effective for the villagers, as heating products that do not require any cost are essentially free charcoal.
A small group of people stayed behind to guard the camp, while the others went with Lu Xuan to the hilltop affected by the wildfire. They worked in groups of two or three, picking up charcoal and dead prey.
Aside from eating and sleeping, the group spent two whole days in the mountains, wearing the transparent raincoats they had exchanged with Lu Xuan, searching through wind and rain.
Even those with smaller harvests collected at least several hundred kilograms of charcoal, while others gathered as much as one or two tons.
The prey they found weighed anywhere from a couple hundred pounds to seven hundred pounds.
Of these finds, 10% must be given to public goods, and the rest belongs to whoever finds them.
Because there were too many items, Lu Xuan temporarily helped store the charcoal that couldn't fit in the containers, in addition to keeping the meat himself.
The task of drying the charcoal was also outsourced.
Two days ago, Lu Xuan drew a large dryer from a gold blind box. It can dry one ton of charcoal at a time, and it takes an hour to dry it completely. It can dry dozens of tons of charcoal in just a few days.
On the morning of the third day, when the others wanted to collect more charcoal, Lu Xuan said, "Let's stop here."
The women, who were particularly enthusiastic about the free supplies activity, looked surprised. Miao Jinfeng asked in astonishment, "Isn't there still a large area that hasn't been picked up? Are you just going to stop picking them up already?"
In two days, they hadn't even managed to explore the entire mountain, let alone the surrounding mountains. They were still far from being there.
Lu Xuan reached out and caught the rain that was falling again, saying, "The rain will become more frequent and heavier from now on. We should find another place to stay."
The women who had been trying to persuade Lu Qing to convince Lu Xuan to change his mind immediately fell silent.
The increasingly frequent rain means that they, who have just survived a period of catastrophe, are about to face another challenge.
This is no joke.
Miao Jinfeng quickly changed her mind: "Let's go! Hurry back and pack our bags!"
Back at the camp, Li Tie agreed with Lu Xuan's plan after learning about it: "Charcoal is important, but finding a new place to stay for the next disaster is more important. Pack up your luggage and tents, and we'll set off today."
Lu Xuan reminded everyone, "Don't pack all your luggage. Leave some food and a change of clothes outside. We won't be able to stay in this secluded place like we were in the mountains anymore. If you encounter other disaster victims, at least make a show of it."
Li Tie's expression turned serious: "I didn't even think of that until you mentioned it. That's right, we can't just casually reveal the existence of our personal space and let people guess that we have a lot of supplies on us."
Lu Xuan remained noncommittal.
The other villagers also knew what was important and quickly picked out some everyday items to keep.
As for what to use to carry these things, Lu Xuan bought a batch of cheap, sturdy, durable, and spacious backpacks from the mall and exchanged them for some supplies.
This large bag, which can hold more than a hiking backpack and is also waterproof, has become an instant hit.
Bullet comments:
[There's a flaw! Your outfits are so nice, how can this be such a glaring mistake!]
[More than that! Look at how plump and healthy these villagers are; any ten people could tell they've never suffered the slightest hardship!]
[But there's no way to hide it, we can't exactly make them lose weight first, lol.]
Lu Xuan remained calm: "Carrying a bag was just a formality anyway, even if someone notices something's wrong..."
He hit the nail on the head: "What can the outsiders do to me?"
Audience: ...That's true.
It's good enough if the streamer doesn't mess with people, why would they be afraid of being messed with?
[Tsk tsk, as expected, those with power are fearless.]
At least he was willing to let the villagers put on an act, even if the act was rather crude.
[I'm such a clown, genuinely worried about you :)]
With all the luggage packed, Lu Xuan waved his hand and released three two-carriage hoverbuses that he had bought in advance, as well as a luxury hover RV that he had purchased unplanned, into the open space.
The three buses are for the villagers; two are for people, and one carries a considerable number of poultry and livestock.
Needless to say, the luxury floating RV was for Lu Xuan's personal use.
Only the Lu family, the few people who helped transport the cattle and sheep last time, and Li Tie, whom Lu Xuan told them about, knew about the existence of the floating bus.
When the villagers were taken out, they were instantly astonished.
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