Chapter 35 Building an Under-Snow Tunnel
I woke up at 4 p.m.
The heavy snow outside the window showed no signs of letting up, and the snow on the ground was almost knee-deep.
I opened my phone and received a message from Sumi.
"Wow! Chengcheng! Are you a prophet? The temperature has dropped so drastically, and the snow has been falling for so long without stopping. This is really the end of the world!"
"How amazing you are! Thanks to your reminder, we've stockpiled enough coal and food at home."
"I actually lived through an extremely cold apocalypse, spending my days hiding at home eating snacks!"
"I'm so happy! Thank you for reminding me, Chengcheng!"
A series of messages filled most of my phone screen. Seeing that Su Mi was doing well, I felt relieved.
"Haha, I was just being cautious, I didn't expect the temperature to drop so badly. You need to take good care of yourself and your aunt and uncle."
After replying to Sumi's message, I quickly added honeycomb briquettes to each room and the stove.
If you don't take care of it for a while, the indoor temperature will drop.
After adding firewood, they went out fully equipped to shovel snow.
The heavy snow has been falling for several days and is expected to get deeper. Although we don't lack firewood now, I need to make sure I have a way to go out and get some.
If the snow gets too deep and covers the roof, I won't be able to get out. If there's no firewood after a month, I'll freeze to death.
I cleared the snow again, following the same route I had taken before.
Because the snow had been shoveled once in the morning, the snow that had fallen on the previously shoveled areas was very loose and not compacted, making it very easy to shovel this time.
The shoveled snow was piled up directly on both sides of the path.
Combined with the thickness of the snow that was already falling and the thickness of the snow piled up by me, the snow on both sides of the path was already waist-deep.
If the snow keeps falling like this, I can't shovel snow every day. That's not a good solution; it'll exhaust me.
We need to find a way to build a roof on top and create a snow-covered passageway that leads to the side rooms and firewood.
As for the specifics of how to proceed, we'll have to wait until the snow reaches a certain depth before deciding.
When I came back from shoveling snow and entered the room, a wave of heat hit me.
Compared to freezing to death in a room in my previous life, having such a warm shelter in the midst of a devastating snowstorm is incredibly reassuring.
Shedding the heavy cotton-padded coat and the chill, she changed into loose and comfortable home clothes.
After changing into my loungewear, it's time to feed the chickens and dogs.
Compared to the dozen or so chicks crammed into two cardboard boxes, the chicks are now living very comfortably in their coop.
Wandering around, digging at the fermentation bed, looking here and there, he was extremely happy.
Now that they've moved into the chicken coop, there's no need to feed them millet anymore; they should be fed some regular chicken feed instead.
There were always honeycomb briquettes in the stove, and water was always kept warm in the iron pot.
Take a handful of chicken feed and a handful of cornmeal, and mix them with warm water to form a paste.
Then pour it into the chicken feed trough. The chicks smell the aroma and rush over to peck at it.
This is the first time the chicken has eaten fragrant feed and cornmeal.
They crowded together, scrambling to eat, and soon finished it all.
Then I filled the chicken water dispenser with warm water.
The chicks first pecked some water into their mouths with their hard little beaks, then tilted their heads back and drank it.
This process was repeated over and over again, seven or eight times, which means I drank seven or eight sips of water.
In the past, my grandmother would feed the chicks warm water in winter, saying that it was cold in winter and they should drink something warm.
I fed them this way, just like my grandma did, and it seems the chicks really do like warm water.
Seeing the chicks eating happily, I turned to feed the puppy.
Mix warm water with goat milk powder in a pot until dissolved, then soak a handful of puppy food in the goat milk powder.
Once the dog food has softened a bit, give it to the puppy to eat.
The two puppies smelled the aroma of the dog food and started nudging each other like little pigs, getting white milk all over their noses and chins.
But that didn't stop them from finishing the whole bowl of milk foam dog food in no time.
After feeding the puppies, I used a towel to wipe their mouths clean.
I do basically nothing all day except eat, drink, and sleep.
So I wanted to spend more time on the details and take good care of the two little lives I had.
After finishing these tasks, I felt a little hungry.
But I ate too much at lunch and don't want to eat anything too filling.
So I cooked myself a bowl of wontons.
With the addition of fresh cilantro, sesame oil, and seaweed, it has a delicious flavor and a smooth texture.
After finishing my wontons, I wandered around the room to digest while looking at various vegetable growing guides.
I plan to learn how to plant the vegetables in a few days.
After wandering around for a while, I would lie on the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) and play on my phone.
The steaming kang (heated brick bed) warmed my skin, which felt incredibly comfortable and helped to expel the dampness from my body.
It was still snowing heavily around 8 or 9 p.m.
I went outside to take a look, and the snow on the obvious path in the middle was almost up to my calves.
I sighed; I had to go out and shovel snow again.
I put a super bright light inside the windshield and started shoveling snow by the light.
At that moment, I wasn't afraid that anyone would see the lights in the courtyard.
After all, with snow reaching waist-deep, how many people would dare to come to my remote little house?
After shoveling the snow, the snow on both sides of the path was almost up to my shoulders.
After returning to the house, I didn't rush to take off my clothes. Instead, I kept thinking that if the heavy snow continued, I probably wouldn't be able to get a peaceful night's sleep.
I have to come out to shovel snow every three or four hours, otherwise I might end up blocking the door completely.
However, the snow on both sides of the road is already so high that if we continue to shovel snow, it will only pile up higher and higher.
This will not only make snow removal more difficult, but also pose significant safety risks.
So I decided to build the underground passage under the snow tonight.
This saves us the effort of shoveling snow all night, and it's also more convenient than setting up a passageway tomorrow morning.
I put a flashlight on my head and got ready to get to work.
This is my plan: first, I'll pat the snow on both sides, up to shoulder height, to make it compact and smooth.
Then lay a wooden board, more than a meter long, flat on top, and then cover the board with a layer of plastic film.
This created a snow tunnel with snow walls on both sides and a wooden plank and plastic roof on top.
Because the snow provides strong support, and the passage is very narrow, there is no need to worry too much about too much snow damaging the passage.
So I went to the west wing and got a bunch of wooden planks and a roll of plastic film.
First, untie one end of the plastic film and place it directly on top of the path and the snow walls on both sides. Then, place a wooden board on top of the plastic film.
Then roll the plastic film forward, creating a width before laying a wooden board on top.
While moving the ladder, repeat the above actions.
Half an hour later, the snow tunnel was half completed, but I could really feel the cold.
Even with gloves on, my fingers were frozen stiff.
My toes, which were lining the snow-covered cotton, were also sore.
There was no rush, so I quickly returned to my room and warmed myself by the fireplace.
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