Although withdrawing avoided the sandstorm, they still had to continue their journey.
Their remaining water supply was already quite low; they couldn't find any more water sources along the way, and the land and sand were incredibly dry everywhere, with all the plants they encountered looking withered and brittle.
"Chen Yang, head that way. I feel that if we walk for another day or so, we'll be able to confirm my guess," Ding Qihan said, pointing in a direction.
“Okay, let’s move on,” Chen Yang said.
But not long after he finished speaking, Onggi collapsed.
Dehydration finally broke Wengji's body. He was just a scholar with poor health, and it was already quite an achievement that he had managed to hold on this long.
Chen Yang helped Weng Ji up and gave him some water.
"Let's find some wood and make a makeshift stretcher to drag him around," Chen Yang said.
They carried Wengji for a while, then found some poplar trees, made a simple stretcher, and two people in a group dragged Wengji along with their legs.
Wengji woke up half an hour later. He felt weak all over and wanted to get up and walk, but he couldn't get up at all.
"Professor Weng, you should rest. You are a treasure of our country. It would be terrible if you were to be lost," Hou Yu said with a smile.
Wengji really wanted to complain about him, but he didn't even have the energy to complain now, so he could only obediently lie on the stretcher to rest, hoping to regain his mobility as soon as possible.
"Make sure you drink plenty of water, in small amounts, to prevent dehydration," Chen Yang said.
Onggi collapsed from dehydration because he was trying to save water, which was hardly a wise choice. As a biologist, Onggi understood these things well, but that was just theory; in reality, he was at a loss as to how to handle the situation.
Ongji, who was being dragged along, felt extremely ashamed. He had never been so embarrassed before. He had dedicated his life to protecting nature, but he never imagined that one day he would be defeated by nature, and defeated so miserably.
"Chen Yang, wait a minute."
Lying on the stretcher, Ongji suddenly saw a plant. The characteristics of this plant flashed through his mind.
“That’s a poplar tree, and the ground there is relatively low and not very dry. If you dig down, you might find water,” Wengji said.
Chen Yang looked at the triangular-leaved poplar that Weng Ji had mentioned, and then led everyone over there.
"Professor Weng, lie down. If we find water, you can have the first sip," Ye Wu said with a smile.
Then everyone found two places that looked damp, picked up their knives, and started digging.
After digging for a while, they could clearly feel that the soil had become slightly damp.
“It’s quite damp here, come over here and dig,” Hou Yu said.
So the four of them took turns digging frantically into a hole. If they didn't find water, all their sweat would be wasted. But it was a risky choice worth taking.
"The soil is very wet, with water, but you have to squeeze it out," Ding Qihan said with delight.
"Keep digging," Chen Yang said.
The four men dug for at least another ten minutes before finally seeing water slowly seeping out of the soil. Soon, a layer of muddy-colored water accumulated in the pit they had dug.
"Quick, filter it."
They had anticipated the need for filtration and made a simple bamboo filter using nettle cloth and charcoal. Water was scooped out and poured into the filter, already filtered before flowing out the other end.
Ding Qihan and Hou Yu were in charge of filtering, Ye Wu searched for wood, Chen Yang started a fire, and the water filtered into the earthenware pot was placed on the fire to boil.
After the water boiled, Chen Yang collected some of it in a bamboo jar.
"Here, Professor Weng, this is the water you discovered. Have a taste." Chen Yang said with a smile, handing it to Weng Ji.
Wengji was much better now. He sat up, took the bamboo jar, blew on it gently to cool it down, and took a sip.
"This might be the worst-tasting water I've ever drunk," Ongji said. "But it tastes so good!"
Indeed, even after filtering and boiling, the water still had a strange taste and was still somewhat yellowish in color, not very clear or pure. But under these circumstances, what else could they complain about? As long as it was drinkable and free of germs, they were already content.
Everyone held a bamboo jar in their hands, blowing on it as they drank water.
"I really want a beer. I remember beer is brewed from malt, right? When we get back, can we brew some?" Hou Yu said, licking his lips as he looked at the yellow liquid in the bamboo jar.
“That’s right. If you can find hops, then you can brew it. We have the means to make the yeast ourselves,” Wengji said with a smile.
Hou Yu immediately turned his expectant gaze to Chen Yang.
"Don't look at me, I can only bring one hop into the micro-world, but wheat can also be used to brew other kinds of alcohol."
"Other alcoholic beverages are good, but sometimes it's just beer that really satisfies you. Looks like I can only comfort myself with water; at least it's yellow like beer."
Hou Yu drank the still slightly hot water in one gulp.
"Don't drink too quickly, especially if you're dehydrated," Weng Ji said.
Hou Yu nodded and said, "I understand the logic, just like you shouldn't drink or eat excessively after working out. But drinking like this really feels great."
"Ha, I think so too," Ye Wu laughed.
Just because of a muddy puddle of sewage, everyone's spirits were restored, as if they had been reborn.
Water truly is the source of life.
…………
While Chen Yang and his group were overjoyed to have obtained water, a group of people in the Tianyin Mountains also made an unexpected discovery.
On their way to the Loess Plateau, the guy who had come with them to broaden his horizons suddenly shouted at a certain spot. When they followed, they discovered that he had found a watermelon field.
In reality, everyone had already started eating watermelons, so the lucky guy knew what watermelons tasted and looked like. After spotting a watermelon, he quickly led everyone over.
This was a completely unexpected surprise, as it meant they would have watermelons to eat from now on.
The watermelon patch wasn't big, with only a dozen or so watermelons, none of which were fully ripe yet. They picked one that looked ripe and ate it; it wasn't very sweet, but it should be quite good after growing a little longer.
After noting down the location of the watermelon patch, the group continued on their way, planning to pick up the watermelons on their return trip.
It takes at least ten days to harvest wheat and herd cattle back from the Loess Plateau, which is just when the watermelons are ready to grow. If the cattle are successfully brought to the Tianyin Mountains, the weight of a dozen or so watermelons becomes insignificant.
Just as they were about to reach the boundary between the Tianyin Mountains and the Loess Plateau, the sky suddenly darkened, forcing them to speed up their journey to the temporary camp at the boundary.
But the rain seemed determined to get them out of there. It started raining when they were still five or six minutes away from the camp, and by the time they reached the camp, everyone was soaked to the bone.
It was a shower, the kind with strong winds, and the raincoat didn't keep out all the rain.
The makeshift camp had no dry firewood, so they had no firewood to start a fire. They could only collect some not-too-damp wood and put it in the camp to dry tomorrow before starting a fire. Soaked to the bone, the group had no choice but to leave.
Rain, it's so annoying.
(End of this chapter)
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