Chapter 14: The Door Is Here!
The small branches with splits were dragged out of the forest by Huai Yu, and the tree vine net, large enough to fit a person, was filled with pine needles and leaves.
The sun had already set. She quickly worked, hauling these to the edge of her tree house. She didn’t have time to sort them; instead, she hurriedly used a few bricks to outline a simple square near the center of the tree house, by the door.
She put the dry leaves inside, and with the flick of a lighter, Huai Yu stared at the flame, feeling a sudden sense of unease.
At the same time, she also felt an inexplicable sense of security.
After a moment, she ignited the dry leaves, then grabbed a slender branch to break it into pieces, slowly starting the fire.
In the dusk, the orange glow of the fire illuminated her face. Exhaustion and satisfaction intertwined, showing a calm expression on her face.
…
The tree house, which was a little over two meters high, didn’t block the heat from rising. Fortunately, the space was open, and the fire wasn’t too large. For now, it was fine for short-term use.
Huai Yu went outside to take care of nature’s call in the nearby area. She didn’t want to use the precious toilet paper unless absolutely necessary. There were only two rolls, and what if the critical moment came?
It was better to save the good paper for her period.
Thanks to the nutrients in her liquid food, which kept her sustained, she didn’t have to go to the toilet several times a day, even with all the labor and sweating.
When she returned after washing her hands in the pond, she noticed that the outline of her tree house was barely visible in the distance, and there was no light coming from it.
Huai Yu froze.
She had always thought that the waterproof tarpaulin was light, but now she realized it was actually quite heavy. It was only because of its thickness that it blocked the light.
She hadn’t considered that, in the deep wilderness at night, not letting light leak out made it much harder for others to find her, which was a huge safety benefit.
After she entered through the back door, a gust of wind blew by. Sparks from the fire pit, surrounded by bricks, flew toward the nearby haystack.
Although the distance was enough, any fire could be dangerous.
Huai Yu: …
She immediately decided to move the hay to a safer location!
She looked at the purified water in the container. There was some heavy sediment at the bottom. She tilted the big red bucket and carefully poured the purified water into it.
It was getting late, but she needed the water. After much effort, she cleaned the sediment and returned with half a bucket of water.
The flames of the fire flickered, and the entire tree house was brightly lit. It was far better than the past few days when she had to close her eyes as soon as night fell.
With some leftover bricks, she created a small platform and carefully placed the toothpaste, toothbrush, and other items she had gathered today on top.
The two precious rolls of toilet paper and sanitary pads were placed on the bedside bricks, center stage, easily visible.
After all the effort, once she added more firewood to the fire, Huai Yu felt that her nutritional liquid tasted better tonight.
After eating, the first thing she did was brush her teeth!
She carefully poured some water from the plastic bottle onto the cap and opened the new toothbrush. She brushed her teeth thoroughly, twice, and finally smiled happily!
Who knew how wonderful it felt to have a fresh, clean mouth?
She found a dry branch and set it up next to the fire to dry her clothes, which were a bit too worn and torn. The sleeve had a large hole, and the collar and front were badly ripped, making it almost unrecognizable. She wasn’t sure what material it was made from, but it wasn’t expensive—it looked like a cheap windbreaker.
She threw the jacket in the bucket and then took off her already unwhite T-shirt, which was thick but lacked elasticity.
The tree house was quiet. Even though there was no door, the heat from the fire was starting to spread.
She patiently scrubbed her clothes with the limited resources she had. When she finished, she hung them up to dry by the fire.
Afterward, she took off her jeans, which were caked in mud. She had to use purified water twice to clean them.
She didn’t change her underwear right away but instead sat down with a bundle of dry hay, slowly braiding it with the warmth of the fire.
She had tried making straw ropes before, but they fell apart. Braiding a curtain had the same result. The only thing left to try was braiding a rope, which was slow work, but she was determined.
The dry hay wasn’t as flexible as rice or reed straw, so she had to be careful not to break the stems.
After a lot of effort, Huai Yu had made a rough and uneven “door” by the time she lifted her stiff neck.
She measured the size of the door, finally satisfied, and hung it on a tree branch before propping it against the doorframe.
Finally, she had a door!
The room immediately felt much safer.
At the same time, the wind outside was blocked, and the warmth inside the room started to rise.
Huai Yu smiled happily. Out of a natural instinct for safety, she tied a thin vine on both sides of the door and hung it on the branches protruding from the doorframe.
Although it didn’t provide much defense, it was better than nothing.
Wow!
Walking around the enclosed space, she added more firewood to the fire and couldn’t help but marvel: with light, time seemed to stretch out!
She felt so energetic, no longer tired. She took out her new, white towel, wet it with the purified water from the bucket, and carefully wiped her body. She changed into fresh underwear.
Then she wiped her sleeping bag clean as well.
After washing her clothes and using up the last bit of water, Huai Yu stretched lazily.
She was truly amazing!
But the work wasn’t finished yet.
Huai Yu sat on her bed, listening to the soft dripping sounds of the wet clothes by the fire, and began braiding the hay again.
Tomorrow’s task was—heading into the mountains! She needed materials and food!
Before the heavy rain came, she wanted to build a small shelter and a toilet!
