Chapter 48: Dream
By the time the rain stopped, it was already April 2nd.
That noon, after Huai Yu happily finished eating a scallion pancake and had nothing else to do, she went to the shed, grabbed a handful of dry grass, and began trying to weave baskets by copying the patterns of the rattan baskets Lin Xuefeng had taught her.
After all, she was truly bored.
She had already gone up the mountain twice more. The newly bought pickle jars were stuffed full of pickled fiddlehead ferns. She had stockpiled an entire plastic bag full of dried lichens, and even wild onions filled half a bag.
With nothing better to do, she had also collected some red bricks and built two new stoves in the shed outside. Once the weather turned hot, she could cook all three meals out there.
Still, even with all this preparation, rainy days were boring enough to drive her crazy. Huai Yu had to keep finding chores to occupy herself; otherwise, just sitting around staring into space would make time drag and make her feel silly.
Now, studying the rattan baskets, she examined them with great care. But as she was looking, the light inside the house suddenly brightened.
She looked outside and saw that the gloomy, misty weather was clearing, with strands of light peeking through the sky.
It cleared up?!
Huai Yu dropped the dry grass in her hands and hurried outside. The outdoors was bright and lively—though the sun hadn’t fully come out yet, it was already enough to lift anyone’s spirits!
She leapt up in delight, dashed back into the house, and soon emerged with her small solar lamp.
Carefully and seriously, she picked a wide, unobstructed spot to place the lamp down properly.
After that, she put on her rain boots, grabbed her multi-purpose shovel, hopped onto her bike, and headed toward Sanqing Mountain.
If nothing else, she thought, I should chop down a couple of trees and make a clothes rack! If she didn’t dry the quilt soon, it would definitely get moldy.
Having learned from her last experience, Huai Yu was much more efficient this time picking trees, chopping them down, and sawing the trunks.
A simple clothes rack only needed two X-shaped crossed branches with a horizontal branch laid across the top—it didn’t have to be as thick or sturdy as the beams of her hut.
So she picked some large branches, quickly bundled together five suitable tree trunks, and dragged them down the mountain with all the twigs still attached.
After passing through the rose corridor, she tied the bundle to her bike. Even though it was still a bit tough to push, it was much better than dragging them through the muddy ground.
Though it sounded simple, it was actually exhausting. Plus, the trip was long. By the time Huai Yu returned to her treehouse, the bright light outside was already fading.
But this time it wasn’t because of rain—it was already 5 PM.
Taking advantage of the remaining daylight, she quickly tied the wet tree trunks into two stable stands.
She simply laid a horizontal branch across the top. It could stay outdoors for now—everything was already wet anyway, a little more dew wouldn’t hurt.
She then brought the solar lamp back inside. Instead of immediately lighting the fire and adding wood, she eagerly pressed the switch.
Click— the entire room lit up brightly.
In truth, the solar lamp hadn’t absorbed much sunlight today, so after a brief burst of brightness, the light dimmed to a soft, gentle glow.
But it was enough to light up her tiny treehouse—and enough to fill Huai Yu with joy!
The long-lost brightness made her spin around the room twice with excitement. Yet, having nothing else to do, she regretfully turned off the light to save power and started the fire again.
Tomorrow, when the sun comes out, I’ll lift up the waterproof tarp first. The two layers of leaves laid underneath had dried, and with some sunlight seeping through, the evaporation would speed up.
The dampness was unbearable.
Not only that, she needed to take out the dry grass under the bed to sun it again—otherwise, after a while, it would rot and might even grow bugs.
Thinking about it, Huai Yu started worrying again—
When I sell the bean sprouts and earn some points next time, I wonder if I could ask Captain Zhou if they have a folding bed or something to sell?
Most importantly…
She glanced around.
There shouldn’t be anything in the house that shouldn’t be here, right?
If it was convenient, maybe when the patrol car came again, they could help bring the bed over?
Otherwise, it would be really hard for her to manage it alone.
Her notebook was already crammed with countless small items she needed. Now she carefully added “bed” to the list, wondering how many points it would take to gather all the stuff she needed.
But she wasn’t anxious anymore.
After all, growing bean sprouts was a steady, sustainable business!
She lifted the lid of the basin. Thanks to the days of continuously lighting fires at home, the bean sprouts had grown quite tall.
Tomorrow! If it was sunny early tomorrow, she would first dry the quilt and the house, then go to the trading market!
With these bright hopes, even the damp quilt didn’t feel so unbearable anymore. Huai Yu drifted into a sweet, peaceful sleep.
In her dream, a blurred face was looking at her with deep guilt: “Xiao Yu, I’m sorry…”
Sorry for what?
She was curious, but before she could ask, the scene shifted.
There were huge crowds of people fleeing in panic, while uniformed officers with megaphones shouted themselves hoarse—
“Pollution mutation—do not approach plants—”
“Go to the temporary shelters—”
“Line up in an orderly fashion! Don’t bring too much luggage—”
Huai Yu looked around in confusion, guessing it must be scenes from the time of the disaster.
Then the dream blurred again.
In a remote corner, a girl with an indistinct face opened her palm. A seed sprouted and grew into lush green vines several meters long right in her hand.
The girl, full of excitement, showed the man in front of her:
“A-Yue, look! I have powers too! Wood element, just like you!”
“Wow! I think I’m even faster than you!”
She wrinkled her nose proudly:
“See? I told you heaven wouldn’t abandon me! I’m amazing!”
[Who’s A-Yue?]
Huai Yu blinked open her eyes in confusion during her sleep.
But soon, she drifted back into deep sleep, forgetting everything.
The rose branch by the bed swayed slightly, brushing the thick curtain, filling the air with a light, fresh floral scent.
The next morning, Huai Yu woke up feeling refreshed.
She blinked for a while, then jumped straight out of bed without even checking the time!
Lifting the curtain, she was greeted by the damp freshness of the morning breeze, making her sneeze hard.
The air was filled with the faint scent of roses.
Turning her head, she saw brilliant morning clouds blooming in the eastern sky.
