Encountering a Downpour

Ripples shimmered across the great river. A youth carrying a bow, arrows, and a long spear happily gathered bird eggs from the reed marsh.

During this morning's training, Zhou Ye had just speared two fish from the creek when he spotted several flocks of pheasants hopping about nearby.

Wasn't that naked provocation?

He first drew his bow and loosed an arrow. Unsurprisingly, pheasant: 0, arrow: -1? In his haste, he tried throwing the long spear as well, nearly making the spear -1 too.

But many things were lost beneath the mulberry tree only to be gained in the eastern corner. In the end, Zhou Ye was delighted to discover that there were actually many bird eggs in the grass? By now, he had already picked more than half a basketful.

For such a shameless egg thief, a flock of furious birds circled overhead. This made Zhou Ye burst out laughing. You little brats! If you've got the guts, come down and bite me!

But just then, a fierce gust suddenly swept in, scattering quite a few birds from the flock.

Looking up at the sky, he saw clouds rolling on the horizon as the wind blew harder and harder.

Zhou Ye's expression changed slightly. Was it about to rain heavily?

Although the fence wall had already been built, he was still sleeping in a tent. If it started raining, would he have to hide in the tent the whole time? He would not even be able to go outside?

This had to be his mistake. He had transported so many things over, yet he had not brought a rain cape or bamboo hat? And the residence in Little Homestead had not even been built yet.

Zhou Ye stopped hesitating and hurried back to his Little Homestead.

On the way back, he had already thought it through. Since his Agility was already +5, his speed had increased by a great deal again. If he hurried, he could make a round trip in one day... probably?

He only hoped the heavy rain would fall a little later, giving him time to bring back some rain gear.

He placed the basket of bird eggs in his tent. Zhou Ye then picked up the canvas backpack. All the important things were kept inside it, and carrying it on his back would not affect his movements. It truly was a fine item.

Zhou Ye had also prepared it so that if he ever needed to flee, he could simply grab the backpack and go!

There were also five prepared flatbreads in the backpack, along with a small packet of salt. Flour was meant for this, after all—it could be made into dry rations for travel.

After thinking it over, Zhou Ye wrapped the two fish in large leaves and stuffed them into the backpack as well. Leather armor, bow and arrows, waist knife, long spear... Seeing that everything was ready, he immediately sprinted toward Old Camp.

As he ran, Zhou Ye thought, If I really can't make it in time, then I'll just add points to Constitution and make a full-health revival!

Fortunately, perhaps because Zhou Ye moved quickly enough, he reached Old Camp shortly after noon.

Unfortunately, the instant he arrived at Old Camp's entrance, a torrential downpour came crashing down in his face, frightening Zhou Ye into dashing straight into the wooden cabin...

Looking out the window, he saw that the heavy rain had turned into a violent storm, and even the temperature was dropping rapidly.

Zhou Ye could not help feeling fortunate. If he had remained at Little Homestead, the dampness rising from the ground would have been heavy, and he would not even have had anything to cover himself with?

He could not help reflecting on himself. Everything had gone too smoothly before, and it seemed to have made him somewhat lax. Surviving in the wild was not easy. Not only were there all kinds of dangers, but he also had to face all sorts of harsh weather.

And in such a rainstorm, he could very well catch a chill. More frightening still, his health was so low that he was practically made of paper.

If he caught a chill, although he had cold medicine, there was no guarantee it would work? So staying healthy was still extremely important.

And so, after hiding in the wooden cabin until nightfall, Zhou Ye lay beneath a blanket, letting his thoughts run wild until he drifted off in a daze.

When he woke the next morning, sunlight had already spilled across the land, and a rainbow stretched across the distant sky. At some unknown point during the night, the rainstorm had quietly stopped.

This time, it seemed to have been a false alarm. But Zhou Ye had firmly remembered the lesson.

When he left, he put on the rain cape and bamboo hat. He also took two large pieces of canvas, which could be used to rig up an awning in an emergency.

He also took two bundles of hemp rope, one bundle of straw rope, and dug out several catties of iron nails from the tools.

Once he got back, he should build a residence as soon as possible.

Lastly, there was a blanket and a pillow stuffed with Black Crow Grass. Zhou Ye did not take everything away. He had already thought it through: Old Camp still needed to retain some daily necessities, in case he stayed here overnight in the future.

He also took a wooden basin, along with some more pots, bowls, ladles, and other utensils.

When Zhou Ye appeared at Little Homestead, there was even a basket brimming with mushrooms on his carrying pole. After such a rainstorm, mushrooms had sprung up everywhere in the mountains overnight, giving him another dish to eat.

After looking around Little Homestead, Zhou Ye felt relieved. The losses did not seem too severe.

Although he had forgotten to dig drainage ditches, Little Homestead itself stood on relatively high ground. Moreover, each tent had already been raised on a wooden frame and padded with thick dry grass.

There was nothing more to say. The next top-priority task was to build a residence that could keep out rain and wind.

The original bamboo rack had already been dismantled. While the ground was soft after the rain, he should dig the foundation first!

Right, and the drainage ditches around Little Homestead too...

Come to think of it, this residence would also be temporary. A proper residence would require an enormous amount of work and certainly could not be completed in a short time.

Zhou Ye planned to build a bamboo house where the original bamboo rack had stood. It would be somewhat like those bamboo houses in the south!

Of course, it would definitely be larger than the original bamboo rack. Besides a bed, it would have room for some other things as well.

The day after digging the foundation, Zhou Ye took an axe and a machete to the creek.

Finding quite a few broken stones and pebbles by the creek, Zhou Ye picked up several suitably sized pebbles, intending to use them later to practice Basic Throwing.

Because the creek flowed rather quickly, there was nothing in it apart from a few tiny catfish no longer than fingers.

Stepping across the reef rocks to the opposite bank, Zhou Ye entered the bamboo grove. But when he looked around, he could not help letting out an "Eh?"

Several small animals were darting about all over the forest floor. Looking closer, he saw that they were plump bamboo rats. There seemed to be quite a few of them?

After thinking for a while, Zhou Ye cut down two bamboo stalks and dragged them back to Little Homestead. He also cut off a long length of thin hemp rope before returning to the bamboo grove.

Using the thin hemp rope and some materials from the bamboo grove, Zhou Ye observed the paths used by the bamboo rats. He then set more than ten finished traps in succession. Whether they worked or not, he would just try his luck!

After finishing all that, Zhou Ye avoided the direction of the traps and continued cutting bamboo...