"Have you eaten?" That was the first thing Li Jianguo asked Li Long.
"I ate at a friend's place just now. What about you?"
"We ate the dry rations we brought," Li Jianguo said. "This place was hard to find. We'd have had trouble finding our way in without Yundong."
"Yundong came?" Li Long looked around but saw no sign of Xie Yundong.
"He went to look at the willow rods. He said he remembered a few dozen big willows up ahead. They'll cut the rods there, carry them back here to heat over a fire, then weave them."
When Tao Daqiang saw Li Long, he hurried over and said:
"Brother Long."
"Finished digging your Earth Cellar?" Li Long asked him.
"I've cleared it out. I'll cut some branches in a bit." Tao Daqiang nodded vigorously. He knew he had been able to come this time because of Li Long's suggestion to the team, so he was very grateful to him.
Though he had already been grateful enough to Li Long before.
"Come on, let's help Old Gu finish his Earth Cellar first. Besides digging his own Earth Cellar, he has to build the stove. It's quite a hassle."
Gu Boyuan was in charge of cooking, so naturally the stove was his responsibility too. At the moment, he was laboriously digging his Earth Cellar. He was slower than the others, and by the time he came down, all the Earth Cellars in better locations had been claimed. He could only choose one that had collapsed. Collapsed though it was, at least he did not have to dig it from scratch.
When Li Jianguo and the other two arrived, Gu Boyuan smiled. Before he could say anything polite, Li Jianguo said irritably:
"I just want to get back sooner. Save the