Chapter 1032 - 51: Overcast Rain

A tranquil night quietly passed.

At Chen Wen’s campsite.

The sound of chopping wood startled Chen Wen awake, but the weather today was not very good.

Although it had been cold the past few days, the weather was generally clear, a kind of cold and sunny weather.

However, while the temperature had somewhat risen today, the skies had become overcast.

He sat up.

Across from him, Hua Yun was also thoughtfully gazing at the sky.

"I don’t like cloudy days."

Hua Yun spoke, "Cloudy days always bring a feeling of psychological oppression."

Hearing this, Chen Wen nodded, "That’s right, for us Survivors, cloudy days usually signify danger and difficulty."

Danger because if precipitation occurs and there’s no shelter, the body continuously loses temperature.

Even under thick trees, rain can carry away warmth.

Moreover, in such conditions, a fire can’t be made.

And difficulty because after rain, the survival area often becomes muddy, making movement extremely difficult.

Therefore, most survivors dislike rainy days when there’s no shortage of drinking water.

Hua Yun took a deep breath and suggested, "Today we need to hurry up and build a second shelter, or once it rains, we’ll definitely get soaked. People can manage, but if the food gets wet, it’s very troublesome."

Chen Wen nodded.

Their food was still stored in an open environment, with only a simple layer of pine needles covering it to prevent aerial thieves from spotting it.

"Additionally, we need to make a rain cover for the bonfire and stove."

Chen Wen said, "Otherwise, it’ll be very uncomfortable once it rains!"

While the two talked, others also got up.

Seeing the change in weather, everyone’s faces showed solemn expressions.

Gaston, who knew a lot about weather, said, "This weather is bad and we need to prepare. I estimate the rain might start today. It won’t be heavy, but it should last a long time."

Chen Wen nodded.

As Gaston said, this rain would definitely come, but the autumn rain is known for its persistent and steady flow.

Therefore, they needed to prepare for sustained heavy rain.

Chen Wen pondered for a moment and said, "Now we don’t have any other options, we must accelerate the speed of shelter construction. Roland, you collaborate with Adam to quickly build the second shelter."

Roland and Adam nodded.

Yesterday afternoon, under Chen Wen’s arrangement, they had cooperated to build a roof.

The cooperation was quite smooth.

Then Chen Wen looked at Gaston: "You and I will team up today. I plan to build a wooden cottage where the old wooden house was, to store our food. Help me."

Gaston nodded, "Alright!"

"Fred, you continue to chop wood and transport clay; these laborious tasks are currently up to you."

Chen Wen said, looking at Fred who had just sat up.

Fred nodded, not feeling any resentment. In fact, he was a bit pleased.

Compared to the tedious survival work, this kind of chopping wood and transporting resources is simple and straightforward, with a strong sense of accomplishment. Plus, it’s related to his former occupation.

This job perfectly fits Fred’s preferences.

Hua Yun continued to handle camp chores, cleaning the campsite, burying living waste, fetching water, and so on.

The work wasn’t heavy but was somewhat painstaking.

However, Hua Yun had temporarily adjusted to such work.

After organizing the camp.

Chen Wen and his team efficiently ate breakfast and quickly started to work.

...

Constructing the wooden house.

This task was quite simple for Chen Wen.

Building a wooden house is simpler and more convenient than a stone shelter.

One only needs to erect a framework with wood, fill the wooden frame with wooden panels, and finally lay a waterproof layer.

Gaston carried a few logs over, and Chen Wen quickly began his operation.

After marking on the wood for a while, he quickly sawed several notches using a saw.

Gaston cleared the remnants of the wooden house while watching Chen Wen’s actions.

Gaston is very familiar with Chen Wen’s approach.

This is a form of architecture from Hua Country’s traditional construction—mortise and tenon structure.

By carving notches into wood, a solid bond is achieved without needing glue and nails, a unique connection method.

The recesses Chen Wen was sawing were called mortises, and the protrusions to be cleared out later were called tenons.

Previously, Gaston had also studied this peculiar connection method.

However, what he learned was rather basic, applied it roughly and unfamiliar, unlike Chen Wen who was extremely skilled in mortise and tenon structures, something Gaston greatly admired.

Under Chen Wen’s dexterous hands, mortises and tenons continually appeared on the wood.

About an hour later, Chen Wen felt it was almost done.

He picked up a shovel, dug four grooves at the site of the old wooden house intending to erect the main beam.

Gaston poured the clay mixture into the grooves to reinforce the main beam.

Working together, they quickly erected the main beam.

After setting up the main beam, Chen Wen and Gaston waited for it to fully stabilize before proceeding to the next step.

However, Gaston was asked by Chen Wen to chop wood.

The next step required Fred’s assistance.

With Fred’s help, Chen Wen began constructing the framework.

Since Chen Wen intended to build a relatively tall wooden house, meant to store food for six people, he needed Fred to hold him up, serving as scaffolding.

With Fred’s assistance, Chen Wen placed the pre-treated mortise and tenon wood onto the main beam.

Using stones to hammer the mortise and tenon together, the framework was nearly complete.

The wooden house framework was finished, bringing them to midday.

The team hastily ate their lunch; during which light drizzle started to fall.

In the morning, after Hua Yun finished her chores, she had propped up four sticks around the bonfire.

Seeing the impending rain, she quickly opened a tarp and tied its corners to the sticks to protect the bonfire.

Although the protective measure was somewhat rough, it was quite effective against the light drizzle.

The arrival of rainfall heightened everyone’s sense of urgency.

Without needing Chen Wen’s urging, the team swiftly returned to their respective tasks after eating.

Throughout the afternoon.

The exterior of the second shelter was entirely completed, and half of the fireplace inside was fixed.

On Chen Wen’s side, he had built the wooden house.

At the tall part of the wooden house, Chen Wen firmly embedded wooden panels into the framework using a mortise and tenon structure, over which he laid a layer of tarp and clay mixture.

At the highest point were branches and leaves from pine and spruce, serving as waterproofing.

The wooden panels around the sides were not covered with tarp and clay mixture because the wooden house was for storing food, and having air flow ensures the food storage doesn’t encounter issues.

In the evening, under the drizzle, Chen Wen moved the food storage racks into the wooden house and transferred all the food inside.

Thus, confronting the sudden autumn rain.

Through intense and focused work, Chen Wen and his team successfully constructed two shelters and a food storage wooden house.

Moreover, during the evening, they all drank plenty of hot soup to ward off the cold.

Also preventing any colds that might result from working in the rain.

Come nighttime, everyone moved into the shelter.

The night shift took place in the outdoor makeshift tent, while others paired up in the shelter, successfully enduring this rainy autumn night.