Chapter 29: Chapter 29: A Completely Natural Cellar

Several days passed in a row.

With the help of Nan Feng and the others, the basic structure of the cave dwellings had already taken shape.

Gen brought news that Wu’s original plan to come over had been put on hold, because something had come up with the Bird Tribe that required Wu’s personal attention. By the time Wu could make it over, it would probably be the rainy season.

“Chang Xia, come here—”

Suddenly, Shen Rong called out to Chang Xia, asking her to come over.

He was working on the outermost kiln at the front, hollowing it out according to Chang Xia’s specifications. Each cave was made spacious, and with a design of one door and three windows, the interior was bright and airy.

“Shen Rong, what’s up?” Chang Xia poked her head out and asked.

She was experimenting with mixing yellow earth, weeds, and tree resin, trying to find the best ratio for making mud walls.

“There’s a problem with this wall,” Shen Rong said seriously.

He waved her over, pointing at the wall behind him, his face grim. After several days of work, they’d reached the stage of building the mud walls. According to Chang Xia, after a couple more layers of mud and installing the doors and windows, they could move in. Of course, if they wanted to be fancy, they could make some furniture—tables, chairs, cabinets, beds, and so on.

“What’s wrong with the wall?” Chang Xia washed her hands in a wooden bucket and walked over to Shen Rong. Nan Feng and the others, who were working nearby, followed curiously.

Shen Rong knocked on the wall with a thud-thud.

“It’s hollow.”

He was certain there was an empty space behind the wall.

Judging by the sound, it wasn’t a small space.

Everyone looked at each other in surprise.

“Let’s pry it open,” Chang Xia decided after thinking for a moment. She had originally wanted to dig deeper and make a large cellar or storage room, but Shen Rong had refused, suggesting instead that it would be better to dig on the shaded left side.

With that, everyone stepped back.

Shen Rong waved his hand and, as easily as slicing tofu, cut open the wall.

Suddenly, a deep, pitch-black hole appeared before them, a cool breeze rushing out to greet them. The air was fresh, with no musty smell of rot. Clearly, this cave was deep, possibly connected to somewhere else.

“It really is hollow!”

“What should we do now, Chang Xia?”

Chang Xia: (＃￣～￣＃)

Everyone exchanged glances. Chang Xia had surveyed the area before building the cave dwellings, so the sudden appearance of a hole was quite odd.

“Let’s get a torch and go in,” Chang Xia said.

Giving up was not an option. They needed to go in and see what this cave was all about.

In no time, Ya Dong had put together several torches.

Everyone took one. Led by Ya Dong and Shan Kun, Chang Xia and the others entered the newly discovered cave.

“It feels like we’re going downhill…”

“There’s a breeze, and it’s pretty cold.”

“Cold is good,” Chang Xia said, her face lighting up with a happy smile. The chill reminded her of a refrigerator. This cave was the perfect natural cellar. Of course, they still needed to make sure it was safe.

“Chang Xia, what’s good?” Nan Feng patted her on the shoulder, curious.

Chang Xia’s physical condition had been improving day by day, to everyone’s amazement. If she weren’t ill, she would surely have awakened her bloodline power and become a powerful totem warrior.

“A cellar,” Chang Xia explained. “I’d been thinking about digging a cellar to store things—fruit powder, wild vegetables, meat, and so on. The cellar should be deep, wide, and most importantly, not facing the sun.”

After hearing this, everyone looked around the cave.

It seemed…

This cave that had suddenly appeared was perfect for the job.

“This cave might have been some kind of wild animal’s den,” Shen Rong analyzed, looking around. “But it’s been abandoned for a long time—maybe the animal died or left.”

The cave was spacious, about four or five hundred square meters—almost as big as the cave dwellings above.

Up ahead, Ya Dong called out, “Chang Xia, there’s an exit over here. Looks like it leads to somewhere upstream of White Lake. There’s no danger.”

Chang Xia went over to check.

She confirmed that the exit was safe, and there were claw marks inside the cave that had been worn smooth over time.

Just as Shen Rong had guessed, this had once been a wild animal’s den, but it had been abandoned for a long time.

“I want to build a door at the exit to seal it off. Then we can expand and renovate this cave into a cellar for storage,” Chang Xia said to Shen Rong.

Shen Rong nodded. “Good idea.”

There was no need to dig a new cellar—this cave was perfect. With some repairs and tidying up, it would be ideal for storing things.

After inspecting the cave, everyone returned to the cave dwellings.

The open space in front of the caves was piled high with wood, stone, and resin.

The caves had been hollowed out, and the walls had already been coated with one layer of mud. Once Chang Xia finished mixing the dry mud, they’d do two more layers and then install the doors and windows.

“These cave dwellings are so beautiful and bright!” Nuan Chun said happily.

She couldn’t hide the envy and jealousy in her eyes as she looked at the caves.

But then she remembered that her own family would soon be building a cave dwelling too, and all her feelings turned into anticipation. Nan Feng and Ya Dong wore the same expression.

“Are you sure you want to wait until mine is finished before you start?” Chang Xia asked.

The caves were already dug out, and she and Shen Rong could take their time finishing up. She knew Nan Feng and Nuan Chun were eager to build their own caves—after all, compared to animal dens, cave dwellings were much more comfortable.

Unlike the cold, damp mountain caves, these dwellings faced the sun and felt spacious and cozy. Living here would be warm and comfortable.

If it weren’t for the fact that it wasn’t finished yet, Chang Xia would have wanted to move in right away.

“I’m not in a hurry,” Nan Feng said, shaking her head, though she didn’t really mean it.

Nuan Chun agreed, “Yeah, we’ll wait until you’ve got your doors and windows in before we start.”

After all, they didn’t plan to build theirs as big as Chang Xia’s.

Normally, three caves would be enough for a family. Even if they needed storage, they could just dig a small cellar.

They knew Chang Xia was building so many caves because she was thinking of Wu and Bai Qing.

Otherwise, who would need so many rooms just for daily living?

So, whether it was the southern wind or the warm spring, they weren’t in a rush to start building the kiln right away.

“Alright. Once I finish building mine, I’ll be able to help you guys too,” Changxia nodded. She’d been so busy with the kiln these past few days that she hadn’t even had time to experiment with fruit flour.

Once she got the right ratio for the dried clay, she handed off the doors and windows to Chen Rong.

That gave Changxia some time to experiment with fruit flour, hoping to make rice noodles and improve their meals.

Most of the wood Nan Feng and the others brought was ironwood.

Coincidentally, Changxia thought ironwood was perfect for doors and windows. It was hard enough to keep out insects, snakes, and even wild beasts.

She made the walls extra thick—not just for the fire wall, but also to guard against animal attacks. After all, the Twilight Forest wasn’t safe, and even the tribe had to keep totem warriors on patrol.

It was necessary to be prepared.

Thinking about moving into a clean, tidy kiln soon, Changxia was full of motivation.

After countless failed attempts, she finally found the best ratio of dry loess, weeds, and resin. The mud walls came out smooth and neat, with just the right finish—both sturdy and attractive.

Changxia shared the formula with Warm Spring and asked her to help mix it.

Then she went to find Chen Rong to start making the doors and windows.

After reinforcing the gable with earth weights and installing the doors and windows, the kiln was basically done. The rest could be finished slowly. The thick loess layer was solid enough that Changxia didn’t bother with wooden supports for the roof—she thought that would ruin the kiln’s rustic beauty.

Chen Rong was skillful and thoughtful.

Changxia only needed to roughly describe the style she wanted, and Chen Rong could make it happen. This really sped things up. Understanding something was one thing, but actually making it was another.

Sure enough, men and women working together made everything easier.

Her Chen Rong was the best ε=(´ο｀*)))。