By linking my account to the check-in system, I became a leisurely traveler.

Chapter 203 We All Spent Rainy Days in the Wilderness [First Update!]

The rain started in the early morning and has continued until now.

It was around eight or nine in the morning, and Li Younan was too lazy to check the time.

After all, for people living in the wilderness, knowing the exact time doesn't have much practical significance.

He moved the rocking chair he had just made outside and sat under the eaves.

This spot offers a perfect view of the lake in the distance.

Raindrops fell on the lake's surface, each drop creating a small ripple. When the rain was heavy, the ripples merged together, blurring the lake's surface that had been reflecting the clouds.

The distant lake bay was shrouded in rain and mist, and only the general outline of the coniferous forest on the shore could be seen, a dark green mass.

Rainwater clung to the branches and leaves of the spruce and pine trees on the shore. When the wind blew, the water dripped from the pine needles and fell onto the withered branches and leaves on the ground, making a soft, rustling sound.

When it rains, you can't do anything.

However, Li Younan was not in a hurry. Instead, he took advantage of the break brought by the rain to comfortably stay under the eaves for a while.

He was completely unaware of the news reports happening in China, and he wasn't even sure what stage the program was at.

All I know is that this season of "Living Alone in the Wilderness" is different from the past. In the past, the show would be delayed until the final champion was decided, but this year it seems that each episode is produced and broadcast one by one.

This format makes the show more exciting—after all, even the production team doesn't know the final result, which makes the show more novel for the audience.

He gently rocked the chair and surprisingly felt a little sleepy.

I glanced inside and saw the little ewe lying quietly dozing by the fireplace.

Seemingly noticing Li Younan looking over, it raised its head slightly, then went back to sleep.

Because of the rain today, Li Younan moved it from the sheepfold outside into the shelter.

It's clear that this little creature really enjoys sleeping in the shelter, especially with the warm fireplace.

After the rain today, it was noticeably cooler.

Goats and sheep are different after all; goats prefer warmer environments.

Li Younan leisurely leaned back in the rocking chair and swayed for a while. Seeing that the rain showed no signs of letting up, he stood up and went back into the room to move the small table outside as well.

The rain falls vertically without the aid of wind, so there's no worry about it drifting over and getting me wet.

A teapot sat on the table, and Li Younan slowly poured himself a cup of hot tea.

He tried several kinds of tea, but in the end he still felt that Liulan tea tasted the best - after being stir-fried with some fragrant flowers, it already had a very strong tea flavor.

After drinking tea for a while, admiring the scenery, and contemplating life, Li Younan opened the lid of a ceramic jar on the table.

The jar contains fresh milk curds, which do not have a sour taste because they have not been fermented.

Moreover, this artificially made milk residue is not as hard as industrial milk residue, and it has a rich milky aroma when chewed.

After it rains, there's a legitimate reason not to go out, and the fish and meat stored at home can last for a few more days.

If there's really no fish or meat left, you can make ghee and fried starch, which can last for two meals.

There's no need to worry too much about the impact of bad weather. According to Li Younan's experience, rainy days are relatively rare by the lake, and this kind of rain usually doesn't last for more than two days in a row, so it's a good opportunity to take a break.

In the afternoon, the clouds rose slightly, and the rain turned into a drizzle.

A sliver of the distant mountain peaks peeks out, revealing grey-blue rocks. The forest at the foot of the mountains becomes clearer, each tree's branches glistening with a dark, wet sheen.

Li Younan pan-fried a piece of rainbow trout coated in starch for himself—compared to other fish, he preferred this freshwater fish with a texture similar to salmon.

The red meat contains many fat-like structures, and its meaty aroma is noticeably richer. It's quite delicious when paired with the special fruit sauce.

Seeing that the rain showed no signs of stopping in the afternoon, Li Younan decided to find something to do.

These past few nights, besides milking goats, he's been making this rocking chair.

The biggest challenge in making a rocking chair is the curved base.

To facilitate woodworking, he created a very useful tool: the axe itself was very sharp, and Li Younan made a wooden box that could hold the axe in, with a wooden handle inserted into the other end, thus forming a tool whose structure and function were comparable to a plane.

With this axe and plane, peeling, smoothing, and even planing curves in wood became much easier for him.

It was with this new tool that he was able to refurbish the old wooden table and smooth it out.

My own bed can also be re-polished.

However, before that, the more important thing for Li Younan was to make the wooden tub for bathing.

If we're not going to do it, we're not going to do it. But if we choose to do it, we should make sure to provide the best possible experience.

It just so happened that it had been raining these past two days, so Li Younan used the limited amount of wood to make planks for making wooden barrels.

With a modular axe and plane, this work can be done in more detail.

Split each plank into the appropriate size and plank it clean.

After baking and drying, it can even be polished with a plant fiber.

Unlike the wooden tubs used for storing water, this bathtub is for you to lie in. If you get pricked by wood chips, the experience would be terrible.

The process of making the bathtub is more complicated and meticulous, so it can't be rushed. Li Younan patiently took his time, since the rain outside was still pouring.

Feeling a little tired, I played with the little ewe lying there sleeping.

Compared to rams, ewes are much more docile.

Unless you attack its lambs, it rarely bumps into people unintentionally. The only unpleasant thing today was that this little thing actually left a bunch of pellet-like sheep droppings in the house.

Li Younan tapped its head twice in annoyance, but he also knew that there was no point in reasoning with a sheep.

The little ewe just stared at him, somewhat bewildered.

Fortunately, sheep droppings are different from other droppings. They are relatively dry, round and granular, and mostly contain hay, so they can be easily swept away.

Li Younan had just cleaned up the sheep droppings and dumped the filth in the sheep pen in the backyard when, as he turned around, the sheep suddenly stood up and ran towards the front gate.

Li Younan wasn't in a hurry and calmly put down the broom made of straw.

The little creature had just run out the door when it was stopped by the fence in the yard.

His current shelter has long been surrounded by an impenetrable fence.

This little creature isn't a feline; it can't jump over a fence that's nearly 1.2 meters high, especially since its leg injury hasn't fully healed yet.

The rain was pouring down, and soon the little ewe was soaked through.

It bleated a few times, then turned around and Li Younan leaned against the door with his arms crossed.

Li Younan yawned, looking at the little gadget with a half-smile.

Finally, it slunk back, only to be kicked in the rear by Li Younan, which finally made it behave again.

Li Younan couldn't help but laugh out loud, and then leisurely lay back on the rocking chair again.

The little ewe had completely given up hope this time. Looking utterly hopeless, she lay down in front of the fireplace and fell asleep without a care in the world.

Li Younan glanced at the little ewe, then at the rain curtain, and gently closed his eyes.

rain?

What a beautiful rainy day!

……

What a darn rainy day!
Connor swore she had never loathed rainy weather on such a soul level in her entire life.

She huddled in her low-ceilinged shelter, complaining to the camera once again.

This time, however, she was filled with deep weariness: "I don't know how long this rain will last. I really wish I could leave the shelter right now."

"Damn it, I haven't eaten for three days. Although we have waterproof clothes and boots, the rain has brought muddy ground."

“Walking on such a muddy path is easy to slip on, and your shoes will most likely get stuck. It would definitely be a terrible experience. But what can I do? My gillnet is still by the lake.”

At this point, she sighed deeply and turned off the camera.

She put the gillnet in the lake yesterday.

She had finished eating and felt extremely weak.

Because of the rain, there was no way to even light a fire for warmth... She didn't prepare enough firewood to put in the shelter, and the firewood at the door was all wet.

There was a small stove in her room, but because the ventilation system wasn't properly designed, the smoke from the fire stung her eyes when it was lit.

She had originally planned to spend some time today adjusting the ventilation system, but this damn rain ruined all her plans.

However, she was more concerned about the gillnets by the lake than about that.

She lay anxiously in bed for a while, then couldn't help but sit up, grab her camera, and say, "No, guys, I have to go to the lake today."

Because she knew very well that although as a woman she was naturally more resistant to hunger than a man, three days without normal food had already significantly reduced her physical strength.

If this drags on any longer, her physical condition will worsen, making it more difficult for her to obtain food and increasing her chances of being eliminated.

So she put on a waterproof suit and decided to go out in the rain anyway.

Just as she had predicted, the ground outside had become very muddy due to the heavy rain.

In some places, stepping into the mud would submerge half of the boot, and the resistance of the mud when lifting the foot felt like Satan's hand dragging her foot down.

She took a deep breath, composed herself, and suddenly smiled at the camera: "It doesn't feel so bad, really, guys. We have to find guidance that helps us in life through all sorts of things."

"Overcome difficulties, stay optimistic... I have to take back what I just said, I also like rainy days. God will bless me, will bless me to pull a fat fish out of the gillnet."

She tried to grin, but the smile faltered and drooped down her cheeks. However, she didn't stop moving towards the lake.

The rain hadn't stopped, and the mud underfoot was as soft as rotten cotton. She slipped after taking a few steps, so she bent her knees and knelt down heavily, pressing her palms into the wet mud, which covered her forearms as well.

Not far along, he tripped over a dead branch buried in the mud and stumbled forward, his chest brushing against the grass. Mud dripped down his trouser legs, mixing with the rainwater and sticking to his legs, chilling him to the bone.

What should have been a 20-minute walk took more than 40 minutes that day.

Every step felt like walking on cotton, heavy and unsteady. When she finally reached the spot where the barbed wire was set up, she stood by the lake, panting for a long time. Her chest heaved, and she barely had the strength to lift her hand.

She slowly squatted down, her fingertips stiff with cold, and shakily grasped the end of the gillnet rope, pulling it back.

The net rope was wet and slippery, so she gripped it tighter, gently biting her lower lip. Her voice was very soft, as if afraid of disturbing something, as she repeatedly murmured, "God help me, even just one will do..."

As the net was slowly lifted, initially carrying only some water plants and debris, her heart sank. But the moment the net left the water, two large, silvery-white fish began to thrash about inside, their scales still glistening with water droplets in the dim light.

She stared at the two fish for two seconds, then suddenly felt a pang of sadness, and tears welled up unexpectedly, mixing with the mud and rainwater on her face and streaming down her cheeks.

She couldn't hold back, nor did she want to. She just squatted by the lake, her shoulders trembling slightly. Her sobs were low, but much more genuine than her earlier murmurs—they were tears of exhaustion and relief, as if all the grievances and tension she had accumulated along the way were finally released through these two fish.

(End of this chapter)