I am a local in North America

Chapter 14 Rabbit Hut Pets
When he was in elementary school, Su Jierui used to keep a rabbit in his yard.

As the rabbit grew bigger, its droppings piled up into "small mountains" every day, weighing a pound or two, and its urine had a strange odor.

It's fair to say that rabbits aren't really suitable as domestic pets, unless the owner is exceptionally diligent, like someone with OCD who changes the wood shavings and changing pads several times a day.

Su Jierui received many scoldings from his parents and sister for this, and he himself found it troublesome. Fortunately, a friend wanted the rabbit, so he gave it away.

Su Jierui's family was not poor. His family had worked hard to save money since his great-grandfather's generation. They worked on other people's fishing boats until they finally owned their own fishing boat in the 70s. Through hard work and frugality, they left behind a fortune.

His family was considered middle class in Seattle in his early years. Buying a house was relatively easy back then. At least Su Jerry's family had a terrace and backyard by the sea, while his friend's family lived in an apartment.

Naturally, his friend eventually got scolded by his family for making his house stink because of the rabbit, which resulted in the rabbit being given away again and living happily on a small farm.

At this moment.

The sky was already darkening, and night was about to fall.

Walking towards the campsite through knee-deep snow, I soon saw snowflakes falling and snow being blown off the branches by the wind.

Not far after walking, I heard some noise. I turned around and looked, and saw that the unfortunate old snowy owl had finished eating the fish's innards and then spread its wings and flew away. It looked quite big.

The snow on the ground was too thick, and the weather was extremely harsh, making travel increasingly difficult.

After finally returning to the camp, Su Jerry first lit the fire in the fireplace, which not only brought him warmth but also a comfortable light.

Immediately afterwards, he took a pot outside to collect snow, put in a very fresh yellow perch that was more than 20 centimeters long, and prepared to stew a pot of fish soup to warm himself up.

I was exhausted from fishing today, but thankfully the catch was very good, which will give me about 10 more days to go.

Before entering, brush the snow off your shoes. Otherwise, the snow will melt into water, increasing the humidity in the shelter. It will take two or three hours to dry, and everything from your clothes to your sleeping bag will be wet, which is not a pleasant experience.

The cold wind, carrying snowflakes, crept in through the crack in the door, but was dispelled by the warmth gradually rising from the fireplace.

While you could further seal the leaks, it's no longer necessary. The firewood in the fireplace will burn all night, and if the space is too enclosed, it could lead to poisoning, and in the worst case, even death.

Compared to such a serious cost, a slight draft is acceptable, as long as it doesn't make you too cold to sleep.

His gaze was fixed on the ignorant little snowshoe rabbit.

The little guy didn't know the power of the flames, he only knew that it was very warm. Suddenly, he kicked his hind legs and almost jumped into the fire. Even a small part of his mustache was burned, giving off a peculiar burnt smell.

"Damn it! Come back right now!"

With lightning speed, Su Jierui darted forward, grabbed the Snowshoe Rabbit cub, and pulled it aside, saying with a wry smile:

"I didn't want to eat you, but you actually crawled into the fire yourself, wanting to become a roasted rabbit, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside?"

"Don't frame me, or the viewers in front of the screen will think I'm a shameless hypocrite who says one thing and does another, saying I'll be your pet but then turning around and making you smell delicious."

"The fact that I'm not feeding you as a reserve food is already the greatest kindness I can show you right now, so please don't tempt me with the smell of roasted rabbit again."

A while later.

The orange flames flickered, and the fish soup simmering in the pot began to bubble, emitting an enticing aroma, but Su Jerry forgot to enjoy it.

He pushed the restless little rabbit to a corner and watched it start sniffing around curiously again. It was a rare moment when the shelter was no longer lifeless.

It's said that wild rabbits are temperamental, but perhaps because they were frozen in the wild, this snowshoe rabbit cub was quite well-behaved, only curiously looking around at everything in the sanctuary, and even trying to bite his clothes and shoelaces.

I was worried that its bowstring, shoes, and other key supplies would be damaged, and the smell was also quite unpleasant, so I definitely couldn't keep it in the shelter.

"Just wait."

He spoke to the rabbit, almost as if talking to himself: "After I've filled my own belly, I'll make you a little shelter from the wind and snow."

After quickly finishing the steaming hot fish soup, a warm current spread from my throat to my limbs, dispelling some of the chill and fatigue.

Su Jierui wiped his mouth, his energy returning. Despite the darkness outside, it was only four or five in the evening, and his biological clock was still perfectly alert.

The ground was covered in snow, which was perfect for using whatever materials were available.

Just do it.

He pushed open the door, and a rush of crisp air hit him, while snowflakes continued to fall.

The rabbit hutch was chosen not far from the shelter's entrance, in a relatively sheltered corner. He first used his feet to roughly clear a space about 3 meters long and 2 meters wide, sweeping away the snow to reveal the frozen tundra beneath. Then, with his thickly gloved hands, Su Jerry continuously gathered the loose snow around him, patting and compacting it, building a rudimentary snow wall about 1.2 meters high along the edge of the cleared space, much like building a wall.

The snow wall looked incredibly fragile, as if it would collapse at the slightest push, much like a snowman.

The snow walls are still too loose to be used directly for raising snowshoe rabbits.

Afterwards, Su Jierui started boiling water and carefully poured pot after pot of cooled ice water onto the snow wall.

When water encounters extremely cold air and ice and snow, it changes rapidly. With a hissing sound, a layer of crystal-clear ice shell covers the snow wall at a speed visible to the naked eye.

After repeatedly returning to the house to melt the snow and watering it several times, the snow wall that was originally easy to push and crumbled gradually turned into a solid and smooth ice crystal fortress, so sturdy that even if you kicked it hard, you would only feel pain in your toes.

He had already mastered this skill a few days ago when he was reinforcing the walls of the shelter.

After working for more than an hour, a simple yet practical rabbit hutch gradually took shape. He then walked to the edge of the camp again, cleared away the thick snow, and collected the relatively dry branches underneath.

These branches were left over from the construction of the shelter, and now they've come in handy.

These branches of varying lengths are layered and stacked on top of the rabbit hutch enclosed by the snow wall to form a simple roof. This not only blocks the falling snow and prevents the snowshoe hares from escaping, but also provides some protection against attacks from snowy owls and red foxes.

No one was rushing him to work, and he maintained a comfortable pace throughout. After finishing, he patted the ice crystals off his gloves and looked at his work with satisfaction.

After settling the snowshoe hare cub in, Su Jerry observed it for a while, then found some dry grass for it, covered it with dry branches, brushed off the snowflakes, and returned to the shelter to warm up.

The firewood was still burning, and I sat by the fireplace warming my feet, the smell of my stinky socks was indescribable.

Su Jierui poured himself a cup of hot tea made from spruce leaves and said:
"Some people might think that it was irrational of me to waste my precious energy on that little rabbit."

"But in the long polar night and lonely environment, keeping a cute little pet can help me maintain a healthy mind, which may be more important than storing more fish. Don't many people living in the city keep cats and dogs to relieve loneliness?"

"Of course, under such harsh conditions, I have to stay clear-headed and not get too emotionally attached to this rabbit, lest it escape one day or unfortunately become dinner for other animals. Just consider it... a way to find some lively fun for myself in this silent wilderness."

Done.

Su Jierui smiled from the bottom of his heart.

Compared to the torment of enduring each day, he hoped to be more positive and composed, to rediscover his love for this wilderness, and to avoid the continued accumulation of negative emotions that could affect his physical and mental health.

"If I remember correctly, I think I was the first contestant in 'Living Alone in the Wilderness' to keep a pet? And it was a delicious rabbit, no less. I'd rather not keep a red fox; I've heard its meat has a strange smell and is particularly unpalatable."

Thinking that tomorrow will mark three months since he participated in the show, Su Jierui himself finds it incredible that he has actually made it through.

Facing the action camera, he announced his plans for tomorrow in advance:

"Tomorrow will mark three months, and I'm going to have a little celebration. I'll take out my treasured deer oil and fry up a sumptuous meal of smoked deer leg and fish."

"The temperature has dropped sharply these past few days, and the body urgently needs fat to replenish energy and resist the cold."

"My weight has dropped slightly. I weighed 172 pounds when I first came to participate in the show, but now I only weigh 163 pounds. This won't do, as I didn't have much body fat before the competition."

Night fell over the land, and the cold wind blew through the snow-covered forest, making occasional noises.

But within this campsite, the slight interaction with the rabbits made it seem less desolate.

Before going to bed, Su Jierui made a special trip to check on the little rabbit and gave it a spare new "toilet" to keep warm. The size of the indentation in the middle of the wooden stake was just right for it to crawl into.

In addition, he also set up several traps next to the rabbit hutch using the remaining steel wire, mainly to keep out red foxes and ferrets.

That night.

Whether it was due to the high carbon monoxide concentration or the relief of psychological stress, Su Jierui had a rare good night's sleep, sleeping for 6 hours straight before being woken up by the cold, and then sleeping for another 2 hours after adding firewood.

However, the daylight hours are shorter, and you will still be in the night when you wake up.

After checking on the little rabbit and feeding it some hay again, Su Jerry continued chopping wood, boiling water, and cooking breakfast.

After frying some smoked venison leg meat, I noticed some venison fat still on the surface of the iron pan, so I boiled some water to let the venison fat melt into it, ensuring that not a single bit of fat was wasted.

A few more days passed like this.

During this time, Su Jerry neither caught any fish nor hunted any other food. He simply went out to continue searching for dead trees and carried them back to camp over a long distance.

With nothing else to do, besides raising rabbits, he also made a target and often practiced archery for his own amusement.
(End of this chapter)