For days.
With the help of Nan Feng and the others, the house cave had already taken shape.
Root had sent word that the shaman's original plan to come over had been put on hold because something had happened to the birds at the last minute and the shaman needed to go to the birds himself to take care of things. He would go back and forth, it might be the rainy season when the shaman would come back.
"Chang Xia, come here—"
Suddenly, Chen Rong shouted Chang Xia's name and asked her to go over.
He was at the house cave on the farthest side of the front. According to Chang Xia's request, each hole was very spacious. Coupled with a three-window setting, the inside of the hole was very bright.
"What is it, Chen Rong?" Chang Xia asked, poking her head out.
She experimented with loess, weeds, and resins, trying to create the formulation most suitable for mud walls.
"There is something wrong with this wall," Chen Rong said sternly.
He waved at Chang Xia and pointed to the wall behind him, his face ashen. After a few days of hard work, they'd progressed to the mud wall. According to Chang Xia, they'd be able to move in after adding a few more rounds of mud and installing the door and windows. Of course, if they were particular, they could make some furniture, like tables, chairs, cabinets, and beds.
"There's something wrong with the wall. How so?" Chang Xia reached into the wooden bucket to wash her hands and walked towards Chen Rong. Nan Feng and the others, who were busy nearby, followed curiously.
Chen Rong thumped on the wall.
"It's empty."
He was pretty sure the wall was empty.
From the sound of it, the empty part wouldn't be small.
Chang Xia and the others looked at each other.
"Poke it open—" Chang Xia began, then thought better of it. She wanted to dig deeper to make a large cellar/storage. Chen Rong had refused and suggested that digging in the shade on the left side would be more appropriate.
With that, they stepped back.
Chen Rong waved his hand and easily cut through the wall like tofu.
A dark and deep hole suddenly appeared in front of him, and cold air greeted him. The air was fresh, and there was no smell of rotting mold. Clearly, this hole was very deep, and it might be connected to somewhere.
"It really is empty!"
"Chang Xia, what do we do now?"
Chang Xia was dumbfounded.
Immediately, everyone looked at each other. Chang Xia had built a house cave here, so she had naturally investigated the vicinity. It was strange that a hole had suddenly appeared.
"Make a torch and go in," said Chang Xia.
She naturally couldn't give up. Now, she had to go in and see what was going on with this hole.
In an instant, Ya Dong fiddled out a few torches.
They each held a torch. With Ya Dong in the lead, Chang Xia and the others walked into the cave that had suddenly appeared.
"I think it's going down…"
"It's windy and quite cold."
"Cold? Very good."
The last word was Chang Xia's. Cold. It made her think of the refrigerator. Instantly, Chang Xia's entire face couldn't help but fill with a happy smile. The hole was entirely ideal for a natural cellar. But she needed to make sure it was safe.
"What's good, Chang Xia?" Nan Feng inquired, clapping her on the shoulder.
For the past few days, Chang Xia's body had been getting better day by day. It was amazing and people could not help but feel emotional when they saw her.
If Chang Xia wasn't sick, she would definitely be able to activate her bloodline power.
She could become a powerful totem warrior.
"A cellar," Chang Xia said. "Previously, I thought I'd dig another cellar and use it for storage for things like powdered fruit, wild vegetables, and meat. The cellar has to be a little deeper and a little wider. Most of all, it can't be open to the sun."
When she was finished, everyone looked around the cave.
It was as if…
The cave that had appeared out of nowhere was very suitable.
"The hole could have been the lair of some beast. Only, it was deserted a long time ago, perhaps the beast died, or left."
Chen Rong looked around the cave, analyzing it.
The cave was spacious, about four to five hundred square meters.
The area was almost as large as the house cave above.
Ahead, Ya Dong's voice said, "Chang Xia, there's an exit here. I think it's somewhere upstream of White Lake. No danger."
Hearing this, Chang Xia walked over to check.
She confirmed that the exit was indeed fine. There were polished claw marks inside the cave.
It should be as Chen Rong had said. A long time ago, this place was the nest of some kind of beast. Looking at the situation in the cave, it had been abandoned for a long time.
Chang Xia looked at Chen Rong and said, "I want to build a gate at the exit and seal it. This cave will be expanded and modified into a cellar so that it's convenient to store things."
Chen Rong nodded and said, "Sure."
There was no need to dig the cellar at all. The cave was perfect. It just needed to be repaired, tidied up, and stored with items.
After checking the cave, everyone returned to the house cave.
The empty space in front of the house cave was piled high with wood, stone, and resin.
The house cave had already been dug, and the mud had been used once to improve its appearance. When Chang Xiasummer was done mixing the dry mud and applying the mud twice, it could be used as a door-window.
"The cave is so beautiful and bright!" Nuan Chun said happily.
She looked at the cave with undisguised envy and jealousy.
However, thinking that her family would soon build a house cave, all her emotions turned into anticipation. Similarly, Nan Feng Ya Dong had the same expression.
"Are you sure you want to wait until I'm finished here?" Chang Xia asked.
The house cave had been dug. She and Chen Rong could clean it up slowly. She knew that Nan Feng and Nuan Chun could not wait to build their house caves. After all, compared to a beast lair, the house cave was much more comfortable.
Unlike the cold and damp cave, the house cave didn't seem cramped at all. It was warm and comfortable to live in.
If it wasn't for the fact that it wasn't ready yet, Chang Xia would have just moved in.
"I'm in no hurry," Nan Feng said against her will, shaking her head.
"Yes," Nuan Chun agreed. "We will wait until you have the doors and windows secured before we act."
After all, they did not intend to build a house cave as big as Chang Xia's.
Normally, three holes was enough to live in. Even if they had to store things, they could dig a cellar or something.
They knew that Chang Xia had dug so many holes, probably in consideration of the shaman and Bai Qing.
Otherwise, there was no need for so many rooms usually.
Hence, be it Nan Feng or Nuan Chun, they were not in a hurry to take action immediately.
"Sure. When I'm done, I'll be free to help you." Chang Xia nodded. She had been so busy building the house cave these past few days that she didn't even have time to study fruit powder.
When the proportions of the dried mud were adjusted, the doors and windows were handed to Chen Rong.
Chang Xia took the time to study the fruit powder and strived to tinker with the fruit powder to see if it could be transformed.
The wood delivered by Nan Feng and his people was mostly ironwood.
Coincidentally, Chang Xia felt that ironwood was the most suitable for doors and windows. It was made of a hard material that could prevent insects, ants, and vipers from entering the house and resist the impact of wild beasts.
Chang Xia had made the wall very thick. Apart from making a wall of fire, Chang Xia had considered the problem of beast attacks. After all, Twilight Forest was not safe. Even the tribe had totem warriors patrolling it at all times.
It was necessary to plan ahead.
Thinking about being able to live in a clean and tidy cave as soon as possible, Chang Xia was very motivated.
After countless failures, Chang Xia had finally concocted the optimum ratio of dried loess, weeds, and resin. When mixed with mud, it was neat, shiny, and at the same time possessed a certain smoothness that was beautiful.
Chang Xia told Nuan Chun the ratio and asked her to help with the mixing.
She found Chen Rong and prepared to make doors and windows.
She then used the soil to tie the gables and set up the windows. After these few steps, the house cave was basically done. The remaining details would be slowly carved. The yellow soil was thick and solid. Chang Xia didn't consider using a wooden board to support the roof. She felt that that would destroy the simple beauty of the hole.
Chen Rong was skillful and thoughtful.
As for the problem with the doors and windows, Chang Xia only needed to briefly describe the style, and Chen Rong would be able to make it. This greatly increased efficiency. Chang Xia understood the concept but actually making it was another matter.
Indeed, it was not tiring if men and women worked together.
Her Chen Rong was the best.