As Su Nian took off her clothes, she couldn't help but shiver.
Sinking into the bathtub, enveloped by hot water, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The bathtub was spacious enough. Even when the water cooled down, Su Nian could add more hot water to it.
After washing her hair, Su Nian reluctantly got out of the bathtub.
Fortunately, there was no power outage. Su Nian took out the hairdryer and dried her hair.
For over a year, Su Nian had been cutting her own hair.
Though her skills weren't as good as Teacher Tony's, she could manage a decent job.
Su Nian didn't have any special requirements for her hairstyle, except that it shouldn't be too long.
Long hair was not only conspicuous but also troublesome to wash.
The current length was just right. After about five or six minutes of blow-drying, her hair was almost dry.
After putting away the bathtub and tent separately, and wiping the water stains on the floor, Su Nian rearranged the bed and carpet.
Having space was a relief; otherwise, the daily routine would be exhausting to even think about.
After lunch, Su Nian took a nap.
It wasn't long, just two hours. Sleeping too much would disrupt her nighttime sleep.
Although there wasn't much to do now and no need to go out, Su Nian still maintained a disciplined schedule.
After the snowfall, Su Nian took down the thermal curtain outside the window and added another layer of white gauze inside.
This type of gauze allowed light to pass through but prevented anyone from seeing in.
During the day, Su Nian didn't need to turn on the lights.
After all, the solar panels didn't store as much energy as they did during the extremely hot days before.
Although there wasn't a power outage in the base, Su Nian only turned on some heating devices and humidifiers during the day to save electricity.
This was called being thrifty and efficient; there was no room for sloppiness.
Having watched enough TV shows, Su Nian picked up a technical book on greenhouse cultivation.
She didn't have a greenhouse or plans for cultivation, but she could manage some garlic sprouts, bean sprouts, and mung bean shoots.
These could be eaten or used as decorative plants indoors.
Without delay, Su Nian found suitable containers and put green beans, soybeans, and garlic in them.
She just needed to add water to the beans, cover them, and let them sprout.
The garlic was arranged in circles using wire by Su Nian.
They were neatly placed in shallow plates, just like she remembered doing back in elementary school.
At that time, every student in her class would grow garlic sprouts at home and bring them to school to see whose grew better.
Thinking of those times, Su Nian couldn't help but smile.
As long as the temperature was suitable and there was enough water, they would grow a bit every two days.
Apart from exercising, Su Nian now had another task every day: taking care of these tender seedlings.
The soybean sprouts were the first to grow well.
Su Nian had only soaked a handful of beans, but when the sprouts grew, it filled almost half the basin.
Seeing so many bean sprouts, Su Nian poured half of them out, dressed neatly, and knocked on Jing Mo's door with the basin in her hands.
After just a couple of knocks, Jing Mo opened the door.
Su Nian handed him the basin, "These are the bean sprouts I grew myself. I brought some for you."
Jing Mo looked at the bean sprouts in the basin in surprise, "You're capable of this too! That's amazing!"
Jing Mo's tone was sincere, his eyes shining as he looked at Su Nian.
Feeling a bit embarrassed at Jing Mo's reaction, Su Nian said, "It's not a big deal, just add some water to the beans."
Jing Mo shook his head, "What you can do that others can't is your skill."
The words sounded reasonable, so Su Nian didn't argue further, just nodded, "It's cold outside, so I'll go back now!"
"Wait a moment!"
Su Nian looked at Jing Mo with some confusion, "What's wrong?"
"I'm planning to leave the base in two days. Do you want to come?"
Hearing this, Su Nian was even more puzzled, "In this freezing weather, where are we going?"
"I've arranged with the base to borrow their snow shovel vehicle, and I'll cover the fuel expenses myself."
Jing Mo paused, "If others borrow it, they need to contribute points every day, ten points per day."
Implying that he didn't need to contribute extra points.
It sounded good indeed.
But in such freezing weather, would there be any prey outside?
Su Nian hesitated, thought for a moment, and then nodded, "Alright! When are you planning to go?"
"In two days!"
"Okay, I also have fuel. I'll contribute half of it. Let's bring some things with us when we go out."
"Good, I'll call you early in the morning in two days."
The two agreed on the time, and Su Nian went back home.
Watching Su Nian close the door, Jing Mo also closed his own door.
He walked into the bedroom and then went to look at the bean sprouts in the basin.
In just a short while, the bean sprouts had frozen stiff.
Jing Mo took off his gloves, and his slender fingers tapped on them, "I'll eat you for lunch today."
In her bedroom, Su Nian took off her coat while pondering Jing Mo's proposal.
Since the snowfall, she hadn't been out, so going out once wouldn't hurt.
The base was built and expanded on the basis of a summer resort. There were originally mountains nearby, and there should be many animals.
Although she hadn't seen any animals during the extremely hot weather before, the presence of robust mosquitoes and rats indicated that animals were better adapted to sudden environmental changes and survived better than humans.
The absence of those animals didn't mean they didn't exist.
Going out might bring some unexpected gains.
Su Nian didn't lack meat herself, but if she could openly bring back some game, even if she didn't eat it herself, she could exchange it with the base for some contribution points.
However, going out in this weather required thorough preparation.
For the next two days, Su Nian was busy preparing for the outing.
She found a half-height mountaineering bag and put a sleeping bag, tent, and blanket inside.
She also took out two boxes of hand warmers, removing them from their outer packaging and stuffing them directly into the bag.
In addition to hand warmers, Su Nian also found two copper hand warmers.
Charcoal was placed inside, and they could be covered with cotton covers, providing warmth without burning the hands.
Su Nian also bought a lot
of charcoal specifically for these hand warmers.
She hadn't used them since she stayed indoors all the time, but she found that they were quite effective once lit.
She immediately prepared a considerable amount of charcoal and packed them into her backpack.
Besides these warmth-keeping items, food was also crucial.
After all, going out in the icy wilderness required hot food; otherwise, one might freeze to death.
She wasn't sure what kind of snow shovel vehicle Jing Mo had borrowed. If it had two rows of seats inside, Su Nian planned to bring another portable stove so that the charcoal fire could be kept burning, not only for boiling water and cooking, but also for keeping the temperature inside the vehicle slightly higher to prevent it from getting too cold.
Though unsure if it would fit, Su Nian still took it out and set it aside.
All the food she packed was instant, quick to cook, and high in oil and salt content.
Chocolate and candies were indispensable. They could replenish energy anytime.