After Jing Mo finished speaking, he grabbed the lunch boxes for both of them and the pot of braised pork, then got off the car directly.
There wasn't any water for washing dishes, and now, they couldn't afford to use it for that purpose anyway. They just threw the pot and bowls into the snow, wiped them a few times with snow, and they were clean enough.
Sitting in the car, Su Nian watched this scene with softened eyes. Clearly, he was quite capable; there was no need for such thriftiness. She could only think, "He's someone who knows how to live!"
With her attention diverted, Su Nian took out a steel wire and stuffed it into her backpack.
Just as she finished, she heard the sound of the door opening and looked over.
Jing Mo had a mask on his face, so Su Nian couldn't see his expression. But from the way his eyebrows drooped, she knew he wasn't pleased.
"What's wrong?" She wondered. He was so cheerful when he got off the car; how did he become like this so quickly?
Jing Mo sighed, handing the small iron pot to Su Nian and taking out the two plastic lunch boxes. "They cracked!"
At first, Su Nian didn't quite understand what Jing Mo meant. But when she saw the cracks on the two plastic lunch boxes, she couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"Why are you laughing?" Jing Mo's words carried a hint of resentment.
Su Nian waved her hand, trying to suppress her laughter. "Sorry, I just couldn't help it."
After taking a few deep breaths, Su Nian managed to suppress her amusement and spoke seriously, "It's not your fault they cracked. It's just too cold, and the plastic becomes brittle. No matter how careful you are, they'll still crack."
"I know, that's why I was careful when washing them. But unfortunately, they still cracked in the end!" Jing Mo placed the cracked boxes on the co-driver's seat. "Let's leave them there; we can use them for fire later."
The smell of burning plastic wasn't pleasant, but plastic could help fuel the fire and make it burn longer.
Listening to Jing Mo, Su Nian noticed a slight change in his demeanor.
Why does he have such a thrifty attitude? It's so similar to hers?
Jing Mo didn't know what Su Nian was thinking. After sitting down, he said, "Shall we set off? I think if we drive for another hour and then turn back, we should be able to return to the base by evening. What do you think?"
"Sounds good." Su Nian's preparations were thorough, but compared to being out in the cold, returning to base at night was more suitable.
As the snowplow started moving slowly, Su Nian opened the window halfway. It wasn't easy to come out, so she might as well practice shooting.
At first, she aimed at tree trunks. But while the trunks remained still, the car kept moving. It wasn't easy to hit a stationary target while on the move.
Su Nian didn't rush to shoot; she patiently aimed before firing each shot. Bullets were expensive, and even if she had thousands of them, she couldn't afford to waste them.
Perhaps as Jing Mo had said, Su Nian had a talent for shooting. After practicing diligently for an hour, she could quickly aim and hit targets even while the car was moving.
It was a satisfying result, even though she had fired hundreds of rounds in that hour. But compared to the joy of success, the cost didn't seem so painful.
Jing Mo glanced at Su Nian, who was still excited, through the rearview mirror, and a faint smile appeared beneath his mask. Without disturbing Su Nian, Jing Mo slowly turned the vehicle around, ready to head back to base.
As the snowplow gradually changed direction, Su Nian's field of vision shifted. It was then that she saw many dark figures moving in the distance. Although they weren't heading in their direction, they were moving rapidly.
Having recently killed a wild boar, Su Nian was wary of such fast-moving dots in the snow.
"Jing Mo, look over there!" Jing Mo followed Su Nian's gaze, and upon seeing the figures, his expression became solemn. He spoke in a low voice, "Don't shoot."
Even if Jing Mo hadn't said anything, Su Nian had no intention of shooting anymore.
Fetching her binoculars, she could clearly see that the rapidly moving figures were indeed a group of wild boars.
What shocked her was that these twenty or so wild boars were all robust adults, some even larger than the one they had tied up at the back of their car.
Wild boars ran fast in the snow, and in a matter of minutes, the group disappeared from Su Nian's sight.
Putting down her binoculars, Su Nian frowned. "Why are there so many wild boars?"
The larger the size of the wild boars, the greater their appetite. But in this icy environment, what could they possibly find to eat?
If they couldn't find food, would they come to the base?
This was only what they had seen. Were there even more wild boars where they couldn't see?
Aside from wild boars, could there be other wild animals?
Could it be that besides natural disasters, people also had to face various powerful wild animals?
Just the thought of it made Su Nian feel heavy-hearted.
In her previous life, Su Nian had always lived not far from the city. There were neither mountains nor rivers, and wild animals were rarely seen. As for cats, dogs, and birds, they quickly became meals for some extremely hungry people.
So, in her previous life, she hardly saw any animals.
She never expected that coming to the First Base in this life would bring her face-to-face with a completely different situation.
Seeing Su Nian frowning, Jing Mo spoke to comfort her, "Don't worry, no matter how many and how strong these animals are, they can't withstand firearms. If they dare to come to the base, it's a dead end for them."
Hearing Jing Mo's words, Su Nian nodded. "You're right."
Indeed, there was nothing to worry about in this regard. What they needed to worry about was leaving the base, like people who lived outside the base.
After seeing so many wild boars, Su Nian was afraid of causing too much commotion and attracting unnecessary trouble.
On the way back, Su Nian decided not to shoot anymore.
"You've been driving for so long; let me take over." Su Nian said to Jing Mo.
Jing Mo didn't refuse and agreed directly. "Sure."
They got off the car and switched positions.
Sitting in the driver's seat, Su Nian's speed was initially slow. After all, she had never driven a snowplow before. But after getting familiar with it, she managed to increase her speed to match Jing Mo's.
Originally, they hadn't held much hope for hunting other prey again.
But unexpectedly, after more than an hour, they encountered quite a few snow hares.
These fat and large snow hares moved swiftly across the snowy terrain.
Jing Mo's marksmanship was unquestionable. He fired four shots in succession, killing four hares. Two others, startled, ran away quickly and disappeared soon after.
Jing Mo got out of the car, and soon returned carrying four fat hares.
Due to the low outside temperature, the hares froze stiff within moments of being killed.
Jing Mo placed the hares under the rear seat without any objections from Su Nian.
What Su Nian was more curious about now was how many contribution points they could get for the wild boars and hares.