After the new house was built, since there was no bed, a thick layer of grass was laid on the ground. It was passable to sleep on, and at least better than having to curl up in a makeshift shelter.
However, because the grass underneath rustled every time they turned over, Gu Qingcheng found it a bit unaccustomed.
The next morning, Mi Guo, following the recipe they had discussed the night before, made egg-filled crepes and a pot of vegetable congee.
Other families were tired of eating wild vegetables, and now that they had white rice congee, they didn't want vegetable congee. But Gu Qingcheng found the vegetables quite refreshing, and Mi Guo was happy to satisfy her.
With their own house, they didn't have to eat outdoors.
The two ate a hearty breakfast at the dining table.
The dining table was the only piece of furniture the carpenter had hastily made for her yesterday, and it was quite sturdy. The chairs were two ready-made tree stumps.
Each of them had a bowl of congee and an egg-filled crepe, which were fragrant and delicious.
"Sister, has the weather warmed up again? I remember the congee used to cool down as soon as it was served, but now it's still warm after being out for a while."
Mi Guo didn't have a thermometer, so she could only observe based on her own feelings.
"Huh, yes, it's probably warming up again."
Gu Qingcheng, having been busy these past two days, had indeed forgotten to check the temperature. Seeing the temperature alert in the system, she was startled.
It was now 5 degrees Celsius, about a five-degree increase from before.
At this temperature, it was possible to grow sweet potatoes and potatoes.
But she was also a little worried, fearing that the temperature would rise too quickly. If it continued to soar in the next two or three months, they wouldn't even have time to plant and harvest crops.
If something like this happened, they would have to rely entirely on her supermarket to sustain everyone's lives.
Human disasters could be managed, but natural disasters were unstoppable.
Gu Qingcheng could only comfort herself, since she still had the supermarket system and over 100,000 "shuǎng" points. As long as she continued to bring villagers to Phoenix Village, she would receive a reward of 100 "shuǎng" points for each person, so she wouldn't be short of points to buy supplies.
Qin Yue and Liu Cui were waiting for Gu Qingcheng outside the house.
After a while, Wu Sheng, Qian Wang, and Liu Ding also arrived one after another.
Upon inquiry, they learned that they were also going down the mountain to recruit people.
Gu Qingcheng was all prepared. As soon as she and Mi Guo stepped out, they saw Gou Sheng calling the children to go up the mountain to pick chestnuts.
Gu Qingcheng's heart stirred. She beckoned Gou Sheng over and told him to go call his mother, Chun Ni, to come down the mountain with them.
Gou Sheng was overjoyed to hear that he could go down the mountain with Young Master Gu. In his eyes, this was a great form of entertainment, so he hurried off to find his mother.
When Chun Ni heard that Gu Qingcheng had asked them to go down the mountain, she dared not refuse. She immediately put down the work of weaving bamboo fences, asked for leave from the team leader, and took Gou Sheng to meet Gu Qingcheng.
Bringing children and women would make the refugees on the mountain trust them more.
The group of eight people walked down the mountain. Gu Qingcheng did not forget to ask the three men to each carry a basket. Since they were going down the mountain, they would definitely need to buy some supplies, and it was convenient for them to carry them back up.
They chatted as they walked, and it wasn't boring.
Liu Ding said that Yunwu Mountain was suitable for growing tea because of the heavy mist, which produced high-quality tea. However, it was not very suitable for growing crops because the soil was too thin.
Gu Qingcheng said that after clearing the bushes and weeds, they would burn the land to kill the pests and then find ways to improve the soil.
The weather had been much warmer recently. She had asked Liu Ding to start cultivating seeds after he returned. She estimated that by the time he had cultivated his seeds, the temperature would have risen, and it would be almost time to plant.
Although Gou Sheng was young, he was quite hardy and ran behind Gu Qingcheng, walking on his own.
An hour later, the group arrived at the refugee settlement outside Wangchun City.
Qin Yue and Liu Cui were both wearing the new cotton clothes given to them by Gu Qingcheng. After being disinfected inside and out and taking a refreshing bath yesterday, their appearances had been completely renewed, surprising those who knew them in the camp.
"Liu Cui, Qin Yue, is that really you? I thought I was seeing things! Weren't you kidnapped and sold? Did you escape?"
"No, we're going to Yunwu Mountain with Young Master Gu to reclaim land and plant crops!"
Qin Yue was very displeased. How could rumors spread like this?
"I don't believe it. Is reclaiming land and planting crops so comfortable? Look at the new cotton clothes you're wearing; they look expensive. As the saying goes, when women turn bad, they get rich. It seems to be true?"
Liu Cui was amused and angry.
"You can't spit out ivory from a dog's mouth. We're here today to recruit people for the village. If you want to think of it that way, go ahead!"
After speaking, Liu Cui pulled Qin Yue away from the group of people who were commenting on them with ill intentions.
She wasn't going to get angry with these people. They were on the verge of starvation. If there was a way out, why wouldn't they take it? Was it worth getting angry with these dying people?
It wasn't worth it!
Even little Gou Sheng was remembered by some people who asked him about the situation on the mountain. Perhaps they thought children wouldn't lie, or that it was easy to tell if a child was lying.
Gou Sheng and his mother were both wearing new cotton clothes, indicating that they were living well. Hearing him say that they had congee every day on the mountain, and even meat, made many people's minds start to wander.
"We've come down the mountain today to recruit more people. There's too much land in the village, and we can't manage it all. If anyone is willing, you can come with us."
Seeing everyone gathered around, Gu Qingcheng decided to raise her voice and shout.
"I heard that each person who goes up the mountain can get 10 jin of rice, is that right?"
"Yes, that's right." Gu Qingcheng nodded.
"Not only rice, but also salt, oil, and cured meat," Chun Ni added from the side.
The refugee camp had a constant flow of refugees coming and going every day. The people who had gathered now were all unfamiliar faces.
While Gu Qingcheng and her group were announcing their recruitment, Liu Cui also went to the camp to find familiar villagers.
They had been there for more than ten days. If not for the help of these kind villagers and friends, they wouldn't have survived.
But these kind people were as poor as they were. They had no extra food or drink to share. For them to be able to squeeze out a little for them was a great favor.
In the end, they felt too ashamed to bother others, which was why they had considered a desperate path.
Now that they had a new opportunity, they naturally wanted to share this good news with their benefactors.
"Is Guihua here?"
Liu Cui found a familiar makeshift shelter.
"Who is Guihua? There's no Guihua here."
To her surprise, a strange middle-aged woman poked her head out of the shelter.
"This is her shelter; she used to live here. Are you her relative?"
Liu Cui couldn't be sure for a moment.
"I don't know. The shelter was empty, so I moved in," the woman said, looking at her guardedly. "When I moved in, there was nothing in the shelter. All these things are my own."
Obviously, she was worried that Liu Cui had come to claim the items that Guihua had left in the shelter.
Liu Cui quickly said, "You really don't know where Guihua went? I'm her friend, and I've brought her some food."
To show her sincerity, Liu Cui took a rice ball from her package.