Live Strong in the Wilderness-Chapter 82: The Baby Rabbits Are Born

Soon, Xu Yi returned carrying a pole, then went out again.

The second pole was freshly cut by Xu Yi, so it took a bit more time.

By the end of the afternoon, Xu Yi had brought back six poles with branches. Since five of them were freshly cut, it was quite time-consuming.

The continuous rain over the past three days had made the wood noticeably heavier.

This afternoon, Lu Ke didn’t remain idle either and managed to create a toilet.

Crafting this toilet wasn’t easy, but Lu Ke’s attention to detail paid off.

"I have no idea when this rain will stop. I used to quite like rainy days, but now I don’t like them at all," Lu Ke said, handing Xu Yi a bowl of hot water, puffing her cheeks as she spoke.

All this rain had made her quite irritable.

Additionally, her period arrived today, which made her even more agitated.

"It looks like this rain isn’t stopping anytime soon, but judging by the plants around here, it shouldn’t last more than half a month," Xu Yi glanced at the sky outside; he figured the clouds were only getting thicker.

"I never thought I would long for sunny days like this," Lu Ke stirred the lamb slices in the pot and glanced outside the door.

Xu Yi took a bite of the lamb slice but didn’t reply.

He also longed for sunny days, but wishing for them wouldn’t make them happen.

"Xu Yi, is the soap done? It feels quite hard," Lu Ke said after dinner, taking out the soap made the previous day and noticing it had solidified well.

Xu Yi leaned in for a look, nodded, and said, "Yeah, it’s done. You can try it out."

"Great," Lu Ke said, cutting off a piece with a knife and headed off to wash her hands.

After washing the dishes, her hands still felt a bit greasy.

"Xu Yi, it works! There’s lather!" Lu Ke exclaimed happily. With soap, she could finally take a proper bath and wash her hair thoroughly.

After washing her hands, Lu Ke noticed the grease on them was gone.

This proved the soap was quite effective, meaning they could make more in the future.

Having gone several days without washing her hair or taking a bath, Lu Ke made a request to Xu Yi.

"It feels so nice to take a bath," Lu Ke said, shaking her hair upon returning.

Xu Yi was busy crafting crossbow arrows.

When Lu Ke shook her hair, her scent subtly filled the air.

He was curious how Lu Ke’s hair maintained a pleasant scent without shampoo or conditioner.

Could a person’s natural microbiome and hormones combine to create a fragrance? 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Aside from the pleasant scent, Xu Yi also detected a faint smell of blood.

But he didn’t ask because he already knew why.

"What’s up?" Lu Ke asked when she noticed Xu Yi glance toward the corner.

"I think the rabbit gave birth," Xu Yi said, taking a burning stick from the fire and heading over.

Lu Ke immediately got up and followed Xu Yi to the corner of the room.

"Wow, it really did!" Lu Ke exclaimed happily upon seeing the baby rabbits.

Xu Yi scratched his nose, thinking that his enhanced sense of smell would definitely help him in hunting.

The rabbit had given birth to four babies, which delighted Lu Ke so much she fed the mother rabbit several handfuls of fresh grass.

Four extra baby rabbits meant a few more days of food.

After watching for a while, Xu Yi returned to whittling crossbow arrows.

Once the toilet roof was finished tomorrow, it would be time to go hunting.

Sitting around the camp wasn’t productive, especially since everything essential had been done, leaving only minor tasks.

The dried lamb and fish would only last for about three days.

As for the potatoes, they should be left untouched if possible.

Lu Ke stayed by the rabbits for a while before returning to the campfire to start weaving.

She had mentioned wanting to weave a table mat, but never had the time until now.

Once she finished weaving, Lu Ke went to rest.

Xu Yi continued to work on the crossbow arrows and didn’t rest until late at night.

Day 17 passed just like that.

"Xu Yi, are you awake? It’s much brighter outside today, it feels like the rain might stop," Lu Ke, who had just fetched water, happily told Xu Yi as soon as she saw him up.

"That’s great, I can finally go hunting," Xu Yi said happily. Hunting after the rain would be easier since the animals would need to come out to forage as well.

"If it really stops raining, let me come too. I feel like I’m going moldy," Lu Ke said, longing to go out with Xu Yi if it was sunny.

"Sure, it’s good to get out and relax," Xu Yi grinned, not opposing the idea of Lu Ke joining him.

After all, he wouldn’t be going far for hunting.

After breakfast, Xu Yi went to dig pits.

The poles he brought back yesterday hadn’t been buried yet.

Lu Ke initially wanted to help, but Xu Yi refused.

Digging a pit only took half an hour, so there was no need for Lu Ke to assist.

After three hours, Xu Yi had buried all the poles.

Next was setting up the beams.

The thatch had been used up, so after setting up the beams, Xu Yi went out to cut more thatch.

Even though the sky was brighter, the rain continued and was heavier than yesterday.

After cutting the thatch and returning, the morning had already passed.

After lunch, Xu Yi shouldered his hunting bow and backpack.

"Xu Yi, be careful," Lu Ke said, seeing Xu Yi off at the door. Since it was still raining, Xu Yi decided not to let her join him for hunting.

"I will, you take care too. The new crossbow arrows should enhance the power of the short crossbow," Xu Yi said before heading out hunting.

"Rainy days surely aren’t ideal for hunting," Xu Yi noticed there were no tracks visible on the ground and the air had no distinctive scents.

Examining carefully along the way, Xu Yi reached the old water puddle.

The puddle had grown into a small lake and was quite muddy.

After circling it, Xu Yi left and headed in the direction he had chased goats before.

He thought if he couldn’t hunt anything, at least he could dig up some potatoes to take back.

As a staple food, they could be eaten daily.

However, by the end of the afternoon, Xu Yi had nothing to show for his efforts and returned empty-handed.

By around 5 p.m., Xu Yi was back at the camp.

On rainy days, returning early was better, as navigating in the dark without torches was challenging.

The traps outside the camp were mostly flooded, and the drainage ditches Xu Yi dug earlier were blocked with leaves.