Chapter 61: Termite Mound Discovered

After butchering the fish, Xu Yi gathered some stream snails and headed back to the camp.

Su Keke was practicing her calligraphy to pass the time. Xu Yi had been gone for nearly fifteen minutes, so she took the opportunity to practice her writing for a while. Seeing him return, she immediately stepped forward to help.

After a brief rest following their meal, the father and daughter ascended to the treehouse to resume work. Su Keke played assistant, handing bamboo poles up to Xu Yi. As each bamboo pole was securely tied into place, the treehouse began to take on a more polished shape. In less than an hour, Xu Yi finished binding a wall over two meters wide, then moved on to the opposite wall.

Once those two sides were secured, he started working on the back wall. However, due to the limited supply of bamboo, they ran out halfway through.

By this time, it was already past four o'clock. Deciding not to spend more time cutting bamboo, Xu Yi took Su Keke along to gather firewood while keeping an eye out for any other useful discoveries.

The gourd tree showed no signs of leaking or seepage, proving that it could indeed be used as a container. Xu Yi planned to carve a large wooden stopper for it that evening, turning it into a portable canteen.

This afternoon, they headed in a different direction—upstream along the river. Xu Yi wanted to try his luck and see what else they might find. While meat was no longer in short supply, they still lacked staple foods and vegetables. It was impossible to live on meat alone without facing internal imbalances and various health issues down the line.

Within twenty minutes of setting out, Xu Yi had already gathered a large bundle of firewood. After tying it securely, the father and daughter pushed further ahead to scout the area.

"Keke, look, what is that?" Xu Yi asked, spotting something and immediately pointing it out to her.

"Chicken mushrooms?" Su Keke brightened up upon spotting a patch of chicken mushrooms. With these, they would have a proper vegetable side dish for dinner. Mushrooms grilled on a stone slab tasted exceptionally good.

"There's a large termite mound over here. Even better, that soil is top-grade material for pottery-making!"

What truly delighted Xu Yi was discovering the termite mound. The soil was exceptionally fine and well-suited for use as clay to mold pottery blanks.

"Dad, I see some mice came here to nibble on these chicken mushrooms. We should set some traps here," Su Keke said, making her discovery known as she harvested the mushrooms.

Xu Yi glanced at the chicken mushrooms in her hand; they indeed bore the marks of animal bites, though not necessarily from mice.

"Judging by these droppings, it looks like the work of a rabbit. So, rabbits must be coming here to eat the mushrooms as well. There are mountain rats too—those droppings over there belong to them."

This unexpected discovery put Xu Yi in high spirits. "You keep picking the mushrooms while I look for materials to rig up a few simple stone-slab drop traps."

A stone-slab drop trap was a technique he had once learned from an experienced trekker. It was the most effective method for catching mountain rats, whereas snare traps worked better for rabbits. Xu Yi intended to set up both kinds, feeling confident that either would serve them well.

Now that they had a permanent camp, building up a food reserve was the key to survival. However, unable to find suitable flat stones nearby, Xu Yi had to settle for making a few simple rope snare traps instead.

[Contender Number One is impressive! He even knows how to make snare traps—definitely a veteran!]

[These contestants are hiding their true backgrounds; none of them ever say what they used to do before this.]

[Anyone who has survived this long possesses genuine survival skills and experience. The six thousand eliminated so far are the real amateurs, wouldn't you say? What's so surprising about Number One knowing this?]

The audience was quite surprised by Xu Yi's proficiency with snare traps. With time running out, Xu Yi located three animal trails and set up three rope snares.

"Let's head back, Keke. It's getting dark."

Su Keke had harvested over thirty chicken mushrooms, which was quite a haul. Moreover, the patch would continue to grow, meaning they could return every few days to harvest more. Once a mushroom-producing spot was found, one could make regular visits as long as the season held.

The collected mushrooms weighed a good five or six pounds. Su Keke insisted that Xu Yi carry them, noting that he would already be hauling the firewood.

On the way back, with an additional bundle of wood to transport, Xu Yi improvised a carrying pole. Using his long spear as a shoulder pole, he hoisted two massive bundles of firewood. Despite their considerable weight, the spear hardly bent at all, which left him with a lingering frustration.

"It's been so many days, why is it so hard to find saplings or small trees of the right size?"

Xu Yi had long wanted to craft a hunting bow, but he had yet to encounter the right materials. The spear in his hand was far too rigid, and as it dried out, it only grew harder. If he tried to make a bow out of it, he wouldn't even be able to pull the string. Once he had a bow and arrow, hunting would become vastly easier.

"Dad, we'll definitely find one. There are so many small trees in this forest," Su Keke comforted him.

Hearing this, Xu Yi nodded with a faint smile. He realized he was being less optimistic than a child.

The two returned to camp in high spirits before nightfall. Xu Yi immediately went down to the river to retrieve a few fish from the basket, gutted them, and brought them back to boil.

Before cooking, he boiled a pot of drinking water. He then cut the gourd tree in half; the original length of over a meter was unnecessary. Half a meter was more than enough to store cold drinking water.

"This leftover piece of the gourd tree can easily double as a drainage pipe. What a great find."

Picking up the neatly severed section of the gourd tree from the ground, Xu Yi smiled. He might not need it immediately, but it would certainly come in handy later.

With the 'water pipe' stowed away, Xu Yi set about slicing the chicken mushrooms. Once sliced, they were ready to be laid out on the stone slab for grilling. Although they now possessed a small pot, cooking mushrooms without oil would cause them to stick, making the heated stone slab a much better option.

Both Xu Yi and Keke were thoroughly satisfied with their dinner. Grilled chicken mushrooms and fish soup made for a hearty and filling meal.

After dinner, Xu Yi resumed teaching Su Keke new characters. After spending an hour studying downstairs, they climbed up to the treehouse to rest.

During the daytime construction, Xu Yi had untied his hammock. Since he couldn't easily rig it back up for the night, he spread their collection of snakeskins across the wooden floor and slept directly on top of them.

To his credit, when combined, the snakeskins formed a surprisingly thick layer, ensuring he didn't feel the hard wood underneath.