Cave Refuge-Chapter 277 - 273: Setting up a Shack

Don’t think that over twenty cars is a small number; at this time, the overwhelming majority of cars on the road belong to the government. Even if it’s a privately repaired vehicle, once it hits the road and is discovered, it must be confiscated for the greater good.

Only a small fraction of people, those with special status, have the right to own private vehicles, and even then, everyone tends to be rather modest.

Basically, nobody chooses sedans or sports cars; most people would pick a cargo truck over a pickup, and take a pickup over an SUV if given the choice.

Zachary got down from the lead car, and as everyone looked at the open fields on either side of the road, they knew they had reached their destination.

To the north of the road lay farmland, already planted with crops, while to the south was a grassy area. Without needing to be told, everyone knew where to go.

Near the road on the grassland, there were several tarpaulin and foam houses. Dong Tianyu, taking his parents and Master Ye’s family, did not choose to stay there.

They walked a bit toward the center of the grassland and picked a spacious spot to spread out a blanket, letting them rest there.

The reason for not choosing the tarpaulin houses was simple: these were just makeshift shelters made of foam sandwiched between sheets of tarpaulin, assembled similar to building blocks. They provided shelter from wind and rain, but as for earthquake resistance, not collapsing was cause enough to give thanks.

Living in one of these houses was actually no better than staying in a tent. If an earthquake occurred, even if a tent collapsed, it wouldn’t injure those inside.

The tarpaulin houses, while made of foam padded metal sheets, could still cause pain if they fell on someone, though not likely to cause injury, but definitely more painful than a tent. And considering the metal sheeting on the outside, there was a risk of getting cut, which could really be a problem.

Although Dong Tianyu felt living in the tarpaulin houses was risky, others did not share his view; after all, having a house in the wilderness was already quite something. At least resting in these houses was much more comfortable than in a car.

While most vehicles in the convoy were either box trucks or Jinbei or Iveco, there was definitely room to lie down and sleep, but it was rather cramped, making it difficult to turn over, especially since there were also other valuables stored inside.

"Dad, Master Ye, wait here for me for a bit. I’m going to get some things so we’ll have something to block the wind when we sleep tonight,"

Upon hearing Dong Tianyu’s words, Master Ye immediately told one of his trusted aides, "Xiao Li, go and help him out."

Before the man could answer, Dong Tianyu quickly interjected, "It’s okay, I can go by myself. It’s safer to have more people here."

After telling his parents, he left directly. If it weren’t for the crowd, Dong Tianyu could have managed alone, but to conceal the Storage space, he had to make a show of driving back.

When Dong Tianyu returned to his vehicle to leave, he received respectful attention from others. However, seeing Father Dong and Mother Dong as well as Master Ye’s whole family staying behind, they felt reassured and stayed, without following Dong Tianyu.

Originally, Dong Tianyu thought of getting a few tents, but decided it wasn’t quite fitting and opted to bring back a load of plastic waterproof sheets instead.

When Dong Tianyu arrived back at the grassland with two rolls of plastic sheeting in hand, the others merely glanced at the sheeting and then looked away.

They all knew what Dong Tianyu was holding and its purpose, but they couldn’t understand why he would set up a makeshift tent when there were houses available.

After going back and forth two or three times, Dong Tianyu finally had everything he needed.

His frequent trips drew the attention of the others.

Dong Tianyu didn’t care what the others thought; he simply used four sticks to demarcate the area and two more to indicate where the entrance would be.

Then he asked for Master Ye’s attendant who had offered help before, starting from one side of the entrance, to connect the plastic sheeting along the area marked by the sticks, effectively forming an enclosure with an entrance.

Together with two attendants, Dong Tianyu used plastic sheets to cover the top of the area, leaving some gaps between the top and sides for ventilation.

To prevent the plastic sheeting from sagging without support in the middle, Dong Tianyu constructed several T-shaped supports and placed them at various stress points inside the makeshift shelter.

It took nearly two to three hours, but together they managed to erect a temporary dwelling similar to the emergency shelters built in China’s rural disaster relief areas.

Frankly, this structure was nothing more than an early form of temporary housing that appeared in disaster relief sites in China before the global catastrophe. It was good for wind-blocking, warmth, and privacy protection, but not much else.

A slightly better quality tent would be fully enclosed, precisely to prevent Bugs Clan from entering through the ground.

But this shed’s base was just the grassland; living inside it wasn’t much different from sleeping directly on the grass.

Of course, Dong Tianyu couldn’t let his parents stay there; the shelter he built outside was merely to block the prying eyes of others. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

After the shed was erected, Dong Tianyu took out several tents and assembled them with two special forces soldiers. They managed to fit five three-person tents inside the shed.

Tents are generally well understood; while it’s advertised that three people can fit inside, that’s assuming they are of slim build.

While a normal person could fit three inside, it would be extremely cramped, and turning over would be nearly impossible.

Of course, just like buying clothes, if the size is too small, just buy a larger one.

That’s why Dong Tianyu provided Father Dong and Mother Dong with a three-person tent to live in.

After everything was set up, he cut some strips of plastic cloth and fashioned a door curtain for the shelter.

Ultimately, a temporary camp that looked very rudimentary from the outside, but was just as simple on the inside, was established.

The lunch Zachary had prepared was stir-fried noodles and marinated boiled eggs.

The stir-fried noodles Zachary brought out were not like noodle-type stir-fried noodles, but those made by stir-frying flour directly. In fact, such noodles when compressed, looked very much like individual rations, which they essentially were.

There were two ways to eat this: one was to eat it dry and hard, washed down with water, and the other was to boil it in a pot until it turned into a mush.

Whether it was Master Ye or Father Dong and Mother Dong, if they tried the first method of eating the compressed noodle blocks, there was a good chance their teeth would chip before the noodles softened.

Therefore, when Zachary came over, he brought a small pot, and a log as well.

After drilling a hole in the center of the log and another from the side so they connected, he placed kindling inside the holes and lit it, creating a simple stove.

He then put a pot of water directly on the stove and waited for the water to boil. He then dropped three blocks of stir-fried noodle bricks into the pot and waited for them to melt.

Before long, something resembling cooked yellow Oreo pudding appeared in the pot.

Although its appearance was somewhat indescribable, the scent wafting from the pot was quite pleasant, as seasonings had been added to the noodles during preparation.

After ensuring that the stir-fried noodle bricks originally placed into the pot had melted, Zachary took the pot off the log stove and opened a can of prepared crushed nuts and a bottle of honey, which he poured directly into the pot.

In the midst of others giving him looks that suggested he was wasting resources, he mixed these ingredients thoroughly in the pot. Then, he took out disposable plastic containers and began to distribute the food to everyone present.

In the transparent containers was a dollop of shit-brown substance garnished with erratically colored bits of dried fruit.

Had they not seen with their own eyes how Zachary made these dishes, without smelling them, and based solely on visual observation, most people would not have considered this concoction food but rather someone else’s vomit.

However, to speak honestly, as everyone brought the containers up to their noses, the aroma emanating from the plastic boxes constantly reminded them that what was in front of them was indeed food.

It’s no wonder there was a conflict between sight and smell.

Flour, when fried with oil, salt, and spices, naturally turns a darker yellow. Once boiled and thickened, it’s bound to be unsightly.

But with the addition of spices and salt for flavor enhancement, and the fleeting crackle produced by the dry fruit’s residual heat, the smell was indeed temptingly good.

So even if the sight was off-putting, akin to stinky tofu and durian, if one simply closed their eyes and braved the first bite—unless the texture was completely intolerable—most people would find the taste quite agreeable after eating.

This acceptance, in addition to the food itself, was in part because the stark contrast lowered the tasters’ high expectations of the food.

The stir-fried noodle mush was no different. Besides, being able to eat something with oil and salt at this time was already a luxury.

After all, they were in a period of surviving a disaster; if they continued to be picky, they would have no choice but to endure hunger.

Zachary’s shelter also provided privacy, shielding them from the prying eyes of others.

Without this shelter, people would definitely come over to ask for food.

It doesn’t matter how wealthy or prestigious these others were; they had fled in such haste that they couldn’t take all their valuable possessions with them.

So at this time, they might seem a bit strapped for resources, but given that everyone nearby was an acquaintance and there were no significant feuds, if someone came over to borrow some food and promised to repay it later, it would be truly hard to refuse.

Besides, all these people had their own cars, so unless they were never to meet again, as persons of status, who would quibble over a single meal?

Zachary spent some time chatting with his parents and Master Ye, then let them each return to their tents to rest, while Robinson William’s two trusted aides took turns guarding the area.

In reality, the role of these two was not so much to fend off others but to drive away the immensely annoying Bugs Clan.