The children who came to school received a welcome gift from Gu Qingcheng: during break time, each child was given a bowl of hot milk with white sugar and a large steamed bun.
These were delivered by the public middle school cafeteria, so they were warm and comforting when received.
The children were surprised to have such benefits at school, and they happily drank their milk, unaware that Gu Qingcheng had already secretly begun implementing her grand plan of "a cup of milk a day to strengthen a village."
With the elementary school matters settled, Gu Qingcheng felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction as she heard the sounds of reading echoing from the village.
Her mind eased a little, and she then took Mi Guo to the tea pavilion she had exclusively set up across from the school for a stove-boiled tea.
In front of the public middle school cafeteria, there was a circular open space. Gu Qingcheng had a small tea pavilion built there, enclosed by bamboo fences, which kept out the cold. It directly faced the large playground of the palace, offering an unobstructed view of the surrounding scenery, a perfect blend of tranquility and activity.
This elegant practice of boiling tea over a stove was also something she came up with on a whim. She asked He Hua to prepare a charcoal stove with a wire mesh on top, suitable for roasting.
The wire mesh was bought by Gu Qingcheng herself from the Mountain Cat Supermarket. It was originally a large piece, which she cut into suitable small sections and placed directly over the charcoal stove. Anything could be roasted on it.
He Hua thought it was wire mesh made by the village blacksmith and praised the blacksmith for his strong build and exquisite craftsmanship.
When Gu Qingcheng had free time, she would bring Mi Guo here to boil tea over the stove.
Sitting in the pavilion, she could watch the hunting team train and the village children play. She was idle, yet her mind was often full of thoughts.
Gu Qingcheng sat down and cleared the accumulated ash from the charcoal stove to the outside of the pavilion. He Hua quickly added a dozen pieces of glowing charcoal for her.
Gu Qingcheng spread the wire mesh and then placed a dozen fresh longans, bought from the supermarket, on the mesh to roast. Soon, the longan shells cracked open, and she peeled them and threw them into the large tea urn.
She took out some red tea and poured it into the tea urn, then added Evian mineral water. She placed the teapot on the stove and let it simmer. When the water boiled, she added two pieces of Di Du Hong Tang.
On the wire mesh, persimmons, peanuts, and sweet potatoes were placed one by one, roasting slowly and emitting the aroma of food.
Although the temperature had now risen to 15 degrees Celsius, due to the predominantly cloudy weather, it still felt quite cold. Boiling tea over a stove made one feel much more comfortable, both mentally and physically.
Lychee black tea, warming the stomach and body, Gu Qingcheng brewed it, poured a cup for Mi Guo, and poured one for herself. They slowly sipped their tea.
"Sister, I see the river water downstream has risen, and all the snow around has melted. Even the snow on our mountain has melted. We should go back and pick up Mom and Dad, right?"
Gu Qingcheng nodded and said, "It's about time. We'll see after the situation stabilizes. It won't be long."
Currently, Phoenix Village's armed forces relied mainly on the hunting team.
The hunting team was well-equipped, possessing over a hundred homemade metal spears, modified from javelins, and ample bows and arrows. They often hunted large game like wild boars. The fearsome reputation of the hunting team had long spread, and the surrounding villages were quite wary of this small Phoenix Village.
Recently, Gu Qingcheng had ordered the construction of an observation post at the mountain pass about a mile from the village entrance. Guards were on duty 24 hours a day, greatly enhancing its defense.
The mountain pass was only wide enough for two people to pass at a time. She had them erect a massive gate there, which was lifted during the day for easy access and closed at night, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, truly a formidable barrier.
Once any anomaly was detected, the guards would sound a gong to alert the village, and all armed forces would rush to support.
Therefore, although chaos had begun in the areas downstream, no outside thieves had dared to steal or rob the village so far.
No one, with a full stomach, would want to court death.
However, Gu Qingcheng always felt a sense of unease. After all, they had never experienced real combat, and the villagers lived a life that was too peaceful.
In these turbulent times, such peace was precious yet fragile. That's why she hesitated to leave, wanting to make this fortress even stronger and the villagers' hearts even more stable.
But if she didn't go back, her parents wouldn't be able to find their way here.
She had a map that could pinpoint their location precisely. If her parents wanted to come, they would have to ask for directions along the way.
In this era, villagers living just five miles apart might not know of each other's villages. So, how easy would it be to find their way here by asking?
Not to mention the thousands of miles separating them and the risks they might encounter along the way.
Gu Qingcheng planned to take a yacht back after the snowmelt. With the speed of a yacht, unmatched by anyone in this era, she could reach home in less than a week.
But looking at the current situation, she had to go back within the next period, even if it was just a little longer. The ice melt hadn't been fast initially, but once it accelerated, it might quickly inundate Ya Ce, and then she wouldn't be able to catch up.
Just thinking about the terror of advancing snowlines was enough. Although there were early warnings, once a natural disaster truly struck, it would happen so fast that people wouldn't have time to react.
It was a pity that she and Dai Fa had been diligently searching for iron ore, but it wasn't that easy to find.
On the way to search for iron ore, they did find lime ore.
Lime had no particular use for her. At most, it could serve as a decorative and protective material for the village houses. As for larger ore deposits, it would still depend on luck.
Despite this, Gu Qingcheng never expected that the hidden worries she had been concerned about would finally erupt.
Members of the hunting team had to take turns patrolling several key locations in the village, such as the mountain pass and the animal husbandry farm. They also had to hunt in groups on the mountain during the day. Although the income was substantial, over time, some people began to feel fatigued and numb.
Recently, while on night duty at the mountain pass, Xiao Long from the village clinic came to chat with Fu Da Di.
Fu Da Di dared not neglect the staff of the clinic. The hunters were on the mountain every day, and injuries could happen at any time.
In such cases, they would inevitably need the help of the clinic staff, for applying medicine or bandaging wounds. How could he not curry favor with them?
Seeing Xiao Long invite him for a drink, Fu Da Di didn't find it too strange. When he exercised in the public area, Xiao Long would also come out to chat with him when he had free time at the clinic, and slowly, they developed a friendship.
That evening, Fu Da Di was on duty for the latter half of the night. Xiao Long brought two pots of good wine, some sliced braised beef, and a whole salted duck to drink with him.
Fu Da Di recognized the salted duck as one distributed to the village and said with a smile:
"Dr. Xiao, why are you so generous, even bringing a duck? A little stir-fried peanuts would be good enough to go with the wine."
They were all from poor families and were used to being frugal. Seeing so much meat brought out to eat at once, even if it was from someone else, made them feel a pang of regret.