"That makes sense."
Gu Chaobei naturally preferred not to put all his eggs in one basket.
Thus, Gu Qingcheng broke the baguette in half, giving one piece to each of her parents.
This dry, hard bread was easy to carry and store. To avoid suspicion, they tore off the outer packaging and burned it in the fire.
Gu Chaobei's thoughts then drifted to the dangers on the road – not just famine, but also bandits and wild beasts. If the three of them were somehow separated, they needed a way to stay in touch.
Hearing this, Hu Lanfang also grew anxious and said,
"Old Gu, think of something. There are no phones or internet here. If we get separated, we can't just shout to each other, can we?
It's completely unrealistic. If we're three hundred meters apart, even shouting at the top of our lungs might not be heard, let alone when facing wild beasts and bandits, where we wouldn't dare expose ourselves."
Gu Chaobei pondered for a moment, racking his brain. Then, he slapped his thigh and exclaimed,
"I've got it! If we do get separated, try not to stray more than five li from where we last were. Once the crisis of separation has passed, we'll light signal fires to communicate.
One smoke signal will represent Qingcheng, two smoke signals will represent you, my dear wife, and three smoke signals will represent myself."
"Oh, that's a good idea, but why three smoke signals for you?"
Hu Lanfang was puzzled.
Gu Chaobei smiled and asked, "Is one smoke signal easier to light, or three?"
Hu Lanfang understood then. Her husband was taking on the most arduous task himself.
"Husband, you're so good!" Hu Lanzhi blurted out.
Although Gu Qingcheng was once again force-fed a dose of affection, her heart felt warm.
These were her parents, doing their utmost, even in these chaotic times, to take such meticulous care of her.
Ah, she wished she could be a mama's girl forever!
Gu Chaobei then explained that wolf smoke was made by burning wolf dung, and that border guards used it to transmit military information.
On their journey fleeing famine, they had seen plenty of wolf dung. They could collect some dry pieces to keep on hand.
Though it sounded rather disgusting, it was currently the most convenient and efficient way to communicate in this era. Without phone signals, this was their only option.
If they were to survive here, they had to adapt to the harsh living conditions.
Once everyone had eaten, they had the energy to talk.
Facing an unpredictable future, Gu Chaobei, as the head of the family and an amateur outdoor adventure expert, possessed some relevant knowledge. He guided the mother and daughter further and they discussed some emergency response strategies.
"Dad, Mom, by the way, I have some dark chocolate here. It was a gift from the newcomer's welcome package from the Mountain Cat Supermarket. I think these three bodies are quite weak, so why don't we eat it now to replenish ourselves?"
Gu Qingcheng suggested.
She was so excited that she only now remembered the dark chocolate. She took it out from the Mountain Cat Supermarket.
A bar of dark chocolate had six squares. She divided two squares for her parents and kept two for herself.
"Qingcheng is right. All three of us were in poor health. If we hadn't had bread to eat today, we would have starved long ago. We really need energy replenishment."
Gu Chaobei, being a doctor, spoke with undeniable medical reasoning.
Although Hu Lanfang was a little reluctant, thinking they should save it for when they were truly hungry, her husband's authoritative medical knowledge convinced her.
And so, the three of them ate the dark chocolate.
"Dad, Mom, this chocolate has a secret. I feel warm in my stomach after eating it, and wow, I feel stronger too."
Gu Qingcheng happened to be reaching for a dry branch to throw into the fire. She casually snapped a branch as thick as her arm with ease, something only Gu Chaobei could have done before.
"Let's try too."
Gu Chaobei and Hu Lanfang's interest was piqued.
Gu Chaobei picked up a large stone weighing about forty jin from the edge of the campsite, walked a few steps, and then happily said,
"Indeed, my strength has greatly increased, it was very easy."
"Let me try too."
Hu Lanfang also attempted to lift the stone. While she could lift it, it appeared somewhat strenuous, but it was still astonishing. Her strength had definitely increased.
"Dad, Mom, with increased strength, we have more ability to protect ourselves," Gu Qingcheng said. "With the system's help, I now have more confidence in our ability to survive here."
Excited, the three of them felt revitalized. Time passed quickly. As the morning star began to rise, Gu Chaobei urged his daughter to get some sleep.
Hu Lanfang said she felt refreshed after her nap and couldn't sleep. It was her turn to keep watch, so she told Gu Chaobei to rest.
Unable to refuse his wife, Gu Chaobei lay down fully clothed next to Gu Qingcheng.
Gu Qingcheng fell asleep quickly, but her dreams were restless.
Hu Lanfang added wood to the fire, occasionally seeing her daughter murmuring in her sleep, her expression shifting between pain and fear, accompanied by occasional twitches.
Hu Lanfang thought that her daughter must have been frightened by that bad boy, Gu Dou, during the day and was having nightmares.
So, she gently patted her back from time to time, comforting her daughter, just as she often did when her daughter was a child and had nightmares.
As dawn approached, Gu Qingcheng suddenly cried out, "Ah!" and woke up.
Gu Chaobei was also startled awake, looking around blankly, clearly disoriented for a moment.
Hu Lanfang quickly rushed over and embraced her daughter, saying,
"Qingcheng, what's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"
Held by her mother, Gu Qingcheng's rapid heartbeat gradually calmed down. She patted her chest and said,
"I was so scared. After I fell asleep, I had a very long dream.
In the dream, it was said that the emperor of the Great Zhou dynasty was tyrannical and angered heaven, and was punished by heaven. In the future, there would be many years of natural disasters and man-made calamities.
First, the temperature would drop to around minus 40 degrees Celsius, which would last for about a year. Then, the temperature would rise, and the ice and snow would melt. But don't get happy, because floods would come next. Countless people in low-lying areas would drown.
After the floods receded, it would be a year of great drought, with a severe shortage of grain and crops, and countless people would starve. Cannibalism would occur.
Only after the great drought would the normal cycle of seasons gradually return.
In the dream, I first shivered from the cold, then I dreamt I was submerged in water, almost drowning, but you saved me.
Later, I couldn't find water to drink anywhere and was dying of thirst. I finally found a dirty pool of foul water, but a refugee who was also desperate for water grabbed me by the neck and tried to strangle me. Fortunately, I woke up at that moment."
Gu Qingcheng still felt a lingering fear as she recounted her dream.
Gu Chaobei and Hu Lanfang exchanged glances, about to comfort her by saying it was just a dream and not to take it seriously.
Just then, something began to drift down from the sky. The three of them instinctively reached out to catch it. My heavens, it was snowflakes!
Snowfall was a phenomenon of winter, but it was only September!
"The season is wrong. Why is it snowing in autumn? Qingcheng, could your dream be true?"
Hu Lanfang panicked.
At this moment, as the temperature continued to drop, the three of them felt a chill.