CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38: FINDING WARMTH IN THE COLD

Yao Wei felt really good and comfortable, the warmth at the soles of her feet immediately relieved her urgent need.

Just thinking about the flattened bottle, she felt it was a bit of a waste: "Thank you. It’s just because of this, the bottle’s gotten flattened..."

Lu Xi’an smiled, saying nonchalantly: "No worries, it’s just two bottles. I’ve collected plenty more bottles, it’s enough. Besides, don’t we still have a bucket? It’s not much, but with a squeeze, one should fit."

The bucket needs to be placed on a flat surface and filled with water, so it’s not easy to settle it on a car filled with supplies.

Only then did Yao Wei nod, saying: "Mm."

Lu Xi’an brought over a bowl, saying: "Here, drink this leftover warm water. I had some left after filling the bottles, it’s perfect for you to drink."

Yao Wei shook her head, saying: "I don’t want to drink now, you drink it."

Lu Xi’an said: "It’d be wasted on me. Drinking warm water during this time helps alleviate pain. If I’d known you were going to have your period, I would’ve prepared warm water for you earlier."

Yao Wei asked: "What period?"

"..."

Lu Xi’an said, "Just like your current situation."

"Oh."

Yao Wei blinked twice, revealing an expression of having learned something.

Of course, what she mainly learned wasn’t these two words, but how to deal with her current situation.

She hadn’t known such a term before.

She didn’t refuse any further, sat up and drank the warm water, feeling a warmth flowing down her throat into her belly, cozy and comfortable.

It seemed... she did feel a little better.

Of course, just one bowl of water wasn’t actually that effective. Yao Wei’s feeling was just psychological.

But in the following days, when Lu Xi’an boiled water for her to drink every day, even heating the water for washing up, Yao Wei really did start feeling much more comfortable, her stomach pains were practically gone.

She thought Lu Xi’an was really impressive, knowing everything.

"How are you feeling?"

Lu Xi’an asked.

"Pretty good."

Yao Wei said, handing the bowl back to Lu Xi’an.

Lu Xi’an smiled slightly, first putting the bowl on the table, then crawled back into his own bed.

He made an extra "warm bottle," wrapped it with a pillowcase, placed it beside his feet, and upon entering the bed, pressed his foot on it, feeling a cozy warmth, then slightly burning, making him shiver.

"Comfortable!"

He gently exhaled, wrapped the blanket tightly, and spoke.

Seeing his appearance, Yao Wei couldn’t help but smile. The two exchanged a glance and a smile, then Lu Xi’an called for Gou to come, turned off the lights, and went to sleep.

In the days that followed, Lu Xi’an started boiling water frequently.

Of course, Yao Wei wasn’t a pampered woman, she wouldn’t simply lie in bed for these days, leaving everything to Lu Xi’an, completely having him take care of everything.

She would do what she could, helping to clean the dormitory, boil water, and cook.

——She followed Lu Xi’an and learned to make some simple meals.

These things weren’t too difficult for her.

But when it came to washing pots and dishes, Lu Xi’an stopped her from helping.

"During your period, touching cold water can cause blood clots, the stomach pain is caused by this. It’s not necessary to use hot water for washing dishes, so this task doesn’t have to be yours."

Lu Xi’an said this to Yao Wei, and sighed, "If I’d known you’d have this situation, I wouldn’t have let you touch cold water before. Touching cold water before your period also causes this situation."

Yao Wei nodded, saying: "Mm. I’ll be careful next time."

She held to the principle of handling things herself after learning it, not planning to rely solely on Lu Xi’an in the future.

But for now, fetching water outside still depended on Lu Xi’an.

This cold snap lasted several days, snow fell outside, and without warming up, the ice was hard to melt, and going out was wet and cold, inevitably causing dampness.

So Lu Xi’an took on this task, also removing the back wall of a nearby house, going in to lift the car hood, using tools from Yao Wei’s toolbox to disconnect the wires on the battery.

In freezing weather, the reservoir’s water had already turned to ice. Lu Xi’an didn’t break ice to fetch water, in such cold, he couldn’t gauge how deep the ice was. If shallow, fetching water was risky, if deep, breaking it was troublesome, neither was good.

He simply brought snow back from the doorway, waited for the snow to melt into water, refilled, which was actually more convenient.

He specifically had Gou inspect to ensure the melted snow water was safe for drinking and other uses.

Outside, there’s snow and a river, fetching water was easy, just took a few trips. Lu Xi’an didn’t intend to deprive himself, so he didn’t conserve water, giving himself the same treatment as Yao Wei.

Warm water always flowed down his throat into his body, warming his belly, he couldn’t help but lightly exhale, feeling very comfortable.

In this world, one always needs to save everything, he’d almost forgotten this feeling. To experience it again now, was really good.

Not only that, he indulged a bit, soaking his feet in hot water daily.

Anyway, there were nine remaining buckets here, and not all buckets needed to hold drinking water. Two buckets were specifically set aside for flushing toilets, filling warm bottles, and soaking feet.

He and Yao Wei each had one, bringing the water to just the right temperature before bed, placing it beside the bed, sitting on the bed, putting their feet into the water, the warm water surrounded their feet and legs.

The steam from the water, the warmth at their feet, seemed to rise, warming their bodies too, a lazy, cozy feeling rushing up to the top of the head.

Comfortable!

"How do you feel?"

He asked Yao Wei while soaking his feet.

Yao Wei nodded, looking at her feet in the bucket, saying: "Mm."

Yao Wei’s special days only lasted four days, and she could anticipate the bleeding situation and go deal with it.

Lu Xi’an was certain the Neo-Humans’ physique had improved in this aspect, but he didn’t know why it wasn’t completely improved.

After four days, Yao Wei felt completely restored, and the shelter suddenly became warmer.

The cold snap outside was over.

They stayed here for another two days, waiting for the ice and snow outside to melt before preparing to leave.

Because they knew, these two days were their last moments of enjoyment, so they continued to indulge, drinking warm water and soaking feet in warm water daily.

The warm bottles in the bed, however, were no longer needed, using them now would be too hot.

"Ah, sometimes I really want to stay here, life here is too peaceful."

Before leaving, Lu Xi’an sighed, saying.

Yao Wei pressed her lips saying: "You can stay."

Her voice was muffled, as if saying the opposite of her thoughts.

Lu Xi’an noticed, glanced at Yao Wei, and suddenly laughed: "I won’t stay, why stay?

"Supplies will eventually be consumed, once they’re all gone and my will is depleted, if I can’t survive out there, what do I do?

"This isn’t an oasis, let’s quickly pack and go."

Yao Wei nodded, saying: "Mm." She thought Lu Xi’an was really clear-headed, what he said made a lot of sense.