Even women who travel through time can become prime ministers and nobles.

Deep in the bamboo forest, Shi Wanxia, ​​who was focused on making bamboo tubes, finally made three bamboo tubes, each about 60 to 70 cm long, after more than an hour. It was worth it, even though her hands were almost worn out.

"What a miserable life!" Shi Wanxia thought, feeling more and more like crying. What a mess this was! With a long sigh, she cut a vine, tied the bamboo tubes together securely, and carried them away. She untied the bamboo shoots from their coats, put them down, and carried them on her back. This place wasn't too far from the cave; she could come back to dig again later.

The next task is to continue searching for water. After leaving the bamboo forest, head northwest. The terrain there is lower, and there might be a water source there.

I had picked some wild chili peppers (Sichuan peppercorns), oranges, and green plums along the way, tucked into my jacket. These are common summer fruits in Southwest China.

My coat was almost too big to fit in, but thankfully I climbed the tree again at the picking spot to get a feel for the terrain. It'll be easier to find next time; luckily, it's not far from my cave. As for the water source, I haven't found it after walking for so long. There's still some water in my cup. It's almost noon. I'll search for another two hours. If I still can't find it, I'll go back and move some stones. I'll continue searching tomorrow.

Even with the sun blazing at midday, it doesn't feel hot at all; it's truly a natural air conditioner! A gentle breeze is blowing, making the leaves on the mountainside dance and play music in the wind.

"Swish, swish..." Nature's symphony, beautiful, elegant, and full of life. After resting for a while, they continued onward, searching for water. They used a stick to knock down the weeds along the path, making a "slap, slap" sound. Suddenly, something brushed past their shoe. Startled, Shi Wanxia froze, glancing down to see a large, brownish-black snake, over a meter long, slither past her foot before disappearing into the nearby weeds.

"Oh my god! There's a snake!" Shi Wanxia was so frightened that she frantically patted the weeds, trying to scare the snake away. Seeing that the snake hadn't appeared for a long time, she took off running out of the bushes. "Whew... what a big snake! This... I actually encountered one. What a deeply moving and terrifying event."

After running for a long time, Shi Wanxia was too exhausted to run anymore and finally collapsed to the ground. "It was terrifying. This place is chilling." It took her a while to finally forget about the snake.

Shi Wanxia got up from the ground after resting. She thought she had heard the sound of flowing water. Leaning on her wooden stick, Shi Wanxia followed the sound of water for less than ten meters and saw a small river that was four or five meters wide. There were towering trees all around. The river didn't look big, but it was quite deep and the water was crystal clear. She could even see fish swimming in it. The water was probably five or six meters deep.

Luckily, I can swim. I put my things down by the river, took off my clothes, jumped in, and washed myself. Looking at the fish, I reached out and tried to catch them. Haha, great idea, but reality was harsh. I tried for ages and didn't catch a single fish. "These fish are too slippery. I'll go back and see if I have a net. I'll try again tomorrow."

Summer came out of the river, dressed, and her waist-length, thick, black hair dried in the sun before she set off. There were many vines along the riverbank; perhaps she could weave a basket to carry her things. Then she would wash the ingredients before heading back.

Shi Wanxia was a practical person, always acting on impulse. She took a knife, cut vines and branches, and sat by the river to begin weaving baskets.

"Fortunately, I am an online novelist. Besides writing, I usually read books. I have watched all kinds of videos and read all kinds of books. These things are not difficult for me. It's just that when I see the finished product, apart from being a bit crooked and ugly, there are no other problems. Oh well, I'll just make do with it."

Seeing that there were still plenty of materials left, I wove another two baskets, similar to vegetable baskets, which were quite nice. After peeling and washing the bamboo shoots, I put them in the baskets. I also washed the bamboo tubes, filled them with water, and worried that the lids I made wouldn't be tight enough and would leak, so I picked a few large leaves and used them to wed the lids, making them fit perfectly.

He filled three bamboo tubes with water, tied them together with vines, carried them on his back, and slung two baskets over his shoulder as he hurried towards the cave. Along the way, he marked the locations on the trees with small stones or a knife so he wouldn't forget where to fetch water.

As Shi Wanxia walked, she thought about finishing the wall that afternoon and building a simple stove out of stones. Tomorrow, she would continue exploring the surroundings to see if there was any good fresh soil to make some buckets, earthenware pots, and the like.

I picked some mushrooms under the trees. They were just ordinary small shiitake mushrooms. I didn't recognize the other red and white ones, so I didn't pick them. It would be troublesome if I got poisoned. There was no signal in this lousy place. Back then, I was helpless. I valued my life very much.

Shi Wanxia walked three or four kilometers southeast from He Bian before returning to the cave. She put her things down, put on the clothes she had soiled the day before, ate some compressed biscuits for lunch, drank some water, and continued moving bricks—no, she meant moving stones.

When will this ever end?! At this rate, I'll turn into a savage. Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. I'd better finish building the wall today so I can sleep peacefully tonight.

I didn't sleep well yesterday, and I vaguely remember hearing wolves howling in my sleep. Goodness, there are wolves! So I'll have to dig two more traps around the cave, as well as some obstacles to save my life. I sighed and headed to the back of the cave to continue moving stones. My hands hurt from not wearing gloves yesterday, but with gloves on today, they shouldn't hurt as much.

Shi Wanxia went back and forth countless times, singing as she moved stones to build the wall. She only rested for about ten minutes in between. After more than three hours, she finally built a wall that was nearly 60 centimeters high. Shi Wanxia pushed the wooden stakes with her hand, and they moved slightly, but the stones did not move at all. She was very satisfied with the result.

I carried the remaining stones into the cave to start building a stove. I didn't build it too high, because with my skills, a tall tower would be a real problem if it collapsed. I didn't have much firewood left from yesterday, so I needed to gather more dry grass to weave into one straw mat as a mattress and another to block the wind, otherwise it would be quite cold at night.

Shi Wanxia drank some water and put the water cup in the cave. It was still early, around 4:30. After finding some dry grass and firewood, she could use thicker pieces of wood to set traps in front of the cave so that she wouldn't be too afraid of wild animals at night.

"Ugh, the workload keeps piling up! I've walked and done more in the last two days than I have in the past twenty years. As a young person from China, I can't let these difficulties defeat me. Keep going! Otherwise, I'll only suffer more." The more I think about it, the more heartbroken I feel. I'm afraid I won't be interested in camping trips for a long time after I go back. This damn life! It's too torturous.