Chapter 29: The Painful Loss of a Beloved

As time passed, Zhou Jun, who had long finished dealing with the dry branches, began working on the bed. Ji Chang was also not idle, controlling wasps and ants to continuously transport the wood broken by Zhou Jun to the area beneath the writing desk.

After gathering a sufficient amount of wood, Ji Chang felt it was enough. He directed Zhou Jun's attention towards the iron rivets on the bed. While these rivets were much harder than wood, with Ji Chang's analysis and guidance, Zhou Jun eventually managed to pull one out after tremendous effort.

In Ji Chang's perspective, one iron rivet was entirely sufficient. Zhou Jun's attention then shifted to the cement floor in the living room.

By late afternoon, with everyone's concerted efforts, all the materials had been transported to the writing desk. After a busy afternoon, Zhou Jun was completely exhausted.

...

"Ji-ge, I've drawn a simple schematic. If we build according to this, it should meet our needs!" After dinner, the group gathered together, and Chen Lingxue pointed at the "blueprint" she had drawn on the writing desk using charred sticks from the fire.

For those unfamiliar with house construction and blueprint designs, they looked at the lines and then back at Chen Lingxue and Ji Chang, seeking guidance.

Observing Chen Lingxue's schematic, Ji Chang couldn't help but admire her. The design was both simple and clear, even incorporating a reasonable interior arrangement.

Although Ji Chang wasn't versed in design, he had experience building thatched huts under the guidance of temple masters.

With this experience, Ji Chang understood how to utilize the terrain's advantages. He rubbed his chin and said, "Perhaps we don't need to build an external wall for the back of the house. We can rely on the wall behind the writing desk. In simple terms, we embed or 'insert' the house into it. This way, we don't need to worry about load-bearing, and it reduces the labor for mending."

Hearing Ji Chang's words, Chen Lingxue nodded and used a charred stick as a pen to make adjustments on the schematic.

Soon, the blueprint for the house was complete. With the twilight, the group immediately began construction.

Of course, Huang Mang was the main laborer for the construction. After all, whether it was laying the foundation or integrating the house into the wall, it all required the fusion of Huang Mang's materials.

With his mental strength restored, Huang Mang worked adeptly. He swiftly inserted the wooden planks into the writing desk and the walls. Then, using the wooden boards shaken loose from the bed by Zhou Jun, he connected everything. His entire arms transformed into woody limbs, constantly fusing with the wood.

By midnight, guided by Ji Chang and Chen Lingxue, everyone pitched in. The basic structure of the house was swiftly taking form. Following Ji Chang's suggestion, while the house was embedded in the wall, iron plates torn from the iron rivets were used to reinforce the junction for added stability.

During construction, Chen Lingxue continually used her green mist to aid Huang Mang in restoring his mental strength. This contributed to their rapid progress in building the framework.

Inside the house, wooden boards separated the space into two bedrooms, each with its own windows. After all, they couldn't just sleep side by side indefinitely...

...

Under the moonlight, the group stood in a row, admiring their masterpiece. Huang Mang couldn't believe his eyes and took a deep breath, saying, "My goodness, I actually built a house!"

As Huang Mang's words fell, a hint of excitement appeared on everyone's faces. Just as Huang Mang said, they had successfully built a house!

"Alright, everyone must be exhausted. Let's stop here for today and improve the rest of the facilities later."

After consulting Chen Lingxue about the approximate time, Ji Chang decided it was around one or two in the morning and signaled everyone to prepare for rest.

The house was just taking shape, merely an outer shell with an empty interior. But given the time, Ji Chang understood that everyone needed rest, especially since they were going to explore the kitchen the next day.

As for beds and such, they could sort that out tomorrow; after all, they had been sleeping on makeshift paper bedding since they shrank.

...

In the early morning, a rooster's crow echoed, rousing everyone from their slumber. Ji Chang was the first to jump up.

After carefully listening, he couldn't help but exhale in relief. He determined that the rooster's crow came from within the courtyard.

While the writing desk might be able to deter mice, it definitely couldn't stop a rooster!

However, with the door guarding the entrance, it was unlikely the rooster could get in. Still, this crowing had effectively dispelled everyone's sleepiness.

Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Huang Mang mumbled, "Ah, it's been days since I had any meat. When can I have a chicken leg or something?"

"Eating chicken? Well, aside from eating yourself, I doubt you'll have a chance to eat chicken in this lifetime!"

Zhou Jun yawned and spoke.

"Well, you never know. Maybe one day my ice spike will be powerful enough to shoot down a rooster in one hit!"

Mentioning chicken meat, Zheng Haiyu also woke up instantly, looking at the blue ice crystal constantly forming on his palm and saying.

"While chicken meat might not be possible for now, if you're craving meat... it's not impossible!"

Upon hearing this discussion about meat, Ji Chang suddenly raised an eyebrow.

Soon, the conversation among the group attracted several girls. After all, from shrinking and eating rice cakes to two meals of iron plate bok choy, the prospect of relying on more bok choy tomorrow was making everyone a little green-eyed.

So, when Ji Chang mentioned the possibility of tasting meat, hopeful expressions appeared on everyone's faces.

"Chicken meat might not be available, but we can have the crispy taste of... crickets!"

A quick glance at the salivating group, Ji Chang said lightly.

However, except for Huang Mang, everyone else wore expressions of disgust, as if the green light that had just shone in their eyes had completely faded away. To them, they would rather eat iron plate bok choy for a lifetime than touch crickets...

"Ji-ge, is it true? Can we really handle crickets?"

Unlike the others' disgust, Huang Mang looked at Ji Chang with enthusiasm and asked. Mentioning crickets had even made Huang Mang's mouth water.

Back when he and Ji Chang were in primary school, they once encountered fried crickets at a temple fair. After trying them once, Huang Mang was hooked.

But for some reason, the fair stopped having them, and Huang Mang lost his favorite treat. It wasn't until the past couple of years, with the rise of mukbang and improved food delivery services, that he finally rediscovered his beloved snack!

As for Ji Chang, while he didn't have an aversion to eating crickets, he didn't have Huang Mang's strong taste for them either.