Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Upgrading the Shelter

At the Chilco Lakefront, autumn is in full swing. Although the sun still holds a hint of warmth, the temperature has noticeably dropped.

It hovers around 5°C to 12°C, and while you can stand in the sunlight, the chill becomes apparent once you step into the shade of the woods or a mountain breeze blows by.

The once lush and green reeds at the lakeside and shallow streams have now mostly shed their greenery, turning into an expanse of withered yellow.

The reed flowers atop have also become particularly fluffy, with some eagerly spreading their mature seeds in the wind, signaling another cycle of life.

Lin Yu’an stands outside his stone shelter, feeling the slightly chilly air; he needs to enhance the shelter’s cold resistance in advance.

“Hey, good morning. The weather is getting colder, and nighttime temperatures have already dropped below freezing.”

“Although my shelter is sturdy, there’s still much room for improvement in terms of insulation.”

He walks to the lakeside, his gaze falling on the withered reeds not far away. He breaks off a dried reed stem with his hand, examining it closely.

“These reeds, which seemed like ordinary weeds in the summer, are now treasures.”

Pointing to the reed bed, he says, “These reeds are excellent materials for upgrading my shelter! I’ve decided to use them for that purpose.”

But for any construction, a large amount of rope is needed for binding and weaving.

“Parachute cord is handy, but the amount I brought is limited, so it must be conserved for the most critical uses.”

“Luckily, nature is never stingy with its gifts. It provides us with many natural materials that can substitute modern tools.”

“For instance, the inner bark fibers of these willow trees behind me are a great choice for making ropes.”

“Now it’s mid to late September, and the bark is tighter, making it harder to peel, but with the right method, high-quality bast fibers can still be obtained.”

Lin Yu’an uses the blade of his multi-tool to make two circular cuts around the selected willow trunk.

“These two circular cuts need to cut just through the bark, then a straight line is cut vertically between them to peel off the bark more completely.”

“Though the bark is harder to peel in the autumn, with some effort, the willow bark for this season can still be removed.”

Soon, a large section of willow bark with a pale green inner layer peels off from the trunk, emitting a slightly bitter willow scent.

After collecting enough bark, Lin Yu’an returns to the camp and begins detailed processing.

“What we see now is the dark, rough outer bark of the willow, whose fibers are short and not very flexible, not suitable for making ropes.”

“What we need is the soft and tough inner bark below it, also known as the bast. This is the essence.”

After scraping off the outer bark, he puts the flexible inner bark strips into a clay pot, places it on the stove, and adds plenty of creek water, keeping it warm.

“Soaking in warm water helps to soften the fibers, making them easier to separate, and also removes some impurities and natural gums in the bark.”

“In traditional rope-making crafts, this soaking and fermenting process can take many days,”

“but given the limited conditions, we’ll boil in hot water and soak for a few hours, then use physical pounding to speed up the process.”

Once the inner bark is sufficiently soaked and softened, he takes it out and lays it on a flat stone slab, picking up a short, thick wooden stick.

“Thud! Thud! Thud!” The stick strikes against the wet bark, making a dull sound.

“The purpose of pounding is to make those tough fiber bundles easier to separate.”

He pounds and rotates the bark strips, ensuring every inch is evenly struck.

After a long period of pounding, the once intact inner bark strips become loose, revealing strands of light-colored, coarse hemp-like fibers.

He gathers a bunch of wet fiber bundles in his hand and shows them to the camera.

“Look, these are our raw materials for making ropes. They have excellent toughness.”

“Separate these fiber bundles into small strands and let them dry slowly by the campfire.”

Meanwhile, I’ll collect the reeds.

Without the camera, Lin Yu’an heads to where the reeds grow. He cuts them down and transports them back to the shelter, beginning careful sorting.

Clearing away the excess leaves from the reed stems, leaving only the smooth stalks.

The reed flowers are carefully collected by him as tinder reserves.

When the willow fiber bundles are mostly dry but still retain a hint of flexibility, the work of collecting and processing the reeds is nearly complete.

Lin Yu’an began his core rope-making work.

He sat cross-legged with a pile of light yellow fiber bundles in front of him.

Taking a small bunch of willow fibers, he wet the ends and said to the camera: “Moistening them increases friction, making it easier to twist together.”

Placing the fiber bundle on his thigh, he pressed his right palm flatly on the middle section, pushing and twisting forcefully forward.

Each push carried a rotational force, causing the fibers to intertwine with each other.

“The key to this technique is to continue twisting in one direction while maintaining pressure.”

“As the palm twists, the fibers will become firm, gradually forming a spiral single-strand rope.”

“This single-strand rope, if twisted tightly enough, is more than sufficient for everyday binding.”

When the fiber bundle was about to run out, he would take new fibers and overlap them several centimeters with the old rope end.

“When joining, overlap the joints more, and press harder during twisting to ensure a tight connection.”

This process took a good while, and Lin Yu’an finally accumulated a sufficient amount of willow bark rope.

He picked up processed reed stalks and placed them parallel on the ground.

Two slightly thicker reed stalks served as the “warp threads,” spaced about a meter apart, and he used another reed stalk as the “weft thread,” placing them one by one horizontally across.

With willow bark rope, he fixed the connection points at both ends of the warp and weft threads.

“As you fix each one, push the previous one tightly forward to ensure the reed mat is dense enough for good insulation.

He wove two reed mats of the same size, carefully finishing the edges with willow bark rope.

“The reed mattress layer is complete! Laid on the bed frame, it effectively prevents cold and moisture.”

“Next is the largest project, the ’reed insulation panels’ for these stone walls.”

Lin Yu’an picked up a bundle of thick reed stalks and resumed weaving; this time, the “reed board” was larger and thicker.

In no time, two substantial reed boards were formed.

He first spread a reed board on the ground, then sprinkled a layer of dry moss and fine pine needles about two or three centimeters thick.

“These are natural insulation materials that form an air layer to prevent heat loss.”

After laying the filling, he covered it with another layer of reed board, compressing the upper and lower layers tightly with the filling in the middle.

Next, he used willow bark rope in a “quilting” method to cross-bundle several lines across the sandwich reed board.

Each line was pulled very tightly, pressing the two-layer structure firmly together, forming a thick and resilient sandwich reed insulation board.

He wove strong rope loops using thick willow bark rope at the four corners and middle edges of each panel for subsequent wall mounting.

“Alright, the insulation panels are complete; next is the installation.”

Lin Yu’an picked up dozens of sharp wooden wedges he had previously carved from sturdy wooden sticks.

“Though this stone wall is solid, there are still gaps between the stones that can be exploited.”

He went to a stone wall, found a suitable gap, aimed the wedge’s sharp end, and used the thick back of an axe as a hammer to firmly drive the wedge into place.

“Thud! Thud!” The dull sound of hammering echoed in the stone house. The wedge was deeply driven into the stone crevice, firmly wedged into the wall.

Once the wall was studded with sufficient wedges, Lin Yu’an moved the crafted reed insulation panels to the wall, lifting them with effort to attach flatly to the cold stone surface.

Then he threaded the thick willow bark rope through the rope loops at the panel’s edge, repeatedly winding them around the protruding wooden wedges on the wall, finally tying them with a slip knot to secure them.

With the experience gained from this day’s work, he crafted more reed boards.

After two days of hard work, the interior of the stone house shelter was completely transformed.

A thick and flat reed mattress lay on the bed, and the wooden door was covered with a tightly attached curtain, while the once cold and rough inner stone walls were now covered with a thick “reed coat.”

“Alright, folks, the shelter has undergone a comprehensive warmth upgrade; there are no longer any issues with it now.”

“Next, we can fully dedicate ourselves to storing food and fuel for the approaching harsh winter!”

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