Chapter 363 - 261: Not Coming Back Tonight
In the evening, when Qin Lan and Mo Qingyan came to find Chen Xin after finishing their own things, they saw he was still busy.
The drilled well had stopped spewing water, and the workers had already moved the drilling rig and were now clearing snow to prepare the site for constructing the thermal hub.
The workers were clearing the snow quickly, and there was already a snow pit over three meters deep on the ground. Relying on his Power Armor, Chen Xin was helping the workers lift the cleared snow from the bottom of the pit for easier transport.
"Ah Xin!" Qin Lan called out to Chen Xin, who was helping to lift snow from the pit.
"Ah Lan, Dragon Girl! Why are you guys here?" Chen Xin greeted the two, dumped a basket of snow onto a small cart beside him, threw the basket back into the pit, and then paused his work to ask the two: "Isn’t it busy at the aid station? How come you have time to come find me?"
"The aid station is okay. With the arrival of the second batch of rescue teams, things are running smoothly. After finishing up, we still have time to rest," Qin Lan replied, smiling at Chen Xin and answering his question.
Mo Qingyan, watching the busy workers on the site, asked Chen Xin curiously: "Foodie, you guys aren’t resting yet this late? It’s tough!"
Although it was always dark and hard to distinguish day from night, most people still maintained their pre-disaster schedules to avoid confusion over time.
So considering the time, it was already eight or nine at night, theoretically time for Chen Xin and his crew to have finished work for the day and be preparing to rest, yet they were still busy.
"It’s alright. Today we mainly waited for the hot spring well to stop spraying, so we started late. The night work is almost done. We’ll work on it during the day tomorrow, and then we’ll have the snow cleared and start construction the day after," Chen Xin explained why they were still working at night.
But when Mo Qingyan asked, Chen Xin looked at the time and the depth of the snow pit, considered for a moment, and shouted to the workers: "Let’s call it a day, folks. Go back and rest well. We’ll start early tomorrow and try to clear everything in one day, so we can start construction the day after."
"Oh!" The workers cheered upon hearing they could rest, put their tools down, climbed out of the pit, and headed towards the tents.
Seeing the workers heading towards the tents, Chen Xin also walked towards his temporary place with Qin Lan and Mo Qingyan.
Upon reaching the snow cave, Qin Lan and Mo Qingyan were visibly startled. Though they knew Chen Xin’s conditions weren’t great and he wasn’t staying in a house, they hadn’t expected his accommodations to be such an outdoor makeshift setup.
Even though neither Qin Lan nor Mo Qingyan expected Chen Xin to actually be camping in a snow cave, their reactions were quite different.
Looking at Chen Xin’s tent in the snow cave, Qin Lan’s first instinct was to feel sorry for him, and she instinctively said: "Ah Xin, are you sleeping in just this tent at night? The conditions are too harsh. Why don’t you sleep in the car instead? I can ask Han Ping to drive the car over!"
"It’s not as bad as you think. There’s a heater in the tent, so it’s not cold," Chen Xin smiled at Qin Lan. Although he appreciated her concern, he didn’t feel his situation was so harsh.
With that, Chen Xin took off his Power Armor and led the two of them into the tent.
The tent wasn’t very soundproof, and the workers’ voices outside could be heard clearly inside Chen Xin’s tent.
Listening to the noise, Qin Lan couldn’t help but frown, feeling even more sympathy for Chen Xin. As Chen Xin’s girlfriend, she knew how much he hated noise, especially since even the slightest sound could wake him up when sleeping.
"The tent isn’t soundproof. If someone snores at night, won’t it keep you from sleeping?" Qin Lan looked at Chen Xin, still hoping to persuade him to sleep in the car.
She didn’t have any ulterior motives, just purely hoped Chen Xin could sleep a bit better at night.
"It’s fine. With earplugs, you can’t hear much, and if it’s really bad, I can wear the driving suit and helmet, and hear nothing at all," Chen Xin patted the driving suit on him. The suit was theoretically fully isolated from the outside, so blocking some noise was just a minor issue.
Chen Xin hadn’t done this because wearing the driving suit to sleep was a bit uncomfortable for his head.
Seeing Chen Xin say this, Qin Lan realized there was no use in persuading him and gave up on convincing him to sleep in the car, though her gaze towards Chen Xin carried a hint of reproach.
Of course, Chen Xin sensed the grievance in Qin Lan’s gaze but couldn’t agree to go sleep elsewhere.
After all, he also wanted to sleep comfortably, but everyone was sleeping in tents, and Chen Xin couldn’t bring himself to single himself out by sleeping in a luxurious RV.
In the past, Chen Xin thought that sharing hardships was just an act to win people over, but when it came down to doing things, who really cares to think that much?
For someone genuinely doing the work, eating and living with the workers on-site is perfectly normal.
"Since you don’t want to go back, let’s leave it at that. Do you have anything to eat here?" Mo Qingyan tugged Qin Lan and then casually looked around Chen Xin’s tent for food: "I remember you said before you wanted to see how the Inuit live in snow houses in the Arctic. This should count as experiencing it firsthand, right?"
"That’s true, but traveling and actually living in such an environment are two completely different experiences. Dragon Girl, didn’t you also say before you wanted to experience an ice hotel that only operates in winter?" Chen Xin joked back with Mo Qingyan, using what she had said before.
Upon hearing Chen Xin’s words, Mo Qingyan nodded generously: "Yes, I really like the ice hotels in Northern Europe. They say the rooms have furniture made of ice and snow, even the beds are laid with fur-covered ice blocks, but you can sleep in a sleeping bag only wearing underwear. Just thinking about it is exciting!"
Listening to Mo Qingyan, Chen Xin couldn’t help but laugh: "If you really want to experience sleeping in just your underwear in below-zero temperatures, it’s simple. Stay the night. The tent has a heater, and it’s around five or six degrees. Even if you kick off your blanket, you won’t freeze into an ice block."
Chen Xin was originally joking, but Mo Qingyan, somehow excited, nodded happily and said: "Alright, I won’t go back tonight!"