It was already exhausting just to chase the wild boar, and bringing back a wild boar weighing over a hundred jin while trekking over mountains was naturally even more strenuous. On top of that, Ashley Grant was not only unable to help, but was clearly a burden.

It took more than four hours before Henry Clark finally returned to the shelter with his prey and the Ashley Grant he had picked up.

Ashley Grant was looking around Henry Clark's shelter with eyes full of curiosity and amazement.

This was a small mountain village. The entire village had been relocated long ago, so it was now abandoned. But the houses were built from mountain stones, and even though they had been deserted for decades, the main structures of these houses were still very sturdy.

Henry Clark's shelter was one of the relatively intact and well-located stone houses in this small village.

In Ashley Grant's eyes, this abandoned stone house was a mansion compared to where she lived.

Although small, a house with a door, windows, and a roof was a mansion, especially here in the Taihang Mountains, where winters were extremely, extremely cold. So the houses here would definitely have heated brick beds (kang). Even if the house was abandoned, the kang couldn't be moved and wouldn't break.

So of course, this was a mansion.

"Your house is really nice!"

"Yeah, it is pretty nice. With the kang heated, it's quite warm at night."

After admiring the house with envy, Ashley Grant immediately looked again at the wild boar by Henry Clark's feet.

"When are we going to eat meat?"

Ashley Grant started to swallow hungrily.

"I know you're very hungry right now, but there are some things I have to make clear to you."

Henry Clark looked very serious, while Ashley Grant seemed a bit worried. She frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I'll listen to what you have to say first."

Henry Clark said irritably, "I knew you were thinking the wrong thing. Can't you have a little self-awareness? Do you need to look in the mirror again?"

"You... never mind, go ahead."

"We don't know what's going on outside, and we don't know how things will end up. It's very possible we'll be stuck in these mountains for a long time, or we might die soon. I can take you in, but for us to really get along for the long term, I have to set some rules for you."

"Okay."

"I have a lot of supplies, and I'm willing to share some things with you, but you can't use any supplies on your own, understand?"

"Understood, it's all yours. I promise I won't have any improper thoughts."

Henry Clark shook his head and said, "No, what I mean is that anything we use has to be planned, and I'm the one who makes the plans."

"Got it, that's reasonable, very reasonable."

Henry Clark said in a low voice, "I'm not taking you in to make you a slave, nor do I have any other intentions toward you, so you don't need to worry too much. But if there's work for you to do, you have to do it. I don't want to treat you like a slave, but I also don't want to feed someone who does nothing."

"Reasonable, very reasonable. You actually didn't need to explain this, I'm not stupid."

Henry Clark smiled and said, "Still, it's better to say it out loud. After all, kids your age are all spoiled."

"But you have to face reality. Um, brother, can we eat first?"

Henry Clark put on a stern face and said, "How old are you?"

"I'm almost 14."

Henry Clark took a breath and said, "So you still want to play mind games with me, huh?"

Ashley Grant quickly said, "Sorry, sorry, I actually..."

"How old!"

"Eighteen, senior in high school."

Henry Clark let out a breath and said, "Call me 'brother.' From now on, I'm your brother. I'm only twenty-four. Do you really think you should call me 'uncle'?"

"Twenty-four? Doesn't seem like it... Brother! Is there anything to eat? I'm really starving!"

Henry Clark rolled his eyes helplessly and said, "There is food, but our dinner is wild boar meat, because the food that can be stored long-term can't be eaten unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Okay, that makes sense. So what should we do now?"

"First, we need to skin this pig." As he spoke, Henry Clark raised his hand to check his watch, and after seeing the time, he immediately said, "Wait, let's deal with the pig and eating meat later."

Under Ashley Grant's confused and expectant gaze, Henry Clark went into the house.

Henry Clark brought out a very large metal can, which was a tin for compressed biscuits.

Henry Clark opened the tin and took out a radio.

Ashley Grant's eyes immediately lit up, and she instantly became ecstatic.

Henry Clark connected the shortwave radio to the outdoor antenna, then turned it on.

Ashley Grant just watched Henry Clark, while Henry Clark tuned to the required frequency, but all he could hear was static.

Amid the crackling noise, Ashley Grant couldn't help but say, "This is a radio, right? Who are you trying to contact? Who can you contact?"

Henry Clark didn't answer Ashley Grant. He just held the microphone, pressed the transmit button, and said in a low voice, "This is Blacksmith, calling Pipe, calling Ham, can you hear me? Over."

He released the button—still static, the same old static, the same old disappointment.