However, letting Li Kun stay outside in the cold wind while she slept inside made Gu Xiaoxi feel a little guilty.

Thinking of this, she suddenly asked, “Are we allowed to make a fire here?”

Li Kun hesitated and said, “We can, but there’s no dry wood around.”

“Then let’s gather some branches and let them dry. The wind should take care of it.”

As she spoke, she shone her flashlight around and casually picked up a branch that had been soaked by the rain.

With a discreet use of her drying technique, the branch quickly dried.

She broke the branch into pieces, took a box of matches from her pocket, and grabbed a handful of dry leaves from the ground to start the fire.

Li Kun had just wanted to tell her that it wouldn’t catch fire, but before he could say anything, he saw the dry leaves ignite.

Amazed, he ran over and said, “Sister-in-law, you’re incredible!”

It had taken the cooks forever just to get a fire going before.

“Add more branches. I’ll go find some drier ones.”

With that, Gu Xiaoxi walked a bit further to look for dry twigs.

Since she didn’t go far, Li Kun didn’t stop her. He quickly added more branches to build up the fire.

Before long, Gu Xiaoxi returned with an armful of dry wood.

Seeing that Li Kun’s clothes were still damp, she said, “I’ll go inside and sleep for a while. You should dry your clothes so you don’t get sick.”

“Yes, Sister-in-law, you rest!”

Gu Xiaoxi went into the tent and forced herself to sleep.

Only by recharging her energy could she stay strong!

However, she didn’t sleep long. Around six in the morning, a clap of thunder jolted her awake.

She rushed outside. “Is it going to rain again?”

Li Kun, who had been stacking firewood, nodded. “I’m afraid so. Sister-in-law, I roasted two sweet potatoes in the fire. Do you want one?”

Gu Xiaoxi saw that Li Kun had gathered more firewood and immediately said, “Let’s eat later. Move the firewood inside the tent first. We need to collect more and stack them neatly. If it rains and we have no dry wood, we won’t even be able to cook.”

“Understood!” Li Kun quickly started moving the firewood.

Gu Xiaoxi went around collecting more.

Since time was short, she used her Gardage Sorting Technique to gather all the burnable dry branches into one place. In the blink of an eye, she had a huge pile.

Then, she used her wind-drying technique and called Li Kun over to carry the wood.

The two of them worked together, and before long, the entire tent was filled with firewood. The only thing left outside was the army cot, which they had moved next to the fire.

As they sat on the cot, resting and eating roasted sweet potatoes, Li Kun couldn’t help but ask, “Sister-in-law, did we collect too much firewood? If it starts raining, we won’t even have space to take shelter.”

Just as he finished speaking, raindrops began to fall, pattering down heavily.

Gu Xiaoxi froze for two seconds, then quickly grabbed a raincoat from the corner of the tent and put it on.

Li Kun also hurriedly put on his raincoat and shoved the army cot into the pile of firewood.

When Lu Jiansen returned with his men, the first thing he saw was his little girl standing in the rain with Li Kun, both wearing raincoats.

His brows furrowed, and just as he was about to order them to return to the tent, his gaze landed on the mountain of firewood.

Taking a deep breath, he turned to his men and commanded, “Orders for all—set up a temporary camp immediately!”

“Yes, sir!”

At his command, everyone scattered to work.

Gu Xiaoxi looked at the man walking toward her and took a small bite of her sweet potato. In a soft voice, she said, “I’m sorry! We accidentally collected too much firewood.”

Lu Jiansen stopped in front of her and gently wiped the raindrops off her cheek.

“Next time, remember—your own safety is more important. Everything else can be sacrificed.”

“Oh.” Gu Xiaoxi responded softly.

Li Kun instinctively felt that this was not a scene he should be watching. To make up for it, he quickly turned his attention to helping set up the new temporary camp.

Due to the lack of sufficient materials, the soldiers ultimately braved the rain to build a simple thatched shelter for cover.

Although they had been drenched, everyone was still in high spirits. Some were making fires, while others were sneaking glances at their commander’s wife. The atmosphere was exceptionally lively.

Since they had firewood, Lu Jiansen sent someone to the cooking squad to request some ingredients and a pot to start a fire and cook.

Gu Xiaoxi sat beside Lu Jiansen, glancing at him and then at the soldiers. “Is anyone injured?”

Before Lu Jiansen could answer, the soldiers responded in unison, “Sister-in-law, don’t worry. We are in excellent physical condition.”

Gu Xiaoxi had her own responsibilities, so she added, “If anyone gets hurt, make sure to let me know.”

Lu Jiansen patted her head. “Just make sure you don’t get hurt yourself. And don’t wander off!”

“Got it. Did you manage to rescue anyone?” Gu Xiaoxi quickly changed the subject.

Lu Jiansen nodded. “We rescued some trapped civilians.”

At that moment, a dark-skinned soldier with an honest demeanor spoke up. “We also saved a pregnant woman. By the time we returned, she had given birth to twins at the temporary medical station.”

Gu Xiaoxi took a sharp breath. “That must have been really dangerous!”

Another soldier sighed with regret. “We also pulled someone out of the water, but… he didn’t make it.”

That single sentence cast a somber mood over the group.

Not wanting the little girl to be affected by the sadness, Lu Jiansen quickly shifted the conversation.

“This flood has destroyed thousands of acres of farmland. Many villagers have lost their homes, furniture, and a large portion of the supply co-op’s cotton fabric and goods. The food losses are even worse—by rough estimates, at least ten thousand jin (about 5,000 kg) of grain is gone.”

Gu Xiaoxi’s eyes widened. “The damage is that severe?”

Lu Jiansen nodded. “And that’s just a preliminary estimate. This means we probably won’t be returning anytime soon.”

Gu Xiaoxi sighed, gently tugging at Lu Jiansen’s sleeve.

“Why don’t we move the firewood outside and let you all rest in the tent for a while?”

She felt that the soldiers had been working far too hard.

Lu Jiansen reassured her by giving her palm a gentle squeeze. “No need. This firewood is extremely useful. It keeps the soldiers warm and ensures they have food. Everyone will just rest where they are for now.”

Gu Xiaoxi turned and saw that the soldiers were once again making sweet potato porridge. A pang of sadness struck her.

It was a mushy mess—neither soupy nor solid, and the bottom was burnt black. It didn’t look appetizing at all!

Following her gaze, Lu Jiansen glanced at the pot and said softly, “I’ll cook you some noodles later.”

Gu Xiaoxi shook her head. “No need. Just throw a sweet potato into the fire to roast. I like eating those.”

“Alright.” Lu Jiansen personally picked out two sweet potatoes and placed them by the fire, keeping a close eye on them.

By the time the sweet potatoes were roasted, the soldiers had already finished their meal.

However, the rain hadn’t stopped; in fact, it seemed to be coming down even harder.

Gu Xiaoxi leaned against Lu Jiansen, nibbling on her roasted sweet potato as she watched the rain fall.

Lu Jiansen looked at the little girl beside him, feeling warmth in his heart.

Two hours later, the rain finally subsided.

Lu Jiansen ordered his men to move the firewood from the tent into the thatched shelter, freeing up space inside.

Seeing that Gu Xiaoxi looked drowsy, he reached out to touch her cold forehead and said gently, “Go get some rest.”

“Mm.” Gu Xiaoxi didn’t argue and went to sleep on the camp bed.

Noticing that her face was slightly pale and that a military coat wouldn’t be warm enough, Lu Jiansen borrowed a quilt to cover her. He also built a fire nearby to keep her warm before leading his team out again.