Arctic survival, starting in hell at minus fifty degrees Celsius

The next morning, Sun Chengwu got up, quietly broke free from the three children's tight embrace, and carefully put their hands back in.

After getting dressed, Ollie asked, "Aren't we going to tell them?"

Sun Chengwu shook his head. "Never mind, parting is always a sad time."

Sun Chengwu planned to leave secretly without telling anyone.

At that moment, out of the corner of his eye, he saw three children sitting neatly on the kang (a heated brick bed), silently looking at him with tears in their eyes.

Sun Chengwu's heart was deeply touched.

He greeted us with a smile, "Good morning."

Ollie translated from the side.

Ataya asked, "Are you planning to leave without telling us?"

Sun Chengwu was a little embarrassed and lied, "No, I went to the toilet and then came back to call you."

Ataya was a little angry. "Don't treat me like a child. I'm not stupid!"

You left secretly, and you're not coming back!

Tears rolled down Ataya's cheeks.

The two didn't have much interaction. Before Ollie came back, they couldn't even speak the same language. Ataya usually just watched him from the sidelines, and also looked after her younger siblings.

He never imagined that this little girl had developed such deep feelings for him.

He regretted it a little and said apologetically, "Ataya, I'm sorry, I was planning to leave secretly without telling you."

"It was my fault, I realize my mistake. Please give me a chance. Could you bring your younger siblings to see me off later?"

Ataya wiped away her tears, snorted, and ignored him.

But Sun Chengwu knew she had agreed.

Ollie's mother also came out of the kitchen with a bowl of fish soup, which was still steaming. She said, "Drink it. The sea god will protect you and ensure a safe journey."

Sun Chengwu did not refuse Aoli's mother's kindness. He took the drink and felt warm all over, dispelling the chill of the polar night.

Parting is inevitable, and this moment has finally arrived.

As Sun Chengwu walked out, Ataya got out of bed, ran after him, hugged his waist, and said, "We'll wait for you to come back."

Sun Chengwu agreed, "Next time I come, I'll bring you gifts."

Ataya's emotions didn't subside as quickly, but the other two children's eyes lit up. "Thank you, big brother!"

Ataya was still reluctant to part with Sun Chengwu, and said hesitantly, "I don't want a gift, I want you to eat with us and work with us."

Looking into Ataya's eyes, Sun Chengwu realized that this girl was treating him like a father.

He stopped trying to fool her, squatted down, and looked Ataya in the eye.

Ataya's gaze was pure.

Sun Chengwu solemnly promised, "I will definitely come back as soon as possible!"

He held up his little finger and said, "Pinky promise, it's a way of making agreements in our mainland."

Ataya tentatively extended her little finger.

Sun Chengwu hooked his little finger around hers and said, "Pinky promise, never to change for a hundred years, whoever changes is a sea dog."

Ataya chuckled, then burst into laughter through her tears, "If you hadn't come, you'd be a sea lion!"

After calming Ataya down, Sun Chengwu stood up. Ollie, no longer acting as translator, said, "Take care. You can come visit the village when you have time."

Sun Chengwu nodded, hugged Ollie, and said, "See you next time."

The ice cart was loaded with women and goods. Giroud, herding his pack of dogs, led Sun Chengwu and the others on their journey home.

The clan chief stood in the snow, watching Sun Chengwu and the others disappear into the darkness, then looked at Ollie and asked, "What do you think of Sun Chengwu?"

After thinking for a moment, Ollie said, "He's loyal and a good person."

The clan chief shook his head. "This guy is very shrewd, but he won't play tricks on those close to him. Get along well with him; you might need him in the future."

Ollie looked at the clan leader with a mixture of understanding and confusion.

Aren't he and Sun Chengwu friends?

Why did the clan chief describe it as a relationship of exploitation?

On the way back, Sun Chengwu thought of Aoli's family, but soon his thoughts settled on the clan chief.

Given the patriarch's personality, he would definitely take advantage of the relationship between Ollie's family and him.

However, the clan chief is unlikely to threaten Ollie's family with their lives to force him to go to sea; he will most likely try to appeal to Ollie's emotions.

Sun Chengwu was certain he would not agree to it.

But then Sun Chengwu thought of the look Ataya gave him when she left, and he became uncertain again.

After thinking for a long time, Sun Chengwu could only scatter his thoughts.

Who cares? Let's wait and see when it happens.

On their way back, they encountered an accident: their ice sled got stuck in a snow pit.

As the polar night arrived, the blizzards in the sky never stopped, sometimes heavy snow, sometimes light snow.

When they got stuck, the blizzard had already spread out, and in just two hours, it had buried half of the entire ice sled, reducing visibility to less than three meters.

The temperature was dropping steadily. Giroud shouted instructions: "Arrange the ice sleds in a circle to block the wind, clear the snow in the middle, start a fire, and keep warm."

The Hadza people began digging in the snow.

They moved quickly, with ice sleds forming a circle above them, and they dug a circular pit in the middle of the snow.

A cold wind blew from above, and the temperature inside the snow pit was much higher than above.

Giroud started a fire, boiled some water, and fed it to the dogs pulling the cart.

I also brought some jerky to help the dog replenish its energy.

Giroud looked up at the dark clouds in the sky, his face as heavy with worry as the clouds themselves. "I'm afraid we'll be trapped for a while."

As the temperature dropped and the snow piled up deeper, they kept clearing the snow from the potholes.

What was burning was an oilcloth, not Sun Chengwu's oilcloth, but a dye made by the Hadza people using seal oil. It could be used for short-term emergencies, but it couldn't sustain burning for too long.

An hour later, Giroud, certain that the blizzard wouldn't stop, went to Sun Chengwu's side and reminded him, "We need to go over there and get some firewood."

He pointed to the darkness in the distance.

In the darkness, white, fluffy snowflakes fell; watching them for too long could cause a feeling of dizziness.

Sun Chengwu asked, "Is there a grove of trees over there?"

Giroud nodded. "If I remember correctly, the woods are over there."

This trip is very risky. If Giru's memory is wrong and the snow covers their footprints, they may not be able to come back.

So Giroud decisively said, "You watch over the camp, I'll take the men out."

He untied the ropes from the two Alaskan Malamutes, wrapped them around his wrists again and again, fed them more water and food, patted their chests, and said, "Old buddies, it'll be up to you in a bit."

The two Alaskan Malamutes raised their heads and barked a few times.

Sun Chengwu watched as Jilu and his people disappeared into the snowstorm, while they were plunged into a long wait.