The harvested grains, during this winter, need to be not only threshed but also sorted.
The high-quality plump grains should be stored separately, as they may later be used as seeds. The medium-quality grains are planned to be gradually consumed, while the poorest quality grains, Wen Qian will take out and slowly use up now.
The same allocation applies to potatoes and vegetables too - the worst ones are to be eaten first.
Of course, this habit was formed after she had the Dimensional Space; if she didn't have the Space, she would consume the medium-quality ones first.
It's also been the third year, and Wen Qian realized that she needs to start storing some things here, without using the Space for storage.
Then the concept of best-before date would come into play. Wen Qian worries that after a long time, she might forget about this, so she needs to remind herself.
Some jars filled with grains were not put into the Space; instead, they were covered with lids and stored indoors. She wants to slowly turn this place into a more normal home.
Therefore, preventing theft, rot, mice, and insects also becomes important. With the increasing harvest, mice and insects have appeared in her home.
Thus, mouse traps and insecticides come into use. Before winter arrived, she inspected the condition of the house and re-patched any gaps or loose areas.
After winter set in, she also added a layer of plastic sheeting on the doors and windows to block wind and cold.
The indoor temperature feels like spring, while outside the icy winds howl.
One morning, Wen Qian placed a cake on the table.
Since her grandmother passed away, she rarely celebrated her own birthday.
This time, she almost forgot about it until she found the cake she had previously purchased while searching through the Space.
For so many years, she had always missed her birthday. This year happens to be her 30th birthday.
So Wen Qian started preparing for herself - the cake was ready, candles lit, dishes cooked.
After finishing these, she took a photo with her phone.
It felt like celebrating her birthday was something from a long time ago. The experiences from age 26 to 30 began to replay in her mind.
For a moment, Wen Qian felt a mix of emotions - not particularly happy, nor sad, nor grateful either.
It was as if she had come here just to avoid crowds and be alone.
That day, unusually, she opened a can of beer for herself, drinking her complex feelings along with the warm beer.
The weather was too cold, so she had to heat up even the beer before drinking, afraid of catching a cold.
She only ate a quarter of the cake, then packaged it and put it back into the Space - for such finished products, one less means one less.
Even if she had the chance to make them herself in the future, she wouldn't reach the same standard as others.
On her 30th birthday, Wen Qian blew out the candles and made a wish: hoping the volcanic winter would end soon.
Before she obtained the Space, if she made a wish, it would be for good health and smooth work.
Perhaps because she used to celebrate her birthday alone, having her birthday alone after so many years didn't make her feel lonely.
The reason she celebrates her birthday alone is that she doesn't like overly crowded occasions. Apart from family, if someone remembers her birthday and celebrates it with her, she would certainly be happy.
But in return, on others' birthdays, she would also have to remember in advance and arrange time to participate in their birthday celebrations.
This is something that requires interaction from both parties to sustain, which isn't easy for Wen Qian, so she often chooses to celebrate alone.
Her birthday passed just like that.
On a new day, Wen Qian took out a previously purchased frozen duck, thawed and cleaned it, then blanched it before stir-frying it with aromatics and putting it in a clay pot to slowly stew on the warm stove, finally adding radish.
The soup would be ready by noon. In the morning, Wen Qian had a bowl of mixed grain porridge with pickled mustard greens and salted duck eggs.
Such conditions used to be available to everyone before, but after the disaster, there were very few who could still eat like this.
Wen Qian is already very satisfied with her current life.
Perhaps because she worked hard this year, Wen Qian clearly noticed that her appetite has increased. In the past, she had to force herself to eat more, but now her stomach capacity has unknowingly grown.
At the same time, she also noticed that her daily routine is very regular - she goes to bed early and gets up early, basically never staying up late.
One reason is that there's nothing to do if she stays up late. In the past, she could switch between her phone, computer, and TV until late at night.
Now, if she wants to stay up late, she can only read books by lamplight, which isn't good for her eyes and wastes electricity or oil, so Wen Qian doesn't do that.
With a balanced and healthy diet, and a regular routine, her condition hasn't weakened despite her increasing age.
She now lives a healthy and regular life that was difficult to achieve before.
At age 26, she often sat at her computer desk, feeling back pain and a stiff neck, with stiff shoulders too.
Back then, her eyes were either glued to her phone or computer screen. Now, what she can see is the vast snow-capped mountains and the expansive Gobi Desert.
These days, Wen Qian has finally gotten used to the surrounding scenery and open spaces, gradually adapting to the altitude, climate, snow, and wind here.
She even listens to the radio less frequently now.
This year's temperature records, compared to the previous two years, still show no signs of recovery, meaning the volcanic winter is continuing.
Wen Qian no longer sees it as a disaster, but rather treats the current climate as part of daily life, living according to this climate.
From the first two years of exploration until now, she can pinpoint the right times for sowing and harvesting. As for the rest, she leaves it to nature.
Wen Qian also knows that farming depends on the mercy of nature - a good year from nature means enough food, but if nature is unkind, there will be no harvest. So Wen Qian doesn't dare to hope for consecutive bountiful harvests.
She just puts in her utmost effort to prepare everything, doing what she can.
Under the current conditions, if the crops can grow, she should be grateful, and not wasting seeds is already a success.
Even with the abundance of wild vegetables she dug up previously, she didn't waste any - some were cold-dressed, some stir-fried with lard, and others used to make egg dumplings, all tasting good.
Speaking of which, she originally wanted to raise chickens, but then considered that even if she could incubate the chicks at a suitable temperature, the chicks would still need to eat grains. After pondering, she decided against it.
Right now, she can't afford to raise anything that needs to eat grains, be it chickens, ducks, cats, or dogs. But she can't raise sheep or cattle either.
She has nearly filled up the notebook she uses for recording over the years. Except for the murders, she has meticulously documented all other important events.
Similarly, when learning to weave fishing nets, build houses, and make canned food, she would also record the content and instructional diagrams in the form of notes.
Although the books she purchased have ready-made instructions and diagrams, she still feels the need to record them herself, inevitably writing them down by hand.
If one day she doesn't have those books with her, she can still rely on her memory to produce the same things as before.
The knowledge inscribed in her own mind is truly her own.
