29: A steel gate stood firm against the perilous pass, and the family was finally reunited.

Chapter 29: Steel Gates Guard the Narrow Pass, Family Finally Reunites

At seven in the morning, Lin Zhou woke up naturally to the gentle call of his biological clock, having slept exceptionally soundly without dreams. Opening his eyes, he immediately scanned the system's light screen in his mind—the crimson countdown was ticking away at 58:17:03.

After a quick wash, he went down to the breakfast stall below the hotel. He ate a bowl of fatty intestine rice noodles in red oil and a basket of soup dumplings slowly and methodically, his face full of relaxation and ease. Just as he put down his chopsticks, his phone vibrated. It was a message from the 4S shop salesman: 'Brother Lin, the car modifications are done. We open at nine, so it's the perfect time to come pick it up.' Lin Zhou replied that he would be there on time and stood up to pay the bill.

At 8:50 AM, Lin Zhou arrived at the 4S shop entrance, where the salesman was already waiting for him with the keys. The modified off-road vehicle was parked at the door. He took the keys, confirmed the modifications were correct, and drove away.

At 9:15 AM, Lin Zhou arrived at a steel processing plant on the outskirts of the city. Two heavy steel gates stood at the factory entrance. The boss came to greet him: 'Mr. Lin, both gates have been made according to your requirements! The one for the mountainside has pre-embedded steel plates, and the one for the village gate has mortise and tenon joints. I guarantee a perfect fit!'

Lin Zhou nodded. 'Boss, please send three masters up the mountain with me to install the gates. It's quite urgent, so please have them help out. I'll give each of them 500 yuan for their hard work.'

The boss patted his chest and agreed, turning to call over three workers in coveralls to load the steel gates, accessories, and tools onto a truck.

Lin Zhou paid the remaining balance for the steel gates, and the group set off immediately. The off-road vehicle led the way, with the truck carrying the gates and tools following behind, bumping along the concrete road into the mountains.

When they reached a narrow section on the mountainside, Lin Zhou directed them to stop and unload. 'Masters, use the impact drill to make eight holes in the rock wall. Use large expansion bolts to weld the pre-embedded channel steel frame firmly to the rock. Drill four more holes near the cliff edge and weld the gate frame firmly with expansion bolts as well.'

For further reinforcement, the workers specially welded two steel pipe tripods as diagonal braces between the gate frame and the rock wall. After installing the heavy steel gate, they tested it; the panels opened and closed smoothly, and the whole structure was rock-solid and didn't budge. After a short break, the group drove to the ancient village gate to the south.

The installation of the village gate was more laborious, requiring gradual adjustments to align with the mortise and tenon joints of the old stone gate. The workers were experienced and quick, but it still took a full three hours to finish the fixing process. Once the two steel gates were closed, the entire mountain pass was instantly sealed tight, exuding a sense of heavy security.

Lin Zhou settled the wages for the workers on the spot and gave each of them an extra pack of cigarettes, saying with a smile, 'Stay safe on the way back.' He watched them drive the truck out of the mountain road and disappear around the bend before returning to move all the scattered supplies he had purchased earlier into the rooms of the small building. He glanced at the light screen; the crimson numbers had jumped to 54:02:19.

Lin Zhou drove straight to the county bus station. At the exit, his younger sister Lin Xi was standing on tiptoe with her backpack, looking around. When she saw his car, her eyes lit up instantly, and she shouted at the top of her lungs, 'Brother!'

Lin Zhou stopped the car, took her bag, and rubbed her hair with a smile. 'Are you hungry? I'll take you to get something to eat first, and then we'll go on a big shopping spree at the supermarket to fill up the space.'

Lin Xi's eyes sparkled, and she nodded immediately. 'Great! I thought you were going to take me straight up the mountain. I happen to want to stock up on some snacks too!'

The siblings found a clean little restaurant and ordered a few home-cooked dishes like Twice-Cooked Pork and Mapo Tofu. During the meal, Lin Xi chattered incessantly, complaining about the school cafeteria food one moment and remarking on how authentic the local flavors were the next. Lin Zhou only smiled and agreed without saying much, but in his mind, he was calculating the shopping list—rice, flour, grain, and oil were necessities; canned goods and compressed biscuits needed to be stocked up; and there were also medicines like drinking water, iodine, and gauze, as well as common tools like crowbars and wrenches. It couldn't be wrong to stock up more.

After eating, Lin Zhou drove straight to the underground parking lot of the largest supermarket in the county. Pushing shopping carts, the siblings went from the snack area to the fresh food area, then to the grain and oil area and the daily necessities area, taking almost everything they saw. Lin Xi stuffed several large bags of potato chips and chocolate into the cart, not forgetting to grab two boxes of instant noodles. Lin Zhou focused on moving large bags of rice, flour, and bottled water into the cart. When he encountered canned meat, canned fruit, and vacuum-packed braised food with long shelf lives, he simply put entire boxes into the cart.

A supermarket guide saw their momentum and couldn't help but joke as she pushed her cart past, 'Are you two preparing for a home quarantine? Buying so many things.'

Lin Zhou smiled and gave a vague response, only picking up the pace of their shopping.