A sudden surge of pity welled up in my heart. For a girl like this, I could only treat her even better.

We stayed by the campfire like that for who knows how long, until the weather got really cold and Wang Xiaoxiao started shivering.

This made me feel uneasy.

If we're not mistaken, then there is a harsh winter on this deserted island, and perhaps it won't be long before it arrives.

Before the harsh winter arrives, we must do everything we can to obtain more food and firewood, otherwise we may starve to death in the winter, which is a very serious problem.

"Let's go back and get some rest. The weather is so cold now, I'll worry if you get sick."

When Wang Xiaoxiao heard me say that, she nodded with a smile, very obediently.

I took Wang Xiaoxiao back to the wooden house, let her go back to her own cubicle, and I lay down on my own wooden bed again, but all sorts of feelings kept welling up inside me.

Now that Wang Xiaoxiao and I are officially together, how am I supposed to face Wang Ping and explain things to my husband and Xu Wei?

This is a really troublesome matter.

But no matter what, as a man, I can't let Wang Xiaoxiao, a woman, shoulder these burdens alone. So I have to get through these things and these difficulties by myself.

I took a deep breath, feeling quite tired. I had also drunk a lot of alcohol that night, so I was a bit drowsy. I lay down for a short while and then drifted off to sleep.

The next morning at daybreak, Wang Xiaoxiao and the others were already cooking and eating in the courtyard outside.

Wang Ping and Chen Jian must have come down the mountain in the morning, each carrying back a lot of campfires.

Chen Jian said that Liu Jiaojiao has been complaining of being cold these past few days because there is only a wolf skin on the window outside our wooden house. At first, it was just for privacy, but now it seems that the wolf skin is no longer of any use.

We must board up all the windows completely; otherwise, if it snows in winter, it will only cause more trouble.

However, if this only opening for light is completely blocked, the inside of the house will become very dark and extremely unsafe.

Fortunately, we had some oil scraped off the big fish we had gotten before, and we had been using a fish oil lamp. Although it was a bit dim, it was still bright enough.

But I still think that blocking all the doors and windows with meat is not a good thing.

After all, the house was stuffy and there was no way to light a campfire, so wasn't it just like a cage? Just thinking about it made me feel suffocated.

Chen Jian was packing his things when he heard this. He looked up at me, frowned, and said, "Actually, I have a plan, and I think it's feasible, but I don't know if you can agree to it."

When Wang Ping heard Chen Jian say that, he looked at Chen Jian and raised his eyebrows: "Then what is there that can't be said? Just say what you're thinking."

Chen Jian broke off a few pieces of firewood and threw them into the campfire. He looked at Wang Ping and then at me, and said as if showing off a treasure, "I think we can go to that jade mine and get more jade. That stuff is a real treasure."

"Firstly, those jade stones are relatively translucent, so the sunlight can pass through them after dawn, preventing our wooden house from being completely dark. Secondly, if we can move those jade stones here, we can use them to make windows and pillows. We're just sitting here anyway, so we can take this opportunity to get some food. After all, if the weather gets really cold, we need to store up more food. Even if the fish in the sea is hard to eat, we should try to dry some of them during this time. If the mountains are blocked by heavy snow, we won't be able to find food and we'll all starve to death here."

Wang Ping nodded after listening to Chen Jian's words: "I think what Xiao Chen said is very right. But if you want to go and get those jade ore, do you think it will be so easy? We still don't have the equipment, and we don't have any items that can neatly make those jade stones into a size that can just block the window."

After Wang Ping finished speaking, he looked at me as if waiting for my reply.

"Sihai, do you think what I said is right?"

I nodded, but Chen Jian's suggestion did make sense. For a moment, the situation reached a stalemate, and I didn't know what to do.

Just then, Yang Rui woke up at some point, heard our conversation, chuckled, and walked over: "There's a jade mine here?"

Upon hearing Yang Rui's voice, I almost instinctively slapped my thigh.

Oh dear, I completely forgot about this person...

Chen Jian's expression also turned somewhat unpleasant, and Wang Ping immediately shut up, turning around somewhat awkwardly to gather the firewood beside him.

Yang Rui didn't seem to notice anything amiss with us. He just smiled and leaned over to take a look: "If we really do have a jade mine, then I do have a way. I have some tools in my backpack that can polish those jade stones. Although they're a bit rough, it's fine enough since we're not going to make this piece of jade into something to sell. If we just want to block the window, the craftsmanship should be sufficient."

If Wang Ping or Chen Jian had told me these things, I could have calmly discussed them with them. But now that Yang Rui is telling me, I feel a bit strange.

After all, because of that jade mine, Bai Wei and his group made a fuss for several days trying to find out its location, but I didn't take them there.

If Yang Rui gets involved now, I really don't know what to do.

Because I don't know whether Yang Rui is considered part of our group or part of Xiao He's group.

Even though I consider him one of our group, I really can't help but feel resentful towards him.

After a few awkward seconds, I looked at Yang Rui and forced a smile: "Hey, let's discuss this later. The weather is still good, and we can always think of other solutions. The most important thing right now is to make more food and find more things. I think we should go to the beach and collect more seashells these next couple of days. We've already made a handcart, so we can carry a lot of things back and forth. If we make two more carts and go back and forth, we can get a whole cartload of seashell meat and some seafood and seaweed in one trip. If we pickle these things with sea salt, we can eat them for a while longer."

Hearing my words, Yang Rui nodded respectfully: "Of course I'll listen to you on this matter. We should indeed get more food. I haven't been on this deserted island for long and don't know where we can find food. But don't worry, since you've taken me in, I certainly won't just eat the food here for nothing. I will do my best to help everyone."

When Wang Ping heard Yang Rui say that, he chuckled and changed the subject: "I think you should help everyone now, like go down the mountain to collect some firewood, otherwise the soup in this pot won't cook properly."

Yang Rui nodded with a smile after hearing this, and then went down the mountain.

But not long after Yang Ruicai came down the mountain, I suddenly heard several gunshots from a distance. Although they were far away, they were exceptionally clear.