When Li Ling and Liu Ruoling finished using the last of the mud and returned to the house, Wang Lun and Liu Ruoxi had already cooked rice and were waiting for them. Wang Lun immediately served them rice, filling bowls with fish and meat, and gave each of them a portion. They didn't stand on ceremony and started eating, having worked hard all morning and being hungry. Wang Lun didn't care about the food; as long as the three of them were well-fed, he was content.

Soon, they finished eating. Wang Lun told them to rest for a while and start working again in half an hour. Then Wang Lun took the pots and pans out to wash them at the sink. The three women also lay down on the kang (heated brick bed) for a while; after all, every moment of rest was precious, as working with Wang Lun was truly tiring. But they didn't complain, because Wang Lun did more work than they did, and it was even more tiring for him.

When Wang Lun returned from washing the pots and pans, he found the three of them asleep. He quietly put down the pots and pans, then went to pave the steps leading to the backyard with stones to prevent them from becoming slippery after rain. He also drove a row of wooden stakes into the ground on both sides to prevent soil erosion.

It had been over an hour since he finished all that. Wang Lun went back inside to drink some water, and seeing that they were still asleep, he didn't wake them. He turned around and continued working, hoping to finish building the bathroom as soon as possible.

Twenty minutes later, Liu Ruoling woke up and groggily walked out of the room. She heard noises downstairs, went over to check, and sure enough, it was Wang Lun doing something. So Liu Ruoling turned around and went back into the room to wake Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi. Wang Lun didn't even see Liu Ruoling.

Li Ling and the other two came down and quietly looked at Wang Lun. Wang Lun, feeling uncomfortable under their gaze, said, "What's going on?" His speech became jumbled, and he started speaking in his local dialect, specifically Hunanese. Li Ling said, "Didn't you say you'd call us back after half an hour's rest? How long has it been?" Wang Lun feigned innocence and asked, "How long?" Li Ling, seeing his expression, said, "More than three hours." Wang Lun immediately retorted, "Impossible, absolutely impossible. How long have I been working? More than three hours." Li Ling said, "Then how long did you say?" Wang Lun said, "At most an hour." Hearing this, Li Ling took a step forward and pinched Wang Lun's ear, saying, "An hour? Where did you get an hour from?" Wang Lun cried out, "Ouch, ouch, ouch!" Li Ling loosened her grip slightly, but still said, "If I don't make you feel pain, how will you remember?" Wang Lun said, "I remember, I remember." Li Ling asked, "Remember what?" Wang Lun had no idea what Li Ling had just said, and since he hadn't answered, he stammered. Seeing Wang Lun like this, Li Ling became angry again and used more force on him. Wang Lun quickly begged for mercy.

At this moment, Liu Ruoxi stepped forward and said, "Alright, alright, stop pinching. Wang Lun should know now, and he'll definitely ask us to work together in the future. He won't leave us behind again, right?" Wang Lun quickly replied, "Yes, yes, yes, he'll definitely ask you to work together in the future." Hearing Wang Lun's words, Li Ling finally let go of his grip and said, "I'll let you off the hook today, but if there's a next time, I'll twist your ear off." Wang Lun still understood and quickly said, "Yes, yes, yes." Seeing that Wang Lun had agreed, Li Ling turned around and went to the backyard to continue working on the roof.

Seeing Li Ling leave, Liu Ruoxi quickly told Liu Ruoling, "You stay with Wang Lun and I'll go help Li Ling." Without waiting for Liu Ruoling's reply, she hurried away. Liu Ruoling hadn't even had time to react before being forced to continue working with Wang Lun.

Once Li Ling had walked a little further away, Wang Lun immediately let go of his ear, which he was rubbing, and said, "Come on, let's keep going." Seeing Wang Lun's reaction, Liu Ruoling pointed to her red ear and asked, "Doesn't it hurt?" Wang Lun replied, "No, I was just letting her win. Otherwise, I could beat her with one hand." Liu Ruoling looked unconvinced. Seeing her expression, Wang Lun said, "Do you think you can beat her?" Liu Ruoling nodded; after all, she had that much confidence. Wang Lun then said, "Can you beat me?" He even flexed his biceps. Liu Ruoling said, "How could that be? You're a guy." Wang Lun said, "You can't even beat me, let alone her. I was just letting her win, otherwise, hmph." Liu Ruoling said, "Oh, so this is what a 'henpecked husband' from Sichuan is like. I've finally met one." Wang Lun immediately became anxious and said, "What 'henpecked husband'? Don't talk nonsense." Liu Ruoling smiled playfully and said, "Will you be henpecked in the future?" Wang Lun said, "How could that be? No way." Liu Ruoling suddenly realized and said, "Oh, that's called loving your wife, right?" Wang Lun was pushed to his limit, so he slapped her on the head and said, "Get back to work, kid, don't ask so many questions." Ignoring the pain on her head, Liu Ruoling grabbed Wang Lun's clothes and said, "One last question, just one last one." Wang Lun stopped and said, "One last one, okay?" Liu Ruoling nodded and said, "What kind of girl do you like? Like Li Ling?" After saying that, she stared straight at Wang Lun. Wang Lun was stumped. What kind of girl did he like? Did he really like Li Ling? A storm raged in Wang Lun's mind. Did he like her? Or did he not? If he liked her, what was it about her? Her beauty? He'd seen many beautiful girls over the years, and Li Ling wasn't the most beautiful. Her talent? Forget about it. Was it that he didn't like her? But why did she keep appearing in his mind?

Seeing that Wang Lun didn't react, Liu Ruoling first shook him with her hand, but he still didn't respond, so she pushed him. Wang Lun came to his senses and said, "Get back to work, kid, don't ask questions." After saying that, he left, but it seemed he had taken the wrong turn. Liu Ruoling noticed Wang Lun's strange behavior and said, "You've taken the wrong turn." Wang Lun said, "I'm going to the toilet."

More than ten minutes later, Wang Lun returned. When he came back, he seemed different; he was listless and distracted. Liu Ruoling had to remind him several times before he finally managed to get through the afternoon.

After finishing work early, Wang Lun returned to his room, found a stool, and sat down, lost in thought. Liu Ruoling watched Wang Lun's dazed expression, feeling somewhat helpless. Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi, on the other hand, were busy cooking and didn't see what was happening.

The two women went there this afternoon, covered the roof with mud, and then laid dry grass on top. They then tidied up the pheasant pen, making a coop with some dry grass and leaves. Next, they dug a small pit near the entrance to provide water for the pheasants. They had originally planned to use a bamboo tube, but considering the pheasants might not be able to drink, and that a small tube would make a mess, they simply dug a small pit and filled it with water. After finishing this, the two women caught two pheasants, put them in the coop, and threw some grass in as well.