Following Wang Lun's advice, the group washed up and went to bed. Actually, they also wanted to rest; who wanted to work every day? They'd been wanting to rest for a while now, even lying down was better than working, since working was tiring.

The next morning, Wang Lun had gone to bed early the night before, which resulted in him waking up early as well. After getting up, Wang Lun washed up, went to the toilet, then fetched water and started making breakfast. Because he was going out that day, Wang Lun cooked breakfast a little earlier. While the water was boiling, he packed everything he needed for his trip into his backpack. Actually, there wasn't much: two bamboo tubes filled with water, but the water wasn't boiled yet, so he set them aside for now. Three dried fish, two pieces of dried meat—he would take one or two for lunch, and keep the rest for backup. Then there were two knives, an entrenching tool, and a set of bow and arrows. He would also pick up two spears from the doorway before leaving, and that was it, he had everything prepared.

By this time, the water had boiled. The boiled water was placed on another stove, a different pot was used, and the water was boiled again. This time, it was used to cook rice.

Breakfast was still wild vegetable stewed with fish.

After breakfast, Wang Lun took Liu Ruoling out. Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi saw them off at the campsite, then returned to clean the table and wash the dishes. They then took out the seafood that hadn't been properly dried the day before and continued to air-dry it.

After bringing everything out, the two chopped up the banana peels and grass together and fed them to the pheasants and rabbits. Luckily, they had a lot of farmed animals, otherwise all those banana peels would have rotted. They seemed to have fed them a bit too much grass this morning, but it was fine; they'd just feed them less at noon.

After feeding the pheasants and rabbits, Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi discussed their options and decided to start expanding the pond that day. However, they first needed to relocate the banana bark that Wang Lun had been soaking. After searching around, they couldn't find a suitable spot, so they finally decided to dig a hole outside the camp and place it inside. Li Ling then began digging. Since they only had one entrenching tool left, Liu Ruoxi had nothing else to do for the time being. She thought for a moment and then went to fertilize the cassava seedlings.

Liu Ruoxi opened the first cesspool. After using it for a while, it was mostly just clear water. Although it was a cesspool, it didn't actually smell bad, and the water was quite clear. Liu Ruoxi took out a large manure ladle she had made before, specifically for fertilizing. She scooped it up and watered the four cassava seedlings, one ladle at a time. Although it was called fertilizing, it was really just watering them. To truly fertilize, they would have to wait for yesterday's excrement to ferment. As for what was in the cesspool, it was just clear water. It might have a slightly better effect than clear water, but it was probably just clear water. After all, water from the sewer was constantly flowing into the cesspool and then into the cesspool.

After Liu Ruoxi finished fertilizing—or rather, watering—Li Ling was still digging the hole. Liu Ruoxi would take over from Li Ling for a while, and then Li Ling would switch back. The two took turns digging for almost an hour before they had dug a large hole and could barely put the banana bark in. Then they took a pot, filled it with water from the sink, and poured it into the hole.

The two returned inside, rested for a while, and drank some water. Then they continued to expand the pool.

After entering the woods, Wang Lun chose a direction, and the two began to move forward. This time, and for future trips into the mountains, Wang Lun and his companion had a clear objective: to collect anything useful. Whatever it was, if they thought it was useful, they would pick it up, put it in their baskets, and carry it back. Using this method, they were able to fill two baskets quite quickly in the first few days, even after leaving the campsite for more than ten minutes.

Wang Lun planned to take the four of them for walks near the camp during their rest periods. He didn't want them to stay in the camp every day and develop health problems. Staying in one place all the time would inevitably lead to issues; they needed to get out and about more often.

Along the way, Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling picked up everything they could find. They collected fallen fruit, intending to test its taste; if it was good, the four of them would eat it; if not, they would crush it and feed it to the pheasants. They dug up wild vegetables, taking the larger ones to eat and the smaller ones to plant. They also dug up medicinal herbs, processing or planting them as needed. They even dug up pretty flowers to plant in their yard. Wang Lun even plucked leaves from an entire tree. If the tree hadn't been so large, he would have carried the whole thing back. He knew these leaves could be used to make a delicious jelly. His mother had made it before, and it tasted wonderful.

After the two of them stripped a tree bare, Wang Lun saw that his basket was almost full, so he discussed with Liu Ruoling the possibility of turning back. Upon hearing that they could go back, Liu Ruoling felt a surge of inexplicable energy. Wang Lun said, "On the way back, if we encounter any birds, shoot the big ones; ignore the small ones, they don't have any meat." Liu Ruoling nodded. Wang Lun transferred the heavier items from her basket to his own. Then he took out a strip of dried meat, cut it in half, and gave one half to Liu Ruoling to replenish her strength. He divided the other half in half, saving it for when he was exhausted on the journey. After Liu Ruoling finished the dried meat, the two shouldered their baskets and headed towards the camp.

On the way, Liu Ruoling followed Wang Lun's instructions, only shooting the large birds and ignoring the small ones. So, all the way to the camp, Liu Ruoling didn't shoot a single arrow. Wang Lun thought she was just having a bad day, so he comforted her, "It's okay if you didn't shoot any birds today; you'll definitely hit them next time." Liu Ruoling was completely bewildered. Wasn't she told to shoot the big birds? Why was he mocking her for not shooting any birds? However, Wang Lun didn't understand Liu Ruoling's confusion and went straight to the gate to have it opened.

Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi opened the door for Wang Lun and his companion. The two, carrying baskets on their backs, entered the camp and placed them by the pond. Li Ling immediately noticed the leaves in Liu Ruoxi's basket and asked, "What are you doing carrying so many leaves?" Liu Ruoxi replied, "To eat." Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi looked at Liu Ruoxi with confusion, demanding an explanation. Liu Ruoxi quickly waved her hand, saying, "It wasn't me who said that, it was Wang Lun who said it's edible." Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi then turned to look at Wang Lun. Wang Lun smiled and said, "These are stinky chaste leaves; they can be used to make jelly, and they taste quite good." Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi looked at Wang Lun as if he were a fool. This child must be starving; he'd even eat leaves! However, these stinky chaste leaves truly lived up to their name; the taste was strange. Wang Lun said, "You'll know once I've made them."

So Wang Lun started washing the stinking chaste leaves. Although Li Ling and the other two didn't know how to do it, they still went to help. After all, if they really tasted good, doing the work now would mean they could eat more.