It wasn't that Wang Lun discovered Liu Ruoling sleeping against the wall. Rather, Wang Lun was sleeping when he suddenly felt very hot, as if there was someone next to him. He woke up from the heat and saw Liu Ruoling lying right beside him, tightly hugging him. Wang Lun had never seen anything like this before and was shocked for quite a while.

Once Wang Lun realized what was happening, he immediately broke free. Although he bumped into some things along the way, he managed to escape successfully. After getting up, Wang Lun belatedly turned to look outside the shelter. Fortunately, the door was closed, so there was unlikely to be any accidents.

Wang Lun then dragged Liu Ruoling onto the haystack before going outside, adding some firewood to the campfire, and sitting at the door to keep watch. After calming down a bit, he began to deal with the piece of wood he had brought back that afternoon.

As soon as it got light, Wang Lun went to the beach early. He also took the two fish baskets he had woven the night before and put them down. Liu Ruoling had woven one in the first half of the night, and Wang Lun, having nothing to do in the second half, had woven the other one as well.

Not long after Liu Ruoling boiled the water, Wang Lun returned carrying a basket on his back. He also carried three cleaned fish in his hands. Liu Ruoling took the fish from Wang Lun, cleaned them with a knife, and put them into the pot. Wang Lun then hung the catch from his basket on the windbreak wall where it was appropriate and laid it out to dry on the mats where it was appropriate.

After finishing these tasks, Wang Lun returned to the campfire to rest. Liu Ruoling inquired about the day's plans. Wang Lun said, "In the morning, we'll carry all the tree trunks back. In the afternoon, if we have time, we'll reinforce the shelter's walls and plaster them with mud. Then we'll deal with the wood." Liu Ruoling nodded and asked, "What about the bundled branches?" Wang Lun replied, "We'll go get them when we have time, but we should probably do it today; there's not much firewood left at the shelter." Liu Ruoling was quite aware of this; after all, the firewood they were burning was leftover from the last batch, and after burning it all day, how much could they possibly have left?

After breakfast, the two took their tools. This time, they didn't carry baskets, since their goal that morning was to carry back all the tree trunks, so they didn't need them. They only needed to take a knife for self-defense.

The two first pruned the branches off the remaining trees from yesterday, and then began carrying the trunks. After a morning's work, they had carried most of the trunks back, leaving five to carry in the afternoon. They were so exhausted that they barely stopped for a break.

Wang Lun asked Liu Ruoling to stay at the shelter to cook lunch while he went to fetch two bundles of firewood. There simply wasn't any firewood left to burn that afternoon. Liu Ruoling wanted Wang Lun not to go, as they were both exhausted that morning, but the shelter was out of firewood, so she had no choice but to let him go. As for herself, she was afraid she wouldn't even make it there; she was just too tired.

Wang Lun went to gather two bundles of tree branches, while Liu Ruoling stayed at the shelter to cook lunch. Because she had expended a lot of energy in the morning, Liu Ruoling cooked four fish for lunch to replenish her strength.

Twenty minutes later, Wang Lun returned carrying two bundles of tree branches. Liu Ruoling had already cooked the fish in the pot and left it to cool for a while. The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and it was impossible to eat it without letting it cool down.

After Wang Lun returned, he sat under the shed. Although it was still a bit hot under the shed, it was better than being roasted in the sun, and much better than being in the shelter. The shelter was like a sauna, unbearably hot, especially since it was built using live tree branches. After being exposed to the sun, the moisture evaporated, making the entire shelter feel like a sauna—hot and humid. Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling didn't want to stay inside during the day; compared to that, the shed, with its drafty walls, was much cooler.

Liu Ruoling also brought the pot under the shed, and she and Wang Lun ate lunch there. Each of them cooked two fish. Liu Ruoling had cooked the fish more whole today, only splitting them open, so they would cook faster and fit in the pot. Although four fish could fit, some water was added, and once the water boiled, it would overflow the pot.

After dinner, the two rested for a while before going to carry the remaining tree trunks. The sooner they brought them back, the sooner they could rest. After all, there were only so many things to do; they'd have to do them eventually anyway, so it was better to finish them quickly and then they could do other things. Liu Ruoling knew what Wang Lun wanted to do, and she thought the same thing; after all, it was impossible to have the same good luck as last night every time.

It took Wang Lun and his colleague more than two hours to carry the remaining five tree trunks back. Because they had exerted themselves a lot in the morning, they had to rest a little longer along the way. But it was alright, they still had enough time.

After resting for a while, Wang Lun picked up a shovel and started digging. He told Liu Ruoling to rest and then fetch water in a pot. He then came back to mix the mud and plaster the wall.

Wang Lun dug for over an hour, then stopped when he felt he had enough soil for the time being. He told Liu Ruoling to continue plastering the wall, and went to fetch some of the thicker branches.

Wang Lun stacked the collected branches around the shelter, adding another layer of protection. By the time the two finished with the shelter, it was almost dark. Using the remaining time before nightfall, they checked the catch from the six fish baskets and three fishing traps, then gathered some easily collectable seafood from the beach. Surprisingly, they were lucky today, finding a conger eel on the beach. When they first spotted it, the eel was still sliding towards the sea, but luckily Liu Ruoling had sharp eyes and quick hands, striking it with a spear and preventing its escape. This created the opportunity for Wang Lun to impale the eel with his spear. The two successfully harvested a conger eel.

As it approached dusk, Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling stopped their beachcombing activity. They processed all their catch; one conger eel would be enough for the two of them that evening. The rest they would prepare and carry back once the raft was built.

Wang Lun prepared a single conger eel in two ways. First, he boiled half a pot of it. Second, he grilled it. He grilled the top half, which glistened with oil and looked very appetizing. To make it even tastier, he sprinkled some dried seaweed on top.

After the eel was grilled, the two began to eat. Liu Ruoling served them both a bowl of eel soup, and Wang Lun divided the eel in half, giving each of them one half. They first picked up the grilled eel, which was served in leaves, and began to eat. It tasted quite good, even better than snake meat. They also took a sip of the eel soup, which was also quite delicious. Only then did they speed up their eating and begin to eat.