Leaving Wang Lun alone would ensure his safety upon returning. In fact, anyone could be left alone, except Wang Lun. Why? Because anyone else could be replaced, but Wang Lun couldn't. Li Ling and the other two were well aware that Wang Lun provided the vast majority of their food, drink, and shelter. Although they had done their share, it was far from enough to ensure their survival on this deserted island compared to Wang Lun's efforts.

Liu Ruoxi continued, "Another thing is, your period and mine are due in the next few days. Being at sea with Wang Lun is usually fine, but this time we might have to go into the water, so I talked to Li Ling and that's why we're walking back together." Liu Ruoling thought, "So soon? My period's due again? That means it'll be two months in a few days." Liu Ruoxi walked a few steps ahead, and seeing that Liu Ruoling hadn't followed, she turned and called out twice. Liu Ruoling then caught up. Then, each carrying a basket on their backs, they began their journey back to camp.

Wang Lun and Li Ling sailed for another half hour before returning to the waters near the camp. A few minutes later, Wang Lun moored the raft on the beach closest to the camp. They quickly unloaded the bananas from the raft, and Wang Lun, alone, set off to pick up Liu Ruoxi and the other girl. Although they were almost at the camp, Wang Lun decided to make another trip to fetch them. He told Li Ling about this, and she fully agreed. She also explained why Liu Ruoling had switched places with Li Ling. Wang Lun then belatedly realized his mistake and immediately changed his plans, intending to transport some supplies back to the camp the next day and the rest the day after. Li Ling also agreed to Wang Lun's plan, as her period was approaching and she couldn't travel outside anymore.

Wang Lun, punting his raft, picked up the two sisters on the beach, about half an hour from the campsite. When Wang Lun returned to the vicinity of the campsite, he saw that Li Ling had carried all the bananas from the beach back to the campsite by herself. So Wang Lun punted his raft towards the stream.

Wang Lun moored the raft before leading the two back to camp. Upon returning, Wang Lun's first act was to criticize Li Ling. He'd carried so many bananas all by herself; couldn't she have waited until they were back so they could carry them together? Li Ling humbly accepted the criticism. Seeing this, Wang Lun quickly changed the subject. Otherwise, he would have experienced firsthand the gentleness of Sichuan girls—a gentleness that would be terrifying.

Wang Lun went over the plan for tomorrow and the day after again. Tomorrow, Wang Lun and Li Ling would carry the bananas back first, and then Li Ling and Wang Lun would return to the seaside campsite. The next day, they would carry the remaining supplies back together. During this time, Liu Ruoxi and Liu Ruoling would stay at the seaside campsite. Liu Ruoxi agreed, as the objective had been largely achieved, and even exceeded.

Wang Lun and his group had only intended to test the waters of fishing at sea. To their surprise, the results were phenomenal. They also went to another beach and harvested a large quantity of bananas. With so many bananas and fish, the four of them certainly couldn't carry them all back in one trip; they'd need to make two trips.

So the plan was decided. Wang Lun told them to rest quickly, and then, while they were still rested, to go fishing again to try and catch more food. They should also bring in the nets while they were at it.

Half an hour later, Wang Lun took Li Ling and Liu Ruoling onto the raft and went out to sea to fish. Liu Ruoxi stayed at the campsite to pick the bananas and put them in a basket. The next morning, Wang Lun and Li Ling would get up early, have breakfast, and then carry the bananas back. But they certainly couldn't carry them along with the poles, as that would be too heavy. They could only pick the bananas. If they had more time, and if the bananas weren't unripe, Wang Lun would have liked to dry them on the beach before carrying them back.

Wang Lun and Li Ling arrived at the sea and first retrieved the net. Wang Lun cast the net twice, but the catch was meager. At this point, Liu Ruoling said, "Didn't we bring a lot of bait? Why don't we try casting some?" Li Ling and Wang Lun thought this was a good idea, so they threw in some bait and then cast the net again. Sure enough, this net yielded more fish than the previous two. Seeing the effect, Wang Lun asked Li Ling to throw the rest into the sea, hoping to attract more fish and then catch more with the net.

Then they cast another net, catching even more fish. They started with the fourth net, which seemed very heavy; the three of them struggled to haul it up. And indeed, it didn't disappoint. Not only were there many small fish, but also a large one nearly a meter long. Wang Lun and the others killed the big fish, then cast their fifth net. Just as they cast it, Li Ling shouted, "Quickly, haul in the net!" Wang Lun was puzzled.

Turning his head, he saw Li Ling pointing to a fish fin in the distance. Wang Lun, seeing the fin, immediately realized it was a shark and quickly pulled in the net. Regardless of whether they had caught any fish, they simply tossed the net onto the raft, and the three of them paddled furiously. They quickly moved away from the fishing area. Although they were fast, the shark was even faster. Before, they were still dozens of meters away; after Wang Lun pulled in the net, there were only about twenty meters left. As the three began paddling away, the shark sped up even more. Fifteen meters, ten meters, five meters.

Then the shark's fins disappeared, and it sank. But Wang Lun and his companions didn't stop; instead, they paddled even faster. After paddling a few meters, the three heard a splash and turned to see the shark's head emerging from where they had just been fishing. It turned out they had used too much bait, attracting many fish, which in turn attracted the shark. Unable to defeat the shark, Wang Lun and his group had no choice but to flee.

Seeing the shark eating small fish, the three didn't relax; instead, they sped up. What would normally take over twenty minutes to reach the shore was pushed beyond their limits by the shark, allowing them to reach the bank in just over ten minutes.

Once ashore, the three finally relaxed. There was nothing they could do; at sea, Wang Lun and his companions couldn't outrun or defeat the sharks. But in shallow waters, things were a different story. If they were back on land, the sharks would be easy prey, and Wang Lun could eat them however he pleased.

The three rested on the beach for a while to recover. Then they cleaned up the fish on the raft and began processing it on the shore.

It took them more than half an hour to process all the fish. Then Wang Lun poled the raft to moor it, while Li Ling and Liu Ruoling carried the fish back in baskets on their backs, and then went to the stream to help moor the raft.