Wang Lun picked up the piece of hyena meat and went forward to feed it to Liu Ruoling. Li Ling said, "Don't tease her, she really wants to eat it." Wang Lun smiled and put the piece of hyena meat in his mouth. As soon as it entered his mouth, a mask of pain appeared on his face. Wang Lun endured it and chewed a few more times. Finally, Wang Lun couldn't hold it in any longer, covered his mouth, and ran outside. He went straight to the toilet, squatted by the drain, and began to vomit violently.

Wang Lun, who hadn't eaten anything yet, vomited a lot more, leaving him even more speechless. However, Wang Lun realized one thing: hyena meat really did smell bad. Wang Lun went to the pool, rinsed his mouth several times with water, and then returned to the house.

Back inside, Wang Lun ordered someone to bring out the pot of hyena meat and cook another pot of fish. The hyena meat couldn't be eaten today. Wang Lun also needed to think about it; so much hyena meat couldn't be wasted.

Liu Ruoxi carried the earthenware pot outside, while Li Ling took an iron pot to fetch water from the pool. Liu Ruoling opened the doors and windows to let in some fresh air. Then she took six fish, cleaned them at the pool, and brought them back to process.

Li Ling and the other two were cooking inside, while Wang Lun, enduring his hunger, pondered how to deal with the hyena meat. It was a waste to throw away over a hundred pounds of hyena meat. Wang Lun thought of a few ways to process it. One was to cut it into small pieces and feed it to the pheasants, since the rabbits wouldn't eat it, and Wang Lun considered feeding it to the rabbits as well. But there were only two pheasants, and they wouldn't eat much.

So Wang Lun thought of another way: he hoped that treating the hyena meat with some seasonings would make it taste better, since so much meat shouldn't be wasted. So Wang Lun went out and scooped out the whole pot of cooked hyena meat, then divided it into several piles.

Some hyena meat was seasoned with extra salt to create a strong flavor, then left to dry into jerky before being tested. Other meat was seasoned with crab shell powder. Next came Sichuan peppercorns. This resulted in eight different flavors of hyena meat. One was simply salt, Sichuan peppercorns, and crab shell powder; next, a mixture of two; then, a mixture of all three; and finally, nothing was added. Wang Lun planned to compare these different types of dried hyena meat to see which one tasted best, or at least was palatable.

After Wang Lun finished doing all that, Li Ling and the others prepared dinner. During dinner, Wang Lun said, "Starting today, we still need to arrange for someone to keep watch every night." Li Ling and the others knew that if the hyenas hadn't come, Wang Lun definitely wouldn't have arranged for someone to keep watch, but now that predators had come, they still needed to arrange for someone to keep watch to prevent them from being attacked while they were asleep. Li Ling and the others had no objection to Wang Lun's arrangement for someone to keep watch.

Wang Lun then said, "I've thought of three ways to keep watch. First, each person keeps watch for a period of time while the others rest, and we can take turns. Second, we'll work in pairs, one group for the first half of the night and the other for the second half. Third, the three of you will keep watch for the first half, and I'll keep watch for the second half. You can choose one." Li Ling and the others understood that the second and third options were undoubtedly for their benefit, especially the third. But they also knew that although the second and third options would be easier for them, they couldn't choose. If they were in the wild, the second method would undoubtedly be the best, but this was inside a camp, and all the potential dangers were kept out by the high walls; it was very safe inside. So they all chose the first option, each keeping watch for a period of time. Although everyone would get less sleep, they could still get seven or eight hours, and they could also take a nap during the day, so it was still quite easy.

Another reason is that they don't know how long this renewed vigil will last. If Wang Lun doesn't get enough rest, they will suffer the most. All four of them could think of this, including Wang Lun, but he still suggested these two other options.

After Li Ling and the others chose their watch methods, Wang Lun arranged the watch order. He assigned Liu Ruoxi to the first shift. It was the first night, and still quite dangerous. With Liu Ruoxi on the first shift, the hyenas generally wouldn't attack in the first half of the night, so it was relatively safe.

Liu Ruoling took her second shift. Compared to the first shift, this period was still more dangerous for Liu Ruoling. However, Liu Ruoling had archery skills and a relatively good ability to protect herself, so Wang Lun's decision to assign her to the second shift was not without reason.

Wang Lun assigned himself to the third shift, which was the early morning hours when most people were sound asleep and predators were most active. He chose this shift to better detect any issues, address them promptly, or wake the others.

Li Ling takes the last shift, which is about two hours before she wakes up. Safety is very guaranteed, but because she has to get up early, she has to cook breakfast. Fortunately, from now on, the night shifts will be rotated, and breakfast will be cooked in shifts as well.

After Wang Lun explained the reasons for the night watch order and the precautions, Li Ling and the others understood and accepted it. Only then did Wang Lun begin to talk about the recent plans.

There's plenty of food in the camp now, enough for the four of them to eat for a month. Wang Lun plans to temporarily refrain from going out to find food for the next month. He'll spend about a week expanding the pond, which can be used for playing in the water now. After a while, they can catch some freshwater fish in the stream and raise them so they'll have live fish to eat during the winter.

After this period of time has passed, Wang Lun plans to follow the previous plan: every other day, he will take Li Ling and Liu Ruoling to explore, hoping to find something useful. On their days of rest, they will dig for wild vegetables nearby or do other things.

As for inside the camp, Liu Ruoxi and the people who stayed behind were responsible for managing the affairs of the camp, mainly taking care of the pheasants and rabbits. If they could also grow some wild vegetables, that would be even better.

This plan will continue until there are only about ten days' worth of food left, at which point fishing trips will resume. Of course, "food" here only refers to fish, as other foods are relatively scarce and need to be eaten sparingly. In addition, food needs to be stockpiled for winter, so even more frugality is required. After all, the thought of eating a pot of hot wild boar meat in winter is exciting and can easily boost morale.

After Wang Lun finished explaining the recent plans, Li Ling and the others understood. The first week or so was mainly for them to relax a bit. After all, the hyenas had just arrived, and three of them were either on their periods or about to start, so it was safer to stay in the camp.

At other times, it was similar to the previous period. All four of them had experienced it before, so they were quite familiar with it and it was relatively easy.