Nothing happened that night, and Wang Lun woke up very early the next morning. Liu Ruoxi was leaning against the table, tending the hearth. Seeing that it was still somewhat dark outside, Wang Lun told Liu Ruoxi to go to bed and sleep for a while, while he watched over the fire for her. Liu Ruoxi was initially reluctant, afraid that Wang Lun would leave without saying goodbye again. But she was persuaded by Wang Lun; after all, she was going with Liu Ruoling this time, and he wouldn't leave without informing her. Only then did Liu Ruoxi go to bed to rest.

After washing up, Wang Lun returned to the house and filled the pot with water so he could start cooking. Then he gathered a large handful of grass to feed the goats, chopped some more to feed the pheasants and rabbits, and of course, collected an egg. He'd accumulated six or seven eggs so far, and more would follow. However, Wang Lun still thought how wonderful it would be to have a few more pheasants. Even if it didn't guarantee each person an egg a day, it would at least allow them to eat every two days. Unfortunately, he currently only had two pheasants.

After feeding the pheasants, Wang Lun watered the wild vegetables before returning inside. The weather was rather gloomy today, looking like it was going to rain. Wang Lun decided to wait until it was brighter; if it was still like this, he would abandon his plans to go out today.

Wang Lun returned to the house, dug out the pottery jar, and let it cool naturally. He then took the iron pot to the waterway to wash some fine clay, and placed it in the yard, waiting to make pottery blanks that evening.

Li Ling and Liu Ruoling also got up one after another during this time. Wang Lun told them to wash up and then cook, and if it didn't rain, it would be nice to go for a walk nearby.

Wang Lun washed his hands and checked on the pregnant rabbits. He estimated that in about ten days, the four female rabbits would give birth, at which point the rabbit population would have doubled or tripled, putting pressure on the breeders. However, it wasn't too bad; if they couldn't afford to raise them all, they could intervene manually to control the rabbit population. They could still provide Wang Lun and his team with meat and fur, which was quite good.

Wang Lun left the rabbit pen and went to the eaves to retrieve the hyena skins he had collected earlier, only to find they were all dry and hard. He then went to the water pit he had previously used to knead the skins. Wang Lun poured in some wood ash and then added some water. He then put the hyena skins in and pounded and stirred them with a wooden stick. He didn't put the stick down until Li Ling came to call him for dinner.

As he walked into the house, he said to Li Ling, "If I need to go out later, you should prepare the hyena skin first. Once it's dried, we can make a hyena skin blanket to put on the kang (heated brick bed), so it won't be so stiff." Li Ling said, "If we use the hyena skin now, what will we do in winter? We won't have many skins left to make clothes." Wang Lun said, "Aren't there some other skins? That should be enough." Li Ling said, "I think so, I'll go look for some later." Wang Lun nodded.

The two entered the house, and Wang Lun saw that Liu Ruoxi was still sleeping. Liu Ruoling wanted to wake her, but Li Ling stopped her. Li Ling knew that the two of them had taken turns keeping watch all night, and neither of them had slept well. Even Li Ling herself was still yawning after getting up. So the three of them ate. Liu Ruoxi's portion was served in a large bowl and placed in an earthenware pot to keep warm, so she could eat when she woke up.

After dinner, Wang Lun went outside to check the weather. Although it was still a bit overcast, it wasn't raining. He decided to go for a walk, but only in the vicinity. The weather was bad, so he couldn't go too far.

So Wang Lun called Liu Ruoling, and the two of them carried baskets on their backs, put on straw hats, and Wang Lun thought for a moment, then grabbed a straw rope. Only then did they leave. Li Ling watched their figures disappear at the end of the road before closing the camp gate and returning to wash the pots and pans.

Li Ling had seen how Wang Lun processed pelts before and had even done it herself. But this time, she was processing six pelts at once, which would take a lot of effort and energy. After softening all the hyena pelts, Li Ling was already exhausted. But she still prepared to drag her tired body out of the water and take them to be washed clean.

Just then, Liu Ruoxi came out and saw Li Ling's condition. She told her to go back and rest, and that she would take care of the rest. The sky was overcast and the temperature wasn't very high, yet Li Ling was drenched in sweat, which showed how much exercise she had done. Li Ling didn't push herself too hard, thanked Liu Ruoxi, and went inside.

Liu Ruoxi retrieved six pieces of leather from the puddle, then took them one by one to the waterway to wash them clean, before hanging them on a rack to dry. Because the leather was heavy after getting wet, Liu Ruoxi could only do it one at a time, taking her time, since she had plenty of time.

Just as Liu Ruoxi was washing the last sheet, a raindrop fell, splashing onto the water's surface, then two, then three. Liu Ruoxi sensed it was raining and quickly sped up, calling Li Ling out to bring the hyena skin inside to prevent it from getting wet.

The two busied themselves cleaning the hyena pelt. Li Ling then brought back a bundle of firewood from under the shed. As they finished, the rain intensified. Looking at the falling rain, the two worried about Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling outside. They wondered if they had gotten wet, if they had found shelter, how long the rain would last, and whether they would be able to return safely.

At this moment, Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling were still getting wet in the rain. Wang Lun told Liu Ruoling to go under a tree to avoid the rain, while he continued to keep an eye on the pheasants in front of him.

It turned out that Wang Lun and his companion, though only wandering nearby, were lucky enough to encounter a flock of pheasants. However, the pheasants were very alert and disappeared before Wang Lun and his companion could make a move. But Wang Lun believed they would definitely return. So, he and Liu Ruoling set up some rope traps. They put in a lot of effort to catch them alive. Not only did they set the traps, but they also had to minimize environmental damage, otherwise the pheasants wouldn't come back.

After setting the trap, Wang Lun took Liu Ruoling to find other food or usable items nearby. The haul was quite good. When it started to rain, on their way back, Wang Lun heard that there were pheasants again.

So the two found a large tree and put their baskets down there. Together with Liu Ruoling, they quietly approached and observed the pheasants' movements.

The rain intensified, and the pheasants hid in the bushes. Wang Lun grew increasingly anxious. If he were alone, he could wait for the pheasants to emerge, but Liu Ruoling was also there, and he didn't know how long she could hold out in the rain. Wang Lun had no choice but to take a gamble; whether he could catch a pheasant depended on luck.