Li Ling looked at the pile of thorns and felt a headache coming on. They were all tangled together; how was she supposed to untangle them? There was no other way but to keep going. So she found a thorny end and gave it a tug; it was mostly loose. So she had to separate the thorns bit by bit. It took her more than twenty minutes to separate the pile of thorns. She got pricked several times during this time, but thankfully, she wasn't physically tired, just mentally exhausted. She secretly resolved never to do this again. Then, she took the separated thorns and wrapped them around the tree stump, vertically, horizontally, and crisscrossing, and filled in any holes. This took another half hour. Finally, she had made one thorn fence. Looking at the thorn fence, Li Ling felt a great sense of accomplishment and security. But the thought of having to make another fence gave her a huge headache. There was no other way but to continue. So she began dealing with the second pile of thorns.

In the jungle, Wang Lun was bundling two bundles of firewood. Not only that, but he also chopped more than ten thin sticks, each over three meters long. He planned to take these back to build a half-meter-high fence around the earthen cliff in front of him, to prevent any climbing animals from scaling it. He would then wrap thorns around it, so even if an animal could climb up, it would get pricked several times. Soon, Wang Lun finished bundling the firewood and tied the ten-odd thin branches together. Carrying the firewood and branches on his shoulder, with a machete in his other hand and supporting the firewood, he returned to camp.

Back at camp, Wang Lun saw Li Ling tying up the second fence. He said, "Let me help you." Li Ling replied, "No, you should finish the gate first. Leaving the entrance empty doesn't feel safe." Wang Lun thought about it and agreed. It was already almost five o'clock, and it would be dark in a little over an hour. So, he grabbed a machete, found some sticks, estimated the length and width, and used vines to tie up a gate. Because of the time constraints, Wang Lun only tied the gate to a tree stump, leaving the other side for opening and closing. If needed, he could use the vines to secure it, thus surrounding the entire yard with a thorny fence. However, to prevent animals from ramming the gate, Wang Lun found a thick stick and used it to prop it open. Surely no animal would open the gate by itself. The task was now complete. He called Li Ling over to test it. She tried opening and closing the gate and felt it worked. But then again, it was only temporary; as long as it worked, that was good enough.

So the two began building a fence along the earthen cliff. The fence didn't need to be too high, so they didn't dig too deep—just enough to prevent it from wobbling. However, Li Ling insisted that if they were going to build it, it should be roughly the same height. So they used branches about a meter high, buried about ten centimeters at the bottom, leaving nearly eighty centimeters at the top, just enough to connect perfectly with the fence on both sides. It took them another half hour to finish the fence along the earthen cliff. By then, the sun was almost setting, so Wang Lun told Li Ling to take the pot and go wash up, and fetch a pot of water to cook dinner later. Wang Lun went to dig some pits behind the shelter to make some short spears for burying there that night. Li Ling carried the pot towards the stream. Wang Lun took his entrenching tool and went to dig pits behind the shelter.

A little while later, Li Ling returned, carrying a pot of water. Wang Lun then went to wash up, taking an empty buoy with him. Li Ling stayed at the shelter, intending to open the door for Wang Lun later, as he had asked her to close it before leaving. When Wang Lun was alone, it didn't matter whether the door was closed or not, but it was safer for Li Ling to keep it closed when she was alone. Actually, if Wang Lun hadn't had something to do, they would have gone to the stream together to wash up. Li Ling closed the door and noticed the seafood and fish drying there hadn't been taken in yet, so she took out an empty basket and put them away. Just as she finished, she heard Wang Lun calling for the door to open. Li Ling went to open the door for him, and saw him carrying the buoy in one hand and a rock in the other. Li Ling asked, "Why did you bring a rock back?" Wang Lun replied, "I'll need it later. I'm coming back empty-handed anyway, might as well bring a rock." Wang Lun put down the rock and the buoy, and seeing that Li Ling had already collected the seafood, he put the basket inside the shelter.

Seeing the sun had set, Li Ling told Wang Lun and then placed the pot on the campfire to cook fish. Seeing Li Ling cooking, Wang Lun took his machete and sat by the fire, making some short spears. This time, Wang Lun didn't plan to carbonize the spears; he'd just sharpen them, since they were only for temporary use and didn't need much work. Soon, Li Ling's fish was ready. Since it was evening, she cooked one large and one small fish, both cut into pieces. Wang Lun had also cut fifteen short spears, but after some simple processing, they hadn't been sharpened yet. Fifteen short spears were enough to line two or three rows behind the shelter, so he wouldn't add any more.

After they finished eating, Li Ling used the water from the float to wash the pots and pans. Wang Lun was working on the short spears, so Li Ling went to help. Wang Lun thought it was still quite early, and having another person help was good, so he didn't say anything. After a while, the two of them finished making several sets of fifteen short spears. Wang Lun asked Li Ling to hold the torch while he assembled the spears. They worked for a while before finishing. Back by the campfire, Wang Lun washed his hands, but before he could say anything, Li Ling said, "I'm going to sleep now. Wake me up in the middle of the night." Wang Lun could only nod. Turning her head, Li Ling smiled, thinking to herself, "You always tell me to sleep, today I'll see how you do it."

Sitting by the campfire, Wang Lun was bored for a while, wondering what else he could do. Then it dawned on him: he'd definitely need winnowing baskets for digging later, so he needed to weave a few. He also needed to prepare molds for building the earthen walls. Then he'd weave another basket for storing food; that would be enough for now. He also needed to weave a food drying rack for the shelter. He thought that was all, but it turned out there was so much to do. He'd do it one thing at a time: first the food drying rack, then the winnowing baskets and molds, and finally the baskets. After all, he still had a backpack basket to hold food.

So I gathered some branches, looked at the roof of the shelter, estimated the dimensions, and started weaving. First, I made a square basket frame, then woven thin branches horizontally and vertically inside. I made the gaps in the weave a bit larger, since it would be used to dry fish now, and later to dry hunted game—provided we had those; otherwise, we'd probably just have to dismantle it for firewood. It took me about half an hour to finish, and I was ready to hang it on the shelter roof, but then I realized it was a bit too big for one person. So I tied the vines together and waited for Li Ling to take over before hanging it up. I then placed the frame upright inside the shelter. Next, I started weaving a winnowing basket. I'd never woven one before, but I'd seen how: first make the frame, then weave the inside—that's roughly how it works. So, recalling the process, I started working.