Chapter 62
It was already completely dark, and it was already eight o'clock in the evening. Everyone felt a little hungry again. The extra fish and breadfruit that had been grilled at noon became ready-made food, and several people gathered together to share it.
The cold food was not unpalatable in this kind of weather. After eating a few bites, several people lay down in a row. Looking up slightly, they could see the semi-finished shed. There were many pits dug and many trees buried. The dense tree wall looked very reliable. However, Chu Huaiqin felt that it would be better if they could cover the top of the shed with a layer of soil if they had time.
"Rest for two hours. Xia En, you take the little monk to pick breadfruit. I'll go get some water with Senior and my sister." They'd run out of water today, and the coconuts were all empty. "Yes, we need to go around and see if there's any resin from the dipterocarp trees. If not, we'll have to give them a few bites."
Resin was very important to them in making folding paper, and Chu Huaiqin almost forgot about it.
"We also need to find some tough vines to use as bait. We need to get up early in the morning so we can go to the beach and pick up some. And..."
Chu Huaiqin fell asleep while talking.
The fire next to them was burning, emitting a faint light. Xia En laid sideways beside Chu Huaiqin, looking at his tired face. His heart was still beating fast, and he felt heartbroken, but he no longer felt the nervousness he had before.
The others also fell asleep from exhaustion. Two hours later, Chu Huaiqin woke up. They were still asleep. He wanted to wake them, but after some thought, he decided to let the two little ones sleep a little longer. They were still growing! Then he pushed Xia En and Su Huaichen awake.
Su Huaichen, who was extremely sleepy, got up and cried to Chu Huaiqin, his eyes full of pity: Let me sleep a little longer!
Chu Huaiqin shook his head.
Su Huaichen was pulled up, and Xia En volunteered to get the breadfruit himself, and also took two large shrimp cages with him. Each shrimp cage could hold three or four shrimps, and he could still hold a few.
The live broadcast room sighed: "The shrimps in this shrimp cage haven't been caught yet, and they have all been used to pack things."
Chu Huaiqin thought so too. It seemed they were in urgent need of a frame. Chu Huaiqin took Su Huaichen to the lake to fetch water and then went to the place where the borneol tree was found. Fortunately, the two places were not far apart and the road was easy to recognize. Otherwise, they might get lost in the middle of the night.
The resin of the borneol tree usually needs a wound to flow out. If no artificial strip wound is made, we have to hope that it will crack into small cracks. This is a unique instinct of trees in the arbor family.
After the two men came to the tree, they searched slowly from bottom to top and actually found it. However, because the pieces were too small, they had to scrape off a lot to make up for it. So when Xia Entang came back with breadfruit for the first time, he hadn't seen anyone there. When he came back with breadfruit for the second time, they still hadn't returned.
"Xia Entang won't pick them again, will he? He'll become bald if he does."
"Why doesn't this Chinese person know how to share? He just eats it all by himself."
"Why is there such a person again? This is a competition, a competition, understand?"
"Then when they arrived on the island, it was only natural that those who arrived earlier would not let them in."
"Humph, that's right. So, I beat them up, didn't I? Please understand, I got ashore based on my own strength."
It was already early morning and there were fewer people in the live broadcast room. Seeing that everyone in other teams had fallen asleep, only Chu Huaiqin and the others were still busy. Some people sighed that only hardworking people can get enough food.
Xia Entang didn't plan to go for the third time. He frowned and paced a few steps, deciding to go pick them up. But as he walked out, he remembered that he didn't know the place! Helplessly, Xia Entang continued pacing.
The two appeared just when Xia En was about to lose his patience, with water hanging on their bodies and making a clanging sound.
…
No one slept well that night. Lin Zhinan started vomiting in the middle of the night, and Su Huaichen had diarrhea. The accompanying doctor examined them and said they had gastrointestinal problems, probably related to the water source. The water here is not running water, but accumulated water from rain, so it is false to say that there are no bacteria in it.
Now they face two choices: one is to withdraw from the competition, and the other is to continue the competition. If they continue the competition, they will have to drink water from the lake, or they can solve the drinking water problem themselves.
When Lin Zhinan and Su Huaichen heard this, they wanted to jump up and say that they were fine, but they were held down by Chu Huaiqin.
"Let's see if we can make an earthen pot tomorrow!" After all, drinking raw water is not suitable for the Chinese people's physique.
After hearing Chu Huaiqin's words, the two of them felt relieved and slowly fell asleep.
The next day, everyone got up early, including Su Huaichen and Lin Zhinan. I wanted to let them rest for a bit, but neither of them wanted to. So, we had to follow our plan from last night and go to the shore to catch some seafood.
There were quite a few fish, crabs, and clams, and they happily collected them. They returned just as dawn was about to break. The other teams, having just woken up, were stunned to see Chu Huaiqin and his team returning with a large pile of seafood. Had they returned from the sea while they were still asleep?
The breakfast seafood looked like a lot but it was not much to eat. Fortunately, there was toasted breadfruit. While eating this breadfruit, Su Huaichen began to worry about what to do after eating the other one.
While making breakfast, everyone also made lunch. There were five breadfruits, two of which were for those who were going out to sea today.
Xia Entang was still planning to go to the barrier reef today. Seven teams were already entering and exiting the coral reefs near the nearby cliffs. With more people, the volume decreased. However, Xia Entang wasn't going with the little monk today. Instead, he was keeping his eye on Su Huaichen.
Su Huaichen: ...
Knowing that Xia Entang wanted to keep the stronger monks for Chu Huaiqin to work, Su Huaichen had no choice but to go anyway, even taking the long vine he'd used to go to the sea. He'd been guarding it, not letting anyone use it. However, when they reached the reef, Xia Entang didn't let him go into the sea, but instead had him pick snails around it.
Su Huaichen: ...
After Xia En left, Chu Huaiqin first moved a few earthenware pots to the sunniest spot to dry. After a night of drying, they looked quite good. Then Chu Huaiqin began to make firewood. He had already prepared the pipes on Island A, and all that remained was to make the core of the firewood. He didn't have any coarse paper, so all he could use was tough, sturdy vines.
The principle of the fire starter is very simple. It is to twist the paper roll tightly, light it, blow it out, put it into the tube and seal it. Due to the scarcity of oxygen, the burning speed will become very slow. This is one of the production methods. Another method is to use potato vines, brocade flowers and other things to make it. Chu Huaiqin does not have this condition, so he can only simplify it. Whether it will succeed depends on God's will.
Tropical islands are rich in vegetation, and vines are countless. It wasn't difficult for Chu Huaiqin to find the right vines. He used dried vine trunks. He first flattened them with a stone, then twisted them together into a strip. He soaked them in resin melted from coconut shells, and after a few hours, he took them out and placed them in the sun to dry.
During this time, the little monk was still reinforcing the outer walls and roof of the shed, while Lin Zhinan continued to cut long grass and chop banana leaves. During this time, he also found some palm trees. Lin Zhinan prepared a few palm tree fans and fanned the little monk who was working. A cool breeze blew past, and the little monk turned around to see Lin Zhinan's bright smiling face.
"Is it cool?"
"Cool, cool."
The little monk's face turned a little red, and Lin Zhinan seemed a little embarrassed. He gave the sunflower fan to the little monk and continued to look for grass.
Chu Huaiqin also took one and sat under the shade of the tree, fanning himself a few times. He felt very leisurely and had that kind of feeling.
To use the words of the live broadcast room: like an old man enjoying the cool air at the village entrance.
The old man stood up and started digging the kiln. It was really difficult without any tools. He had to dig bit by bit with the thin stones he found. After digging for a while, Chu Huaiqin became unhappy and sat in the hot sun, sweating profusely.
"Brother, are you sunburned? If you want to rest, go to the shade of the tree."
"I think my dear brother is being too spoiled again and can't do anything anymore!"
"Don't talk nonsense. My brother didn't wake up the two little ones last night and let them sleep!"
The people in the live broadcast room were wondering what Chu Huaiqin was trying to do. Chu Huaiqin didn't move, and many people in the live broadcast room didn't move either, just staring at him.
Live broadcast room: "I am getting hot just looking at him, I am going to drink some water."
Chu Huaiqin sat motionless in the sun. The little monk turned around and saw him looking stupid. He shouted, "Brother, what's wrong with you? Are you suffering from heatstroke?"
"No," Chu Huaiqin finally began, his voice hoarse, "I feel a little stupid. Why would I go dig a kiln when there is one ready-made one?"
Chu Huaiqin finally moved, climbing up breathlessly. He walked to the spot where he had hammered the clay model the day before and saw a pile of gravel. He thought it would be enough. He thought he could build a kiln in the open space next door, but before that, he had to go and bring back some soil.
When there were no tools, cutting a kiln seemed more practical than digging one. The people in the live studio watched him bring back the soil, wet it, and then start stacking it with stones...
The whole process was very complicated. Since Chu Huaiqin only wanted to fire a few earthen pots, the simple kiln he cut was not big and could be completed quickly. He first let the kiln dry for a while before lighting the fire to dry it, and then put the clay pot embryos in to burn. This process took a long time, and whether it would succeed or not depended on fate.
The little monk was very happy and kept asking if he could drink soup tonight. When Chu Huaiqin answered that it was not, the little monk was disappointed.
After the kiln was ready, Chu Huaiqin climbed onto the roof of the shed and asked the little monk to pass the tree trunks to him from below. After the top was paved, he first laid a layer of banana leaves on it, then a layer of palm leaves tied with vines, and then began to lay the grass.
The sun rose, reached its zenith, and by afternoon, the three of them were almost in tears as they looked at the nearly completed shed. It hadn't been easy! Tomorrow, they would use banana leaves and a layer of long grass to cover it, and it would be done.
Lin Zhinan rubbed her shoulders, turned her gaze to the still-burning kiln, and prayed silently, "It must succeed, otherwise she wouldn't be able to drink the water from the lake, and she would really have to withdraw from the competition." Thinking of this, Lin Zhinan trotted over to add more firewood.
As I said, the most important thing is to maintain the high temperature.
"Do you want to start roasting breadfruit?" After adding firewood to the kiln, Lin Zhinan ran over and asked, fanning himself with a sunflower fan in his hand, feeling extremely comfortable.
"Roast it!" Chu Huaiqin said, took a deep breath, endured the pain in his bones, and said, "I'll go chop some more trees."
"What to do?" The little monk was puzzled. Wasn't their shed almost finished?
"I want to make a bed." Once it rains, the ground will be wet and they won't be able to sleep sitting on the ground.
The young monk thought about it and realized that this was also true. He dragged his tired body with Chu Huaiqin to chop trees, while Lin Zhinan squatted by the fire, thinking about things. After a while, she looked at the empty coconut shell and picked it up to fetch water.
Now she actually has some traumatic feelings towards the lake. Today, when she was thirsty, she only took two careful sips of water. Chu Huaiqin saw her in the middle of it, and he took a knife to cut down some banana tree cores and brought them back for her to chew to quench her thirst.
There were coconut trees on this island, but they arrived late, and all the conspicuous coconuts had been picked by those teams. They had no choice but to go looking for coconuts, but looking at the dark clouds in the distance, the increasingly strong smell of the sea, and the unfinished shed, this decision was obviously not worthwhile, so Lin Zhinan could only endure it a little longer.
When Lin Zhinan went to fetch water, he was unlucky enough to run into one of the groups blocking their way to the island, the Vientiane Kingdom. They were stunned when they saw Lin Zhinan, and then realized it was just them, their expressions changed immediately.
Two of the stars were talking incoherently for a while, and someone in the live broadcast room could understand them. The translation showed that they had left early due to something, while three of the foreign players stayed.
Lin Zhinan didn't intend to pay attention to them. He walked to the lake and scooped up water with a coconut shell. At this time, they approached Lin Zhinan, but did not attack him directly. Instead, they slapped Lin Zhinan on the shoulder as if to say hello. The force was too strong, and the squatting Lin Zhinan fell into the lake in an instant. Everyone in the live broadcast room shouted, and this person pulled them back.
There was another sentence of jibberish, which meant, how could you be so weak? I just gave you a light tap!
Lin Zhinan was so scared that tears came out. He vomited all night last night, and he was afraid that he would be forced to withdraw from the competition due to water problems, so he felt uncomfortable psychologically. He was frightened and burst into tears.
When Chu Huaiqin and the little monk returned to the camp, they found that Lin Zhinan had left and wrote something on the ground, saying that he had gone to fetch water.
"Let's go find her." Chu Huaiqin said. None of the teams here are kind people. There is only one lake on the entire island, and the chance of her running into other people is too high.
"Well, let's go quickly!" The little monk was also worried.
Chinese audience: "Ahh, the brother came back and found that the person was missing. Go and save your sister. I'm so angry."
Unknown audience: "Are you over-interpreting this? It's obvious that the team member just wanted to say hello to her."
Unknown audience: "Exactly, are you feeling guilty? That's why you're so scared."
Chinese audience: "Shit, what's the point of deliberately walking around? And deliberately knocking over the water, ah ah, want to kill them."
Unknown audience: "It was clearly because she lost her balance when she stood up and fell on the Elephant team members. The fans of the Rolling Team should stop framing her."
Chinese audience: "Don't think that because you don't have the national symbol in front of you, I don't know that you are fans of Vientiane. Despicable! Shameless, you are blind."
Chinese audience: "Brother, go quickly!"
The people in the live broadcast room were almost going crazy, watching them surrounding Lin Zhinan, sometimes pretending to accidentally touch her, sometimes deliberately squeezing towards Lin Zhinan enthusiastically, as if they wanted to push her into the lake in front of the camera.
"Oh my god, that guy did it on purpose. He threw the coconut shell so hard when he was drawing water, splashing water on my sister. Oh my god, I'm so angry. I really want to get in and kick him into the lake..."
"Bang!"
As the live streamer had hoped, Chu Huaiqin kicked the two foreign players who were throwing coconut shells and pushing the crowd into the water. With a loud splash, they were all stunned for a moment before reacting. Some cheered, while others cursed, saying Chu Huaiqin was breaking the rules.
"How is it? Are you hurt?" Chu Huaiqin saw Lin Zhinan's tearful face, and glared sharply at the person who floated up from the lake and was about to scold him, scaring the person so much that he swallowed his words back.
"No, no." Lin Zhinan choked twice, shook his head, and tears fell like beads.
The young monk was furious and immediately took off his clothes and jumped into the water to chase the two men. The young monk caught a man who was not swimming as fast and directly pressed his head into the water. He looked very angry and terrifying.
The live broadcast room was so shocked that no sound could be made.
The director team was also shocked by the little monk's momentum and almost didn't react. The drone flew low and began to emit warning sounds. The first time, the little monk didn't let go. The second time, the little monk still didn't let go. The third time...
"Little monk, come up," Chu Huaiqin shouted, "This contestant is drowning. You saved him, so come up! It's not good to stay in the water for too long."
Director Team: ...
Live broadcast room: ...
The young monk listened, and with a sneer on his face, he pulled the man ashore. The man turned pale and looked at the young monk in panic. At this time, the young monk smiled and patted his face. "Don't be afraid, we are always warm and kind. Although I saved you, don't be too grateful. Of course, if you want to thank me, you can give me some bananas or something."
The young monk let go of his hand, and the man immediately slid to the ground and couldn't stand up.
Chu Huaiqin and the little monk filled the coconut shell with water and pulled Lin Zhinan back. The three of them were silent along the way. Lin Zhinan hesitated and whispered sorry.
"It's not your fault, no need to apologize," the little monk unexpectedly spoke up, "but do you know why we're angry?"
Lin Zhinan shook his head.
"We're angry because you should have known the danger and shouldn't have come out alone. They acted unkindly when we landed on the island, so you should have been more careful."
"I'm in trouble."
"No, you didn't cause any trouble. It was their fault. We were just angry about why we didn't get here sooner. Did they bully you badly?"
Lin Zhinan shook his head with tears in his eyes.
Chu Huaiqin spoke up at this time: "Little monk, I'm not angry, I just feel sorry for my sister."
Little Monk: ...
"Then why were you silent again?"
"I was just thinking."
"Then I am the only bad guy?"
The little monk couldn't believe it. Was he the only one criticizing his sister just now?
"yes!"
"Brother, you framed me."
The little monk was angry and wanted to fight with Chu Huaiqin while hanging a coconut shell filled with water. However, he didn't expect that the water would spill as soon as Chu Huaiqin moved. He was caught in a dilemma and his expression changed again and again, showing a lot of emotions.
Lin Zhinan smiled and wiped her tears. Suddenly, she felt that her biggest gain from participating in this program might not be entering the Asian competition, but getting to know them.
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