Li Ling carried the processed harvest back to the shelter. The first thing she noticed was that Wang Lun was gone from the haystack. Looking around, she saw a line of footprints heading towards the woods. Li Ling understood, so she ignored him, turned back, and hung the harvest on the windbreak wall. Then she continued watching the salt in the pot.
Soon, Wang Lun returned. Seeing him, Li Ling poured the salt, which still had some moisture in one pot, into another, and asked Wang Lun to wash the other pot clean. Then she told him to fill a pot with water so they could cook breakfast. She estimated that Liu Ruoxi and the others would be back soon after breakfast was ready. Once they returned, they could gather some seafood, and then pack up and head back to camp.
Wang Lun took the pot and walked towards the stream. To be honest, Li Ling had been missing the campsite a bit these past two days. She missed the two pheasants, wondering if they were eating well and if they were laying eggs again. She also missed the six rabbits, wondering if they had dug burrows to escape. Of course, what she missed even more was the mud house, the spacious kang (heated brick bed), and the thick walls. These were all built with the hard work of Li Ling and Wang Lun. But they were going back soon, and Li Ling wished she could sprout wings and fly back immediately.
When Wang Lun returned, he found Li Ling standing there in a daze. The water in the pot had boiled dry, but Li Ling hadn't stirred the salt at all. He called out twice, and Li Ling finally snapped out of her reverie and started stirring the salt. Seeing that Li Ling had come back to her senses, Wang Lun didn't ask her what was wrong, assuming she was lost in thought. He then began to cook breakfast. Breakfast was again wild vegetable stew with fish; the wild vegetables were from yesterday, and the fish was from today.
Not long after, Liu Ruoxi and Liu Ruoling returned. Liu Ruoling carried three bundles of banana leaves on her back, while Liu Ruoxi followed behind with a spear. Wang Lun saw them and helped Liu Ruoling put down her basket. Liu Ruoxi and Liu Ruoling returned to the campfire and sat down, first drinking some water. Then they waited for Wang Lun to return so they could eat.
After the meal, Wang Lun washed the pots and pans, while Li Ling cleaned up the mess.
After Wang Lun brought back the pots and pans, the four of them carried baskets on their backs and went to the beach to collect more fishing traps and seafood from the sand. Wang Lun and Liu Ruoxi went in one direction, while Li Ling and Liu Ruoling went in the other.
About an hour later, the four returned to the shelter. Wang Lun placed the boiled water on the beach and, after it cooled slightly, poured it into bamboo tubes. Then, they packed their belongings, putting what needed to be packed into baskets. Fish, seafood, wild vegetables and fruits, and bananas were placed in two baskets; Wang Lun would carry one, and Li Ling would carry the other. Wang Lun's basket also carried two bundles of banana bark, while Li Ling's basket carried a bundle of banana leaves. The remaining items were carried by each sister, with Liu Ruoxi carrying a bundle of banana leaves and Liu Ruoling carrying two bundles.
After packing everything up, Wang Lun placed the fish basket on a large tree and tied it there, intending to use it again next time. He also placed the remaining firewood under the tree and piled the dry grass underneath it. Then he went to destroy the trap, since he wouldn't be back for a while and couldn't leave it unattended, lest more fish fall into it and die in the sun on the beach.
After they finished packing, Wang Lun helped them put on their baskets, then put on his own basket and started heading back.
Along the way, everyone was carrying heavy loads, so they walked slowly and weren't as lively as they had been on the way there. Although their loads were heavy, no one complained of being tired, and no one wanted anyone to carry their load for them, because everyone was already carrying a lot and couldn't help. Even those who had the capacity were unwilling to accept help, even Liu Ruoxi, who only managed to put some things into Wang Lun's basket because she simply couldn't continue on the second half of the journey. But Wang Lun's basket was already full, so how much could it hold? Besides, he had been walking for a long time and was also very exhausted.
The four of them supported each other and slowly made their way to the camp, taking nearly four hours.
Back at camp, the four of them put the food in their baskets and got to work. Liu Ruoxi and Li Ling went inside to check if the food had been gnawed by small animals, to see if there were any insects in the mat on the kang (heated brick bed), and to inspect the woodpile in front of the stove, among other things. Once everything was clear, they took out the pot and began cooking lunch.
Liu Ruoling went to the backyard to check on the two pheasants. If they had laid eggs, she would collect them. She also collected the chicken droppings and leftover grass scraps from the past few days and piled them all up in the lawn where the cassava planter was growing. Once enough had accumulated, it would ferment into fertilizer.
Of course, Wang Lun also had his share of work. His was a bit more demanding. Liu Ruoling only had two pheasants, while Wang Lun had six rabbits. Wang Lun noticed the rabbits were doing well, having largely adapted to farm life. In the past two days, four of the rabbits seemed to be pregnant, their bellies showing signs of pregnancy. However, Wang Lun wasn't sure, so he didn't say anything, simply keeping a close eye on the four rabbits.
The rabbits were fine, so it was time to deal with their droppings. Luckily, they had a military shovel, which Wang Lun used to shovel the droppings into a pile. Then, they used a discarded basket to move the droppings around. Of course, Liu Ruoling used the same basket as well.
After Wang Lun finished cleaning up the rabbit droppings, he took some dried, hardened soil, ground it into a fine powder, and sprinkled a layer of it around the rabbit pen. Only then was this task considered complete.
Reeking of feces, Wang Lun decided to take a bath and drained the water into the reservoir. Once there was some water in the reservoir, he let Liu Ruoling bathe first, since it wouldn't be very elegant for a girl to be covered in chicken droppings.
After Liu Ruoling finished washing, Wang Lun went in to rinse off as well. Afterward, instead of draining the water from the tank, he continued to fill it. He knew that Li Ling and the others would definitely need to shower again in the afternoon, so he simply filled the tank first, hoping the water wouldn't be so cold after being exposed to the sun.
When Wang Lun returned to the house, the food was already laid out on the table; they were just waiting for him to come back so they could eat.
After the meal, Wang Lun told them to rest. He said there was only one thing to do that afternoon: cut some grass for the pheasants and rabbits, and that was it. They should just rest well today.
Even so, the seafood still needed to be dried, and the fish needed to be hung on a rack and roasted next to the fire. All the things taken from the beach needed to be put back. The earthenware bowls and pots that hadn't been used for days needed to be washed, the bananas brought back needed to be sliced and dried, and the banana tree peel needed to be soaked in water. Although it was said that there was nothing much to do, there were still many daily chores. However, with so many people, things were done quite quickly.
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