When Li Ling and the other two heard Wang Lun's explanation, their first thought was that once things were done properly, the camp—no, their home—would be even more beautiful. They already considered it their second home. Their second reaction was, "So much work! How long will it take?" Especially the huge pool; according to Wang Lun's plan, it would definitely need to be paved with stones, and with such a large area, paving the stones would probably take several days.
While Li Ling and her two friends were engrossed in their fantasies about their future home, Wang Lun quietly swapped a useless card in his hand for an Ace, then said, "Three points, call single." Li Ling, sitting below Wang Lun, couldn't play three points, and Liu Ruoxi, sitting opposite him, also couldn't play, leaving only Liu Ruoling. Liu Ruoling stared at Wang Lun, and when he saw her staring back, he said, "Three points, do you want them? If not, I'll play my card." Liu Ruoling said, "I have a pair of points, the highest card in my hand. Where did you get three points?" Wang Lun said, "Impossible, I have three points." Liu Ruoling took out her card and said, "I have a pair of points, and you beat me with a pair of twos. Tell me, is there five points in this hand?" Wang Lun insisted he didn't know, and that he wasn't cheating.
Seeing that Liu Ruoling was pressing him, Wang Lun pushed the cards away and said, "I'm going to the bathroom, I'm not playing anymore." Liu Ruoling said, "Even if you don't play, you're still the one cooking tomorrow." Wang Lun said, "Why? I haven't finished losing yet!" Liu Ruoling said, "That doesn't matter, who told you to cheat?" Wang Lun said, "I'm not cooking, I'm not cooking anyway." After saying that, he went out by himself.
Seeing Wang Lun leave, Liu Ruoling thought he was really angry and was about to chase after him when Liu Ruoxi stopped her. Li Ling said, "It's okay, ignore him, let's play by ourselves." Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi started shuffling the cards, and seeing that they said it was okay, Liu Ruoling felt relieved and continued playing cards.
After leaving the room and using the restroom, Wang Lun went to the edge of the pool and marked out the area to be expanded. He then used a stick to make a deep mark on the mark for future reference.
After finishing all that, Wang Lun sat by the door, quietly watching the sunset. He decided not to play cards anymore; it was always three against one, how could he possibly beat them? Of course, Wang Lun only played with them to keep them company, otherwise, who would keep losing? There are bound to be a few lucky hands when you win.
After the sun set, Wang Lun saw that they were still playing cards, so he went to fetch water and cook, leaving them to play.
First, take out the tapioca flour and cook a pot of dumpling soup. Then, put the coconut crab into another pot and cook it directly. That way, the flavor will be the most delicious. Of course, it's because he didn't have any other seasonings; otherwise, he would have liked to cook it properly.
About an hour later, both pots were cooked. Only then did Wang Lun call them over, telling them to clear the table and prepare for dinner.
Upon hearing that dinner was served, Liu Ruoling quickly put down her cards, refusing to play anymore. She figured there wouldn't be enough acorns left after this round, so she cheated and refused to continue. She hurriedly cleared the table and waited for Wang Lun to bring out the coconut crab and dumpling soup.
Wang Lun divided the claws of the two coconut crabs between Liu Ruoxi and her sister. Li Ling agreed to this, partly because she had already eaten them yesterday and didn't need to eat them again today. Also, she and Wang Lun were older than the Liu sisters, and Li Ling was even a few months older than Wang Lun, so she felt it was polite to give way to the younger ones. Of course, it wasn't that they wouldn't eat them; they just gave the claws to the sisters and ate the crab legs themselves.
If he were fast enough, he might even eat more than them. Wang Lun ate two crab legs and then stopped, instead ladling out a bowl of dumpling soup. For today's soup, Wang Lun first cooked pork, then added cassava dumplings. Wang Lun didn't particularly like eating crab; he thought the shells were too much trouble to eat, and he preferred pork.
After the meal, the coconut crabs were all gone, as were the dumpling soup in the earthenware pot. The pot was full, showing that the four of them ate quite a lot.
Wang Lun didn't care about what happened after the meal. Today, Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi washed the dishes, and Liu Ruoling cleared the table. Wang Lun sat down beside them, took out the straw sandals he hadn't woven in a long time, and continued weaving. He'd be going into the mountains frequently in the coming days, and the straw sandals would be used up even more quickly. Weaving more now would mean they could be used directly later.
After Liu Ruoling tidied the table, she began weaving straw sandals. Li Ling and the other woman put the pots and pans back and also prepared to weave straw sandals. However, Wang Lun stopped them, wanting them to start weaving some curtains. Later, when the pool was expanded, one wall wouldn't be completely sealed off, but rather covered with curtains. When not playing in the water, the curtains could be drawn back, making it less dark inside.
After hearing Wang Lun's explanation, Li Ling and Liu Ruoling agreed and began weaving the curtain. Midway through, Li Ling asked about the plans for tomorrow. Wang Lun thought for a moment and said, "Tomorrow, Liu Ruoling and I will go for a walk around the area. You and Liu Ruoxi will stay in the camp. The day after tomorrow, we'll stroll around the neighborhood together, and then work in the camp in the afternoon." The three of them said they understood. Liu Ruoling seemed particularly happy to be going out with Wang Lun tomorrow. Wang Lun continued, "When you leave tomorrow morning, take a day's worth of provisions. Go far away; you won't be back by noon, but you'll definitely be back for dinner." Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi understood; the farther they went, the greater their chances of success.
Wang Lun wanted to find more things to grow in the forest, as well as clay. Clay was the most important. With clay, they could make more earthenware jars. They were still lacking many things, especially large containers. Currently, some things were still stored in bamboo tubes. If they had earthenware jars, they could pickle some vegetables to eat in the winter. Wang Lun especially liked pickled houttuynia cordata; it was particularly delicious. However, although houttuynia cordata existed on this island, Wang Lun and his group hadn't encountered it yet, although Liu Ruoxi and the others had, and had eaten a lot of it.
Actually, it was only because Wang Lun didn't tell them that they had it; otherwise, they would have already told him where it was. Even if it took them a little more time, they would still go and dig up some houttuynia cordata.
Two of the four were from Sichuan, and they were incredibly good at eating houttuynia cordata (a type of herb). I'm not exaggerating; Wang Lun alone could eat a whole bowl of it with rice.
Of course, Wang Lun only had an idea about clay; if he came across it, he would get it immediately. If he didn't, he could still find clay for pottery by spending more time. Although there was a high chance of failure, the more times he failed, the higher his success rate would be.
Wang Lun finished weaving the straw sandals in his hands. Seeing that Liu Ruoling hadn't finished yet, he started weaving rope, preparing for the next batch of straw sandals. After Liu Ruoling finished, Wang Lun told them to rest and not stay up late.
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