Inside the camp, Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), discussing Wang Lun and his companion. Both showed concern and worry for them, but there was nothing they could do; someone always needed to cut down trees, and their combined strength was far superior to Li Ling's. It was the best solution for Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi to stay at the camp and weave fishing nets, while Wang Lun and his companion went to the beach to cut down trees.
Li Ling and her companion knew this, but they were still worried about whether the two had eaten dinner by the sea, whether they had shelter from the wind and rain, whether they had food for tomorrow, and whether they would encounter danger at night. But what good was worrying from a distance? It was insignificant. As sleepiness overcame them, they fell asleep.
Wang Lun, however, remained on night watch at the shelter entrance. The shelter wasn't fully completed, but there was plenty of food inside. If both of them slept, what if they attracted predators? Without a campfire, sturdy walls, or proper shelter, they could only watch as wild animals entered. If they were lucky, the animals would eat the food and leave. If they were unlucky, the animals, wanting fresh food, would inevitably be injured or need to be rescued. Ultimately, they would all be eliminated. How long could Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi survive? Perhaps knowing they were eliminated, they would immediately give up. Therefore, night watch was essential, both for their own safety and the future of the team. Especially with food available in the camp, night watch was even more crucial.
Two or three hours before dawn, Liu Ruoling woke up and went out to relieve Wang Lun and begin the second half of the night's watch. Before going to sleep, Wang Lun repeatedly reminded Liu Ruoling to remember not to leave the campfire. After Liu Ruoling remembered, Wang Lun returned to the shelter to sleep.
The next morning, Wang Lun woke up after quite some time. Liu Ruoling had already collected all the fish from the baskets and traps, and cleaned and hung the fish on the windbreak wall. Water was boiling in the pot, just waiting for Wang Lun to get up so they could start cooking.
When Liu Ruoling saw Wang Lun come out, she told him to go wash up first, and that he could have breakfast when he came back. Wang Lun was quite happy to be able to eat right away, since nobody likes cooking.
After washing up in the stream, Wang Lun returned to the campfire. Looking at the pot of fish, he asked Liu Ruoling, "How many fish did you cook?" Liu Ruoling replied, "Three. That should be enough." Wang Lun asked, "Do you think three is enough?" Liu Ruoling said, "It should be enough. When we were at the camp, four people cooked four fish, and it was enough. Now, we each have one and a half, so it should be enough." Wang Lun slapped his forehead and said, "There are wild vegetables in there too! That's why it's enough." Hearing "wild vegetables," Liu Ruoling felt she'd forgotten something. She turned and grabbed a handful of water spinach from the nearby windbreak and threw it into the pot. Wang Lun couldn't stop her and asked, "What are you doing with the water spinach?" Liu Ruoling said, "Eating it! It's delicious." Wang Lun asked, "How are you going to eat it?" Liu Ruoling said, "I'm making a cold salad, of course. A cold salad? Ah, can you still eat the cooked water spinach?" Wang Lun said, "I think so. Wait a minute."
After a while, Wang Lun estimated it was almost done, so he picked up a piece of water spinach with his chopsticks, tasted it, and found it cooked. It wasn't as good as when it was cold-dressed, but it was edible. Wang Lun then picked up a piece of fish, tasted it, and found it cooked as well. So he took the pot off the stove, served Liu Ruoling a bowl of rice, and then served himself a bowl.
Although the cooked dragon beard vegetables weren't as delicious as the cold ones, the two still finished the whole pot. Wang Lun went to wash the pot, leaving Liu Ruoling at the shelter to pack up the knife and other things they would need later, so the two could go chop down trees when she returned.
Before long, Wang Lun finished washing the pots and pans and brought back a pot of water. He placed the pot on the hearth of the shelter, closed the door, tied it with vines, then slung his basket over his shoulder and took Liu Ruoling to the woods near the stream to cut down trees.
Near the stream, the path was relatively flat, and they had walked it many times before, making it easy to walk. Upon arriving, Wang Lun surveyed the surrounding trees; most were only about ten centimeters in diameter, meaning about fifteen trees would be enough to build a raft about two meters wide. Cutting down one tree took half an hour, so they could gather enough trees in two days, process them, and transport them back to the shelter.
Wang Lun estimated the time and figured it should be about right. So he started cutting down the tree. As for Liu Ruoling, he told her to rest first. After Wang Lun felled the tree, Liu Ruoling would cut down the branches and put them aside, preferably bundled up, to take to the shelter as firewood later. The thicker trunks could also be used to make other things.
Inside the camp, Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi woke up to find Wang Lun and the other man not there, and they felt a little disoriented. But they knew they would be separated for a while, and life had to go on. They got up together, washed up, and then Li Ling cooked while Liu Ruoxi chopped grass to feed the pheasants and rabbits.
Their breakfast was still wild vegetable stewed with fish, not much different from before. The only difference was that before, four people needed two pots of food to eat. Now, two people could finish one pot. Before, the four of them would fight and joke around, but now the two of them ate in silence, only talking about Wang Lun and the other person. After breakfast, Liu Ruoxi said there wasn't much grass left, so Li Ling prepared the tools. After washing the pots and pans, the two of them went to cut grass.
After Liu Ruoxi returned from washing the dishes, Li Ling prepared their things for the trip. Liu Ruoxi slung a basket over her shoulder, and the two went out to cut some grass near the campsite.
After returning, the two put down their baskets, rested for a while, and then continued weaving fishing nets.
Unbeknownst to them, someone had found Liu Ruoxi and her friends' old treehouse. It was the Zheng brothers, Zheng Long and Zheng Hu. After scavenging all the food in the bamboo forest, the two brothers moved to a new place to continue their lives. Still somewhat dissatisfied, they finally came across a meadow and decided to find a spot nearby to build a shelter and try hunting there.
The next day, when the two went there, they saw a cheetah hunting. They were so frightened that they didn't dare to move until the cheetah was far away. Only then did they get up and run back to the shelter as if they were fleeing.
Back at the shelter, the two still felt unsafe, so they abandoned the newly built shelter and immediately left.
After walking for a long time, the two reached the mountainside and emerged from the woods, finally feeling somewhat relieved. Finding no water source nearby, they decided to search the mountainside for a suitable source.
After walking for more than an hour, the two saw several trees on a distant hillside, surrounded by a fence. Thinking it was inhabited, they quietly approached.
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