Today, Wang Lun and his companion had relatively little to do and were quite relaxed. They were able to go beachcombing twice, once in the morning and once in the evening, and expect to have a good harvest. They also wanted to bring back plenty of food tomorrow. So, both beachcombing trips took a lot of time, but thankfully, they were successful, and quite well at that.
In the afternoon, the two men connected all the tree trunks together with sticks to make a raft. They put in some effort but couldn't move it much, so they didn't try again, assuming the raft would float. Wang Lun was quite confident in its quality.
That night, the two men made two more wooden oars, bringing their total to four, which was enough for their needs. Now they just waited for dawn. After catching some seafood and having breakfast, they returned to their campsite.
Today, Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi finished weaving the second fishing net. By the time they finished, it was already dark. They fed the pheasants and rabbits by torchlight before preparing dinner. Neither of them had bathed that day, just a quick wash.
That evening, after dinner, the two originally planned to continue twisting straw rope, but Li Ling said, "We already have enough straw rope. Why don't weave two baskets first?" Liu Ruoxi thought about it and agreed. They had enough straw rope, but the baskets were becoming insufficient as they accumulated more and more items in the camp. Once they went out to sea to fish, the baskets would definitely be even more scarce. It wouldn't hurt to weave a few more while they had the time. So she agreed to Li Ling's idea. The two found some branches and began weaving baskets.
The next day, although Wang Lun and the other three were not together, they all got up very early. Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling planned to get up early, go beachcombing, have a simple breakfast, and then return to the campsite.
Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi planned to cut some more grass this morning. Wang Lun estimated they would be back either today or tomorrow. They would definitely go fishing at the beach the next day, but the pheasants and rabbits at the camp needed food, so they would have to leave more grass. They couldn't wait for Wang Lun and Liu Ruoxi to return to cut more, so they decided to get up early and try to cut four or five baskets' worth of grass, enough for the pheasants and rabbits for several days, maybe even more. Of course, if it wasn't enough, that was that; the pheasants and rabbits probably wouldn't starve.
After Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling returned from their beachcombing trip, Liu Ruoling started cooking breakfast, while Wang Lun packed all the tools and food into his baskets. The two baskets were now completely full. When they arrived, the baskets were empty; when they returned, they were overflowing. This left Wang Lun feeling both excited and somewhat helpless. He had originally planned to build a raft, but now, carrying a basket full of food, he wondered if he had come to build a raft or to go beachcombing.
They said they built a raft, but they reaped such a huge harvest from beachcombing. They said they did beachcombing, but they actually built a raft. All I can say about them is, impressive!
The two ate a simple breakfast. Liu Ruoling went to wash the pot, while Wang Lun went to collect the fish basket again. They had caught three more fish, which they cleaned and put back in the basket. After all, they would be back tomorrow, and they couldn't let the basket be empty. Even the fishing traps couldn't be empty.
After finishing everything, the two of them shouldered their baskets and headed back towards the camp.
Meanwhile, Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi, who were inside the camp, also shouldered their baskets and left the camp. The two went outside to cut grass.
At noon, when the sun was directly overhead, Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling appeared on the road outside the camp, carrying baskets on their backs. At the same time, at another fork in the road, Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi were also carrying baskets on their backs, heading back to the camp.
Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling called out twice outside the camp, but found no one inside. They then opened the camp gate themselves and went inside. Just as they put down their baskets, they heard Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi's voices coming from outside the camp. Ignoring their fatigue from the journey, the two stood up to greet them.
When Li Ling and Liu Ruoling saw Wang Lun and Liu Ruoxi, both sides were delighted. Liu Ruoling immediately went forward and hugged Liu Ruoxi, and Wang Lun couldn't help but smile at this. He had thought Liu Ruoling was quite independent, but it turned out she also missed Liu Ruoxi very much. Seeing Liu Ruoling's actions, several thoughts raced through Li Ling's mind, and finally she decided to take two steps forward and hug Wang Lun.
Wang Lun was somewhat stunned. In his memory, Li Ling had never shown such emotions before. What was wrong with her this time? With such a beauty in his arms, how could he have time to think about anything else? Wang Lun wrapped his arms around Li Ling, resting his head against hers, inhaling the strange scent emanating from her hair. He felt that participating in the desert island survival competition was the right decision. Outside, he would never have the chance to hold Li Ling like this. Thinking this, Wang Lun hugged Li Ling even tighter, greedily inhaling the strange scent even more—it was truly delightful.
Li Ling, leaning her head against Wang Lun's, suddenly whispered, "Let go, it hurts." Hearing this, Wang Lun realized he'd been holding on too tightly and quickly loosened his grip. Then he heard Li Ling whisper in his ear, "Let go, you're pressing against me." At first, Wang Lun didn't understand what she meant by "pressing against me." But then, thinking about his manhood, he felt embarrassed and quickly released his grip on Li Ling.
The two then separated. Wang Lun calmed himself down and said to the Liu sisters, who were still cuddling, "Stop being so affectionate, hurry up and go inside. Put down your baskets and we'll talk later." The four of them then entered the camp. Wang Lun was at the very back. He straightened his clothes and trousers, then closed the gate before going back inside.
The four sat around the table and each recounted what had happened since they parted ways. Wang Lun mainly talked about how the raft was finally built, without mentioning how exhausted the two of them were during the construction process. He also talked about how they had gone out to sea early and late at night and had gathered a lot of food. Liu Ruoling even tilted her basket to show them.
Li Ling mainly explained that she and her partner had finished weaving the fishing nets. They used the remaining vines to weave a barrier net. She then went to fetch two nets for Wang Lun and his partner to inspect. Wang Lun carefully checked them, found no problems, and praised Li Ling and her partner. Li Ling and her partner were very happy.
However, Li Ling then mentioned that they heard the sound of a helicopter yesterday, and Liu Ruoxi felt that it was in the direction of their previous camp and shouldn't be too far away.
When Wang Lun heard the news, he was initially shocked. He'd been on the island for almost two months, and apart from Liu Ruoxi and her sister, he hadn't seen anyone else. Hearing signs of activity was initially exciting. But after the initial excitement came caution. After all, supplies were limited; if more people arrived, they wouldn't be enough. What if conflict arose? These were all issues he needed to consider.
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