Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi carried their catch back to the camp and placed it aside. Liu Ruoxi then hung it on the windbreak wall. The two of them, each carrying an iron pot, walked towards the stream.
When they reached the stream, Wang Lun had already moored the raft on the bank, waiting for them. The two women placed the iron pot aside and together pulled the raft back a bit, partially anchoring it to the bank before stopping. The two women went to fetch water, while Wang Lun tied the straw rope to a large tree. After finishing these tasks, the three of them returned to the camp.
Back at the campsite, Liu Ruoxi had already finished everything else. She had peeled the bananas and put them into her baskets, filling two baskets to the brim. There were also some in the third basket, but not many. The fish were all hung up, except for one big fish that was nearly a meter long.
The four sat together, discussing whether to eat the big fish first or continue eating the small fish. In the end, Wang Lun decided to make a fish head soup with the big fish's head, then prepare the other dishes; they would have fish head soup hot pot that day. This suggestion was agreed upon by everyone. So they set to work.
Liu Ruoxi stayed at the camp to start a fire and boil the water in the pot. Wang Lun chopped off the head of the big fish, while Li Ling and Liu Ruoling went to find various ingredients that could be used for hot pot. After Wang Lun chopped off the fish head, he and Li Ling took the ingredients to the stream to wash them clean.
Upon returning, Wang Lun immediately put the fish head into the pot to make fish head soup. The two sisters, Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi, began preparing the ingredients for the hot pot. They also chopped off the heads of two fish and added them to the pot to make fish head soup. In another pot, the water was boiling. Wang Lun asked Liu Ruoxi what this pot was for. Liu Ruoxi said it was for boiling water and putting it into bamboo tubes for them to drink on their journey the next day. So Wang Lun took the pot down and placed it on the sandy ground nearby, intending to let it cool slightly before putting it into the bamboo tubes.
After a while, the fish head soup in the pot boiled. Wang Lun added some salt and continued to cook. Li Ling and the others had prepared all the ingredients and were just waiting for the fish head soup to cook so they could start eating hot pot.
After a while, the fish head soup in the pot turned milky white. Wang Lun then used an entrenching tool to shovel a few shovelfuls of charcoal under the shed, and then carried the pot inside. The four of them gathered around the pot and began to eat hot pot.
The four of them have eaten much more than before they came to the island. Before, they could finish all the food, but they would feel very full. Today, they finished all the dishes, and even ate the fish head and soup, and only then did they feel somewhat full, but not very stuffed.
Wang Lun just felt more pressured. He used to estimate one fish per person per meal, but now they'd probably need more than one to be full. However, it wasn't too bad. Although their appetites had increased, their strength had also grown considerably; now they could carry their loads much further. And with such a vast sea, catching more fish each time would be enough to feed them for a while, so the food problem wasn't urgent.
After the meal, the four rested for a while. Wang Lun then told Li Ling to go and rest first, as they had to get up early the next day. He worried that she wouldn't be able to get through the journey if she wasn't well-rested. Li Ling readily agreed and went to rest, partly because she was feeling sleepy after eating.
After Li Ling went to rest, Wang Lun told Liu Ruoling and the others to rest as well, saying he would only need to keep watch for the first half of the night. However, Liu Ruoxi decided that Wang Lun would also be walking a long way the next day, so it was better for him to rest. Wang Lun insisted they rest anyway. Finally, Liu Ruoxi reluctantly agreed to wake them up earlier. Wang Lun nodded. This was indeed Wang Lun's plan; after all, he and Li Ling had a long way to go the next day, and they needed proper rest. Before resting, Liu Ruoxi specifically reminded Liu Ruoling to wake up early so she could relieve Wang Lun. Liu Ruoling understood and nodded. The two then went to sleep.
After they went to sleep, Wang Lun checked the baskets and tools for tomorrow one last time, placing the tools in a conspicuous place before sitting back down by the door.
Two or three hours later, Liu Ruoling came out of the house and told Wang Lun to go to sleep. Wang Lun thought it was still quite early, so he planned to keep watch for a while longer and let Liu Ruoling get some more sleep. Liu Ruoling used the excuse that Wang Lun would be walking a long way the next day, and that she and her sister didn't have anything to do the next day and could catch up on sleep at the camp, to persuade Wang Lun to go back to sleep. Only then did Wang Lun reluctantly agree.
Wang Lun entered the room and saw that the space between Liu Ruoxi and Li Ling was empty. It was clearly where Liu Ruoling had slept before. Could Wang Lun lie down there? Of course not, that would be taking advantage of her. So Wang Lun sat down against the wall and fell asleep.
More than an hour later, Liu Ruoxi woke up and found that Liu Ruoling was gone. She got up and saw Wang Lun sleeping next to her. Liu Ruoxi frowned slightly, but then, remembering where she had been sleeping, she understood why Wang Lun had been sleeping against the wall.
Suddenly remembering what happened last time, Liu Ruoxi decided to play a little joke on Wang Lun and Li Ling, so she called Liu Ruoling in. Liu Ruoxi whispered her idea to Liu Ruoling, who immediately became excited. After all, Liu Ruoling quite enjoyed playing pranks, especially this kind of prank. So she readily agreed.
The two rummaged around inside for a while before emerging from the shelter. Their faces were flushed, and they were sweating, but both had smiles on their faces.
The two of them spent the night keeping watch, listening for any sounds coming from inside the shelter. Liu Ruoling was about to quietly open the door to peek in, but Liu Ruoxi stopped her.
The next morning, Wang Lun woke up and, as soon as he opened his eyes, saw Li Ling staring at him. But why was she so close? Wang Lun was stunned. Seeing that Wang Lun was awake, Li Ling said, "Aren't you going to let go?" Wang Lun then pulled his hand away from Li Ling's, saying, "What's going on? I was clearly sitting next to you yesterday." Li Ling said, "Who knows? But when I woke up, you were holding me. Who knows if you were sleepwalking?" As she finished speaking, she seemed to recall the scene from the previous night, and her face flushed slightly. Wang Lun was also confused and could only assume it was true. He apologized to Li Ling and was forced to sign a series of unequal agreements to keep her quiet.
Little did Wang Lun know, everyone else knew this secret. If Wang Lun had woken up earlier, he would have discovered that it wasn't him embracing Li Ling, but rather the two of them embracing each other, face to face, practically kissing. But it wasn't all bad, since Li Ling had managed to kiss Wang Lun while he was asleep.
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