Wang Lun, standing by the campfire, discovered he had made a mistake in his weaving and had to unravel it and start all over again. It wasn't until the moon was high in the sky, probably past one or two in the morning, when Li Ling got up to take over, that he finally finished weaving one winnowing basket. Fortunately, once he finished one, he became more skilled at the rest. After Li Ling got up, Wang Lun and she hung the frame on the roof of the shelter and secured it to several thick tree stumps with vines. They tested it and found it to be quite sturdy and able to bear a lot of weight. Wang Lun planned to put the fish that hadn't yet dried on it with Li Ling, but Li Ling, seeing that she could finish the rest herself, told Wang Lun to go and rest. Upon hearing "rest," Wang Lun yawned and obediently lay down on the bed. He even felt some warmth, but before he could fully appreciate it, he had already fallen asleep.
Seeing that Wang Lun had fallen asleep, Li Ling lowered her voice and made her movements gentler as she released the fish. Soon, after releasing the fish, Li Ling sat down at the entrance of the shelter to tend the campfire. Seeing the winnowing basket Wang Lun had woven, she picked it up, examined it, and tried it out, saying, "This guy's skills are pretty good." She put the basket down, then, realizing she didn't know how to weave one, she took out some vines and began weaving a basket herself. The campfire burned, and Li Ling wove the basket—a scene unfortunately unappreciated. Although there were still some viewers in the live stream, they had seen it all before and no longer cared. Little did they know, in the distant jungle, several pairs of eyes were watching Wang Lun's shelter, ultimately attracting predators.
The next day, Wang Lun got up early. Li Ling, however, was already prepared; the pot was filled with water, and the float was also filled with water. Seeing Wang Lun up, Li Ling started cooking breakfast. After washing up, Wang Lun waited to eat. After a while, breakfast was ready—boiled fish again—which Wang Lun quickly finished. Then, he picked up his spear and machete, grabbed a bamboo water container, and went to the beach to fetch bamboo. If there was bamboo nearby, Wang Lun wouldn't have gone so far to get it. This time, Wang Lun went alone; he had already told Li Ling the night before. Li Ling wasn't idle at home in the morning either. She needed to prepare vines, dig a pit, build a drainage channel, and there was something else she hadn't done yet: the shelter's drainage ditch. These were all tasks, but Wang Lun had instructed her to do the work at the camp first, and then do other things, to avoid any accidents.
Wang Lun walked briskly, reaching the beach in just over an hour. He rested and drank some water before heading out to see if there was anything to collect for food. Surprisingly, he found two large pieces of kelp. This delighted him, even more than finding two fish. Fish were plentiful, but vegetables were scarce. While wild vegetables were sometimes available, most didn't taste very good. Kelp, however, was delicious and naturally salty. Wang Lun carried the kelp back to the bamboo stalks. He placed the kelp on the bamboo, tied it with vines, and then hoisted the bamboo onto his shoulder, beginning his journey home.
Inside the campsite, Li Ling first cleaned up the mess left after the two had finished eating, burning the fish bones and bones in the campfire and washing the pots and pans. Then she took out a shovel and started digging a pit in the spot Wang Lun had planned. Next to the fence facing the stream, near the earthen cliff above, she planned to dig a small pit for now, to be expanded later and paved with stones so the water would be much cleaner. She also dug a drainage ditch parallel to the fence, allowing water to flow out of the shelter and down the earthen cliff below. Li Ling spent almost half an hour digging a pit about one meter in diameter and thirty centimeters deep, and then rested after completing the drainage ditch.
After resting, they started digging drainage ditches for the shelter, firmly patting the excavated soil near the ground. They also dug a water channel, connecting it to the channel in the puddles, so that rainwater would drain into the shelter together. By the time they finished these two tasks, it had been more than two hours since Wang Lun had set off.
During her rest, Li Ling checked the area and found there were still many vines, but not many vegetables. So she decided to go out later and look for wild vegetables near the campsite and along the stream. After resting for a while, Li Ling picked up a basket with a machete in her left hand and a spear in her right. She closed the gate and went to the stream to look for wild vegetables.
As the sun reached its zenith, Wang Lun, carrying bamboo, began his journey back to camp. Along the way, he encountered Li Ling, who was foraging for wild vegetables. He learned that Li Ling had gone out to find vegetables and, while searching, had suddenly decided that since she was already looking for them, she might as well walk down the stream and perhaps run into Wang Lun again, where she could tie some up. Sure enough, she met Wang Lun returning with his bamboo and offered to help. Wang Lun was initially surprised, but upon seeing the basket Li Ling was carrying, he understood. He put down the bamboo, untied some seaweed, and gave it to Li Ling to carry. Li Ling didn't say anything more; after all, she already had several bundles of wild vegetables ahead of her, and with the basket and seaweed, it was quite a lot, though not heavy. So Wang Lun walked ahead, and Li Ling followed behind, heading back to camp.
About an hour later, the two returned to the campsite. Li Ling ran ahead and opened the gate. Wang Lun carried the bamboo into the campsite, and Li Ling closed the gate again. Only after they unloaded their things did they rest. Seeing that there was still a ember on the campfire, Li Ling added some dry grass and kindling. After the fire ignited, she added more firewood, informed Wang Lun, and went to fetch water to prepare lunch. Soon, Li Ling returned with the water, placed the pot on the campfire, and began cooking lunch. Today's meal was still wild vegetables and fish. During the meal, Wang Lun said, "With so many wild vegetables, blanch them in water at the campsite first, then dry them. They'll taste better when they're dried." Li Ling said, "Okay, are you going out again?" Wang Lun said, "Yes, I'm going to find some vines and also check the location for the sewer construction." Li Ling said, "Alright, I'll process the bamboo after I finish the vegetables." Wang Lun said, "Okay, by the way, do you know how to process the bamboo?" Li Ling said, "Yes." Wang Lun said, "Split the bamboo. We don't have much bamboo; we don't even know if we'll have enough." Li Ling said, "Let's see first. If we have enough, great; if not, we'll think of other ways. Besides, it'll be much closer that way, at least much closer than now." Wang Lun said, "That's true." The two chatted as they ate. Soon, they finished eating, and Wang Lun took out his machete and spear and left the campsite. Li Ling cleaned up the mess after the meal and then went to the stream to wash the pots and pans.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com