Back at camp, Li Ling busied herself cooking, while Wang Lun immediately took the cassava seedling to the lawn below, dug a hole, and planted it. He pulled up the surrounding weeds, watered it, added some of the previously prepared fertilizer, and sprinkled a layer of wood ash from the camp entrance. That was all Wang Lun could do; whether the cassava would survive and whether it would grow into a harvest was up to fate.
After planting, Wang Lun returned to the camp. Seeing Li Ling still cooking, he decided to make a table—the kind used for everyday meals, the kind where several people can eat together. This time, Wang Lun planned to make it carefully, at least ensuring the tabletop was flat. So, he first searched for wooden sticks, rummaging through the shed for a while before finding twenty straight sticks. Then he split the sticks, using a machete as a wedge and a stone hammer to carefully separate them piece by piece to prevent them from breaking or splitting unevenly. Just as he finished splitting one stick, Li Ling called for dinner. Wang Lun responded and went to wash his hands and eat.
After the meal, Wang Lun and Li Ling crushed the termite mounds together, then gradually mixed the mixture in a pot into a shape suitable for pottery. They each made a small bowl, which turned out quite well; at least the shape was similar to what they usually used, without any oddities. While it might not be as beautiful as ceramic, they would likely be very usable once fired. However, Wang Lun could only make one bowl, as he needed to gather more firewood. So, he picked up his wooden spear and machete and left the camp. The remaining pottery was left to Li Ling. It was considered that Li Ling, being a girl, was more skillful than Wang Lun, which would likely increase her chances of success.
Wang Lun made ten trips back and forth, finally carrying all the firewood back. This meant that most of the shed against the wall was filled with firewood, enough to burn for a while. By then, it was getting dark. Li Ling had already finished making pottery, which was placed under the eaves to dry slightly before firing it the next day. Using the termite mounds, Li Ling made a ceramic pot with a lid, two ceramic jars, four small ceramic bowls, and three large ceramic basins. There was also a pleasant surprise: Li Ling had made a teapot, so they could start brewing tea now, even though they didn't have any tea leaves yet. Wang Lun was very happy about this. Before coming to the island, he quite enjoyed drinking tea, but after arriving, he had no opportunity to indulge in other hobbies. Now, with the teapot, he could finally start brewing tea again. Wang Lun couldn't wait to start firing the pottery, but reason prevailed.
After finishing her pottery, Li Ling started weaving bark mats. Wang Lun didn't say anything about it, even though he wanted her to continue weaving straw mats, since one layer of straw mats was rather thin. But Li Ling was doing what she wanted to do, so Wang Lun didn't stop her.
Seeing Wang Lun return and the sky darkening, Li Ling put down the mat she was weaving and started cooking. Wang Lun thought for a moment; the light was dim, and he was worried about damaging the wooden sticks. So he decided to try weaving a pair of straw sandals. After all, they'd been wearing the same shoes for almost a month and needed a change. Plus, they'd be eating on the kang (heated brick bed) from now on, so he wanted to prepare two extra pairs to avoid the stench from their shoes overpowering the two of them.
Wang Lun took out a handful of dry grass from the shed and recalled the steps he had seen before for weaving straw sandals. First, the dry grass was woven into rope, then the ropes were crossed, and so on. It sounded quite simple, so Wang Lun began the first step: weaving the dry grass into rope. To make the straw sandals more sturdy, Wang Lun planned to weave three strands of rope into one, which he thought would be more secure. So he began weaving the dry grass into rope.
Wang Lun didn't put down what he was doing until Li Ling called him to eat. He tidied up the straw rope he was weaving and the remaining hay, placing it on the stone table. Then Li Ling brought over the pot. Wang Lun fetched the bowls and served rice to both of them.
After dinner, Li Ling continued weaving mats from tree bark, while Wang Lun continued weaving straw sandals. They continued until Li Ling finished the mat, then called Wang Lun to help spread it on the kang (heated brick bed) before preparing for bed. At this point, Wang Lun hadn't finished the first straw sandal, so he told Li Ling to go to sleep first, and that he would come and sleep after he finished. Li Ling yawned repeatedly and went to bed first. About twenty minutes later, Wang Lun finished the first straw sandal, tried it on, and found it quite nice, though a little prickly. He then took off the sandal, washed up, and went to bed.
The next day, both of them got up very early. Wang Lun wanted to make breakfast, while Li Ling wanted to start firing pottery. Since he had no choice, Wang Lun checked the pottery placed under the eaves and found that it was mostly hardened but not warped. So, he and Li Ling carefully placed the pottery pieces one by one on the ground, which had been covered with a layer of wood ash beforehand. After piling all the pottery on the ground, Wang Lun took a bundle of firewood from the shed and spread some around the pottery until it was full. Then he started a fire from the hearth inside the house, lighting the pile of firewood. He instructed Li Ling to watch the fire and be ready to add more firewood as needed, and not to throw it away directly to avoid breaking the pottery. Li Ling said she understood, and only then did Wang Lun go to cook breakfast.
Not long after, Wang Lun finished cooking and brought the meal outside, where he and Li Ling ate together.
After the meal, Wang Lun told Li Ling to stay at the camp while he went out to explore. He hoped she could catch some game, or at least set some traps and gather some wild vegetables. Before leaving, Wang Lun took a dried fish with him, explaining that he might not return by noon. He said if he had a good morning's catch, he would come back; otherwise, he could eat the dried fish outside. He assured her he would be back before sunset. He also reminded Li Ling to keep adding firewood to the fire and to remember to eat lunch. Then, Wang Lun slung a basket over his shoulder, filled it with water and the dried fish, tucked his machete into his waistband, and left the camp.
Li Ling watched Wang Lun leave the camp and close the camp gate, then sighed softly. Although she didn't want Wang Lun to go, they couldn't just sit around and do nothing. Besides, there was something going on at the camp. If things calmed down later, Li Ling would probably go with him, but not now. Since Wang Lun was busy finding food, she couldn't be idle either. The planned third phase of the wall construction could begin. So she added some firewood to the fire and went to the open space above to start digging the foundation for the wall, planting wooden stakes in it, and so on.
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