After finishing weaving a straw mat, Wang Lun covered Liu Ruoling with it and continued weaving the last one. Luckily, he had woven some before, so he didn't have to start from scratch. He finished weaving the mat around midnight. Seeing that neither of them was awake, he went out to take care of himself, then got back onto the kang (heated brick bed) and quietly woke Li Ling. Li Ling was groggily awakened and asked, "What time is it? Have you eaten?" Wang Lun said, "It's midnight. I'm going to sleep for a while. You keep watch and pay close attention to Liu Ruoxi's condition. Call me if there's any problem." Li Ling said, "What? You haven't eaten?" Wang Lun slapped Li Ling's thigh twice. Li Ling immediately perked up and said, "Why did you hit me?" Wang Lun said, "There are mosquitoes." Li Ling glared at Wang Lun, her eyes seeming to say, "Guess if I believe you?" Wang Lun ignored her and repeated, "Keep an eye on Liu Ruoxi while you're on night watch. Call me if anything happens. Oh, and if you feel like you're alone, wake Liu Ruoling up. I'm going to sleep now." Then he lay down to sleep. Li Ling raised her hand, then lowered it, and whispered, "I'll let you off the hook, huh?" She then went over and patted Liu Ruoling, but Liu Ruoling was alright. After a few pats, Liu Ruoling mumbled, "Is it our turn to keep watch?" Li Ling said, "Yes, it's our turn." So the two of them got off the kang (heated brick bed) and sat by the fire pit. They looked at each other, and Liu Ruoling asked, "Should we do something?" Li Ling thought for a moment and said, "Do you know how to weave straw sandals?" Liu Ruoling shook her head. Li Ling handed Liu Ruoling a handful of dry grass and said, "Then I'll teach you. It's very simple." So the two of them, one teaching and the other learning, started weaving straw sandals.
Wang Lun woke up a little later than usual. Before he got up, Li Ling and the other woman had already prepared breakfast, just waiting for him to wake up so they could eat. The first thing Wang Lun did after getting up was ask, "Has Liu Ruoxi woken up?" Liu Ruoling replied, "Yes, she woke up. I cooked her some food, and after she ate, she went back to sleep." Wang Lun went to the edge of the kang (heated brick bed), first touching Liu Ruoxi's forehead. He found it was better than when he first arrived the night before, but still a little hot. Then he took her pulse, confirming that she had improved, but the medicine still needed to be continued. He said, "Later, I'll boil the medicine from last night again for her to drink. I'll go gather some herbs this morning." After saying this, he went out to wash up and check if the rain had subsided.
When Wang Lun returned from washing up, the two women had already prepared the food and placed it on the table, waiting for him to come back so they could eat. The meal was, as usual, stewed fish with wild vegetables. As soon as Wang Lun sat down, Liu Ruoling said, "Shall I go with you later? The chances of finding herbs are higher if there are two of us." Wang Lun replied, "No need, I can go alone. Besides, you still have a fever, you need to rest." Li Ling was about to say something, but Wang Lun directly said, "You definitely don't need to, just stay home, it's raining outside." Li Ling said, "Okay, remember to come back early." Wang Lun nodded and said, "I will. If I don't come back at noon, I'll boil the medicine for her again, and she can eat some of the dregs too, it will have some effect. Oh, and if there's any left, Liu Ruoling should drink some too." The two women nodded. After arranging these things, Wang Lun started eating. As for the two women, they were somewhat distracted while eating, and Wang Lun didn't pay them any attention.
Soon, after finishing their meal and packing all the tools they needed into their baskets, Wang Lun picked up his spear and set off. The two stood at the gate, watching Wang Lun leave the camp and close the gate before returning to the fire pit to continue eating their unfinished meal.
After dinner, Liu Ruoling washed the dishes, while Li Ling tidied the table and continued weaving straw sandals. During their night watch, the two wove two pairs together, but Li Ling felt it wasn't enough and needed to weave more. If the Liu sisters teamed up in the future, they would have even fewer straw sandals.
After washing the pots and pans, Liu Ruoling originally planned to continue weaving straw sandals, but Li Ling said, "Wait a minute, let's wash your shoes first. We'll probably have to go out once the rain stops." Liu Ruoling thought it made sense, so she took her shoes to the pond to wash them. Although it was still raining, the straw hat provided enough cover. Taking advantage of Wang Lun's absence, she washed her shoes, which also made it easier to dry her clothes after they got wet.
Wang Lun searched for the herbs he needed along the stream, and also took the opportunity to explore the situation upstream.
Inside the camp, the two sat by the fire, weaving straw sandals. Liu Ruoxi was still lying on the kang (heated brick bed), but she had already woken up. She wanted to get up and sit by the fire, but Li Ling and the other woman refused. Although there was a fire by the fire, it wasn't warm enough; the kang, however, was always burning and was quite warm. The three chatted and worked, and soon it was noon. Li Ling glanced outside every now and then. Although she could hear the courtyard gate opening, she couldn't help but wonder if Wang Lun had returned.
Even after the rain stopped, Wang Lun still hadn't returned. Liu Ruoling wanted to say something, but didn't know how to begin. After all, Wang Lun and Li Ling could have stayed in the camp and waited for the rain to stop, but their sudden arrival had disturbed them, forcing Wang Lun to brave the rain to gather herbs that morning, and Li Ling only getting a few hours of sleep the previous night. Liu Ruoxi also hesitated to speak, and the three of them remained silent, the only sounds being the crackling of the firewood burning in the hearth and the rustling of dry grass in Li Ling's hands.
In the somber atmosphere, Li Ling suddenly said, "He probably won't be back for lunch. Let's cook something." The Liu sisters nodded. Li Ling said, "I'll go wash the wild vegetables. Liu Ruoling, go cook some kudzu root porridge for your sister. Remember to use the bamboo tube; if you don't have that, use the earthenware pot." Liu Ruoling said she understood, having seen Li Ling cook it that morning, she knew roughly where to put it and how to cook it, but she didn't understand why they should eat the smaller portion first instead of the larger one. Liu Ruoling didn't want to ask, but Liu Ruoxi had said it was quite delicious. Perhaps she hadn't tried it before; anyway, Liu Ruoling only remembered yesterday's porridge as salty.
Liu Ruoling lit both stoves. One stove had an earthenware pot for cooking kudzu root porridge for Liu Ruoxi, and the other had an iron pot for cooking wild vegetables and fish stew for the two of them. Li Ling quickly washed the wild vegetables and put them directly into the pot. Then she took a fish that wasn't completely dried from the rack, washed it again, cut it into pieces, and added it to the pot to cook. However, she seemed to have forgotten to add salt, but since no one reminded her, she let it go. Liu Ruoxi saw this, but she didn't know Li Ling and the others had salt and assumed they were like them before, without any. So she quietly called Liu Ruoling over, asking her to get some of the salt they had brought. Liu Ruoling heard her, picked up a bamboo tube from the rack, put some salt in, and then put it back on the rack. Of course, it wasn't their salt, but the salt that Wang Lun and the other person had boiled at the beach earlier. How did Liu Ruoling know this? That must have been because Li Ling told her when they were cooking together that morning. Liu Ruoling also saw mushrooms on the shelf next to her, but since Li Ling said she was cooking wild vegetables and stewed fish, Liu Ruoling didn't know what to say and didn't ask. This almost led to four people being poisoned by the food later on.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com