After Liu Ruoling finished cooking the rice, she put on her dried underwear. Then she opened the door, calling for Wang Lun to come home for lunch. Wang Lun, who was watering the vegetable garden in the yard, responded and watered the garden before going inside to eat.
The two quickly finished their lunch and then got back to work. They needed to return to the seaside campsite in the afternoon, so time was of the essence. Any delay could mean it would be dark by the time they got back, making the journey much more dangerous.
Wang Lun packed his things and prepared his basket. Liu Ruoling washed the pots and pans, then placed water on the fire pit and used the embers to boil it. By the time the two returned from cutting grass, the water would have boiled and cooled, ready to be packed into the bamboo tube and they could set off. Before leaving, Wang Lun took four eggs from the basket and placed them in a clay pot, intending to boil them and take them back to eat. He knew these next few days would be tiring, and he needed to replenish his nutrition. Although it wasn't much, it would still be some nourishment.
The two men each carried a basket on their backs and headed to their usual meadow. Once there, they cut and pulled at the grass, spending over an hour finally filling both baskets. By then, they were both quite disheveled, but they didn't care. Instead, they hoisted their baskets and began walking towards the campsite.
Wang Lun closed the camp gate. Liu Ruoling looked at the camp and, although she wanted to stay, she turned around and led the goat towards the sea. Wang Lun also lifted the basket on his back and quickly followed.
When they arrived, the two of them and the goat were carrying heavy loads, walking slowly and exhausted. On the way back, Liu Ruoling and the goat were carrying nothing and looked much lighter. Wang Lun, on the other hand, carried baskets, one on top of the other. In the upper basket, he had filled it with food, mainly a large handful of dried wild vegetables and a large handful of dried meat, as well as some other tools, which filled about half of the basket.
At the seaside campsite, Liu Ruoxi and Li Ling ate lunch, washed the pots and pans, and then one of them rested while the other boiled salt and collected the fish baskets. This way, they took turns getting good rest. Although they slept little at night, they were able to replenish their energy after lunch.
As the sun was about to set, Liu Ruoxi and Li Ling sat around the campfire, tending to the pot, but occasionally turning their heads to look towards the stream to see if anyone could be seen, and if it was the two of them returning.
After countless glances upward, countless moments of anticipation, and countless disappointments, finally, figures appeared at the end of the stream. Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi could hardly believe it; they rubbed their eyes. Yes, figures had appeared; the two of them had returned.
Liu Ruoxi and Li Ling quickly got up, ready to greet them, but suddenly remembered the pot on the campfire and the food on the windbreak wall, so they stopped. Although they didn't go to greet them, they still stood by the windbreak wall, watching the two get closer and closer until they could clearly see them and they walked right up to them.
Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi quickly stepped forward, took the basket off Wang Lun's back, and pulled him to sit by the campfire, pouring him water. Liu Ruoling was annoyed, but there was nothing she could do; after all, she hadn't brought anything back that afternoon. However, as the older sister, Liu Ruoxi felt sorry for her younger sister and poured her a bowl of water. She also took the goat, led it back to its original spot, tied it up, and poured some grass in front of it before going over to it.
Wang Lun briefly recounted the day's events, keeping it very simple and not going into too much detail about what the two of them had done. He then inquired about what Li Ling and the other woman had been up to that day.
Li Ling briefly explained the situation, and while it was indeed simple, it had taken a considerable amount of time and effort. Wang Lun praised both of them.
Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi sat with the two for a while longer, then suddenly remembered they needed to check the fish baskets. So Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi decided to go by themselves. But how could Wang Lun agree? Liu Ruoling also wanted to go with them.
So, at Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi's repeated requests, Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling agreed to go together, but they couldn't carry the baskets; they could just watch them do it. Wang Lun readily agreed, saying, "Once we get there, you can do whatever you want."
Upon arriving at the beach, Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi divided the tasks. Li Ling went into the sea to retrieve the fish baskets, while Liu Ruoxi went to the fishing traps to collect the fish from them.
Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling were left on the shore to watch over the baskets, which was essentially to let them rest a little longer. But how could Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling be idle? Together, they went to haul in the fishing nets, dragged them ashore, and removed all the fish from the nets.
The ocean is quite rich in resources. This time, we caught about forty fish of various sizes. It seems that achieving our goal is relatively easy.
Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi handed over all their catch to Wang Lun and his companion to process. The two of them, carrying baskets on their backs, went along the beach, searching for fish, crabs, kelp, seaweed, and other edible creatures washed ashore. Of course, sea urchins were an exception; they had too many spines, were difficult to handle, and contained toxins.
The four worked until dark before carrying two baskets back to camp. As for the other fish baskets and nets, of course, they continued working on them, hoping for another harvest the next morning—a truly satisfying prospect.
Dinner was still cooked by Liu Ruoxi, but today was different. The fish soup contained dried wild vegetables, and each person even received an egg. This was enough to satisfy the four of them.
After dinner, the four of them even boiled a pot of water, dug a sand pit, put a few banana leaves in it, and then poured in a pit full of water, where they soaked their feet.
It has to be said that soaking your feet in hot water is really comfortable. After a long day of hiking, Wang Lun himself felt very tired, and his feet were almost numb. But after soaking his feet, he felt much more relaxed.
Moreover, the water from soaking your feet doesn't need to be cleaned up; you just need to remove the banana leaves, and the water will flow away along the gaps in the sand. By the next morning, the sand will be dry, and everything will be back to normal except for the pits.
Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling kept watch for the first half of the night as usual, while Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi kept watch for the second half.
The next day, Wang Lun and Li Ling were woken up by Liu Ruoxi. Another busy day was about to begin, but all four of them were in high spirits, striving for a better life.
Three days passed like this. The first day was Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling's turn, and the next two days were Wang Lun and Li Ling's turn. Compared to the first day, it got easier and easier as time went on. Everything at the camp was taken care of, and each day all they had to do was make a round trip. Once at the camp, they would prepare lunch, and after lunch, they would shoulder their baskets, lead their goats, and leisurely return to the seaside camp.
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