The three of them worked together for an afternoon, and the basic framework of the shed was completed. All that's left is to lay branches and straw on top tomorrow and take waterproofing measures.
It's time to rest. Liu Ruoxi cooked dinner, and Li Ling and the others went to help her. Wang Lun went to get the earthenware pot and started firing more pottery. After getting the fire going, he brought in the fine clay he had prepared that morning to make another pot.
For Wang Lun and his group, they currently have plenty of food, but fewer containers suitable for long-term storage, especially airtight earthenware jars. They should take advantage of the time they have now to fire more earthenware jars. These can be used not only for pickling vegetables but also for making kimchi. They'll experiment with whatever food they have. After all, they don't lack food now, but things might be different in winter.
It took Wang Lun more than twenty minutes to make a ceramic jar. Although it wasn't as pretty as Li Ling's, it was still quite good. Wang Lun placed it in the corner to continue drying in the shade, waiting to fire it the next day.
After dinner, Li Ling and the other two wanted to play cards, so Wang Lun switched places with them. Wang Lun stayed on guard for the second half of the night, while the three of them played cards and kept watch for the first half. It was more reassuring for the three of them to be together.
Nothing happened overnight. In the morning, Wang Lun prepared the water for cooking and fed the pheasants and rabbits early. Li Ling and the others were still awake when he returned. Only then did Wang Lun set up the pot and start cooking breakfast. Of course, breakfast was still wild vegetables stewed with fish, only the wild vegetables were becoming less and less, while the fish was becoming more and more abundant.
There's no other way. We've been eating wild vegetables a lot lately, and the supply is dwindling rapidly. The amount we had before won't last long. We need to find a plant that can sustain our wild vegetable supply for a longer period, or expand the cultivation of wild vegetables. But all of this requires exploring the wild, and Wang Lun currently lacks the time and energy to do so.
After breakfast, Wang Lun and the other three went about their own business. Liu Ruoxi continued knitting, while Wang Lun and Li Ling went to continue building the pool.
Seeing that the weather wasn't too hot yet, Wang Lun had Li Ling and Liu Ruoling go up to the roof to lay down branches and dry grass. Wang Lun then went to dig water into the irrigation ditch and scoop out the water from the pool. The remaining soil could then be removed, and they could start laying the stones. Once the temperature rose, Wang Lun would go up, and Li Ling and Liu Ruoling could then begin laying the stones.
Li Ling and Liu Ruoling both agreed with Wang Lun's plan. So, they let Liu Ruoling go up first, while Wang Lun and Li Ling passed some branches up. Then Li Ling went up next.
Wang Lun then moved the water outlet of the waterway into the drainage ditch. He then used stones and mud to block the opening in the pool. Next, he used an iron pot to scoop out most of the water from the pool, leaving the rest inside. Once the surrounding mud was removed, the water flowed into the mud, which could then be used to mix the mud. Finally, he could lay the stones on the ground.
After Wang Lun finished, he called Li Ling and Liu Ruoling down to rest for a while before switching tasks. It was already very hot. It was alright under the shed, since Li Ling and Liu Ruoling had already covered half of the roof, and the remaining portion was sheltered by tree branches. However, the roof was directly exposed to the sun and was extremely hot. Li Ling and Liu Ruoling felt like they were about to suffer from heatstroke. Thankfully, Wang Lun had called them down.
After Li Ling and Liu Ruoling came down, Wang Lun led them back to the house to drink water and rest. The three of them rested for half an hour before continuing their work.
At noon, Wang Lun told Li Ling and Liu Ruoling to finish their work early. Wang Lun laid some more on the roof, and it was almost done, but the weather was so hot that Wang Lun himself felt he couldn't stand it anymore, so he decided to leave it as it was and finish the rest in the afternoon.
Li Ling and Liu Ruoling had laid about half of the ground. They planned to finish the rest in the afternoon. However, not in the cooler afternoon Wang Lun had suggested, but after lunch and a short rest, they would continue. Now, the sun wasn't shining, so although it was still warm, it wasn't extremely hot. Besides, finishing the stones sooner meant they could play in the pool sooner. Then, as long as there was water in the pool, they wouldn't have to worry about the heat.
Back inside, Li Ling and Liu Ruoling sat at the table drinking water. Wang Lun drank a bowl of water, then picked up the pottery jar he had placed beside him that morning. After carefully examining it, he found no obvious cracks. So Wang Lun took the pottery jar and lid to the pool to wash them clean. He then filled it with some water and conducted an osmosis test.
At the same time, he took down the small bowl from before. The water in the bowl had decreased significantly, indicating that although it only had a crack, it was still leaking. It was probably impossible to use it for eating, though it might be usable for holding small items, but that didn't seem to be the case. Wang Lun really wanted to smash it and make a clay pottery piece, but then he thought, since he finally had a finished bowl, he should keep it for now, just in case it came in handy someday. So he told Li Ling and the other two that the clay bowl leaked and couldn't be used for eating. Then he placed it in a separate spot.
After resting, Liu Ruoxi stopped knitting and started cooking lunch. Li Ling went to help, leaving Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling idle at the table.
Wang Lun thought for a moment, then went to get the banana leaves from before and, together with Liu Ruoling, began processing them, continuing to spin the banana leaves into fibers. Liu Ruoling didn't understand; now that they had bark, why spend so much time spinning fibers? Wang Lun said, "We have nothing else to do, and we're just idling around anyway, so we might as well spin more fibers. Maybe we can weave some clothes. Besides, we can't waste the leaves we brought back." Liu Ruoling said, "Such big leaves would be great for lining the roof; they wouldn't be wasted." When Wang Lun heard Liu Ruoling say "lining the roof," he was somewhat taken aback. Yes, they might not be good enough for making clothes, but for lining the roof, as waterproofing, they would be very effective. Such big leaves, one leaf could cover a large area. Once Wang Lun understood, he immediately asked Liu Ruoling to help him take the banana leaves to the pond.
But Wang Lun didn't immediately lay the soil on top. His plan was to continue laying a layer of branches, then a layer of dry grass, then banana leaves on top of the grass, then a layer of soil, then another layer of banana leaves, and then more dry grass. This multi-layered protection would greatly reduce the probability of leaks and could even withstand some high temperatures.
After figuring out how to use it, Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling went back to their room. Then they just sat and waited for dinner, since they really had nothing else to do and could rest a little longer.
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