After the meal, the three women quickly washed the pots and pans, then picked up a basket and ran off to pick pine needles. Wang Lun was already digging a hole at this time, so he knew that the others had gone to pick pine needles.
The three women quickly picked a basketful of pine needles from the tree, brought them back to the camp, washed them clean, put them in the basket, and then went to continue their work. Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi continued building the wall, while Liu Ruoling went to collect stones.
After a morning's work, Wang Lun had finished digging the second pit, and the third pit was halfway through its depth; it should be finished in another hour or so. Li Ling and her companion had also built a meter-high wall, and they should reach about two meters in height today. As for Liu Ruoling, she had already collected two large piles of stones; if she spent another afternoon collecting, that should be enough. But she didn't want to think about that now; she needed to cook first—they were all hungry.
It seems a large-scale construction boom has begun on this deserted island, with many players building camps. This makes sense; after the typhoon and torrential rains, most players have managed to find some food and have some reserves. Therefore, building camps is understandable. While many players are building camps, the vast majority are simply reinforcing shelters, like adding a wooden fence around the perimeter. However, a few teams stand out: the combined team of players 39 and 66 (Wang Lun's team), team 78 (Tang Shengli's team), team 88 (Hao Yun's team), and the unexpectedly strong team 12.
Both contestants on team number 12 come from construction backgrounds. The male contestant, Liu Dazhu, is a construction worker who has done various jobs, providing him with ample experience and a strong physique for establishing a camp on a deserted island. The female contestant, Sun Rong, is an architectural designer with a small reputation in the industry and enjoys fitness; she also has considerable skill in archery.
For a while, it was thanks to Sun Rong's archery skills that they had managed to survive until now. This gave Sun Rong a significant advantage, but Liu Dazhu didn't care, which allowed the team to get this far. During the typhoon, their shelter also experienced water seepage, and it was Liu Dazhu who braved the rain to reinforce the shelter, which greatly improved their relationship.
After the rain, Sun Rong and Liu Dazhu discussed building a campsite. Sun Rong suggested a treehouse, but Liu Dazhu refused, preferring a sunken earthen house, more than a meter below ground level, with walls made of larger tree trunks for better insulation and safety. Sun Rong considered this plan; it was indeed better and more time- and labor-saving. The only drawback was the potential for water accumulation. However, this could be solved by widening the eaves and choosing higher ground.
The two found a suitable spot on the mountain not far from their current shelter and began building their campsite. Sun Rong dug the pit while Liu Dazhu chopped down trees. After the trees were cut down and carried back, Liu Dazhu took over from Sun Rong. They took turns like this, and within a day they had dug a rough outline. They estimated it would be finished in another four or five days.
Tang Shengli and his companion continued to refine the treehouse. Although they had already built a portion of it, it would still take two or three days to complete. However, they had ample food reserves, enough for the two of them to finish building the treehouse.
Hao Yun and his companion planned to build a small hut in front of the cave for resting, while the cave itself would be used for food storage and as a refuge in case of danger. They also planned to fence off a plot of land to create a yard, surrounded by a wooden fence for added safety. However, due to their limited food reserves, they had to proceed step by step, building the fence first and then the hut.
As for Wu Jing's side, there's no need to build a new campsite. The caves they live in are enough, the outer walls have been built, and even the chicken coops for raising pheasants and the breeding pits for raising rabbits have been completed. What they might lack now is some starchy food, but they've been going out to search for it, and they're collecting various kinds of meat and mushrooms into the campsite, so their reserves are quite abundant.
In the afternoon, Wang Lun finished work earlier. He had completed the digging of the pits and foundations ahead of schedule, and even the basic shape of the ditch was dug. All that was left was to start construction. Li Ling, on the other hand, had already built the wall to about two meters high, and it was estimated to be finished tomorrow. As for tomorrow, Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling could only start building the wall on the lawn below.
The construction of the toilets, showers, and rabbit enclosure might take a little longer, as they are all more complex. However, it should be manageable, since having four people working together will make things much faster.
After Wang Lun finished work, Li Ling and the others hadn't finished yet, so Wang Lun cooked rice for them, waiting for them to come back so they could eat. As usual, he made a pot of wild vegetable and fish stew, but today he also made a pot of noodle soup. The noodles were made from cassava flour. The cassava flour was from the cassava chunks he'd previously ground into powder; the rest were still in a basket. If he had other containers, he really wanted to grind them all into powder so they could use it directly when they ate. Of course, there were fewer noodles than meat in this noodle soup, but that was unavoidable.
Meat is relatively easy to get, with Liu Ruoling around. But starchy foods are a matter of luck. If you're lucky, you might find some; if you're unlucky, you might just walk right past without seeing them. So, you can eat plenty of meat, but you have to be careful with cassava and kudzu root.
Wang Lun finished cooking, and Li Ling and the other two returned, so they could eat right away. The four of them sat around the table, and the meat rack that had been there was moved to the side. They would hang the meat on the beam later to save it from taking up space underneath.
After dinner, Wang Lun asked Li Ling, "Can you finish building the fence by tomorrow?" Li Ling thought for a moment and said, "It should be fine." Wang Lun said, "Liu Ruoling will come with you tomorrow too. Make sure it's finished by tomorrow. If possible, also build the chicken coop frame." Li Ling thought for a moment and said, "With Liu Ruoling joining, it should be fine." Wang Lun nodded and said, "That's good. If you encounter any difficulties, just let us know, and we'll solve them together. Now we need to hurry up and finish it so we can play cards and rest inside later." Li Ling said, "Play cards? Do we even have cards?" Wang Lun said, "We'll make them ourselves. Oh, and one more thing, we need to try to eat the fish first. This fish has been sitting for a long time; even if we dry it, it won't keep for very long." Li Ling nodded and said, "Okay, then we'll cook two fish for each meal from now on, that should be enough." Wang Lun said, "Okay, just take care of the living arrangements. Just let us know if you need any food." Li Ling nodded. Wang Lun seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, "How many days has it been since we arrived on the island?" Li Ling replied, "Thirty days." Wang Lun said, "That's already a month! That's fast." Li Ling nodded in agreement, having never imagined she could last a month. Even if she could, it would probably require going hungry for three days straight and surviving nine meals a day.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com