That afternoon, the Liu sisters had cut down almost all the tree trunks needed to build the fence. They were both exhausted. Although Liu Ruoling did most of the chopping, Liu Ruoxi was also carrying the cut trunks to the stream and using an entrenching tool to trim the branches. They chopped tirelessly all afternoon and finally finished before sunset. Dragging their weary bodies, they returned to camp, cooked a simple meal, ate, and then went back to their treehouse to rest.
The next day, Wang Lun and Li Ling got up early. After breakfast, they spent over an hour installing the remaining three crossbeams. Then, Wang Lun had Li Ling tie the thick tree trunks from the previous day to the crossbeams at the campsite, while he went to cut down trees alone. Before leaving, Wang Lun and Li Ling first carried the tree trunks from the previous day to the roof of the mud house. Then, Li Ling tied the tree trunks together at the campsite, while Wang Lun went to the woods to cut down trees.
It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Wang Lun returned carrying a bundle of tree trunks. Li Ling helped him put them down. Wang Lun smiled and said, "Guess what I found?" He patted his bulging pocket. Li Ling looked at the pocket and said, "How should I know? Tell me quickly." Wang Lun pulled out two handfuls of acorns and five walnuts from the pocket, saying, "When I was cutting down the tree, I saw a hole in it, so I dug around and found these." Li Ling said, "The walnuts are edible, but what are you going to do with the acorns?" Wang Lun said, "They're edible too. I'm planning to shell them and grind them into acorn flour when I have time. We think that'll be enough for a meal." Li Ling said, "Are you sure these are edible?" Wang Lun said, "Of course they are! When I have time to make them, I guarantee they'll be delicious." Hearing Wang Lun's words, Li Ling was genuinely looking forward to it. There's no way around it; we eat fish and wild vegetables every day, and we've been craving something different for a while, especially starchy foods. Rice would be the best option, though. I reckon the two of us could easily eat two big bowls of rice right now, and that's just rice.
Li Ling said, "Okay, I'll wait. Let's eat first, it's already past noon." Wang Lun smiled and said, "Uh, there's still some work to finish. I'll come back as soon as I'm done. You eat first next time, I'll make some more when I get back." Li Ling ignored Wang Lun and simply filled his bowl to the brim, almost entirely dry food, and handed it to him. Wang Lun didn't stand on ceremony and started eating. Actually, Wang Lun was already hungry. After all, he had eaten early in the morning and had been doing physical labor almost non-stop, so he was quite tired. He was both tired and hungry, but he still managed to finish the last few things through sheer willpower.
After lunch, Li Ling insisted on dragging Wang Lun to rest for almost half an hour before the two of them went out to carry back the tree trunks and branches. They made eight or nine trips back and forth, until the sun went down, before finally bringing back the last of them. Back at the campsite, Li Ling was too exhausted to move, while Wang Lun was fine; he only rested for about ten minutes before getting up to cook dinner. He cooked something simple, and after they ate, they rested. The day passed by in their busy work.
When the Liu sisters woke up in the morning, Liu Ruoling discovered that her period had started, meaning they could no longer go into the woods—it was too dangerous. So, they dug for wild vegetables on the hillside, shooting birds if they encountered them, and letting them go if they missed. After lunch, they went to the stream to carry back some stones and a tree trunk or two. They rested when they felt tired, and then went back again. Along the way, Liu Ruoxi called Liu Ruoling to help them collect a lot of dry grass to weave two straw mats for sleeping on. They took turns changing their sanitary pads, washing them immediately at the stream afterward, and then hanging them by the campfire to dry. The two spent the day busy, and it seemed the next few days would be the same; they simply couldn't bear to go into the woods anymore.
The next day, after breakfast, Wang Lun and Li Ling dismantled the pitchforks and went up to the roof to tie the purlins. After tying the purlins, they tied the thin branches to them as well, but they were tied very densely, crisscrossing, forming a layer on the purlins. While there was still some work left, Wang Lun had Li Ling continue tying while he went outside to collect some large leaves. By the time Wang Lun brought back the large leaves, Li Ling had already finished tying all the branches. With an hour or two left before sunset, Wang Lun decided to finish the mud layer as well. So, Wang Lun mixed the mud below, while Li Ling laid it on top, first laying down the leaves, then covering the mud on top of the leaves, about two or three centimeters thick. The two of them worked until sunset and nightfall. With only one area left, Wang Lun found a torch and had Li Ling use it to finish the last bit. By the torchlight, the two of them worked for another half hour before finishing. When Li Ling came down, her legs were still trembling as she stepped onto the ladder. Of course, Wang Lun wasn't much better off; his hair was never dry and he was constantly sweating.
The two dragged their tired bodies to the pool to wash themselves clean, and then sat by the campfire to rest for a while before making dinner.
Although I'm very tired today, the earthen house is basically finished now. All that's left is to lay a layer of dry grass on the roof for waterproofing and tidy up the interior. That will make it complete.
After resting for more than ten minutes, Wang Lun got up to cook. As usual, he boiled the water, added the wild vegetables first, and when they were almost cooked, he put in the fish. After cooking for a while, when the vegetables were soft and the fish was cooked, it was ready to eat. After eating, Li Ling had regained some strength, so she went to wash the pots. Wang Lun then went to collect some soil he had dug earlier, poured some water on it, and made some adobe bricks to use for building the stove and kang (heated brick bed). The bricks he made were much larger than the red bricks used outside, about the same size as four red bricks combined. After all, there was no other way; smaller bricks would be troublesome and would also have to prevent smoke from leaking out, so he simply made them larger. Of course, to ensure that all the bricks were the same size, he also made a frame with wooden strips, which the bricks would then be made according to.
After washing the pots, Li Ling saw Wang Lun making adobe bricks, so she joined in. The two worked until midnight, finally going to bed when they were too tired to continue. However, the number of adobe bricks they had wasn't enough. They would make more tomorrow, which would be sufficient. If necessary, they would think of other solutions, but the most important thing was to collect some dry grass and waterproof the roof. This was the top priority. Although making adobe bricks was important, collecting dry grass and waterproofing were even more crucial. Without bricks, they couldn't build a stove or a kang (heated brick bed), but they could still live in the mud house. If the waterproofing wasn't done properly, the mud house would be uninhabitable; it would be fine if it didn't rain, but once it rained, everything would be ruined.
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