After the four of them finished dinner, it was almost midnight, so they washed up and went to bed. Liu Ruoxi was left alone, sitting quietly by the fire pit, tending to the flames. Occasionally, she would take a torch and go to the courtyard to check if the camp gate was properly closed and to listen for any sounds outside. Once everything was normal, she would return to the house, sit by the fire pit, and do other things.
Soon, Liu Ruoxi finished her shift, and Liu Ruoling got up to keep watch. Then, when it was almost time, Liu Ruoling woke Wang Lun. Wang Lun got up groggily, and Liu Ruoling went back to bed to continue sleeping.
Wang Lun first took a torch, washed his face by the pool to refresh himself, then surveyed the courtyard and checked the gate before returning inside. Seeing some straw ropes being twisted by Liu Ruoxi and Liu Ruoling, Wang Lun also began twisting straw ropes.
The night passed peacefully. When Wang Lun woke up in the morning, he found himself alone on the kang (a heated brick bed). Liu Ruoxi and the others were already up. Wang Lun got up, but the room was empty. He went outside and saw Li Ling and the other two already digging a hole by the pool. Wang Lun went over, and Li Ling said, "You're awake? We saw you were still sleeping, so we came over to dig the hole. We left some food for you in the pot; remember to eat after you wash up." Wang Lun felt embarrassed and said, "Um, sorry, I overslept today." Liu Ruoxi said, "It's okay, go wash up quickly." Liu Ruoling said, "Yes, go eat after you wash up; the food is in the pot." Wang Lun didn't stand on ceremony and turned to wash up.
Soon, Wang Lun finished his meal, took the entrenching tool from Liu Ruoling, and began digging a hole. The two of them dug the hole, and the other two dumped the soil onto the open ground next to it.
Time flew by, and after a morning, the four of them had dug about a quarter of the way, which, combined with what they had done before, brought them to about halfway through. Seeing that the weather was getting hotter, Wang Lun said, "Let's stop here for now, go back and cook lunch, and come back after lunch." So the four of them finished their work, washed their hands and faces, and then went back inside.
Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi were preparing lunch when Wang Lun went to feed the pheasants and rabbits. Liu Ruoling had nothing to do, so she went to find banana leaves and continued to spin banana leaves.
When Wang Lun returned, he saw Liu Ruoling processing banana leaves. He immediately remembered the banana tree bark that was still soaking in the puddle, so he quickly went out to check on it.
Wang Lun picked up the banana tree bark, and a foul stench immediately wafted out. Ignoring the smell, he picked it up, examined it closely, and then rubbed it, finding it easy to remove the coarse fibers. So, despite feeling nauseous, Wang Lun carried the large handful of banana tree bark to the stream. He rinsed it several times before the odor finally dissipated.
Wang Lun went to the stream and used stones to scrape away the rest, leaving only the coarse fibers, which he then set aside to continue processing the other materials. He quickly finished processing everything he had brought. Wang Lun took these back to the camp and laid them out to dry in the yard.
They arrived just in time, just in time for dinner. While eating, Wang Lun mentioned that the banana tree bark could be further processed, and that some had already been processed and was hanging outside. The three women, carrying their bowls, went out to see it.
Sure enough, some coarse fibers were hanging outside. Li Ling touched them and felt they were alright; the thickness was about the same, although a bit finer, but the toughness was better than banana leaves. Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi thought they could use them to weave clothes directly; as long as they weren't used too much, the clothes would be very sturdy.
So the two hurried back to tell Wang Lun the good news. When Wang Lun heard that they could make clothes directly from the bark, he was also very happy. There was still some bark in the pit outside, which should be enough to make a garment. So the four of them quickly finished their meal, leaving Liu Ruoxi to wash the dishes, while the other two went straight to the pit to process the remaining bark.
Li Ling and Liu Ruoling both covered their noses when they saw the freshly peeled bark, as the stench was quite unpleasant for them. However, the thought of using it to make clothes made it bearable.
Wang Lun scooped up the tree bark from below, while Li Ling and Liu Ruoling used a wooden stick to carry it. After all the bark was collected, the two women carried it to the stream, with Wang Lun following behind.
Upon reaching the stream, Wang Lun explained and demonstrated how to process the bark. He then began cleaning it, and once it was mostly cleaned, he handed it over to Li Ling and Liu Ruoling. The two of them used stones to scrape away the residue and remove the coarse fibers. The three of them worked for over an hour before all the bark was processed.
Li Ling and Liu Ruoling each carried some coarse fiber, while Wang Lun carried the stick, and they returned to the camp.
Back at camp, Liu Ruoxi set up a drying rack. The three women spread out coarse fibers on it to dry. Wang Lun checked the coarse fibers he had collected before lunch and found they were almost dry. So Wang Lun changed his plan, having Liu Ruoxi knit clothes inside while also boiling water. The three of them then continued expanding the water tank.
Of course, we won't start right now. It's very hot outside, so let's rest for a while and start working when it's not so hot anymore. Now, close the door and go back to the kang (heated brick bed) for a nap.
Wang Lun woke up early in the afternoon, having slept in a little longer in the morning. Once awake, he went to bring all the coarse fibers inside to prevent them from drying out too much and breaking easily.
After bringing them inside, Wang Lun rolled the coarse fibers into balls for easy storage. While he was doing this, Li Ling and the others started getting up one after another.
After everyone got up, Wang Lun took Li Ling and Liu Ruoling to continue expanding the pool, leaving Liu Ruoxi alone to boil water and knit clothes.
In the evening, Wang Lun wanted to take advantage of the cool weather and work a little longer. Li Ling and Liu Ruoling had no objections; after all, the sooner it was finished, the sooner they could enjoy it. Even Liu Ruoxi came out to help, since the room was poorly lit and quite dim now, so they stopped knitting.
The four of them worked until after 8 p.m. before Wang Lun let Li Ling and the other two rest. Thanks to their efforts, they had basically finished digging the entire pool; only the section connecting it to the existing pool remained. Wang Lun planned to find enough stones before digging out the rest. Then, they would work diligently to pave the pool as quickly as possible so it would be ready for use.
Li Ling and the others knew Wang Lun's plan, so they agreed, which is why they stayed up so late today. Otherwise, they would probably have already eaten dinner by now.
After the four of them washed their hands and faces, Wang Lun went back to prepare dinner. Li Ling and the other two, carrying torches, agreed to take turns showering. After all, they had been busy all day and had sweated a lot, so they definitely needed to take a shower.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com