Li Ling and her companion walked forward step by step, their heads bowed. Sweat beaded on their brows, but they dared not stop. The sun had already dipped below the horizon; if they didn't take advantage of the last glimmer of light to walk further, the path would become even more difficult once it was completely dark.
Meanwhile, Wang Lun was walking quickly forward. Along the way, he saw the footprints they had left behind, but he didn't see them. They must not have returned yet.
Night fell, and the sky became completely dark. Fortunately, the stars and the moon provided a faint light for the earth. Li Ling and her companion made their way forward by this dim light.
Meanwhile, Wang Lun spotted two dark figures in the distance, presumably Li Ling and her group. He quickened his pace, heading towards them. He wasn't sure if it was them; if it was, all would be well. But if not, those two large shadowy figures would likely put him in danger. However, Wang Lun didn't care anymore; he was determined to take the gamble.
Soon, Wang Lun drew closer and closer, and they could see clearly that it was Li Ling and Liu Ruoling in front of them. Wang Lun waved his arms and called out their names. Li Ling and Liu Ruoling heard someone calling them and looked up in confusion. They saw Wang Lun running towards them, and their eyes immediately welled up with tears. The baskets on their backs seemed to feel lighter, and they quickened their pace to walk forward.
Finally, the three of them managed to reach each other. Wang Lun helped the two women put down their baskets and let them rest for a while. After such a long time, Li Ling and Liu Ruoling were almost at their physical limits. The three sat on the beach, and after resting for a while, Liu Ruoling said, "Let's go back. I'm a little worried about my sister being alone at the shelter." Wang Lun looked at Li Ling and asked, "Can you two still walk?" Both Li Ling and Liu Ruoling nodded.
Wang Lun got up, tidied his basket, placed the banana leaves on the beach, and only carried two bundles of banana bark. After thinking for a moment, he added another bundle of banana leaves, then put everything else into the basket, which he would carry himself. He could carry the rest tomorrow morning. Li Ling, carrying an empty basket and leaning on her spear, followed behind Wang Lun. Liu Ruoling, also leaning on her spear, followed step by step.
In less than an hour, the three returned to the shelter. Seeing them return, Liu Ruoxi quickly went to help Li Ling and Liu Ruoling. She helped them back to the shelter, made them sit down, brought them water, and gave them some leftover wild fruit. Then Liu Ruoxi went to cook dinner.
The two took the water and drank it, then ate some wild fruit. Feeling less hungry, they lay down on the hay and rested for a while.
Wang Lun put down his basket and walked to the campfire, where he saw that Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi were already asleep. Wang Lun did not disturb them, but quietly walked to the campfire, sat down next to Liu Ruoxi, and helped cook dinner.
When the meal was ready, Liu Ruoxi intended to wake Li Ling and the other woman to eat, but seeing that they were both sleeping soundly, she gave up on the idea. Instead, she took another pot, poured in most of the stewed wild vegetables and fish, and placed it on the still-burning charcoal to keep it warm so they could eat it as soon as they woke up.
After finishing all that, they took two bowls and ate the remaining half of the wild vegetable stewed fish with Wang Lun. Since Wang Lun had also been out all day, he was quite exhausted, and there wasn't enough food for the two of them. So, after washing the pot, Wang Lun picked up another fish and started grilling it.
Although there were no other seasonings, the fish had been caught recently and was still very fresh, with a faint taste of the sea in the flesh. The fish was quickly grilled, and half was given to Liu Ruoxi, while Wang Lun ate the other half himself. Liu Ruoxi hadn't initially wanted it, but the aroma of the grilled fish made her mouth water, so she took her half. It was quite normal to be tempted; firstly, both Liu Ruoxi and her sister were still quite young, just over twenty, so it was understandable that they liked to eat. Secondly, they usually ate mostly boiled fish, which they were tired of. Now that they had a different flavor, they naturally wanted to try it.
After finishing the grilled fish, the two threw the fish bones into the campfire to burn. Then they moved all the firewood from the pile of firewood on the beach to the campfire in front of the shelter. After moving the firewood, they had nothing else to do.
Liu Ruoxi suggested that they sort out Li Ling and the others' baskets. Wang Lun thought about it and agreed.
Wang Lun first removed the two bundles of banana tree bark and banana leaves from the basket. Liu Ruoxi said, "What are they doing carrying so much banana tree bark and banana leaves? They're so heavy." Wang Lun said, "Banana tree bark and banana leaves can be used to make a lot of coarse fiber, which can be used to make clothes. Before you came, I told Li Ling about it, and even said I would find some time to look for some." After saying that, Wang Lun shook his head, but Li Ling remembered it after only one mention. Liu Ruoxi was immediately excited when she heard that they could be used to make clothes. The clever Liu Ruoxi had already thought about the troubles that clothing would bring in the future, so she consciously collected animal hides. Who knew that hearing Wang Lun say that banana tree bark and leaves could be used to make clothes, how could she not be excited?
Liu Ruoxi asked, "How do we make it? Is this enough? Should we go and get more tomorrow?" Wang Lun replied, "I once read in a book that it's used for weaving, but I don't know how to make a loom." Hearing that Wang Lun didn't know, Liu Ruoxi immediately deflated. Wang Lun continued, "But I think we can knit clothes using the method for knitting sweaters. You should know how to knit, right?" He then stared intently at Liu Ruoxi, afraid she would say no, which would be disastrous. Because Wang Lun himself didn't know how.
Fortunately, Liu Ruoxi heard Wang Lun's words and realized he had a solution. She immediately smiled and said, "I know how to knit, but I don't know if these can be used to knit." Wang Lun said, "They should be able to. Let's try them first. We have plenty of time to try. If they work, then we'll have clothes to change into." Liu Ruoxi said, "Yes, I really hope so soon." Wang Lun nodded and said, "Yes, they will." Then he took out the other things from the basket.
Five bunches of bananas, two tied coconut crabs, and a large piece of seaweed. Liu Ruoxi took the seaweed and hung it on the windbreak wall to dry. Then there was a large pile of wild vegetables and fruits, which Wang Lun found difficult to carry, so he dumped them outside. Little did they know, after Wang Lun emptied the contents of his basket, both of them were stunned.
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