The three of them began to build. Since Liu Ruoling had prepared all the materials, the construction was quite fast. In less than an hour, it was completed.
Just then, Wang Lun returned from outside. He carried a basket of green grass on his back, with a small bundle of wild vegetables on top. The four of them gathered together, sat under the shed, and rested for a while.
After resting for a while, I got up and went to the beach to collect some seafood, and also to check if there were any fish in the traps.
But before that, one thing needed to be done: move the goats under the shed and put them in the makeshift sheep pen. Only after this was done did the four of them head to the beach.
Since it was almost sunset, the four of them only carried two baskets, intending to gather just enough for dinner and breakfast. If they had more time and there was plenty of food on the beach, they could gather more. After all, they would be cutting down banana trees all day tomorrow and wouldn't have time to collect food. That would mean tomorrow's only food would be banana pith, which, although tasty, would still be good to have another food source and avoid being too monotonous.
The four of them were on the beach, still in pairs. Li Ling and Liu Ruoling were together, and Wang Lun and Liu Ruoxi were together. First, the four of them checked the fishing traps. Although the time was short, there were still fish. They caught seven fish of various sizes from the traps, enough for their dinner tonight.
But Wang Lun and his companions weren't just looking to make enough for dinner; they needed more, even more. None of the four were afraid of having too much, only of not having enough. If they had too much, they could simply put in more effort to dry the food and carry it back slowly. Although it required a lot of effort and energy, Wang Lun and the others considered it a minor matter.
What they least wanted was not enough food, or even no food at all. That was their biggest worry. But based on their experience over this period, food was relatively plentiful on the beach, much better than in the jungle. Of course, it's also possible that they lacked experience and didn't recognize the edible plants they encountered.
The few wild vegetables and other edible plants we can find now are all thanks to the rote memorization we did before the competition. Otherwise, we probably would have gone hungry shortly after arriving on the island.
The four of them kept picking through the sea for over an hour, until the sun had set. Only then did Wang Lun call Li Ling and Liu Ruoling to go back. As for Liu Ruoxi, Wang Lun sent her back to cook as the sun was about to set.
After more than an hour of scavenging, the four of them had filled two baskets to almost half capacity. Of course, most of the items were seashells and similar shells; after removing the shells, there wasn't much meat left.
Wang Lun and Li Ling carried baskets on their backs, while Liu Ruoling walked in front, holding a long spear and carrying a long piece of seaweed.
The three returned to their temporary camp, where Liu Ruoxi had already cooked dinner. Tonight's meal was again wild vegetable stew with fish; the fish had been caught in the trap earlier, and the wild vegetables had been freshly dug that afternoon. Both were fresh, and although it didn't look particularly appealing, it tasted delicious. It was definitely better than boiled wild vegetables.
After dinner, the four rested for a while. Wang Lun sent Li Ling and Liu Ruoling to rest, leaving Wang Lun and Liu Ruoxi to deal with the seafood they had collected that evening and to keep watch.
Because they had brought very little fresh water, and mainly because they had few containers, Li Ling and Liu Ruoling only poured out a little water, quickly washed their faces, and that was it. The two then returned to the shed to rest.
Wang Lun and Liu Ruoxi continued processing the seafood while keeping an eye on their surroundings.
The two of them worked until the moon was high in the sky, emptying a basket full of seafood. By then, Wang Lun and Liu Ruoxi were exhausted and sleepy, especially Wang Lun. He had spent the morning rowing the boat and the afternoon running around, carrying heavy banana leaves along the way. Now, after working on the seafood for so long, he was too tired to move.
Liu Ruoxi was in a similar situation. Although she hadn't done as much as Wang Lun, her stamina was also inferior. So now, both of them were so tired they just sat there, not wanting to move at all. They didn't even have the energy to spread the cleaned seafood on banana leaves to let it air dry.
After resting for a short while, Li Ling woke up. Once she was slightly more awake, she got up to relieve Wang Lun and the other man.
Just as Li Ling got up, Wang Lun and Liu Ruoxi heard the noise and turned around to see Li Ling standing up. Liu Ruoxi said, "It's still early, why don't you sleep a little longer?" Li Ling shook her head, came out, and sat down next to them, saying, "Never mind, I'm not sleeping anymore. You two go to sleep, I'll keep watch." Seeing Li Ling's response, Wang Lun said, "Ruoxi, you go to sleep. I'll rest after Ruoling wakes up." Liu Ruoxi said, "Okay, I'll go wake her up." Wang Lun quickly waved his hand, saying, "No, she's tired today too, let her sleep a little longer." Li Ling agreed, and Liu Ruoxi gave up the idea of waking Liu Ruoling.
Li Ling poured some water for Liu Ruoxi and washed her hands briefly. Although she could still smell the fishy smell of seafood on her hands, Liu Ruoxi didn't care at all. All she wanted to do now was rest and sleep.
Seeing that Liu Ruoxi had gone to sleep, Wang Lun had Li Ling pull him up, and the two of them worked together to process the seafood shells and seafood. Wang Lun collected the seafood shells into a pile, intending to throw them into the campfire to burn during the night watch.
Li Ling then poured the prepared seafood onto a prepared banana leaf, covering the entire leaf completely. This much seafood, if eaten sparingly, would be enough for the four of them for two or three days. Of course, they currently had a relatively plentiful food supply, so they didn't need to be frugal and could usually finish it in a day or two. However, Wang Lun usually insisted that the prepared and dried seafood be transported back to the camp, where it would be eaten with other foods to ensure they could have more meals and wouldn't get tired of the same old dishes.
After Wang Lun and Li Ling finished getting ready and sat down, Liu Ruoling woke up. Opening her eyes, she saw that it wasn't Li Ling lying next to her, but Liu Ruoxi, and quickly got up.
Hearing the noise, Wang Lun and Li Ling turned around and saw Liu Ruoling had gotten up. Li Ling said, "You should go and rest. It's so late." Wang Lun didn't refuse at this point, as he was really tired and sleepy. So he got up and dusted himself off. Still worried, he gave Liu Ruoling and Li Ling, who had just sat down, some more instructions. Only after they urged him to rest did he turn around and go to the shed, where he lay down on a pile of hay.
They had barely lain down when snoring began. Li Ling and the other woman glanced back, saw that Wang Lun was asleep, exchanged a look, and then turned back to tend the campfire. Every now and then, they would toss in some seafood shells, add some firewood, and patrol the makeshift shelter.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com