After the meal, Li Ling washed the pots and pans, Liu Ruoling tidied the table, and Wang Lun and Liu Ruoxi prepared the things they needed to go out to cut grass.
After Li Ling washed the pot and returned, the four of them rested for a while before carrying their baskets and going out to cut grass.
On the same meadow, Wang Lun had Li Ling and the other two cut some vines first. He then took the vines and went to the spot where he had previously made traps to set a few more. Catching prey was ideal, but not catching anything wasn't a big deal. After all, trap hunting is all about luck. With good luck, even digging a hole might result in prey falling into it. With bad luck, no matter how many traps you set, none might trigger, and even if they did, you wouldn't be able to catch anything. And if you did catch something, it might escape, or even if it didn't, it might be eaten by other predators. So trap hunting truly depends on luck.
Like Hao Yun, who spent his mornings gathering food and his afternoons building a house. He'd only dug one hole and stuck in a splinter, not even covering it, when he had to leave early because of other commitments. Later that afternoon, while cutting down trees, he passed a trap and saw a small wild boar inside. Upon inspection, Hao Yun realized the boar had been chased by some animal; it had run very fast, as he saw a deep imprint of a boar's head on the trap wall. Later, during the dissection, they found cracks in the boar's skull, indicating its incredible speed. However, the fatal wound wasn't from the impact, but from the splinter Hao Yun had stuck in its head, which had pierced its heart. Hao Yun didn't see the predator chasing the boar; after all, he was there to cut down trees, and before he could even finish, he encountered a wild boar, so he had to take it back to deal with it.
The Zheng brothers, Zheng Long and Zheng Hu, weren't as lucky as Hao Yun. They lived near Liu Ruoxi's former camp for a few days. At first, they were able to find wild vegetables, and although they weren't lucky enough to catch any prey, the vegetables were enough to fill their stomachs. The nearby water source also had crabs and small fish, providing some protein, and the insects also sustained them. Although it was hard work, they could manage. However, after a few days, the wild vegetables became increasingly scarce, requiring them to walk a long way to find enough. So, the two brothers considered moving to a different location. Finally, they decided to move and start anew. This morning, they began cutting bamboo, intending to chop down all the dozen or so bamboo stalks, some to make bamboo spears and some to make baskets. Although they wouldn't use them all, they planned not to leave any supplies for the other contestants, as aiding the enemy was a bad thing to do.
Back at the cave, Wu Jing and Zhang Shengnan's life was much better now. They had ample food supplies and a safe campsite; the only drawback was the lack of water. However, they had recently dug a water pit. While they hadn't lined it with stones like Wang Lun and his group, they had used a large amount of charcoal at the bottom to insulate it from the soil and also to act as a filter. Each time they filled the pit, it was enough for the two of them for two or three days. The rabbits and pheasants drank from a separate pit, which wasn't covered with charcoal, but the animals could drink it anyway. As the first team to start animal husbandry, although their first batch of animals had been eaten by hyenas, they now had quite a few: four pheasants (two males and two females) and eight rabbits (five males and three females). The female rabbits were all pregnant, but the two hadn't separated the males from the females. This provided an opportunity for the males to kill the baby rabbits after the females gave birth.
Both Tang Shengli and Liu Dazhu's teams were doing quite well. Tang Shengli had years of experience as a forest ranger and could always find food in the deep forest; his traps always yielded some results. Sun Rong was skilled with a bow and arrow and had some hunting experience, always managing to catch something. Gradually, both teams accumulated more food. With a certain food reserve, they began to think about how to live better. To live well, various living utensils were indispensable. Tang Shengli had some carpentry experience and could do simple woodwork. He would usually make chairs, tables, and beds; although they weren't very beautiful, they were functional. Sun Rong didn't know how to use various tools, but Liu Dazhu did. As a construction worker, he had done all kinds of jobs, which meant he was skilled in many things. He had also done woodwork, so the finished products he made were quite good. At least, what the two of them made was more refined and functional than what Wang Lun made.
Wang Lun and the other three took turns resting and cutting grass, quickly filling four baskets. Similarly, Wang Lun's basket had two extra bundles, Li Ling's and Liu Ruoling's baskets had one extra bundle each, while Liu Ruoxi's basket only had one, as she was still somewhat lacking in stamina. After cutting the grass and filling the baskets, they rested for a while before shouldering their baskets and returning to camp.
Back at camp, Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling began setting up more poles above the rabbit pen and then piling the hay on top. Wang Lun had already bundled all the hay, and Liu Ruoling carefully stacked it on the racks. The four baskets of hay only filled about a third of the racks, leaving two-thirds empty. But Wang Lun didn't plan to use that space for more hay. He needed to use it to prepare winter feed; otherwise, how would so many rabbits, especially four litters of baby rabbits, survive the winter? Of course, there was also enough hay for a while.
While Wang Lun and Liu Ruoling were doing these things, Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi started boiling water, preparing for their afternoon outing. The weather was getting hotter, so they needed to have plenty of water. Li Ling even added some salt to the water to regulate electrolytes. This was partly to correct electrolyte imbalances, and partly to make the water taste better. After all, drinking plain water every day was quite bland.
After boiling the water and filling the bamboo tubes, the two began preparing lunch. Lunch was again wild vegetable stew with fish. Although there wasn't much fish left, it was still their most abundant food at the moment. Once the fish was gone, only pork and venison would remain. At that point, Wang Lun would start to worry about food, since wild boar and venison wouldn't last long. Well, at most twenty days, or thirty or forty days if they were careful with their food. But Wang Lun didn't want to do that; after all, they still had plenty of food, especially since they were bringing food back to the camp every day, so they weren't lacking.
After lunch, Wang Lun and the other two went to the kang (a heated brick bed) for a nap. Firstly, to avoid the hottest part of the day, and secondly, to recharge.
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