The two sisters thoroughly enjoyed their meal. Previously, their main diet consisted of wild vegetables; while there was meat, Liu Ruoxi had always controlled the amount, and they rarely had time to eat so much meat in one sitting. Plus, this time the food was salted and contained a lot of offal, making it tastier than before. So, they both ate quite a bit, finishing the entire pot. Although it was usually a pot of the same food, there was usually much less meat than wild vegetables, and it was mostly broth, quite thin. But this time, it was mostly meat, with very little broth, and even less wild vegetables than broth, so it was quite remarkable that they could finish it all.
After lunch, the two rested for more than ten minutes, then shouldered their baskets, took their knives, bows and arrows, and wooden spears, and set off for the cliff where they had encountered the salt ore last time, intending to find more salt ore and hopefully a mine.
After more than an hour of trekking, the two finally arrived at the foot of the cliff they had visited before. They encountered some prey along the way, but unfortunately, apart from shooting three birds, they didn't have time to shoot the others before they all ran away. However, three birds were fine, since this time they hadn't come specifically to hunt.
After resting for a while at the foot of the cliff, the two began searching for salt ore. Liu Ruoxi stayed close to the edge of the cliff, while Liu Ruoling stayed closer to the outside, searching for salt ore on the ground while keeping an eye on their surroundings.
After searching for over an hour, nearly two hours, they finally filled both baskets almost to the brim. Liu Ruoxi decided to head back. Although they hadn't found the salt mine, this amount of salt ore would last them a long time. Besides, they were exhausted from all the work they'd done that day, and carrying too much wouldn't be good. Moreover, the water storage pit at the camp wasn't finished yet, and going back early to complete it would be beneficial. Of course, Liu Ruoling was unaware of her sister Liu Ruoxi's plans; otherwise, she would have called her sister a miser and continued with her work. After all, she also wanted easier access to water. Before, water was used sparingly; aside from cooking, it was practically never used for anything else.
After more than an hour of trekking, the two sisters, carrying their baskets on their backs, finally returned to the campsite. They put down their baskets, sat down to rest for a while, drank some water, and finally regained some strength. Liu Ruoxi, forcing herself to stay upright, got up and carried all the water from the bamboo tubes to the water storage pit. She then piled up a small mound of earth, dug a small pit in the center, and poured all the water in. She then asked Liu Ruoling to take the bamboo tubes and pots and pans to fill with water. Of course, the pots and bamboo tubes were mainly for filling; the pans were for washing since they hadn't been washed after lunch, so she was asked to go down and wash them and bring the water back. Liu Ruoling didn't say much after hearing this and took the pots, pans, and two bamboo tubes and headed down the mountain.
After Liu Ruoxi mixed the mud thin, she began to lay a layer of stones in the water storage pit. The stones were glued together with mud around them, and even the bottom of the stones was leveled. A small amount of thin mud was used to fill the gaps, which served two purposes: leveling and bonding, making the stones adhere more firmly to the ground.
Because there was very little water in the bamboo tube, the thin mud was used up quickly, only enough to cover more than half of the bottom of the water pit. Fortunately, Liu Ruoling arrived quickly, and the water came soon after. Liu Ruoxi poured the water back into the pile of earth, then had Liu Ruoling fetch more water, but this time she wanted to bring back some clean river sand. So Liu Ruoling took the bamboo tube and pot and went out again. Liu Ruoxi continued laying the stones.
When Liu Ruoling returned, Liu Ruoxi had already begun laying stones on the surrounding walls. Seeing Liu Ruoling's return, Liu Ruoxi asked her to make two shelves: one to place on top of the water storage pit to prevent mud and dust from falling into the water, and the other at the entrance to prevent wind from blowing in debris or small animals, including insects, that could pollute the water.
After Liu Ruoling finished making the two frames, Liu Ruoxi laid the stones where they were planned. Then, Liu Ruoxi placed the top frame on top, with stones supporting it on both sides. She then emptied the sand from the pot and had Liu Ruoling fetch water again, this time to fill the water storage pit. While Liu Ruoling went to fetch water, Liu Ruoxi didn't stop. She used the sand she had brought back to smooth out the gaps between the stones, essentially covering the soil. This would reduce water seepage later and ensure the water source remained clean.
After smoothing out all the gaps between the stones, Liu Ruoxi installed the door to the water storage pit. Once the door was installed, Liu Ruoling returned. Liu Ruoxi instructed her to pour water directly into the pit. Liu Ruoling slowly poured the water in, and it gradually rose, but the sand and mud at the bottom didn't churn, so the water remained crystal clear. Seeing the effect, Liu Ruoling felt much lighter when fetching water. After Liu Ruoling went to fetch water, Liu Ruoxi checked on the water storage pit and found the results satisfactory. So, she smiled and went to improve the frame above the water storage pit; after all, it wasn't feasible for Liu Ruoling to do all the work while she rested. She wanted to do as much as she could.
Then the two took turns fetching water and tying branches to the trellis. Soon, it was getting dark, with only a few rays of the setting sun still hanging on the horizon. Liu Ruoxi stopped Liu Ruoling from pouring the pot of water into the water pit, saying, "It's almost dark, let's not go fetch water. Let's cook something now. Tonight we'll roast two deer legs, and then cook a snake and some wild vegetables, how about that?" Liu Ruoling rubbed her belly and said, "Sister, I wasn't even hungry until you mentioned cooking, now I'm starving." Liu Ruoxi smiled and said, "Then let's go together, the faster we cook, the sooner we can eat." Liu Ruoling asked, "What about the shed and the water pit?" Liu Ruoxi said, "We'll rest tomorrow morning and set these up at the campsite. We'll also gather more firewood and try to fire some pottery." Liu Ruoling asked, "Sister, do we have the conditions to fire pottery now?" Liu Ruoxi said, "We can do some simple things. With enough firewood and a bit of luck, we can make some." Liu Ruoling said, "Okay, I think we should cook first, we're all hungry." Liu Ruoxi said, "Then let's go put the pot on the campfire and get the meat."
The two started cooking. Liu Ruoling grilled both muntjac legs, while Liu Ruoxi watched the pot and cooked the snake meat. Liu Ruoxi preferred the snake meat to cook longer, even if it was a little tough, just to avoid any parasites. Eating parasites would be terrible. After the water boiled, she cooked the snake meat for another half hour. Liu Ruoxi thought it was ready, so she added wild vegetables. After two or three minutes, she tasted it and added a little salt. The soup was basically done; it would be finished in another minute. However, Liu Ruoling's grilled muntjac legs needed a while, so Liu Ruoxi took the pot off the stove and placed it near the campfire to keep it warm, otherwise it might upset her stomach. After another ten minutes or so, the muntjac legs were finally grilled, and the two could finally eat.
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