Wang Lun continued, "However, if someone leads it, the goat can still help pull some things. We should find some time to take it out and try it out. It can't just stay in the camp eating for free; it needs to do some work too." Liu Ruoling said, "Okay, I'll lead the goat then." Wang Lun nodded and said, "Alright, you lead the goat then." Liu Ruoxi suddenly asked, "Can people sit on the goat?" Hearing Liu Ruoxi's question, Wang Lun was taken aback. Li Ling and Liu Ruoling also looked at Wang Lun.
Wang Lun thought for a moment and said, "Children should be able to, but we adults probably can't. After all, goats don't weigh much, and they might not be able to support our weight." Liu Ruoling said, "Then does that mean we can't ride goats?" Wang Lun said, "Of course not. Goats only weigh around 100 pounds, and you both weigh over 100 pounds. Goats can't support your weight." Liu Ruoxi, upon hearing Wang Lun's words, said, "Then I should be able to, I'm just over 100 pounds. I'm sure the goat can support me." Wang Lun looked at Liu Ruoxi with surprise when he heard that she weighed just over 100 pounds. Liu Ruoxi said, "I weighed myself before coming to the island; it was 98 jin (44 catties). It's gained a little recently, but it shouldn't be over 110 jin (55 kg)." Wang Lun nodded and said, "That should be fine. Spend more time with the goats in the future, so they won't disobey you." Liu Ruoxi said, "I think we can use goats to transport things." Wang Lun said, "I've thought about it, but I gave up for two reasons. First, raising them is too troublesome; a flock of goats eats a lot. If we take them out to graze, the risk will be much higher. The other reason is that live goats and deer are not easy to catch. If you don't have three or five goats or deer, you can't transport much stuff at all." Li Ling said, "Even reducing the load is better than nothing." "After all, every little bit counts," Wang Lun said. "That's not how I see it. Taking goats out means we have to prevent them from running away and getting lost. Also, we have to be careful of predators. If there are, our first instinct is to escape, but goats are definitely faster than us. If we try to grab a goat, we might get pulled down, which would be even worse." Li Ling asked, "Then why do we need just one herd?" Wang Lun replied, "If we have a herd of goats or deer, we can free up two people to do these things. If something happens, we have the energy to fight, and we can also abandon our supplies and escape on a goat or deer. This way, we can ensure both safety and..." "We guarantee the supplies being transported won't be reduced." Liu Ruoling said, "Didn't you just say we couldn't ride them?" Wang Lun said, "Normally we can't ride them, for fear of crushing the goats. But back then, we were all escaping for our lives, so who could care about the goats? If something happens to the goats, we can just abandon them. Maybe they'll eat the goats and stop chasing us." Liu Ruoxi said, "Then should we consider using animal power?" Wang Lun said, "If we could catch live goats or deer, then we could consider using animal power. But the chances are slim, so let's just prepare to continue carrying them." Liu Ruoling said, "Does that mean this goat will have to stay in the sheepfold every day?" Wang Lun said, "Not necessarily. If we cut grass nearby..." "We can still bring it. This area is relatively safe," Li Ling said. "Have you forgotten about the hyenas last time?" Wang Lun said, "The hyenas came for other reasons last time. Even if they've been around all the time, we've been here for two months and they've only come once, which shows that our area is relatively safe." Li Ling was about to say something when Wang Lun continued, "Besides, there are four of us, and we're relatively close to the camp. If we don't catch them, that's fine. But if they do come to the camp, we don't mind killing them again. Maybe we can get more meat." When Liu Ruoxi heard Wang Lun say that the hyenas came for other reasons last time, she immediately thought that they were both menstruating at the time, so it must be because of that. So she said, "Next time, let's avoid our periods and go fishing at the beach." Wang Lun nodded and said, "Definitely, so that there aren't only two or three of us who can go into the water. By the way, find some time to mend the fishing nets. We might be going to the beach soon."
Upon hearing that Wang Lun planned to go to the beach again, the three looked at him. Wang Lun said, "After Ruoxi finishes weaving her clothes, we'll definitely have to go to the banana grove to collect banana bark. We can collect a lot, and while we're at it, we can go fishing again to increase our reserves." Liu Ruoxi said, "We can also boil some salt and make more pickled vegetables and cured meat." Wang Lun said, "We don't have many bamboo tubes left to store salt." Liu Ruoxi said, "Don't we still have so many plastic bottles?" Wang Lun said, "Some of them aren't clean and might carry viruses." Liu Ruoxi said, "Just scald them with hot water, and they'll be usable. Besides, wild animals can carry viruses, right? We're on a deserted island now, so we don't need to worry about that." Wang Lun thought for a moment and said, "Let's disinfect them a few more times and try to find ones that look clean." Liu Ruoxi nodded, indicating that she understood.
Seeing that no one else had anything to add, Wang Lun made arrangements for tomorrow's trip. Since Liu Ruoling and Wang Lun had gone together today, it would be Li Ling's turn tomorrow. Li Ling said it was no problem; although going out was tiring, she still wanted to go. After all, she and Liu Ruoling could take turns going, while Wang Lun had been going all the time, and his load was heavier than theirs.
Seeing that Li Ling had no problem, Wang Lun continued, "However, starting tomorrow, I think we should focus on searching for other supplies for the time being. We can temporarily abandon any wild vegetables we encounter along the way. We should try to search as many places as possible. Autumn is coming soon, and then we can harvest more supplies." Liu Ruoling said, "Wouldn't that mean we'll have plenty of food?" Wang Lun nodded and said, "There will be plenty of food then, but it will also be very tiring. I guess you'll be too tired to eat." Liu Ruoling said, "How could that be? I won't not want to eat if there's food." Wang Lun smiled but didn't say anything. Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi were both thinking about how busy it would be then, and how they would probably be exhausted every day. Seeing that the two were silent, Wang Lun thought he had scared them, so he said, "Don't worry, it'll only be hard for a short period of time. After that, we'll basically be resting at the camp." Liu Ruoling said, "I don't want to stay at the camp every day!" Wang Lun laughed and said, "Okay, then you can go out, and we'll all stay at the camp." After saying that, the three of them burst into laughter.
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