Seeing that everyone was somewhat silent, Li Ling said, "Could you tell us about your recent lives?" Liu Ruoling composed herself, having made up her mind that she was determined to latch onto this powerful figure, and nothing could stop her. She then recounted her recent experiences to Wang Lun and the other man.
Wang Lun felt that the two of them had a perfect start, but ended up in this situation. They found a bamboo forest as soon as they arrived on the island—what incredible luck! Bamboo is far superior to anything else, not to mention the abundant food and nearby water. But they got lost while hunting and had to move to the hillside to live. And to make matters worse, their entire treehouse was blown away by a typhoon. Wang Lun could only say, "You guys have had quite an experience." However, he did learn that Liu Ruoling's archery skills were quite good; she was almost always accurate when shooting birds, which was a valuable lesson. This also made Wang Lun somewhat inclined to team up. After all, they didn't have bows and arrows; their longest-range weapon was the javelin, which they couldn't carry many of at once and wasn't very useful. If a group threw javelins together, the damage would be much higher, but alone, it was all about luck.
Liu Ruoling asked, "So, how have you been lately? Seeing you're living in mud houses, it must be good." Li Ling replied, "Good? What's good about it? We're digging in the dirt every day, much more tiring than outside. We dig when we wake up, and go to sleep when it gets dark. The worst part is, we only eat fish for every meal, and we're so tired of it." Liu Ruoling was shocked to hear that they only ate fish for every meal and asked, "How much fish do you have? You eat it every meal?" Li Ling pointed upwards and said, "There's still so much left, it's so annoying." Wang Lun couldn't help but laugh at Li Ling's complaints. Liu Ruoling looked up and saw five rows of dried fish hanging overhead—probably hundreds of them. She swallowed hard, becoming even more determined to latch onto their coattails, not just for Liu Ruoxi's health, but also for her own stomach. On the other side of the hill, although they had hunted game, they mostly ate wild vegetables, with only one or two birds mixed in. Unlike them, they could eat their fill with fish, and then they had so much fish.
Seeing that Liu Ruoling seemed a bit dazed, Wang Lun said, "Well, after you've rested, help your sister dry her clothes in the fire, and also take care of the stove so we can weave straw mats." Liu Ruoling nodded in agreement. Li Ling then led her to the stove and explained how to dry clothes and how much firewood to add at a time. Once Liu Ruoling understood, she returned to the hearth and began weaving straw mats.
Liu Ruoling, still half asleep, dried the clothes for a while before suddenly realizing she hadn't cleaned up the dishes after dinner. So she put down the clothes and went to the hearth to get the bowls to wash. Li Ling asked, "What's wrong with the bowls?" Liu Ruoling replied, "I'm going to wash them." Wang Lun said, "Just put them on the stove. No need to wash them; you'll be eating later." Liu Ruoling asked疑惑地问道, "There's still food? Why can't I finish it all at once?" Wang Lun said, "You just woke up; eat a little, rest a bit, and then eat." Hearing Wang Lun's words, Liu Ruoling didn't object. After all, she was on someone else's turf and had to listen to them, especially since he was a doctor. So she put the bowls back on the stove and continued drying the clothes.
More than an hour later, Liu Ruoling had dried all the clothes. She walked to the fire pit and said, "The clothes are dry." Wang Lun, hearing this, immediately knew she wanted him to leave. However, he said, "Wait a minute, the last bit of wine is finished. I'll cover her with it after she changes her clothes." Li Ling then pulled Liu Ruoling to sit down. Liu Ruoling had originally planned to do something herself, but Wang Lun refused. After all, the weaving was almost finished, and it would be too much trouble for her to start weaving again now; it was better for her to rest for a while.
A few minutes later, Wang Lun handed the woven straw mat to Liu Ruoling, tidied up the surrounding things, and went out. Liu Ruoling watched Wang Lun close the door before she and Li Ling went to help Liu Ruoxi put on her clothes. After they were dressed, Wang Lun brought his shirt over, while Li Ling covered Liu Ruoxi with his coat.
The two returned to the hearth and called Wang Lun in. Wang Lun put on his shirt and sat down by the hearth, picking up some dry grass to continue weaving a straw mat. Liu Ruoling also joined in, taking some dry grass to weave a straw mat with the two of them.
Nearly an hour later, Wang Lun asked Liu Ruoling to reheat the remaining rice so they could eat it later. Liu Ruoling took the pot to the hearth, placed it on it, and stirred the remaining rice in the pot. Soon, steam rose from it, so she quickly took the pot off the stove, put it back on the stove, and ate the rice from a bowl.
Although there were no side dishes, the rice was salty, and Liu Ruoling still ate it with relish. She finished quickly and prepared to find a place to wash the pots and pans. Wang Lun asked Li Ling to get a torch and led her to the sink to wash the pots.
Li Ling led Liu Ruoling to the pond. At first, Liu Ruoling didn't notice the fish in the pond. After washing the pot for a while, she suddenly saw a fish swimming by. Upon closer inspection, she saw several more fish in the pond and exclaimed, "You guys are amazing! Not only do you have so many dried fish, but you also have live fish!" Li Ling replied, "No, these live fish arrived yesterday. They're said to have fallen from the sky." Liu Ruoling was shocked. How could fish fall from the sky? Li Ling ignored her shock and said, "Hurry up and wash, the fire is going out." Liu Ruoling glanced at the torch and saw that it was indeed almost out. She quickly wiped the pot clean and prepared to take it back. Li Ling reminded her, "Fill the pot halfway with water so you won't need to fetch water tomorrow morning." Liu Ruoling naturally obeyed, carrying the half-filled pot back into the house. She placed the pot on the stove and then returned to the hearth to continue weaving straw mats.
Wang Lun said, "It's getting late. Li Ling, you should go to sleep first. Liu Ruoling, you should digest your food before you go." Li Ling said, "Then wait a while. I'll finish weaving the rest before we go, and then we can go together." Wang Lun ignored them and continued weaving the straw mats, since he had already said so.
About half an hour later, Li Ling finished weaving the straw mat and then went to sleep on the kang (a heated brick bed) with Liu Ruoling. Wang Lun reminded them, "Remember to get up and relieve me in the middle of the night, okay? If the rain lessens tomorrow, I have to go out to find herbs." The two said they understood, tidied up, and then went to sleep on the kang. However, today was different from usual. Usually, their heads were on the side of the wall, but today their feet were facing the wall. After all, they couldn't let Liu Ruoxi smell their feet. Liu Ruoling slept next to Liu Ruoxi, with Li Ling beside her. The innermost spot, near the window, was reserved for Wang Lun, even though he didn't sleep there.
After the two went to sleep, Wang Lun continued weaving straw mats, while also remembering to add firewood to the kang (a heated brick bed).
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