It took the two of them more than twenty minutes to return to the foot of the stone wall. Without taking a break, Liu Ruoling put down her basket, grabbed a rope, and started climbing up the tree. Li Ling watched Liu Ruoling intently from below, her worry unabated despite having climbed up and down several times.
Soon, Liu Ruoling reached the top of the rock face. She then lowered the rope, and Li Ling first tied it to the basket, letting Liu Ruoling pull it up. Next, they pulled up the banana leaves and banana tree bark. Finally, Li Ling also climbed up the tree.
While watching Li Ling climb up, Liu Ruoling threw down the banana leaves and banana tree bark she had just pulled up.
A short while later, Li Ling climbed to the top of the rock face. Liu Ruoling told Li Ling to rest there and tightened one end of the rope. Liu Ruoling was about to start climbing down. Although she didn't know the exact time, she estimated it would be getting dark soon, maybe two hours at most, but it would still take them two hours to get back. Time was tight.
Liu Ruoling lay prone on the edge of the stone wall, tentatively feeling the tree with her feet until she could firmly plant her foot on it. Only then did she release her grip on the stone wall. She then slowly crouched down, lay on the tree trunk, and began to slide down gently.
A few minutes later, Liu Ruoling reached the ground and loosened the rope around her waist. Li Ling pulled the rope up, tied it to the basket, and lowered it down. Liu Ruoling caught the basket below. Then Li Ling pulled the rope up again and tied it around her waist. Liu Ruoling then wrapped the rope around the tree trunk and held tightly to the other end. Li Ling imitated Liu Ruoling's actions, slowly searching for the tree trunk until her feet touched it. Then she let go, leaned against the stone wall, and slowly squatted down, then lay on the tree trunk and slowly moved down.
Seeing that Li Ling had passed the most dangerous period, Liu Ruoling began to prepare the baskets. She packed half a basket of wild vegetables, fruits, seaweed, and coconut crabs into one basket, then topped it with two bundles of banana bark. The other basket contained only four bundles of banana leaves. After Li Ling reached the ground, she added thick hemp rope. Finally, she secured the banana leaves and bark with vines.
The two rested for five minutes before shouldering their baskets and continuing their journey, hoping to return to the shelter before nightfall. However, there were only about two hours left until dark. The return journey would take at least two hours, so they had to do their best, walking non-stop, hoping to reach the shelter before dark. Knowing this, they immediately got up after their rest and started heading back.
After walking for more than half an hour along the mountain path, the two finally reached the beach. Even if it got dark, they could see the beach by the moonlight and the reflection from the sand, and following the beach would definitely lead them to the shelter. Besides, walking along the beach would be much safer than walking through the woods.
By this time, Wang Lun had returned to the shelter. Liu Ruoxi was boiling salt and was very happy to see Wang Lun return. After all, none of the others had come back all day, and she had eaten lunch alone, which made her feel quite lonely.
Liu Ruoxi stepped forward to help Wang Lun put down his basket and brought him a bowl of water. After watching Wang Lun finish drinking, she prepared to bring him another bowl, but Wang Lun refused. He wasn't thirsty for the time being and wanted to pack up his basket first so he could go beachcombing later.
Wang Lun didn't find anything particularly special today; it was mostly common stuff: a dozen or so plastic bottles of varying sizes, a buoy, a tattered fishing net, three mismatched slippers, and a small piece of sheet metal. Wang Lun planned to use the sheet metal for grilling meat, which he figured would be quite good. The rest were some seaweed and seafood.
Wang Lun cleaned and processed the kelp, hanging it on the windbreak wall to dry slightly. Then he and Liu Ruoxi processed the seafood. Midway through, Wang Lun asked Liu Ruoxi about the salt-making process. Liu Ruoxi told Wang Lun that after two days of salt-making, they had filled two bamboo tubes with fine salt and five bamboo tubes with coarse salt, not counting the two pots currently being boiled. They expected to fill three bamboo tubes by tomorrow morning. Three bamboo tubes of fine salt should be enough to last a long time.
Wang Lun estimated that the three bamboo tubes contained about six or seven catties of salt, and they would need about one and a half catties per month, so it would only last for about four months, which would coincide with winter. So Wang Lun said, "Remember to remind me before winter that we should boil salt again." Liu Ruoxi said, "Okay, we'll stay a few more days and collect more seaweed and seafood." Wang Lun nodded.
The two chatted as they processed the seafood, quickly finishing all of it. Liu Ruoxi then placed the processed seafood on the shelf. Wang Lun, meanwhile, slung his basket over his shoulder and went to check the fish traps and the three fishing snares. It was almost dark, and Li Ling and the others hadn't returned yet, causing Wang Lun some worry. But with an hour left before nightfall, he decided to wait a little longer and take care of other matters. Partly, he wanted to keep himself busy and distracted, and partly, he wanted to handle everything in advance. If they hadn't returned, he planned to search for them along the beach; if they had, then everything would be fine.
After Liu Ruoxi finished drying the seafood, she also came to the beach. Wang Lun had just finished checking the fish baskets, so he and Liu Ruoxi caught fish from the traps together.
Twenty minutes later, Wang Lun and his companion checked all three fishing traps and caught a lot of fish, crabs, octopuses, and other creatures. However, neither of them was very happy because Li Ling and the others still hadn't returned.
The two rallied and processed their catch. They killed, gutted, and cleaned the fish, then hung them on the windbreak wall to dry. They removed the shells from the seafood, and removed the inedible parts from the shellless seafood, then placed them on racks to dry further.
After they finished what they were doing, Li Ling and the other woman still hadn't returned. Wang Lun and Liu Ruoxi kept glancing in the direction Li Ling and the other woman had gone, really hoping to see them return and hear Liu Ruoling say, "Sister, I'm hungry." But still, they didn't come.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, Wang Lun picked up his knife and spear, preparing to search for Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi. Liu Ruoxi also grabbed a spear, expressing her desire to come along. Wang Lun tried to dissuade her for a while before finally dissuading her. However, Liu Ruoxi made it clear that if they didn't return, she would leave the following morning. Since they couldn't all stay on the island, they would reunite outside. Wang Lun assured her that he would definitely find them and bring them back safely.
Liu Ruoxi watched Wang Lun leave, his figure gradually disappearing on the beach. She no longer wanted to boil salt; her only thought was for their safe return. Liu Ruoxi carried a bundle of firewood to the beach, unpacked it, piled it into a large bonfire, and lit it. She wanted Li Ling and the others in the distance to see the fire, as it pointed towards the shelter.
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