Two hours later, Wang Lun had finished setting up the makeshift shelter. Actually, calling it a shelter was a stretch; it was more like a shed without walls. Wang Lun had simply built a small roof to provide some shelter. He then constructed a windbreak using branches in the direction the sea breeze would blow. The other three sides were completely empty. A large pile of dry grass was laid on the ground for sleeping and resting. Wang Lun planned to continue his night watch here, as he could continue boiling salt around the campfire. The more salt, the better. It had many uses: it could be used to cure meat or added to wild vegetables to make pickles.
Li Ling and Liu Ruoling had already prepared two fishing traps, and the third was almost finished. Wang Lun first helped Liu Ruoxi move the campfire to the front of the shelter, so that she could be shaded from the sun under the shelter. After moving all the other things over, they went to the beach to start searching for marine debris.
Shortly after Wang Lun left, Li Ling and Liu Ruoling also set up a third trap. Then they chose another direction and began exploring the beach.
It's been over a month since I last came. There's a lot more marine debris on the beach now; I don't know if it was brought by the typhoon or drifted in with the ocean currents. But Wang Lun says, the more the merrier.
He hadn't walked far when he was carrying five water bottles. He had also picked up some shellfish and other seafood, all of which were edible. Wang Lun didn't know their specific names, but he saw them being sold at the seafood market. He figured they were all edible, so he picked them up.
A little over an hour later, Wang Lun and Li Ling returned. Both sides had a fruitful haul. They had seventeen water bottles of various sizes—three large and fourteen small. They also found a buoy, though it wasn't very useful. They had collected two earlier; one they used as a showerhead in the shower room, and the other was still lying around in the campsite, unsure of its purpose. They also had a piece of wire, though it was short, less than a meter. Even this short piece of wire excited Wang Lun. After all, he could use it for many things, though he hadn't figured out how yet. The rest were some shellfish and other seafood; Wang Lun collected some, and Li Ling and Li Ling collected a lot as well.
After putting down the marine debris they had collected and taking a sip of water, Wang Lun led Li Ling and the other woman back into the woods to gather firewood. The firewood they had gathered earlier wasn't enough; they wouldn't even have enough to burn that night, so they needed to collect more. But before that, Wang Lun needed to put the three fish baskets that Liu Ruoxi had woven from small branches into the sea. There happened to be some seafood there, which they smashed up to use as bait.
In just over an hour, Wang Lun and his two companions gathered a lot of firewood, and also chopped some, using it to enclose the temporary shelter, which could also be used as a wall. However, they estimated that this would only be enough for tomorrow; they would have to gather more tomorrow, otherwise they would still be short of supplies.
But now the sun is almost setting below the horizon, so we have to go back to the beach first.
Back at the temporary shelter, Wang Lun called Liu Ruoxi, and the four of them, each carrying a basket, searched along the beach. They also checked all three traps and three fish baskets. About half an hour later, the sun set, and night gradually fell. The four of them then carried their baskets back to the temporary shelter.
Back at the shelter, Wang Lun asked Liu Ruoling to light his way while he went to fetch two pots of water to cook dinner. Li Ling and Liu Ruoxi sorted through their baskets of catch. The fish were gutted and hung on the windbreak wall to dry. The seafood, with shells, had their shells removed, and the inedible parts of the shellless seafood were removed. They then placed the seafood in a basket to dry, removing some moisture, and would continue drying it the next day. Once dried, it would weigh much less and be easier to store.
When Wang Lun returned, he placed both pots on the campfire and poured the remaining unprocessed seafood into one pot, filling it to the brim. In the other pot, he cooked a stew of wild vegetables and fish. The wild vegetables were those he had foraged along the way that day, and the fish were those he had caught while beachcombing—both were fresh.
After the wild vegetable and fish stew was cooked, it was placed on the sand next to the campfire. Once the other pot of seafood was cooked, we could eat.
After about ten or twenty minutes, the seafood was cooked. So, it was time to eat. All four of them ate the seafood first, since everyone was tired of the same old wild vegetable and fish stew, even though it used fresh ingredients. So, they all ate the seafood first.
Although it's a pot of seafood, there's not much meat besides the shells. If one person ate a whole pot, it would be enough to fill them up, but there are four of us, so it definitely won't be enough. Therefore, this pot of seafood is just for tasting; if we really want to be full, we'll have to eat the wild vegetable stewed with fish.
There was plenty of food; the four of them finished both pots. Then Wang Lun took the Liu sisters to the beach. The Liu sisters washed the pots and pans, while Wang Lun checked the fish baskets again, including the new fish basket that Liu Ruoxi had woven. Li Ling stayed in the shelter, throwing the leftovers into the fire to burn.
This time, the bait in the fish basket was changed to inedible parts of seafood and fish innards. As for the edible parts, everything was kept, even the fish oil and fish maw. The fish oil could be used for stir-frying or boiling later. The dried fish maw, after being soaked, was also quite delicious—at least better than wild vegetables.
After finishing all that, Liu Ruoxi fetched two more pots of seawater and went back to continue boiling salt.
In the shelter, by the campfire, four people lay on the beach, gazing at the starry sky. They lay there quietly, saying nothing; after all, they had been together for so long, and had basically said everything they needed to say.
With the moon high in the sky, Wang Lun noticed a slight chill in the air and told Li Ling and Liu Ruoling to go and rest. He and Liu Ruoxi would keep watch for the rest of the night. The reason for this two-person watch was primarily to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, and having two people on watch together would provide reassurance. It would also be more convenient to fetch water from the beach.
Li Ling and Liu Ruoling went to sleep. Wang Lun and Liu Ruoxi kept watch. With nothing to do on watch, they started playing chess in the sand. When they didn't want to play chess anymore, they did other things, like chatting and weaving a drying rack. This drying rack was Liu Ruoxi's idea. Wang Lun thought about it and realized it would be very useful, so they spent the rest of the time weaving the rack.
When the moon was high in the sky, around two or three in the morning, Liu Ruoxi finally asked Wang Lun to wake Li Ling and the other woman so it would be time to change shifts. Actually, Liu Ruoxi had been feeling tired for a while, but she hadn't said anything. Plus, the two of them were older, so she felt she should endure more. Wang Lun had told Liu Ruoxi to go to sleep, but Liu Ruoxi felt it wasn't right to leave Wang Lun alone on night watch, so she forced herself to stay awake.
After Li Ling and Liu Ruoling woke up groggily and took their shift, Liu Ruoxi lay down and fell asleep. Wang Lun insisted on explaining to Li Ling and Liu Ruoling the weaving techniques, emphasizing the importance of being careful around the campfire, snakes, insects, and rodents, etc., until they both understood, before finally going to sleep.
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