After Li Ling and the other two finished showering, they could return and have dinner. After the four of them ate, Li Ling and the other two went to wash the dishes, while Wang Lun went to take a shower.
Then Liu Ruoling came to say that she was on the first shift of night watch. Everyone was very tired today, so they didn't play cards or do anything else; they just went to bed.
Nothing happened that night. Liu Ruoxi cooked breakfast early. Wang Lun and the other two also got up very early. Wang Lun had said last night that the four of them should go out together to collect more stones while it was still cool in the morning, so that the stones wouldn't be too hot when the sun came out.
Wang Lun and his three companions left home very early in the morning and returned early at noon. The weather was already getting hot, and working outside risked heatstroke, so they decided not to push themselves too hard.
Wang Lun and his three companions returned to the camp, washed their faces and hands, and began preparing lunch. Today's lunch was still wild vegetable stewed with fish. After all, apart from fish, there was not much other food, so they decided to eat more fish.
After the meal, Wang Lun found there was really nothing to do. He considered going out, but a pack of hyenas had just arrived at the camp, and besides, Li Ling and the others were on their periods, so going out alone wouldn't be convenient. Doing something else was also out of the question; it was too hot outside. He decided against it.
Finally, Wang Lun thought of one thing he could do: use the excavated soil, filtered and settled, to make pottery. It was just that the chances of failure were higher.
After Wang Lun shared his idea with Li Ling and the others, all three of them were very excited, since there really wasn't much to do right now. They were overjoyed to finally come up with something to do and also get some supplies.
So Wang Lun took Li Ling and Liu Ruoling to the pond to start washing mud, selecting the fine mud and putting it in an iron pot. Slowly, after accumulating a potful, Wang Lun took the two of them back into the house, leaving the pot outside to evaporate the moisture and dry it before using it.
At this time, the weather was still hot. When Wang Lun and the other two returned, they each drank a lot of water, which made them feel a little cooler.
Liu Ruoxi's garment, woven from coarse fibers, had taken on the shape of sleeves. Wang Lun tried it on and found it quite sturdy. All four were delighted; the fact that this garment was made meant they would have their own clothes to wear from now on. They wouldn't have to wear the clothes provided by the production team every day anymore, and they would finally have clothes to change into.
Wang Lun then instructed Liu Ruoxi to do nothing but make clothes, hoping to finish them as soon as possible. Li Ling and Liu Ruoling agreed, since finishing the clothes sooner meant they could continue making clothes sooner.
Liu Ruoxi also hoped to finish knitting the clothes as soon as possible, so she decided to skip her noon nap and devote all her energy to making the clothes.
Wang Lun and his two companions still needed to take a nap, as they had a lot to do in the afternoon, including continuing to expand the water tank. So, the three of them went back to the kang (a heated brick bed) to sleep. Liu Ruoxi agreed that she would sleep right away, but in reality, she didn't go to the kang for a nap.
When Wang Lun woke up in the afternoon, he saw Liu Ruoxi still knitting. Wang Lun asked, "Didn't you sleep?" Liu Ruoxi replied, "I did, but I woke up early." Wang Lun assumed she really had woken up early, so he went out to wash his face.
When Wang Lun returned to the house, he opened the door and saw Liu Ruoxi yawning. He walked over, stared at her, and asked, "Did you take a nap at noon?" Liu Ruoxi shook her head. Wang Lun was a little annoyed and said, "You were on night watch last night, and you didn't even take a nap this afternoon. How can you be in good spirits?" Liu Ruoxi lowered her head and whispered, "I want to finish knitting the clothes as soon as possible." Hearing this, Wang Lun was momentarily speechless. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Alright, you can sleep whenever you want from now on, but you don't need to participate in the night watch anymore. The three of us will be fine." Liu Ruoxi said, "How can that be? You have to keep watch at night and do other things during the day. You won't be able to handle it." Wang Lun waved his hand and said, "Alright, it's decided then." He turned and walked out of the house to continue collecting stones by the stream.
Liu Ruoxi wanted to say something, but by the time she did, Wang Lun had already left the room. Liu Ruoxi could only continue knitting. Then Li Ling and Liu Ruoling woke up.
Liu Ruoxi recounted the situation to Li Ling and asked her to persuade Wang Lun, since Wang Lun usually listened to her. However, Li Ling said, "Other things are manageable, but once Wang Lun makes a decision, it's basically unchangeable, especially when he's so resolute." Liu Ruoxi asked, "How can you stand it?" Li Ling replied, "Actually, I think Wang Lun is quite right. Since you want to finish weaving the clothes quickly, you definitely can't stay up all night. Try not to do anything else; just focus on weaving during the day." Liu Ruoling said, "Sister, just listen to them. Besides, staying up all night isn't difficult; it just means you won't sleep well. And you can take a longer nap, right?" Liu Ruoxi wanted to say something more, but Li Ling stopped her, saying, "Don't say anything more. Just listen to Wang Lun. After all, he's right, and even if he's wrong, we have to obey. Unless you want to break up?" Li Ling then turned to look at Liu Ruoling, before turning back to stare at Liu Ruoxi. Seeing that even the usually easy-going Li Ling had said such things, Liu Ruoxi could only nod and say, "I understand, I'll finish knitting the clothes as soon as possible."
Li Ling nodded and said, "That's good, let's go collect stones first." She then turned and left. Liu Ruoling lagged behind, saying, "Sister, you don't really need to worry. I reckon it won't be long before we don't have to keep watch anymore." Liu Ruoxi was somewhat puzzled, but Liu Ruoling followed Li Ling away.
Liu Ruoxi thought for a long time before she finally understood. The reason they used to keep watch was because the wall wasn't finished, or because it was in the wild. Recently, they started keeping watch again because of the arrival of a hyena pack. Once things stabilize after a while, they definitely won't need to keep watch anymore; at most, they'll just stay up a little later at night.
After Liu Ruoxi figured things out, she continued knitting.
Li Ling and Liu Ruoling met up with Wang Lun and then picked up stones by the stream. However, the atmosphere was somewhat heavy today. In the morning, the four of them were chatting and laughing as they picked up stones, sometimes even tossing a stone, splashing water and wetting the clothes of those nearby. But in the afternoon, the three of them did nothing but pick up stones, without saying a word.
Liu Ruoling couldn't resist any longer, but seeing that Li Ling and Wang Lun were both keeping their heads down, quietly picking up stones, she could only continue, head down, picking stones one by one. Once she had filled a basket, she carried it back.
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