I took out my pocket watch and glanced at the time; it was exactly ten o'clock in the noon. I calculated the time, and without any delays, it would take about three hours to reach the estuary from the cave. Wang Yan found some grass fluff, and I took out a piece of flint. By rubbing the military knife against the flint, we easily ignited the grass fluff. Wang Yan carefully stacked the thin branches on top, and soon the fire was burning brightly. First, I skewered three sturgeons and handed them to Wang Yan for a simple dressing before placing them beside the fire to roast. This would be our lunch for today. Taking advantage of this time, Xia Lan and I went into the dense forest to cut some more thin vines. We found two close trees and tied two thin vines around them, one above and one below, forming a rectangle. Then we cut the remaining thin vines into equal lengths, tied them into loops, and hung them on the upper vine, with the vines intertwined and knotted in between. This method was thought up by Xia Lan. Her hometown was on an island, and she clearly remembered watching her grandfather make fishing nets when she was a child. Ours was a miniature version, but it was still very convenient for holding sturgeons. It was a patient job, and after only half an hour, I felt my eyes sore. Xia Lan glanced at me and said, 'Go see if Wang Yan's sturgeons are done roasting.' I nodded and returned to the fire. The sturgeons were already roasted to a golden brown. Wang Yan was adding firewood to the fire, gazing at the sandy beach formed by the impact of the estuary not far away. 'What are you thinking about?' I asked as I sat down beside her. Wang Yan turned her head to look at me and said, 'I'm calculating how long we need to stay on this deserted island.'

I let out a long sigh and said, 'To build a ship, starting from scratch with tools and materials, I estimate it will take three years.' Wang Yan sighed, 'Even if we build a ship, what can we do? The seas are so rough, compared to that, staying on the deserted island seems like a better choice.' 'Don't you want to leave this deserted island?' I looked at Wang Yan and asked. Wang Yan's expression became somewhat lost. She turned her head to look at me and said, 'Lu Yuan, would you be willing to stay on this deserted island with me?' 'Yes, let's work hard to create a kingdom on this deserted island,' I said to Wang Yan, my expression extremely serious. Wang Yan's cheeks quickly flushed with a layer of redness, and she shyly lowered her head, murmuring, 'If you're willing...' I swallowed saliva, my gaze involuntarily drifting towards her 36D chest, and the image of our passionate encounter in the dense forest that day unavoidably surfaced in my mind. Just then, Xia Lan's words suddenly echoed in my ears, and a hint of mischief began to rise in my heart. My breathing started to deepen. Fearing I might do something excessive, I quickly stood up and said, 'I'm going to patrol the vicinity.' I glanced back at Wang Yan; she was biting her lip, her eyes flickering as if hesitating over something.

I went upstream to the river and inspected the area, discovering a row of hoof prints at the entrance to the dense forest. I squatted down for a closer look; they appeared to be wild boar tracks. If there's time, I could set a trap here, and with some luck, we might catch a wild boar. Apart from the row of wild boar tracks, I found no other signs of animals haunting the place. When I returned to the fire, Xia Lan had already woven a net bag, and Wang Yan was holding it up, asking her how to make one. The sturgeon was ready, and after we finished lunch, we began the busy task of catching sturgeon. After about an hour or so, we caught more than forty sturgeons, and the net bag was full. We extinguished the fire, and took turns carrying the sturgeons back to the cave in pairs. Passing by the place where leeks were found, I dug up some leek sprouts. I wrapped the roots in soil, then carefully tied them with thin vines and hung them on an iron rod. By the time we got back, it was already six in the evening, the sky a dim yellow, unusually quiet. Upon reaching the cave, Jiang Dandan boasted to me about her catch of the day, a whole pot of clams. We could have clam soup tonight. However, when she saw the net bag of sturgeons that Wang Yan and Xia Lan had carried back, she was slightly taken aback. She glanced at her clams, which seemed to pale in comparison to the sturgeons. "Go help with processing the sturgeons, we must smoke all these sturgeons before tonight."

"I said. Lin Xian'er and Zhang Xi'er had just returned from gathering firewood when they saw so many sturgeons, their faces brimming with joy. Everyone started to work together on smoking the sturgeons, their faces filled with enthusiasm. With these sturgeons, we wouldn't have to worry about food for a while, and we could free our hands to do other things. While we were busy preparing the sturgeons, I cooked up all of Jiang Dandan's catches. The clams here were exceptionally fresh and plump, and the clam soup was also very delicious. The clams and clam soup were almost all devoured by me, Jiang Dandan, and Zhang Xi'er. Wang Yan and the others didn't seem to fancy such delicacies. We dealt with and ate the remaining pheasants from yesterday, and each person roasted a sturgeon, filling our stomachs to the brim. After the meal, we went to the stream and dug up some fertile soil, creating a small vegetable patch on the flat ground in front of the cave. I carefully planted the leeks inside, and the skillful Lin Xian'er made a set of frames, hanging drilled coconut shells on them. This way, as long as we filled the coconut shells with water, the leeks would receive even irrigation. That night, we sat around the fire, holding coconuts in our hands, eating flatbean vine fruits, and discussing today's discoveries. "Brother Lu Yuan, you have no idea, the bamboo rats in the bamboo forest are so big, the meat must be extremely tasty!"

Zhang Xier spoke with great excitement. Today, she and Lin Xian'er went to the dense forest to collect firewood. They had intended to catch a bamboo rat, but instead, they discovered a grove of moso bamboo. According to Zhang Xier, the moso bamboo grew very lush and thick, and many bamboo rats lived within it. This little foodie was only concerned with the delicious bamboo rats, never noticing how precious the moso bamboo was as a material. Whether it was for making fences, crafting longbows, or even weaving simple rafts and creating traps, it was all top-notch material. Lin Xian'er glanced at me and said, 'You should take some time to go and see it.' I nodded and said, 'We definitely need to collect the moso bamboo, but the priority is to produce salt. To preserve food for a long time, we cannot do without salt. Besides, it's been several days since we last had salt. If we continue like this, our health will eventually be compromised.' Wang Yan nodded in agreement and said, 'Not far below the cave, there is a beach with suitable terrain. We can go there to build salt fields.'