Chapter 13

After finishing the meat, Li Yuanxi leaned back against the stone wall with a satisfied expression. She squinted her eyes, let out a small burp, and didn’t want to move.

A goofy smile hung on her lips. She was on the verge of yelling out loud, “Now that’s what I call comfortable!”

Wei Shu cleaned up the piece of metal she’d used to fry the meat. It would need to be washed later, along with the small basket that had held the venison.

“Just leave it. I’ll take it to the mudflats to wash later. It’ll be clean in no time. Do you want to take a bath today?” Li Yuanxi asked, her eyelids half-closed, drowsy.

Wei Shu shook her head. She found the small bottles of shampoo and body wash and put them in the basket for Li Yuanxi to take. “I’ll pass. There’s not enough fresh water today. I’ll just wipe myself down. You go wash at the beach, and wash your pants while you’re at it.”

“Sure. Give me that big metal can too. I’ll find a use for it.” Li Yuanxi lazily pointed to the pile of various metal containers they’d collected.

“Okay.” Wei Shu followed Li Yuanxi’s instructions, placing the requested items in the basket. She also added two bottles of water. The basket that had held the deer would also need to be washed.

“Your little backpack basket… I’ll use it to carry the innards to attract fish. I’ll make you a new one some other day.” Li Yuanxi, having rested enough, picked up the basket on the ground and prepared to leave. She’d rested long enough.

The organs couldn’t be left too long. A little bit of a smell was okay, but they shouldn’t be rotting. Otherwise, they wouldn’t attract any fish.

“Hey…” Li Yuanxi started to tell Wei Shu not to come to the beach with her this afternoon, but Wei Shu interrupted her before she could finish. “I’ll stay home and watch the meat.”

“Right. That’s exactly it. See you later, Little Shu Shu~” Li Yuanxi picked up her basket and called out Wei Shu’s name in a singsong voice. Wei Shu’s expression didn’t change; she just rolled her eyes.

Wei Shu watched Li Yuanxi leave, then turned to observe the smoldering fire of the coconut leaves. Li Yuanxi had specifically told her not to let it catch fire, only to smoke it.

Whenever she saw flames, she would cover them with fresh coconut leaves, pressing the fire down until only white smoke remained.

The smoke was starting to fill the forest. From above, it would be very visible, but unfortunately, no one was there to see it.

Li Yuanxi carried one basket on her back and another in her hand. She walked quickly, her feet crushing the weeds beneath her. A small path was starting to form.

When she reached the beach, she first picked up the basket of innards that had been soaking in the sea, letting the seawater drain out. Then, she carried it to a group of hollowed-out rocks.

The tide hadn’t come in yet, so the rock pools were mostly dry. Li Yuanxi took off her shoes and carefully waded into the cool water, slowly making her way forward.

She stopped when the water was up to her calves. She took the basket off her back and placed it flat in the water, weighing it down with two stones so it wouldn’t be swept away.

She took the deer’s heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, which she’d set aside, and tossed them in different directions around the rock pools, where the sea life would gather. They landed with a splash.

After she was done, Li Yuanxi stood in the water, looked up at the bright sun, and started walking back to shore.

Now, she just had to wait for the tide to come in. The thought of seafood made her crave some ginger, garlic, and scallions. Seafood without those seasonings just wasn’t complete.

Once on the sand, Li Yuanxi picked up the other basket she’d left there and carried it to the mudflats. She planned to use the mud to scrub off all the grease and blood from the basket, along with the dishes she and Wei Shu had used.

She took out the piece of metal she’d used to fry the meat, scooped up some black mud, and scraped it over the surface. After several rounds of scrubbing, the square piece of metal was clean.

She did the same for the rest of the items. It took her about an hour to wash everything. She then placed the clean basket under a coconut tree to dry naturally.

Li Yuanxi took out her water bottle, tilted her head back, and took a long gulp. Her face was covered in sweat and marked by the sun.

She figured there were still three or four hours until sunset. She sat on the sand to rest for a bit before doing anything else.

“Phew, it’s really hot.” Li Yuanxi wiped the sweat from her face and used the clean piece of metal as a fan to cool herself down.

Half an hour later, Li Yuanxi was carrying buckets of seawater and pouring them onto a patch of sand further inland, where the tide wouldn’t reach.

She waited for the sand to dry before pouring more. The sand was neatly arranged, about two meters long and one meter wide. The entire patch had been repeatedly soaked in seawater.

She was building a primitive salt pan. Once it was done, she and Wei Shu wouldn’t have to worry about a supply of clean salt for a long time. It would be a bit of a hassle to maintain, but it was worth it.

After that, she started digging a pit not far away. As she dug, she picked up pieces of broken shells. Once the pit was about half a meter deep, she stopped.

She then got up and started collecting stones and shells, putting them in her basket until it was full.

Li Yuanxi crouched down and lined the bottom of the pit with the stones and shells, pounding them into the sand with all her might. She kept at it until the sides of the pit were solid and compacted.

“Good. This should stop the seawater from seeping away.” She examined the compacted pit floor with some satisfaction.

Next, she dug up the repeatedly soaked sand and put it in her basket, then dumped it into the pit. She covered the bottom of the pit with several layers of this salt-rich sand.

After laying it down, she ran back to fetch more seawater, pouring it into the pit. She went back and forth several times until the pit was filled.

Then, she started stirring. She mixed the high-salinity sand and seawater with the regular seawater, stirring it all thoroughly to create a saturated brine.

There were a few more critical steps after this, but Li Yuanxi wasn’t going to do them now.

Looking at the murky water, which now had a clearly salty, briny smell, she knew she’d need to go back to the cave. She didn’t have the tools she needed. She’d have to make a few more.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a flurry of activity.

While she was busy, Wei Shu was busy too. She cleaned the cave, then started collecting fresh water outside. The water trickling down the cliff face had only filled about half a bucket today.

Wei Shu stared at the large water bottles they used for storage. The yield today was too low. Between what they had stored in the cave and what they could collect, they might only have enough for two more days.

When Li Yuanxi came back after washing in the sea tonight, she’d need to rinse off with fresh water again. Otherwise, her skin and body would be coated in salt crystals.

Wei Shu sighed. It looked like finding a fresh water source in the forest would be their top priority tomorrow. She wondered how Li Yuanxi’s salt pan was coming along.

If Li Yuanxi were here, she’d have told her it was going great. She was just a few key steps away from finishing.

After setting up the salt pan, Li Yuanxi continued to collect small stones and pile them around its perimeter. She also gathered a lot of clam and oyster shells. They would be useful.

At the beach, she built an earthen stove about twenty centimeters high out of stones. She built it with three sides, leaving the front open to maximize airflow. This way, the fire would burn hot and steady.

With all her preparations done, Li Yuanxi picked up her washed basket and headed home. She needed to bring fire to the beach to boil the salt water.

Wei Shu was sitting primly on a rough stool Li Yuanxi had made. It was made from seven or eight crooked sticks nailed together, with small notches cut into them so they’d fit together. It wasn’t very elegant, but it was stable and didn’t wobble.

Wei Shu thought it was perfect, even if Li Yuanxi complained that it was a bit too hard.

The white smoke was still rising. The fat from the venison was rendering, dripping down steadily. The small can of deer fat they’d rendered earlier was cooling. It wouldn’t solidify until the next morning.

“Hey, Wei Shu! I’m back! How’s the venison looking?”

Li Yuanxi emerged from the forest, walking uphill. She saw the thick cloud of smoke and suddenly realized she’d forgotten to leave Wei Shu any water to put out a fire. If the coconut leaves had caught fire, Wei Shu would have been done for.

“It smells good. It’s still dripping fat,” Wei Shu’s refined voice came from the other side of the smoke. Li Yuanxi rushed over as soon as she heard it, then slowed her pace as she approached.

“You came all this way to meet me?” Li Yuanxi had one basket on her back and another in her hand. She walked forward with a bright, smug grin.

“Don’t flatter yourself. I just got up to stretch my legs. I just happened to hear you.” A smile played on Wei Shu’s lips too. Her beautiful eyes were captivating as she took the basket from Li Yuanxi’s hand. They fell into step, walking side-by-side towards home.

“How’s the salt pan?” Wei Shu saw the evidence of the sun on Li Yuanxi’s sunburned face. A nameless feeling rose in her chest. She couldn’t tell if it was a pang of sadness or something else.

Especially when she saw the small cuts on Li Yuanxi’s hands. That feeling weighed on her heart.

Li Yuanxi’s eyes flickered to her own hand, noticing Wei Shu’s gaze. Uncomfortably, she shoved her hand into her pocket. “Just a few more steps. Once it’s done, we’ll have salt. We can even cure meat and make jerky.”

“Mhm.” Wei Shu lowered her head, her smile fading slightly. They walked into the cave together. Inside, a small fire was still burning for boiling water. The flames danced continuously.

Li Yuanxi walked over to the coconut leaf basket, picked up a bottle of water, and took several long gulps. Her thirst was finally quenched.

“Oh!” She saw the tool she’d been planning to make now sitting finished on the floor. Li Yuanxi looked at Wei Shu, surprised. “You made this!”

“Mhm. Remember the club activity from high school?” Wei Shu glanced at the simple filter she’d made on the ground. It was for filtering the saturated brine.

It was made of layers of fine sand, small stones, and charcoal, all designed to filter out impurities. But this method was limited. That’s why Li Yuanxi had collected so many oyster shells—they were an excellent natural filtration material.

“You’re beautiful and talented!” Li Yuanxi gave her a big, enthusiastic thumbs-up.

“Stop with the flattery. Get some rest while you can. We’ll be busy boiling the brine for a long time.” Wei Shu pressed down on Li Yuanxi’s thumb, telling her to sit down.

The corner of Li Yuanxi’s mouth curled up. She sat down on the little stool, her long legs awkwardly spread apart. The cave was always a few degrees cooler than the outside, making it quite comfortable inside.

“Here. Have something to eat.” Wei Shu had cut a small piece of the cooked venison and boiled it with some wild greens. She handed it to Li Yuanxi to tide her over.

“Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden?” Li Yuanxi took the bowl of venison stew with a look of flattered surprise, even hunching her shoulders a little. She was trying to think if she’d offended Wei Shu with her smart mouth recently.

She was well aware of her own occasional sharp tongue. Seeing her so hesitant, Wei Shu almost laughed. If only Li Yuanxi had shown this much awareness before she’d told all those ghost stories a couple of nights ago.

Li Yuanxi took a careful sip of the broth. Surprisingly, it didn’t taste bad. It was just a bit bland. She half-expected Wei Shu to have found some more of that horrible horseshoe grass. The last time she’d eaten that, her… business had been green for two days.