When Qin Tian returned to the Camp, it was already midday. Unlike this morning’s greasy and unkempt appearance, he now looked clean and tidy, with a noticeably more handsome look.
Judging by the droplets still clinging to his hair, it was clear that he had just taken a bath.
As usual, Ye Lin approached Qin Tian when she saw him, but recalling what he had said earlier, she hesitated and stopped in her tracks.
Standing there, her cheeks flushed red as she softly said, “You’re back.”
“Yeah, I’m back.” Qin Tian didn’t notice Ye Lin’s odd behavior as he raised the three freshly prepared Yellow Eels in his hand and smiled, “Let’s change things up for dinner tonight.”
At these words, Ye Lin looked at the Yellow Eels with curiosity. “Are these things tasty?”
***
After having tried snake meat and Banana Worms one after another, Ye Lin had developed a sort of immunity to wild ingredients and no longer resisted them as she did when she first arrived. Besides, Yellow Eels were quite common at the table, much easier to accept compared to snakes and worms.
“You’ll know when you try them.” Qin Tian teased, and Ye Lin didn’t press further, only feeling anticipation.
The forest was teeming with microorganisms, and meat spoiled easily. So once back at the Camp, Qin Tian gathered some wood and set up a frame by the campfire. Then he hung the three Yellow Eels on it, planning to make smoked meat.
Compared to fresh kill, smoked meat might lack a bit in flavor, but it could be preserved for a long time, which was exactly what Qin Tian and Ye Lin needed right now.
At first, Qin Tian had thought about digging a pit by the Creek to temporarily keep the Yellow Eels, but considering their burrowing abilities, he gave up on that idea.
***
Smoking meat wasn’t as simple as hanging it over the fire. The heat had to be carefully controlled, or else the meat would burn, causing a disaster. Because of this, Qin Tian couldn’t leave to do other tasks.
Sitting nearby idly, Ye Lin suddenly asked, “Is there anything I can help with?”
Qin Tian had been busy the whole time, and Ye Lin felt a little embarrassed just sitting there doing nothing. More importantly, after so many days of constant activity, she now felt uneasy having nothing to do.
In fact, Qin Tian had already thought about whether to give Ye Lin some work during the smoking process, but considering her current state, he had decided against it. Now hearing her ask, all his doubts vanished.
Taking a piece of bark from nearby, Qin Tian beckoned Ye Lin over and said, “Come here. I’ll teach you how to weave String. Once you learn, you’ll be in charge of turning all the bark in the Camp into String.”
Spring was the rainy season. Although it hadn’t rained in the past few days, Qin Tian was constantly worried. Their Camp currently lacked any protection against rain, and if it started to pour, they would have nowhere to take shelter.
Therefore, to avoid such a situation, they had to improve the Camp while the weather was good.
Now that they had water and two days’ worth of food, they had plenty of time to focus on other tasks, making this a perfect opportunity to improve the Camp.
The process of making String was simple: first, the bark had to be softened by pounding it with stones, then woven together. Just two steps—not difficult at all. Qin Tian only demonstrated once, and Ye Lin quickly picked it up. Her Strings were even better than his.
The reason was probably that girls were naturally more skilled at crafts than boys.
Typically, smoking meat required at least four hours, even with machines, especially when preserving the meat for long periods.
But for Qin Tian’s purpose—only short-term preservation—smoking for an hour was enough.
***
By noon, Qin Tian had just finished the smoked meat. Without resting, he told Ye Lin and grabbed the Stone Axe, leaving the Camp to return to where he had gathered wood earlier.
Compared to smashing trees with bare stones, chopping with a Stone Axe was much easier. The handle absorbed much of the impact, greatly reducing strain on his arms, which improved Qin Tian’s efficiency.
Around five in the afternoon, the sky darkened. Soon the sun would fully set, and night would fall.
Noticing the change, Qin Tian threw the Stone Axe aside and sat down, rubbing his arms. Even with the Stone Axe, after hours of chopping, his hands tingled with numbness.
Still, during that time, Qin Tian had felled eighteen trees—double the number he managed using stones before.
Carrying all that wood at once was impossible, but Qin Tian hadn’t planned on bringing it all back today.
After a short break, he headed toward the Creek.
***
Meanwhile, back at the Camp, Ye Lin kept weaving String. Compared to Qin Tian, her progress was impressive—she had woven nearly ten meters of String.
At one point, Ye Lin sensed someone approaching. She turned and saw Qin Tian walking over carrying a bundle of Banana Leaves. Notably, his pockets bulged with unknown contents.
At sunset, the sun disappeared below the horizon, and Qin Tian and Ye Lin were already prepared for dinner.
Using the same Stone Pot, the main ingredient had changed from Coconut Crab to Yellow Eel. Ye Lin’s face shifted from eager anticipation to disgust.
Seeing her expression, Qin Tian clearly understood what Ye Lin was thinking and laughed. “Do you have to be so disgusted?”
“Yes, exactly that disgusted.” Ye Lin nodded repeatedly, then looked at Qin Tian. “Don’t tell me this is what you mean by changing the flavor.”
“Yellow Eel and Coconut Crab obviously don’t taste the same,” Qin Tian said seriously. “What’s wrong with that?”
Ye Lin stared at Qin Tian for a moment, then sighed. “Nothing!”
In these past days, their meals had been either roasted or fried, and she was already tired of it. When Qin Tian said “change the flavor” today, she thought he meant a different cooking method, not a different ingredient. It was a little disappointing.
Seeing Ye Lin’s expression, Qin Tian chuckled and pulled out a handful of red berries from his pocket.
“Mountain Plum?” Ye Lin was surprised. She had been curious about what Qin Tian kept in his pocket, never expecting Mountain Plums.
But these unripe Mountain Plums were so sour they could make your teeth ache. She wondered why Qin Tian had picked them.
Under Ye Lin’s gaze, Qin Tian squeezed the plums hard. The berries crushed into a pulpy mess, releasing pale red juice that dripped onto the Yellow Eel meat, immediately producing a swirl of white smoke.
Seeing this, Ye Lin understood and didn’t wait for Qin Tian to invite her—she picked up a piece of Yellow Eel and put it into her mouth.
The next moment, Ye Lin’s face was filled with delight. “Sour and sweet, just like sweet and sour ribs!”
Hearing this, Qin Tian tasted a piece himself. The flavor was even better than he had anticipated.
The smoky rancidness and the sharp sourness of the Mountain Plum were two extreme tastes, but when combined, the flavor became rich and mellow.
The unique texture of Yellow Eel meat locked in the plum juice tightly, and with every bite, the juice oozed out, teasing the taste buds.
Meanwhile, Qin Tian brewed Mint Tea to accompany the Yellow Eel. Together, they ate heartily.
***
Just like last night, not long after finishing the meal, Qin Tian fell asleep first. Ye Lin, however, continued weaving String. Focusing on a single task helped her temporarily forget the fear of the dark.
By the time their shifts changed, Ye Lin had woven more than twenty meters of String. Then Qin Tian took over and continued weaving. By morning, all the bark in the Camp had been turned into String.
***
The next day, the weather was surprisingly fine. Sunlight filtered through the dense leaves, speckling the Camp with spots of light, lifting their spirits.
After breakfast, Qin Tian spent an hour carrying the wood he had chopped yesterday back to the Camp.
Once everything was ready, the two set about improving the Camp. Rather than simply improving it, it was more like rebuilding.
Initially, Qin Tian had planned to build just one more Windbreak Wall identical to the first, but he felt that would make the Camp too small.
After weighing the options, he decided to dismantle the original Windbreak Wall to expand and reinforce the Camp.
Previously, the Windbreak Wall measured three horizontal stakes by five vertical ones. Now it was six by seven, doubling the area.
On the day they built the Camp, pressed for time, they had only secured the bark with strips of bark—crude and rushed. Now, with String for binding, the structure’s sturdiness was upgraded to a whole new level.
Spending the entire morning, Qin Tian and Ye Lin completed the framework for two Windbreak Walls together. Then they divided the work: Ye Lin hung Banana Leaves layer by layer, while Qin Tian sharpened the wooden stakes.
As the Windbreak Walls grew larger, their weight increased too. The previous support method was no longer sufficient. They needed proper supports to ensure the Camp wouldn’t collapse.
The stakes were thick, and sharpening them was no small feat. Qin Tian used the axe and knife to carve them, finishing before dusk.
Sharpening was only the first step. The second was charring the tips over fire, carbonizing the wood to prevent decay in the soil.
By the time Qin Tian finished preparing the stakes, night had already fallen.
There was no time to rest. After solving the support problem, Qin Tian selected a piece of wood about wrist-sized, placing one end on a stake and the other on the ground to act as a wooden beam for the Camp.
Just as Qin Tian finished, Ye Lin completed the Windbreak Walls. Together, they lifted the walls onto the beam and secured them with String.
Finally, they layered the remaining Banana Leaves inside. Thus, their Camp was upgraded from a single broken wall into an A-frame Camp.
By then, it was around eight in the evening. Both were starving, but the excitement of the new Camp left no room for hunger.
Compared to the old Camp, the new one was much larger. Not only had they added rain protection, but the enclosed space formed by the two Windbreak Walls greatly enhanced their sense of security.