The moving plan

Ning Shu asked, "Could this flight attendant have been stranded on another little island?"

"It's possible!"

Lu Zhe thought it over carefully. "Remember? The coconuts here most likely drifted over from that island! So the message in a bottle probably drifted over from there too."

"I never thought there'd be another survivor besides us!"

"Being stranded on a deserted island alone-she has it even worse than us!"

"But she has food. Her starting situation was much better than ours!"

Ning Shu thought for a moment. "Lu Zhe, what do you think about this?"

There was actually one question Lu Zhe had been thinking about all along!

Moving!

After all, resources on their island were too scarce, while according to the flight attendant's description, the island across from them had far more!

Lu Zhe said gravely, "Today, the class monitor and I climbed to the highest point on the island to survey it. We discovered that freshwater resources are extremely scarce! Forget growing crops-we don't even have enough for everyday drinking!"

Tang Xiaoguo said, "Hey, didn't you say there were several coconut palms?"

"The coconuts on those palms will keep us going for two weeks at most. What about after those two weeks? Rely on distilled water alone?"

The four girls nodded!

They understood that although they were doing fairly well for the moment, once their freshwater resources ran out, everyone would face the danger of dying of thirst!

Jiang Yao said, "So you mean... we should go to that island?"

"Though it'll be a bit of trouble, if we want to survive, we have to consider moving somewhere with a continuous supply of fresh water!"

Tang Xiaoguo asked suspiciously, "It's not because you think that flight attendant is pretty, is it?"

Lu Zhe said deliberately, "It is. So what!"

Tang Xiaoguo huffed, "You jerk, Lu Zhe!"

Ning Shu said, "All right, from a survival standpoint, there's nothing wrong with Lu Zhe's judgment. We can't survive here long-term, so we really should consider moving!"

Jiang Yao and Lin Qianqian exchanged a glance and nodded too.

Tang Xiaoguo said, "In that case, are we leaving tonight or tomorrow?"

Lin Qianqian said, "Guo'er, we don't have a boat!"

Jiang Yao sighed. "Forget a boat-we don't even have a swimming ring!"

Ning Shu said, "Lu Zhe, what's your plan?"

The time was about right, so Lu Zhe laid out his plan. "Within the next five days, we need to build a sturdy wooden raft and paddles, stock up on fresh water and food, and pack essential supplies. Within seven days, we'll paddle against the ocean current to Volcano Island!"

The four girls thought it over and all agreed!

"Let's do it!"

Tang Xiaoguo said, "Everyone's hungry, right?"

"Then let's eat first! We can discuss it while we eat!"

Jiang Yao roasted some coconut meat, Tang Xiaoguo cooked some crab and kelp soup, and Lin Qianqian gathered some mussels and razor clams along the shore!

It wasn't enough to fill them up, but it barely drove away their hunger!

Tang Xiaoguo sighed. "Roasted coconut meat at every meal. It was fine at first, but now just smelling it makes me feel sick! We're not going to live on this stuff forever, are we?"

Lu Zhe shook his head. "No! With the melon seeds we got today, if we go to Volcano Island and find a suitable place to plant them, we'll have melons to eat in two or three months!"

Jiang Yao asked, "Class monitor, did you get that done?"

Ning Shu nodded. "There was a little hiccup along the way, but everything went pretty smoothly!"

"Now we have melon, watermelon, and strawberry seeds!"

Tang Xiaoguo said, "Come to think of it, Qianqian, you're the only one who hasn't done it yet, right?"

"That's right, Qianqian. It seems like you're the only one who hasn't pooped since we got stranded!"

"You're not constipated, are you?"

"N-no!"

Lin Qianqian's little face immediately reddened. "Um, please don't worry, everyone... I... I'll try hard too..."

Counting it up, this was already the evening of their third day stranded on the island!

Yet Qianqian still hadn't gone number two!

Although nobody said anything, they couldn't help feeling a little worried!

It might be constipation, or it might be physical discomfort caused by being stranded on a deserted island. She might be better tomorrow!

"Get some rest early, everyone. Tomorrow morning, we'll get ready to gather supplies and build the raft, and start our moving plan!"

That night!

Everyone crawled into the shelter very early!

And now, with the dry grass mats Qianqian and Jiang Yao had made laid out inside, it was much more comfortable!

Lu Zhe set his watch alarm for five o'clock, then closed his eyes!

The comfortable shelter and the girls' natural fragrance gave Lu Zhe a good night's sleep. He slept until the alarm rang!

Lu Zhe stretched, woke everyone up, then ran down to the sea to wash his face!

A fish-belly white had appeared on the horizon, but waves of chill still lingered in the air!

The girls all got up too!

"Classmates, without enough physical strength, we can't work efficiently, so the first thing to do is cook!"

He went to check the traps. None of the three traps had caught any rats!

Fortunately, Guo'er's stockings had caught more than twenty little fish!

With those little fish, roasted coconut meat, coconut juice, and the last bag of spicy gluten strips, everyone ate a breakfast that wasn't particularly lavish!

Next, Lu Zhe began assigning tasks!

Tang Xiaoguo and Jiang Yao both had injuries to their legs or feet and couldn't walk long distances, so Lu Zhe assigned them work at camp:

"Guo'er, keep distilling fresh water!"

"Huh?" Tang Xiaoguo pouted. "That boring job again!"

"Guo'er, fresh water is always an indispensable resource on a deserted island, and distilled water has uses that coconut juice can't compare with, so your task is very important!"

Put that way, Tang Xiaoguo was happy. "Oh, I see. All right, then!"

"Jiang Yao, I'll cut some abaca in a bit. I need you to help strip the bark off the stalks. We'll use it to make rope to lash the raft together! Also, lunch will be up to you and Guo'er!"

Jiang Yao made an "OK" sign. "Don't worry, deskmate!"

Tang Xiaoguo said, "My job's easy, so I'll cook in a bit! Let you all taste Young Lady Guo'er's cooking, but..."

She looked around. "We don't seem to have any ingredients left!"

"Let me finish!"

Lu Zhe continued:

"Class monitor, Qianqian, you two need to take backpacks and plastic bags to the coconut grove on the west coast and keep gathering supplies! Whether it's bottles, torn clothes, slippers, coconuts, or seafood, collect as much as you can!

"But remember, don't risk reaching for coconuts that are too high up, or you might fall and hurt yourselves!

"And don't carry too much at once. You can make several trips!"

Ning Shu nodded and said, "If we find any seafood, we'll give it to Guo'er and Jiang Yao to cook!"

"Exactly!"

Lin Qianqian nodded. "No problem. Then, Lu Zhe, aren't you coming with us?"

Lu Zhe shook his head. "After I cut the abaca, I still have to cut down trees and use their trunks for the main body of the raft. I can't go with you!"

Ning Shu was a little worried. "Then you'll be going into the woods all by yourself!"

Lu Zhe nodded. "There's no other way! But there's a patch of woodland southwest of camp where I noticed some trunks of a suitable thickness!"

There were some things he didn't say!

Because although Ning Shu had been washed clean, she still felt a prickling itch afterward.

Lu Zhe wanted to look for medicinal herbs that could treat it while he was at it.