Having just arrived in a new place, wanting to do everything at once without a clear train of thought is likely to make a mess of things.
The few girls ate until they were round as a melon, discussing taking a break before continuing to build their nest.
Lu Zhe looked at the time, still early, planning to go to the lakeside to take a look around, as well as bring back the python to use as reserve rations over the next few days.
Shen Bing needed to lead everyone in building the nest, and was worried about Lu Zhe going out alone, so she asked Ning Shu to go with Lu Zhe.
This time the two entered the jungle from another direction, continuing to look for mosquito-repelling herbs and other cash crops along the way.
Midway, they encountered many more good things.
For example, Ning Shu discovered a birch tree!
The bark peeled off the trunk in layers like paper.
Ning Shu happily said: "I've seen Sister Sparrow's videos, she used these branches to drill holes and get fire, using the peeled bark as tinder and the inside as toilet paper, a better choice than bamboo leaves."
Lu Zhe looked it over: "Not bad indeed, though a little hard, what if it scratches your bottom?"
"It shouldn't if you're gentle enough..."
"Feel this!"
As he spoke, Lu Zhe handed Ning Shu a spindle-shaped leaf about 8 cm wide and 15 cm long.
Ning Shu rubbed it and asked: "The leaf is quite soft, what's it for?"
"This is an Indian mallow leaf, the size and shape varies across regions. Its papery leaves are covered with fine hairs, different from other hairs in that they don't fall off easily and are very soft and non-irritating.
Use it to wipe your bottom and it perfectly clears away any residual poop without hurting a girl's tender skin."
Ning Shu blushed: "Your ten thousand whys are a bit too specific!"
Just then, she discovered something new: "Look over there, the whole tree of red and white flowers looks quite nice!"
"Indeed! Let's go take a look!"
As they walked over, they realized the red parts were flowers, while the white clusters bursting out of the fruit husks looked more like cotton.
Lu Zhe put his hand on the tree bark, and a message sounded in his mind!
"Ding! Found important crop: kapok! Potential point +1!"
Information on kapok appeared in his mind!
Also called silk-cotton tree, found mostly in China and Southeast Asia.
The flowers are red, the melon-like fruit contains large amounts of cotton-like fluff that carries seeds and spreads them far away.
Ning Shu marveled: "I've just learned that cotton grows on trees!"
Lu Zhe happily said: "This is kapok. Not the same as regular cotton but can fully replace it. With this we can permanently end the era of sea sponges as sanitary pads! We can even make cotton cloth and quilts in the future. Wait and see, I’ll pick some to take back!"
As he spoke, Lu Zhe climbed up the tree and started plucking the fluff cluster by cluster.
Soon his backpack was stuffed full.
Looking out from the tree trunk, he realized there were six kapok trees in this stretch of jungle.
Even if used extravagantly to fully replace toilet paper, there would be enough.
Lu Zhe jumped down and continued forward!
Along the way, they discovered white snakeroot, wild ginger (snake-dispelling), chili peppers, fishmint, sweet orchid leaves and other plants, as well as a second lemon tree.
Regrettably no cassava, sugarcane, bananas, wild mangoes or other high-value plants were found.
Still not bad.
Walking further, they heard croaking!
Ning Shu excitedly said: "Frogs mean freshwater!"
"Not necessarily, could be marine frogs!"
"There's such a creature?"
"There is, Indonesia nearby is one of their native habitats."
Five minutes later, they arrived at the lakeside!
The shore was covered with deciduous trees and numerous waist-high bushes. Lu Zhe spent over ten minutes hacking an opening to crawl through!
The long anticipated lake was right before their eyes.
Gripping a small tree in one hand, he dipped the other hand in the water. A message immediately sounded in his mind:
"Ding! Gained new freshwater source, potential point +1!"
Only then did Lu Zhe breathe a sigh of relief!
Over the past month, he had obtained various freshwater sources through different channels, but none made him so excited!
A full 5 hectares!
Equivalent to two stadiums in size, it was actually a freshwater lake!
This meant whether in dry or rainy seasons, their freshwater issues on the volcanic island would be completely resolved!
"How is it? Lu Zhe!" Ning Shu asked.
"Freshwater!"
"How can you tell before tasting it?"
Lu Zhe licked it with his tongue: "Really, try it?"
Ning Shu also licked and excitedly hugged Lu Zhe: "Really! That's awesome, we have endless freshwater now!"
Lu Zhe nodded: "Moreover, the value of this lake is far more than that. There are still many usable resources to explore!"
"Too bad our phones are out of battery, or we could take some photos back. When to recharge them?"
"No rush for that. I don't recommend lemons. We'll make batteries from scratch in some days."
Ning Shu nodded: "Good idea!"
Lu Zhe checked his watch: "It's getting late. Let's go find the python to take back to camp!"
"I'll handle everything else, you just get that snake!"
"Got it. Careful, there are marshes over there!"
The two arrived at the marsh where the cow had fallen. Lu Zhe quickly pulled Ning Shu close so she wouldn't move.
Ning Shu didn't dare make a sound, scared stiff.
Was the python alive?
No!
It was dead as a doornail, even its head was gone.
They saw a three-meter crocodile biting the python's body with a section swallowed into its mouth. It suddenly thrashed violently in the marsh, spinning three and a half circles, trying to snap the python's neck.
But it failed!
The python had long lost any life force.
As the crocodile twisted, its body twisted along, completely refusing to snap no matter how much the crocodile spun.
Deep distress showed on Lu Zhe's face.
So much protein, digestion could really become an issue.