Around the bonfire, the women gathered together, most of them talking about their own affairs with Lorna, Jenny, and Li Shi.
Luo Jun did not participate in these conversations that fostered camaraderie.
He had just finished cleaning the toilet with the First Mate and was exhausted, so he sat down on a tree stump and lit a cigarette.
The Captain was now responsible for guarding the firearms, so he generally did not need to work and would not leave his guns. Seeing Luo Jun smoking a cigar and drooling a bit, the Captain took out the other half of the cigar he had smoked last time.
He gave it a good sniff, as it was precious since there would be no more after this one. So, he couldn't bear to finish it, and just took it out to smell it before taking out another regular cigarette to smoke.
Not only were those cigars extremely precious now, but they also only had five or six packs of regular cigarettes, which would not be enough to last them six months.
Of course, they now had no shortage of women either, as they had been living on the island for two months, and the Captain and First Mate both had their own steady companions.
Though they would part ways once they left the island, for now, no one would bring that up. After all, as long as they were human, they would feel empty and lonely.
Especially since they were stranded on this deserted island, they couldn't even think about the future, and were only temporarily together for the sake of mutual warmth.
This was a bit more noble than each just taking what they needed.
However, with the changing situation, of the original male survivors, only three remained, including Luo Jun, while there were now twenty-three women.
Within the next six months, they would not be able to endure the loneliness, and no one knew if they would even be able to escape in six months. Human nature is selfish.
The women have already quietly started grouping up, testing the men's attitudes.
They know that outwardly, they may no longer be able to become the official partners of the three men, but they can still secretly satisfy their desires if given the chance.
This is a very realistic problem.
If not discussed properly, the group will quickly descend into internal strife and various conflicts.
This is what Luo Jun is worried about.
Sitting under the tree stump and smoking his cigar, Luo Jun looked at the women occasionally glancing his way, and he understood that the issue of the women's physical emptiness would eventually need to be resolved.
He did not think he could handle so many women.
He couldn't help but turn his gaze to the First Mate.
The First Mate was much older than Luo Jun and not as physically fit.
Although he was an unkempt, middle-aged, greasy uncle, in the eyes of these women without men, he had become a rare delicacy.
Western women are not like Asian or other more conservative women - they are very open about their desires.
So over time, the women will become more proactive, and it would not be an exaggeration to describe them as fierce as tigers.
"First Mate, rest well, and don't make any promises to the women here, so as not to cause internal strife," Luo Jun said bluntly to the First Mate, who at first did not understand what Luo Jun meant, with a puzzled expression.
"What?"
"I mean, you shouldn't easily fall in love with any of the women here, and don't promise to love only one woman. In this vast forest, you should enjoy yourself."
Luo Jun exhaled a puff of smoke.
The First Mate first gave a helpless smile, then shook his head: "I can't do that hard work, and I won't make promises to any woman, so as not to incite them to scheme against each other."
"Anyway, tomorrow we need to start building safer wooden shelters to replace these five tents. Although they can shelter us from the wind and rain, any wild animal can easily tear them open and eat the people inside," Luo Jun said.
"Yes, and Jones said there are monster-like wild beasts on the island," the First Mate said with a worried look.
Luo Jun did not want to bring up that monster again, as it had not been seen recently, and he didn't know if it had been scared away by the guns or had gone somewhere else.
In any case, the thought of it instilled deep fear in his heart - not just fear, but a sense of awe towards the world.
"We have too few tools, and building the wooden shelters will take ten days to half a month to complete, given the large population. But our food can't keep being consumed like this, so you all need to ration the food as much as possible. I hope the rice and canned food can last us two months!"
Luo Jun said.
"Two months? I'm afraid that won't work, as we only have half a month's worth of provisions!" the First Mate, being the ship's purser, was well aware of how much food they had and how long it would last.
"We don't need to let them eat too full. The next two months will be the coldest on the island, and even if we want to hunt, we won't be able to. We'll have to wait until next spring for prey, and in the dead of winter, it's hard to catch fish along the coast, except for seabirds."
The First Mate nodded, knowing that in the coming two months, there would be no fish to catch, unless they went out to sea in a boat.
So this food is very important and must last them two months.
Furthermore, Luo Jun did not plan to train the young women during these two months.
After all, in this bitterly cold weather, training them would consume more of their limited calories, and with the food shortage, their nutrition would not be able to keep up.
"I'll go talk to the Captain about this!"
The First Mate got up and walked towards the Captain's tent.
This was clearly something they had not thought through as thoroughly as Luo Jun. Upon hearing the First Mate's words, the Captain's expression darkened, as he indeed had not considered this issue. Earlier today, he had even let everyone eat a bit more, since the work was so arduous.
Now, to have to make the rations last for two months instead of just half a month, this was no joke.
In the future, they would have to water down the porridge even more.
Hungry people are easily prone to emotional problems, and luckily, there were only women - if there were other men, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Furthermore, Luo Jun did not want the women to be too full, lest they think about matters between men and women all day.
This very realistic problem could lead to even bigger issues.
To avoid these unnecessary problems, Luo Jun decided to let them go hungry.
Of course, if they wanted to eat more, they could voluntarily participate in hunting, and the food brought back would be distributed by their own team.
This was the best solution.
If they didn't have some incentive, these people would not genuinely participate in the collective interest.
At this time, Lorna also heard Luo Jun's words and sat down next to him, reaching out to take the cigar from the corner of his mouth.
She also took a puff.
"Although you're not a politician, you're quite shrewd. Simple measures like this can control the psychology of the entire group," Lorna, being a politician herself, understood that Luo Jun's arrangements would influence the direction of the group.
"You flatter me. This is just basic group survival strategy. Otherwise, I'd have to use violence to make them submit, but violence can only suppress them temporarily, not in the long run. And I also need to maintain your image, don't I?" Luo Jun took back the cigarette from her red lips, a little irritated.