Day 87: The Plan (Part I)

"Dinner is ready!" Brother Qian's voice called out.

The three of them must have been starving. Hearing the call, they all sprang to their feet instantly, only to realize I was still seated, which made them somewhat awkward. However, I was merely a bit slow to react, as my stomach had also been rumbling for a while.

Upon entering the treehouse, the three of them were struck dumb with astonishment once more, their hands even trembling as they lifted their rice bowls. I understood their surprise all too well, having anticipated this exact reaction from the very beginning.

"Eat up, everyone. These were all prepared for you by Brother Luo. He risked his life to salvage them from a wrecked ship—too bad the storm carried that ship away now..." Brother Qian briefly explained the origin of the supplies.

Once enlightened, the three of them turned their gazes back to me, filled with gratitude. To me, these foods were indeed precious, but with so many people working together, would we ever truly lack for food? The resources on this island were quite abundant. Yet to them, these were not merely sustenance; they were the taste of home. For months, they had believed they would never taste such food again.

Yet now, it appeared so vividly before them, stirring up the deep-seated yearning for home and the lingering ties to civilized society that everyone had tried so hard to conceal. Just as I took a sip, I heard Ye Qingchen's muffled sobbing, and even Zhao Laoyao and Ying Yuefeng's eyes grew red. I even caught Ying Yuefeng stealthily wiping away a tear.

The slurping sounds of porridge rose one after another. Everyone stopped talking, ignoring even the hearty seafood stew in the pot, and simply focused on the bland, watery rice porridge in their bowls. Seeing them like this, my own heart began to stir, but I ultimately managed to suppress the feeling. It wasn't that I didn't want to feel, but dwelling on it was utterly useless and would only bring more heartache. After all, when I first tasted rice again, my reaction had been identical to theirs.

Though each person had only a tiny bowl of porridge, they all nursed it for a long time. The less porridge remained in the bowls, the slower they drank. It took about twenty minutes before everyone finally finished.

"Thank you, Brother Luo. If not for this bowl of porridge, I almost would have forgotten the taste of home," Brother Qian looked at me sincerely.

"Thank you, Brother Luo!" That was Ye Qingchen's voice. From his raised face, I saw reddened eyes and tear tracks, followed closely by Zhao Laoyao and Ying Yuefeng, who also expressed their thanks, while even Midakang gave me a nod.

"No need to be so formal, everyone. Since you've chosen to come here, we're all family from now on. I hope you won't treat me as an outsider. There are likely only a few of us left on this island, and only through our joint efforts can we have a chance of leaving this place."

"You are too modest, Brother Luo. From now on, you call the shots here. After all, you know this place better than we do. For us, escaping that dangerous place is already our greatest hope," Brother Qian said, his expression quite earnest.

I couldn't tell whether he was testing me or speaking from the heart. Having just joined them, I didn't want to usurp the host's role. Besides, the fact that Brother Qian had led these people for so long without generating any resentment showed that he excelled in this area. I could see that even someone as arrogant and aloof as Midakang obeyed Brother Qian implicitly, which proved his exceptional management and coordination skills.

Although I had brought them these unexpected provisions, I was still a newcomer and must not try to snatch Brother Qian's position at this moment. Doing so would bring me no benefit and would only provoke resentment from the others.

"Brother Qian, there's no need for that. As you know, I've always been used to acting alone. Please don't say things like that—I don't have the capacity for such a role..." I quickly replied.

"Indeed, Brother Qian, it doesn't matter. We're already used to your arrangements. Of course, if Brother Luo has any directives, we will follow them as well," Ye Qingchen chimed in smoothly.

I greatly admired this response. It reaffirmed Brother Qian's leadership without offending me, while also indicating a willingness to follow my directions. It was practically airtight.

Aside from Midakang, the others chimed in to echo Ye Qingchen's sentiment, expressing the exact same view.

Seeing that everyone agreed this was the most viable approach, Brother Qian did not press the matter further. Without dwelling on it, he began urging everyone to dig into the seafood stew. The pot was packed with shells, sea fish, shrimp, small octopuses, kelp, and crabs... The broth was sparse, leaving the pot brimming almost entirely with solid ingredients.

"Huh?" Ye Qingchen took a sip of the broth and paused in confusion. The others thought something was wrong and stopped to look at him.

"What is it?" Brother Qian asked.

"Brother Qian, isn't the salt in this soup the kind we boil ourselves? How come I don't taste any strange aftertaste?" Ye Qingchen asked quizzically.

"Ah, this salt belongs to Brother Luo. He also got it from the ship, but there's only this little left..." Brother Qian picked up the salt bag from the side and shook it in front of Ye Qingchen.

"Sigh, what a pity. Although the salt we boil isn't in short supply, it still has a bit of a weird taste compared to this," Ye Qingchen sighed regretfully as he looked at the nearly empty salt bag.

"You used to boil your own salt? How much can you make at a time?"

"Not much. Boiling for three days only yields enough for a little over twenty days, and the process is far from easy," Ye Qingchen sighed.

"Let's put that aside for now and eat quickly. We still have work to do afterwards. Even though we definitely won't finish building the houses today, we can at least get the materials ready. Do you really want to keep crowding into Brother Luo's place?" Brother Qian proved himself worthy of being a leader. With those words, everyone stopped chatting and began devouring their food in large mouthfuls.

After the meal, they donned the straw hats Zhao Laoyao had made and picked up their tools, ready to head out and chop trees. I had previously reminded them that smaller trees were only abundant in the forest further away, as the ones nearby had mostly been cleared by me.

However, before they set off, I pulled Ying Yuefeng aside and led him to my vegetable plot, while the others curiously tagged along.

"This is... Potatoes!" True to his professional background, the moment Ying Yuefeng walked over, he spotted the potatoes I had planted and cried out in astonishment!

"Brother Luo, you actually grew potatoes here?" Brother Qian was also hard-pressed to believe his eyes. The surprises I brought them were simply too numerous!

"Garlic!" That was Ye Qingchen's voice!

I watched as Ying Yuefeng crouched down beside the plants grown from the drift bottle seeds, flipped over the leaves, and shouted loudly, "Chilies! Good heavens, where on earth did you get these seeds?"

When I told them I had acquired them from a drift bottle, they were utterly flabbergasted. Upon laying eyes on them, Ying Yuefeng was utterly captivated and immediately declared that he wanted to take charge of this area, asking to be entrusted with the management of the vegetable garden. Naturally, that was a request I was more than happy to grant.