Day Eighty-Eight, Bustling with Activity (Part Two)

The midday heat was intense. After we finished eating, Brother Qian told everyone to rest for a while. After all, we’d all gotten up pretty early that day. And thanks to One-Thirty’s woven grass mats, we could spread them out in the shade and sleep on them. They were surprisingly comfortable.

When he saw me watching them, One-Thirty finally realized what he’d forgotten. He hurried over to where they’d stacked their belongings, pulled a grass mat from beneath the pile, and brought it over to me.

“Brother Luo, I’m sorry. I forgot to give you one. I’ve got a few more here, so you can use this one for now.” He handed it to me apologetically.

“Thanks, Brother Zhao.” Since he was being so sincere, I couldn’t bring myself to call him One-Thirty. I called him Brother Zhao instead—after all, his real name was Zhao Laoyao…

I’d caught up on sleep that morning, so I wasn’t particularly tired. The others were already snoring away, but I still couldn’t sleep. Lying beneath the shade of the trees was so comfortable that I had no intention of getting up.

With nothing else to do, I started thinking about the future again. I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to leave this place. I didn’t know why no one had come to rescue us. We’d been struggling through one day after another, with no idea when it would end…

As I was thinking, a shadow suddenly fell over us. No way. My heart lurched. Was it going to rain again?

I sat up and looked around. That was when I realized we were in serious trouble. Several thick, black clouds were drifting toward us in the distance. This completely threw off our plans. If it rained, all the salt we’d been drying would go to waste, and they wouldn’t be able to continue building their shelter.

I sprang to my feet and shouted, “Guys, it’s going to rain! Get up, quick!”

At the news, Brother Qian and the others scrambled off their mats and looked up. They all saw the approaching clouds. Without saying a word, everyone rushed to the treehouse and got to work.

“Finish the roof and walls first. Make sure they’re waterproof. Everything else can be done over the next few days. Let’s get those two things finished!” Brother Qian stood in front of the treehouse, directing the others while working alongside them.

The clouds were gathering fast. According to Brother Qian, once the rain started, it wouldn’t let up anytime soon. I agreed. The clouds were so thick, just like the ones before that downpour which lasted for days. We didn’t have much time.

I didn’t waste another moment. I rushed to the treehouse, grabbed the basin from the table inside, and headed for the shore. I hoped the salt I’d been drying over the past few days was already dry. Otherwise, once the rain came, all my work would be wasted. I couldn’t bear that. We were almost out of salt. They had brought some with them, but for some reason—perhaps because they’d boiled it in a stone pot—their salt had a strange taste. The salt I’d dried didn’t.

When I finally reached the shore, the rain still hadn’t started, but the sky had already grown much darker. We didn’t have much time. The rain could come pouring down at any moment. Whether Brother Qian and the others could finish the roof in time was no longer my concern. If they couldn’t, they’d just have to stay in my treehouse.

To my surprise, the seawater in the tide pool had already dried up. The bottom was covered with salt crystals, mixed with plenty of impurities—sand, little stones, leaves, and so on. The debris would be a nuisance, but I’d already thought of a brilliant solution: filtering. I also knew what I’d use to filter it. I just needed to sweep up all the crystals and bring them back as quickly as possible. If it kept raining over the next few days, I could filter the salt then. The sand would ruin the taste, after all, and one careless bite could chip a tooth.

As before, I grabbed a handful of dry grass and used it to sweep the salt crystals and sand into a pile. Then I quickly scooped them up and put them in the basin. I was moving as fast as I could, but it still took about twenty minutes.

By then, the sky was completely covered in clouds. It was as dark as night. The downpour was imminent, and raindrops larger than soybeans were already falling. To keep them from soaking the salt crystals, I had no choice but to hold the basin against my chest and shield it with all my strength. I ran for the treehouse as fast as I could. I lost count of how many times I stumbled, but luckily I never fell. All I wanted was to get back.

The rain was coming down hard now. No matter how tightly I guarded the basin, I couldn’t keep all the water out. The raindrops battered my body with a painful, stinging force. I could only endure it until I reached the treehouse and could finally relax.

I made it back at last. To my surprise, Brother Qian and the others were still working hard on the shelter. But through the sheets of rain, I could see that they’d only finished half the roof. Maybe they could have completed it if they’d had more time, but the sudden downpour had put an end to that possibility.

Once inside, I saw that the salt crystals I’d gathered had dissolved in the rainwater. Half of them were already gone. It was frustrating, but when I thought of my plan to filter them, I felt better.

I was soaked through, but after setting down the basin, I ran back outside. The others were still working. I couldn’t just stay inside the treehouse and hide from the rain. On my way out, I noticed that my shelter was already packed with firewood and the things they’d brought. It looked like they’d moved everything in ahead of time.

“How’s it going?” The rain was so heavy and noisy that I had to shout when I reached Brother Qian.

“Just a little longer! Once we finish the roof, we can leave the rest until the rain lets up!” Brother Qian shouted back.

“Should we stop for now? The rain’s so heavy. Can the guys keep this up?” I thought of how I’d once gotten a high fever and nearly died after doing nothing more than digging a drainage ditch. Ever since then, I’d been even more afraid of downpours.

“If we don’t finish the roof, the treehouse will be ruined! If too much rain gets in, it’ll take ages to dry, and it could go moldy or even rot. As long as we finish this now, the rain won’t get inside, and the treehouse will still be usable!” Seeing my doubts, Brother Qian explained in a rapid rush.

“All right. What can I do?”

“Brother Luo, go inside. If you can, make some hot porridge for everyone. Once we’ve finished the roof, we can warm ourselves up.”

“Okay, Brother Qian. I’ll do that.”

Since he’d put it that way, I didn’t say anything more. He was right: a bowl of hot porridge to ward off the cold was a good idea. Once they’d eaten, they could get some rest. We could leave the remaining work until tomorrow.