Chapter 304 Menstruation Cycle
“Okay, let’s call it a day, but can you take a look at our home first?” Gu Mingchen asked with a gentle grin.
Bai Rong paused when she heard him addressing the shack as their home.
She had always longed to have a place to consider her home. Therefore, she resonated and felt a heartwarming sensation when she heard his query.
He held her hand and showed her the way to their so-called home.
The entire shack was made out of bamboos, including its wall and its rooftop. The entrance was built facing the sea, with a ladder made out of bamboo leading up to the shack. He moved the stones to the bottom of the shack. Thus, they wouldn’t have to be worried about the downpour anymore.
“I’ll make the door using the remaining bamboos. Once the door is set up, we’ll be able to spend a night in a confined environment.” Gu Mingchen shared his flawless plan with Bai Rong.
“No! I’ll deal with the rest! You need to take a break for the rest of the day!” Bai Rong made herself clear in a domineering manner.
He couldn’t bear to have her deal with the heavy-duty tasks. Thus, he countered, “Why don’t we make do with a plank of wood tonight? I’ll get it installed tomorrow.”
She repeated herself and corrected him. “No! We’re not doing anything tomorrow! To be precise, we’re not doing anything until your hands recover!”
“Okay…” Gu Mingchen nodded. “I guess the mosquito will start swarming at us within a few weeks, but that won’t be an issue. I’m sure the shack will be ready within another few weeks.” He was head over heels in love with the woman by her side and didn’t want her to suffer the tiniest bit.
Bai Rong frowned and thought he was right because mosquitos would start showing up within another few weeks.
Perhaps she wouldn’t be around anymore by then. Since Gu Mingchen would have to survive by himself, she would have to do more while she had the chance to contribute.
“Let’s head over to the beach. It’s about time for dinner. Why don’t you head over and see if there’s any fish in the net after our meal?” Bai Rong suggested.
“That sounds like a great idea.” They returned to the beach and finished their meal. After they finished the entire pot of pork stew, Gu Mingchen returned to the sea.
She had to preserve as much fish as possible for Gu Mingchen. As long as he had a stable source of food, he would be able to make a sturdy bamboo raft and make his way back without others’ aid.
After she returned to her seat, she started weaving thin linens for herself. She managed to weave one every ten minutes.
When Gu Mingchen returned from the sea, he staggered his way back to the land. Bai Rong rushed over and asked concernedly, “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
He smiled and said, “How is that possible? However, it’s quite hectic for me to move these back to the shore.”
She craned over and saw the fishing net behind the man was full of all sorts of catch.
Gu Mingchen handed over the fishing net to her and instructed, “I want you to hold on to this.”
She held on to the opening of the fishing net while he returned to retrieve the heavy boulder from the fishing net. The fishes in the net wouldn’t stop convulsing.
Thrilled, she asked, “Do we have at least a hundred pounds of fish here?”
He nodded and said, “I guess we have more than a hundred pounds. Since it’s not much of a challenge, I’ll process the fish because you have other things to tend to.”
“No! Do you have any idea how infectious the viruses from the fish are? You have wounds on your hands! A renowned scientist passed on because he was infected while dealing with a fish! I’ll deal with the fish! You should think of the proper way to get rid of the remaining ribs. Why don’t you prepare another stew for our meal tomorrow?”
“It’s not half bad, but don’t think I can deal with another serving of stew after having it for three consecutive meals. Let’s head into the forest and get some greens tomorrow.”
“If that’s the case, can you please move the legs of the boar and remove the animal fat before rendering it into edible oils? I’ll cure the remaining food using salt and preserve it for another week.”
Gu Mingchen nodded. “Alright. I’ll get to it immediately.”
She felt a sense of relief and returned to finish the things she had started.
Halfway through her tasks, she noticed the knife was blunt after it was used to cut the bamboos over the past few days.
She grabbed a handful of sand and placed it on the stone to polish the knife before heading over to process the fish.
Actually, she couldn’t differentiate the different schools of fish because they were of similar sizes. Each of them weighed about a little less than a pound. However, there were a few with sizes extreme on both scales. Occasionally, she would come across a few rare species as well.
In order to speed up the process, Bai Rong removed the head and the organs of the fish. The only thing she kept behind apart from the meat was the maw.
It was a great supplement for a woman to nourish her body. After it was dried, it would become an all-natural health supplement in the wild.
It took her an hour to process the entire batch of fish. After she finished processing the fish, she brought one bucket of it to Gu Mingchen’s side.
Once he finished rendering oil out of animal fat about half an hour ago, he started weaving ropes. Looking at Bai Rong’s scrunched-up face, he explained, “I use my fingers instead of the palms to weave.”
She heaved a long sigh and took a seat by his side, piercing the fishes using ropes. “It’s getting late. What should we do with this? Are the beasts going to steal this away from us while we’re sleeping? We can’t allow our effort to be in vain! Should we move some stones over and keep it hidden under the stones?”
“Nah. Have you noticed our rooftop was made out of bamboos of different lengths? I deliberately altered the lengths so we can hang different things on it,” Gu Mingchen explained.
The woman responded with a proud grin because he had taken everything into consideration and sorted out everything beforehand.
“I think I can weave a basket using the ropes and the bamboos for us to store our food,” Bai Rong suggested.
The confused Gu Mingchen took over the thin linen and asked, “We can take it one step at a time because the last thing we’re running out is time. Speaking of which, what is this thin sheet you have woven? Don’t you think it’s too thin?”
She flushed and took over the linen he had with him. After she placed it on the leave, she took a peek at Gu Mingchen and noticed he seemed to be anticipating her reply.
In the end, she had no choice but to explain the thing she had made herself. “I-I think I’ll be having my menses soon… To prevent my blood from leaking, I have made this thin sheet that can be placed on top of the leaves. The ashes of charcoal can be used to absorb the moisture. Once it’s contaminated, I can easily get rid of it.”
Gu Mingchen cleared his throat after he figured out the purpose of the thin linen sheet. “You should stay away from the sea for the time being because it’s getting cold. I don’t mind at all.”
“I can’t stand not taking a shower a day,” Bai Rong countered.
“I’ll heat up the seawater in a bamboo and have you cleanse yourself using the warm water—” Gu Mingchen paused halfway through his speech. Shortly, he added, “I think I need to hurry up and finish setting up the shack. Once I’m done, you get to take a shower inside the shack. Otherwise, the breeze is too frigid.”
“I’m not that weak, okay? You don’t have to worry me because it’s not the time of the month yet. I think we have time until your hands recover.”
After giving it a thought, Gu Mingchen brought up another suggestion. “Why don’t you take a shower at the bottom of the shack? I’ll cover the side facing the sea using the parasol to keep the breeze away from you.”
She smiled and thought he cared about her more than she deserved. “That sounds like a great idea. Speaking of which, did you notice our little home over there is a double-story bungalow?”
The man chuckled in return and said, “I’ll go get another few leaves and collect the ashes of the charcoal for you. We need to get everything ready just in case it’s here sooner. You can teach me the proper way to weave it, and we can work on it together.”
Bai Rong flushed because she couldn’t believe Gu Mingchen, the almighty general, would offer to make a woman’s sanitary item with her.
“No!” She turned him down without a second thought.
Peering at her in the eyes, he warned her indifferently, “If you don’t stop turning me down, I’m going to be angry for real.”
She avoided his gaze and went dead silent at that score.
