Li Haochen followed the traces of birds and set several traps. He was actually recalling his childhood memories, not doing it deliberately. Of course, if there were no catches, it would be fine, but if there were…
It was arduous climbing in the woods in such muggy weather, with his body soaked and sticky, not to mention being bitten by many mosquitoes and insects.
Fortunately, he found a pepper tree on a slope and picked many branches. He gathered some dry firewood and made a torch. The smoke from burning it was very effective at driving away mosquitoes and insects, and the smell was quite pleasant.
After walking for about an hour, he suddenly heard the sound of flowing water nearby. Li Haochen was overjoyed and ran towards the sound. A few minutes later, he found a small mountain stream with gurgling water at a lower elevation on the south side. In the middle was a pool of water about four to five square meters. The water was clear and transparent, and the bottom was entirely covered with smooth stones.
This discovery delighted Li Haochen. He was sticky all over and hadn't bathed the previous night, which made him very uncomfortable.
He plunged in, and the icy stream water made Li Haochen exceptionally comfortable. The discomfort vanished, replaced by a cool and refreshing feeling.
Li Haochen only soaked himself and did not drink. Bear Grylls had taught him that in the wild, even seemingly safe running water should not be consumed casually; it must be boiled before it could be safely used. Besides, Li Haochen didn't need it. He had plenty of coconuts from his space; he just needed to drink a couple if he was thirsty.
"Ah, so comfortable."
After soaking for a while longer, Li Haochen stood up and looked ahead. The highest peak was not far away. He decided to descend after reaching the summit.
As he turned, he was attracted by a fruit tree growing in a crevice of a distant rock. Li Haochen had been completely captivated by the stream water earlier and hadn't paid attention to his surroundings.
Seeing the bright red fruits hanging on the tree, Li Haochen's mouth watered, "Hahaha, I didn't expect to find a Wenhao tree here."
Wenhao tree was a local dialect. Li Haochen didn't actually know the scientific name. It was a type of fig, more accurately called a large fig tree.
It began to bear fruit in March and April, ripening in the autumn. October was the season when it tasted the best. The fruits grew in clusters, similar to regular figs, all along the trunk. They were about the size of a child's fist. Ripe ones were reddish-brown and incredibly sweet.
When peeled open, the flesh was pinkish, with a white syrup in the center. It was delicious.
Li Haochen eagerly picked one, peeled it open, and the syrup flowed out, filling the air with a fruity aroma. He sucked the syrup clean, then took a bite of the pulp. It was sweet but not cloying, and melted in his mouth.
Li Haochen ate several consecutively, his hunger completely satisfied, leaving him feeling very content.
Seeing that there were still many fruits on the tree, Li Haochen did not let them go to waste and harvested them all. The surrounding trees formed a dense canopy, allowing him to enter and exit his space with peace of mind.
Li Haochen took a plastic bucket from his space and washed it clean in the stream. He then lined the bucket with several large leaves from the fig tree and placed the figs inside one by one, filling the bucket.
He placed the bucket under the shade of the coconut trees in his space and continued climbing. Along the way, he encountered many familiar wild fruits, reaping a bountiful harvest.
The sugar content in the figs was very high, and Li Haochen, energized, climbed much faster. After about half an hour, Li Haochen finally reached the summit. The top was a large, relatively flat rock. The surroundings were open and steep. Even though Li Haochen was not afraid of heights, standing on it and looking down at the mountain foot hundreds of meters below made his legs feel a bit wobbly.
He took a deep breath, gathered his energy from his dantian, and then through his lungs and throat, finally roaring it out from his mouth, "Aah…!"
The sound echoed through the heavens, soaring into the clouds. At that moment, Li Haochen felt an surge of emotion, as if he were standing at the pinnacle of the world.
"This feeling is truly astonishing. Even this peak of only a few hundred meters is like this. I can't imagine what it would feel like to stand at thousands of meters, or even at the highest peak on Earth."
Composing himself, he retraced his steps. Unexpectedly, on the mountainside, he encountered several Lingnan mangosteen trees laden with golden mangosteen fruits, making his mouth water just looking at them.
These mangosteens were good for quenching thirst and promoting saliva production, aiding digestion and resolving food accumulation. However, eating too many could harm the teeth. Pickling them into dried mangosteens yielded even better results.
He broke off a twig about the size of a coin and climbed the mangosteen tree to tap it. The ripe fruits easily detached and fell to the ground with a crackling sound under the impact of the branch.
Seeing that he had gathered enough, Li Haochen climbed down. He piled the fallen mangosteens together. Since he had nothing to carry them in, he took off his jacket, wrapped them up, and took them into the shade of the large coconut trees in his space.
He put on his clothes, picked a coconut, peeled it, drank the coconut water, and then exited his space. Looking at a few young mangosteen saplings nearby, Li Haochen wanted to dig them up, but he had no shovel, so he had to leave them for next time.
He circled back to his traps. Without exception, none of them had any catches. He had to dismantle them all and quickly descended the mountain.
The descent was much faster than the ascent. In less than an hour, he returned to the beach.
The tide was just beginning to recede, and the water was still quite deep. Li Haochen gathered his tools and headed towards the reef area.
The resources on Dunhuang Island were extremely abundant, with all sorts of sea snails crawling on the reefs, no doubt because no one had visited for a long time. Li Haochen worked with both hands, keeping himself busy.
In less than an hour, he had a full net bag. Fortunately, there were several large rocks that formed a secluded area. He threw the net bag of sea snails into the sea within his space and continued his work.
Half an hour later, he had another full net bag. After exploring the northern area, he returned to the southern reef area, which gave him a big surprise.
Dozens of abalones were nestled at the bottom of a pool. Although they were not large, only about the size of eggs, this was like finding a golden goose. His face broke into a smile. After he had explored the entire southern reef area, Li Haochen's pleased expression never wavered, because in addition to abalones, he had also found several large whelks.
These were valuable goods, prized items, weighing over a pound each, and priced no less than 150. They had both market value and demand.
After exploring both sides of the reefs, the tide had receded considerably. Li Haochen put on his water shoes and carefully walked into the unexplored waters.
Laughter frequently erupted, indicating the magnitude of his harvest. There were various scallops, spotted conches, and he even found several large whelks. These also sold for thirty to forty yuan per pound, though they were not as popular. Nevertheless, Li Haochen was very happy to find a new variety.
Two to three hours later, Li Haochen returned to the cave with his full haul. There was a large net bag of scallops and sea snails, as well as over a dozen stone fish. He had also caught several local spiny lobsters.
He placed all his catches into his space. Then, he took one last look at the island, felt no more attachment, launched his boat, started the engine, and headed back to his ship.