The Five Women Bathing painting was indeed eye-catching, each with her own charm. Of course, in front of the outstanding Murong Yanran and Liu Zijun, Ruan Shanshan and Zhang Qianqian paled in comparison.
Li Haochen and the others only glanced, after all, they were family members of their brothers, and paying too much attention was not good.
The three divided their labor. Li Haochen went to gather firewood and dry grass for starting a fire, Chen He was to cut bamboo to make a bathroom, and the burly Liu Dehui naturally had to put in the effort to move stones back to build a stove.
The weather had been good recently, and there was plenty of dry firewood. Within half an hour, Li Haochen had tied several large bundles and carried them back. Chen He was also fast, cutting dozens of bamboo stalks.
As Chen He was inserting bamboo into the sand, Li Haochen walked to the inflatable boat and picked up a piece of five-colored cloth. Looking at the red, white, and blue in his hand, he couldn't help but laugh.
"It's so nostalgic."
"Third brother, are you okay? Why are you grinning at this red, white, and blue?"
"Yeah, you look just like..."
"In heat!"
In unison, Chen He and Liu Dehui looked at each other and burst into laughter.
"This cloth is a great contributor. That time I used it to deal with the Azure Dragon..."
"Hahaha, I didn't expect this cloth had such a history. You really are something, you should have called us to help earlier!"
"It's already passed..."
"Yes, it's all in the past."
"Alright, stop reminiscing about the past and get to work, or it'll be dark."
The bathroom was quite simple to build. They just needed to insert bamboo stalks into the sand to form a large circle with a diameter of 1.5 meters, then wrap it with the red, white, and blue cloth and tie it up.
The stove was even simpler. They just needed to stack stones according to the size of the pot. Care should be taken to seal the sides tightly, and a small back opening should be made for oxygen intake. The bottom of the stove should be dug a bit lower. In the wild, there was no need to be too elaborate.
Li Haochen took some dry grass and pine needles and placed them at the bottom, then put a few small dry pine branches on top. With a click of the lighter, white smoke drifted out within seconds, followed by an orange-red flame leaping up. The fire gradually grew stronger. After adding some thicker logs, it could be used once they were burning.
While Chen He was washing rice to cook porridge, Li Haochen had already set up a barbecue grill not far away. Building a barbecue grill was not as particular as a stove; they just needed to stack stones into a rectangle. Of course, the sealing had to be done well, otherwise, as it was grilling, the chicken wings would end up looking like they were sprinkled with crushed black pepper.
After building the grill, Li Haochen picked up the barbecue fork and walked into the sea, plunging it into the sand repeatedly. After a few tries, it was clean and shiny.
He returned and called Liu Dehui to burn charcoal, while Li Haochen began another project—a seawater desalination device.
Of course, it wasn't a high-tech product, but simply using distillation and cooling to obtain fresh water. He had learned this from a wilderness survival show; it was an ancient method of seawater desalination, and it was his first time using it. He wasn't sure if it would work. If not, they would have to take the inflatable boat back to the ship to transport water.
Li Haochen found a spot with a significant height difference at the top of the beach. He built another stove at the higher spot and prepared another titanium pot. He removed the handle from the pot lid, cut a bamboo stalk about the thickness of a pinky finger, and took the hollow middle part, sharpening one end into a cone.
The hole in the pot lid was too small. Li Haochen picked up a small knife, inserted it, and rotated it back and forth a few times to widen it. He took the bamboo stalk and compared it, finding it to be just right. He inserted the conical end of the bamboo into the hole and twisted it a few more times to tighten it. The other end was connected with a silicone hose.
"What should I use for condensation?"
Li Haochen looked around. When he saw the Styrofoam box that held the chicken wings and other food, his eyes lit up, and a smile crept onto his lips. "It'll be you, hahaha."
He placed the lid of the Styrofoam box on the ground to cushion the food, then carried the Styrofoam box back to the device. He poked two small holes in the front and back, just enough for the hose to pass through.
He straightened the hose, filled the box with sand, and then poured a large amount of seawater into it. This completed the condenser.
Li Haochen took two large red plastic buckets and placed them under the outlet to collect fresh water. He poured seven-tenths of seawater into the titanium pot, making sure not to fill it completely, otherwise, the pot would be damaged before the water came out.
He took two stones to press down the pot lid and brought a burning ember from the stove. In a short while, the fire blazed, and Li Haochen stood by the outlet at the bottom with great anticipation.
One minute, two minutes... After eight minutes, the seawater in the pot boiled, and steam rose continuously. After more than ten seconds...
"Drip, drip..."
Water droplets fell and hit the plastic bucket, making a pleasant tapping sound, one drop after another.
Upon seeing this, Li Haochen extended his finger, dipped it in a drop, and put it into his mouth. His taste buds could not detect any saltiness, and the water even carried a slight fragrance of bamboo. He cried out in delight, "Success, hahaha!"
"At this speed, it'll probably take us until tomorrow morning to get enough water to gargle."
Looking at the unhurried drip, Li Haochen felt a bit awkward. Indeed, at this speed, it would only yield about a bottle of Coca-Cola in half an hour. It was enough to wash one's face, but for a shower...
"Ahem, well, just let it run. It's better than nothing."
With this additional energy hog, Li Haochen had to go to the mountainside again to gather dry firewood. Soon, he carried back several large bundles.
After checking the water level in the pot and adding some more seawater and firewood, Li Haochen pushed the inflatable boat into the water.
Murong Yanran, who was having fun, saw this and walked over. "Where are you going in the boat?"
"Back to the ship to get fresh water, or you'll all turn into salted fish later, haha!"
"Didn't you rig up some kind of desalination device?"
"Hey, that thing is like a thief stealing a stone mill. The little water it produces is barely enough to gargle, haha!"
"Haochen, wait for me, I'm going back to the ship to shower too."
At this moment, Xie Baolian also came over, wrapped in a towel and carrying a bag of clothes.
"Mom, aren't you playing anymore?"
"No, do you think your mother is like those young girls? Hurry up, it's getting dark."
About half an hour later, the sky had begun to darken. When Li Haochen and Xie Baolian returned to the beach, Murong Yanran and the others were also wrapped in towels, huddling around the bonfire for warmth.
"The water is here, you guys go take your showers."
Li Haochen and Liu Dehui carried a large bucket of fresh water to the side of the makeshift bathroom and brought a large plastic bucket and a scoop to place beside it.
The few girls were pushing and shoving each other, but finally, the more straightforward Liu Zijun went first.
The water bucket was only sixty liters, enough for only two people. After Liu Zijun and Murong Yanran finished their showers, Li Haochen returned to the ship once again to get more water.
After the girls had showered, Li Haochen did not go back to fetch water again. With the seawater desalination device, although the speed was slow, it was enough for the few men to use after a few hours, as men don't use as much water as women when showering.
Not long after, the island began to fill with the tantalizing aroma of barbecue.
"Cheers!"
Gathered around the bonfire, a skewer of barbecue, a sip of fine wine, listening to the relaxed and joyful music from the Bluetooth speaker, gazing at the intoxicating starry sky, feeling the stirring sea breeze, accompanied by beautiful women, singing and drinking, what a life!