When Xu Zifan and Chen Zaimin returned, they saw some things at the feet of the four people. Yi Xiao didn't say anything, but the other three were excitedly discussing what they had seen on the way. They were very curious about the island, as if they were on an adventure.
Xu Zifan threw the firewood on the ground. The heavy thud of the bundle of firewood attracted everyone's attention.
Xu Zifan looked at the sky and said, "It's already half an hour later than we agreed on time. You didn't keep your promise."
The three of them looked rather grim. Xue Ninglu smiled and said, "Youngest, I'm sorry. We saw a few crabs in the cracks in the rocks and thought we could catch them for everyone's dinner. But we didn't expect the crabs to be so fast and hard to catch. We didn't notice the time and it got late."
Su Yanchen squatted down and poked at the five crabs that had been smashed to death, laughing as he said, "Look, we have something to eat now. It's a little little, but it's better than going hungry, right? Food is the most important thing for us."
Song Yunjian, who also returned late and didn't want to be scolded for being late during the broadcast, immediately chimed in, "I saw a coconut tree, but it was too tall and very difficult to climb. I climbed for a long time and finally managed to get three coconuts, so we won't be thirsty anymore."
Su Yanchen was pleased with his cooperation and was happy to play along. He deliberately pointed to the scratches on the back of his hand and asked in surprise, "So you got this from climbing a tree? Are you injured anywhere else? I think you should get the first-aid kit to treat it. Injuries in the wild can be serious or minor."
Song Yunjian touched his wound and smiled good-naturedly, saying, "It's nothing, just a minor scratch. Who doesn't get injured when surviving in the wild? Luckily, I brought a first-aid kit. I'll just disinfect it later."
By playing along, they covered up their breach of promise and made it seem as if they had made great sacrifices and worked very hard for the group.
They were all a newly formed small group, not very familiar with each other, and it wasn't a big deal. Logically, Xu Zifan should have said a few nice words to let things pass, and then everyone could continue doing what they were doing.
Xu Zifan's expression didn't improve at all; instead, it became even more serious. He frowned and asked, "You've been catching crabs for a long time and climbing coconut trees for a long time. So, you didn't spend the last hour and a half scouting the way? How far did you actually go? Was it more than 500 meters?"
The lively atmosphere had just cooled down, and the director was very excited. These were all potential climaxes! The audience would definitely love to see them arguing in an unfamiliar environment!
Yi Xiao, who had been silent all along, spoke up: "We walked about 300 meters, and there are coconut trees right over there when you turn the corner."
No one expected him to speak out so suddenly, and so honestly at that. Song Yunjian smiled awkwardly, trying to save face, "Yes, with coconuts we won't be thirsty. I'll go scout ahead later, and go a little further."
They'd already spoken, so Su Yanchen and his partner couldn't change the subject. Su Yanchen looked at Xu Zifan with a half-smile, "We've walked about 500 meters, haven't we? Junior Brother's too serious, like a little old man. That's not good. Even though we're here to survive, we should be more cheerful, not so serious."
Xue Ninglu chimed in, "Take it easy, little one. We still have time. Let's scout ahead some more. Actually, I think this place is great. It's quite big, enough to be a campsite."
Xu Zifan pointed out the obvious boundary line on the beach to them, "These are the marks left by the rising and falling tides. The tide rises very high here, and it would be dangerous for us to stay here. Moreover, the sea breeze is very strong. If a strong wind blows, we won't even have any shelter. The sound of the waves at night will be particularly noisy, and we won't be able to rest properly. So this place is not suitable for camping."
Maybe I'm being too serious. Since I know a lot about wilderness survival, I felt that since the production team said they wouldn't give us any help, and it was already 4:30 pm, time was very tight. We needed to deal with issues like accommodation, food, water, and mosquitoes, which would determine whether we could get a good rest tonight. Only with a good rest would we have the energy to continue tomorrow.
Furthermore, we must consider the possibility of rain. If it rains tonight, we'll definitely suffer if we don't have proper shelter, and might even catch a cold or fever. Since everyone agrees that we are a group, I hope we can work together as a team and try to have a happy and comfortable few days.
His words at this time were definitely not pleasing. He was the youngest and not a big shot, so he shouldn't be leading the team. Instead of tactfully and with high emotional intelligence, he "lectured" several people, which naturally gave people a very bad impression.
However, what he wanted was the contrast; the less people liked him in the early stages, the better, otherwise the effect wouldn't be enough. Moreover, the original owner had said some inappropriate things in the past due to low emotional intelligence. These were harmless but easily over-interpreted as impoliteness. This time, he wanted to establish a straightforward guy persona—someone who, despite low emotional intelligence, didn't lie.
Sometimes, being tactless or bad at speaking can become endearing when you're likable.
After hearing his words, Su Yanchen and Xue Ninglu's expressions turned sour. Song Yunjian, as the host, remained calm and was alright. Yi Xiao seemed thoughtful, then nodded and surprisingly spoke again: "I think you seem to have a lot of experience. So where do you think would be a good place to camp? Could you choose a place with fewer mosquitoes?"
Xu Zifan had Shao Hua scan the surrounding 500 meters, including all the areas their two groups had explored, but there was nothing suitable to set up a camp. He then picked up the firewood and said, "Come with me. We've explored about two kilometers and found a very open area that we can use as a temporary camp. It's too late to continue exploring today, so let's make do for now and look for a more suitable place tomorrow."
Xue Ninglu glanced at her watch. "It's only 4:30. It doesn't get dark here until 8:00, right? Should we go back to..."
"Do you see if there's any empty space?"
Xu Zifan immediately disagreed, "We still need to build a shed, gather food, and start a fire. It seems like none of us have any experience with these things, so it won't be quick. Besides, we don't usually do manual labor, so we'll get more and more tired and work slower and slower. It would be good if we could finish these things before dark. There's no time to do anything else. Let's hurry up and go."
Xu Zifan strode forward. Chen Zaimin understood Xu Zifan best; they had seen so many good things along the way but hadn't touched them. Moreover, he completely agreed with Xu Zifan's statement and said to the others, "Laoyao is the only one among us with experience. Let's listen to Laoyao. We just found wild fruits, wild vegetables, and coconut trees, so we won't go hungry. Let's build a campsite first and make the most of the time. If we still have time after building the campsite, we can explore the island later."
The youngest brother left, and the eldest brother had said so, so the other four naturally couldn't object. Yi Xiao was the first to follow, and Song Yunjian smiled like a good-natured person, asking Chen Zaimin to help carry the coconuts together.
Su Yanchen and Xue Ninglu seemed a little unhappy. They weren't afraid of being photographed, so wasn't it normal to be a little unhappy at this point? They weren't even familiar with each other, so why should they listen to a little kid's orders? Besides, their reaction wasn't excessive; they just fell silent and their smiles disappeared.
They could already foresee how the audience would criticize Xu Zifan after seeing this. Su Yanchen also had a group of brainless fans. At that time, he only needed to say a few ambiguous words to make the fans feel that he had been wronged, and to step on Xu Zifan to gain a wave of popularity.
Xu Zifan led the way and quickly arrived at the open space he had chosen. Although he said he would look for a more suitable place to set up camp the next day, Shao Hua had been scanning the area along the way, meaning that he had explored far more of the map than he had mentioned.
There's a huge area around here that's not more suitable. They might stay here for two or three days, so he said it was just to make do, but in reality, he had no intention of making do at all.
He placed the firewood in a dry spot, picked up a branch, and drew a large circle in the open space. "Let's build a shed here. It's a bit far from the sea, so it won't be noisy or too damp. There are trees around to block the wind, so it will be more comfortable to rest here."
Moreover, there's a road leading to the beach from here, not far, making it convenient for catching seafood. It's also not far from the other supplies I found, so staying here temporarily is fine.
Song Yunjian put down the coconut. After fussing around for almost two hours, he was already a little out of breath. "Youngest brother, you know how to build a tent, right? How do you plan to do it? Oh, I need to rest for a bit. I need to exercise when I get back. My body is really not as good as yours young people."
Xu Zifan nodded and said, "I can help, but I need to find our food for tonight. Everyone will be very hungry after we finish our work, and we can't be short of food. Let's divide the work now, and for safety, we'll work in pairs."
Those who think they can work and build the sheds should stay here to build the shed framework and guard the camp's belongings. Those who think they are good at finding things should go and find more hay or similar things, as well as sturdy vines and large leaves that can provide shelter from the rain. After doing these things, they should return to the camp to start a fire and work with another group to build sheds and set up resting places.
I'm going to gather herbs and wild fruits in the woods, and then go fishing for seafood in the sea. Who's good at this and wants to come with me?
Su Yanchen thought finding food was the easiest option; if they went around and came back saying they hadn't found anything, that would be the end of it. How tiring must their work be? Besides, he wanted to find an opportunity to embarrass Xu Zifan and make him look good. He immediately said, "I'm strong, I'll go with you!"
Chen Zaimin laughed and said, "Setting up the tent is tiring and requires strength, so I'll do it."
Yi Xiao said, "I'm afraid of the insects in the forest, so I'll stay and build a shed. I'm strong."
The rest of Song Yunjian and Xue Ninglu went to find hay, vines, and leaves. They felt this was relatively easy; if they couldn't find anything, they could simply say they couldn't find it. They were quite satisfied.
Xu Zifan then explained in detail to Chen Zaimin and Yi Xiao how to drive piles and build a frame, how to use vines to tie and connect the points, marked the ground for them, and then called everyone to start work.
Everyone was a little tired at this point, and Su Yanchen said, "Shall we cook the crabs I brought back first?"
Xu Zifan said, "You killed the crabs, and they're not in good condition after all this time. Seafood is better eaten fresh. Besides, starting a fire isn't easy. Let's look for supplies first, and we can eat after dark. But we can't set up a shelter and look for supplies after dark. What do you think?"
Chen Zaimin completely agreed, "I think that's right. Let's be patient for now. We ate something on the speedboat when we came here, so we're not that hungry now. Everyone, hurry up and come back quickly, and be careful."
Su Yanchen looked a bit upset. Wouldn't all his crabs have been wasted? He went to the beach with Xu Zifan, his face sour. Now that it was just the two of them, he was determined to teach Xu Zifan a lesson!