They were eating, chatting, and working. Before they knew it, it was already 11:15 at night.
Jasper Milton finally finished making the ladder.
Stella Grace glanced at the direction of the bed. It was dark inside and seemed to be bottomless, as if it was filled with some kind of unknown power.
“It’s very dark,” Stella said worriedly.
“Don’t worry.” Jasper sprinkled some lard onto the rope woven by Stella, tied it to the wooden stick, and ignited a spark on it.
A torch was produced just like that.
He walked ahead with a ladder on his shoulder while holding a kitchen knife in his other hand.
Stella held the torch in one hand and went back to their bed with their umbrellas in her other hand.
Jasper had already forged out a road for them. It was one meter wide and ten meters long. The ground was free of debris and overgrown vegetation.
Firstly, if they came across any wild beasts, they would be able to climb to the bed in one swift motion.
Secondly, they had a clear view of the ocean. If there was a boat passing by, they could see it.
Lastly, this was to prevent the whole place from catching fire from the torch.
When they got to the bed, Jasper tried sitting on the chair. It felt really solid.
He fixed the umbrella on the side and looked at the pork on the bed. He was really not used to sleeping with slabs of meat on the same bed.
“Stella, we have to go back to the beach and hide our pork under the stone house,” Jasper said.
“I agree. Not only that, I think we should move some stones here and make a fire here. Otherwise it’d be hard to hold this torch in a stable position throughout the whole night. I don’t think this torch will last the whole night, either. I’m scared of the dark,” she said apologetically.
“Okay. Let’s go,” Jasper said.
He brought the pork down.
They returned to the seaside. It was a good thing that Stella had moved so many stones over earlier, so making a stone house went quicker than usual.
They carried a lot of stones back to the bed and circled the stones around. Fortunately, there was enough bamboo, so they lit the fire again and lay on the bed. It was already one o’clock in the morning when they were done.
But Stella still couldn’t fall asleep.
She heard the sizzling sound of fire burning and the insects buzzing. When she opened her eyes, she saw darkness around her.
This entire time, she felt as if something was staring at them in the dark.
She was sleepy and worried. She even got up and reignited the fire five to six times. She didn’t fall asleep until the sky was slightly bright.
She didn’t know how long had passed, but when she finally woke up, she saw that Jasper was not by her side, and she suddenly panicked and ran toward the beach while shouting, “Jasper, Jasper, where are you? Jasper?”
She ran to the beach and smelled a unique fragrance. Jasper had raised the stones, and the pork and bamboo shoots were boiling in the pot.
Next to the stone house, there were twenty-four bamboos sticks, as well as tree bark and leaves with lots of cellulose in them.
But there was no trace of Jasper.
“Jasper!” Stella shouted. She looked around and still did not hear Jasper’s voice.
She ran towards the bamboo forest that she had been to yesterday. From afar, she saw Jasper carrying bamboo on his shoulders.
She immediately ran over.
Jasper was already sweating, but his tone was gentle. “Are you awake? Next time, if you don’t see me when you wake up, you should still stay on the tree. It’s too dangerous to be alone below the tree.”
“Why didn’t you wake me up? You must have been busy all morning, haven’t you?” Stella looked at Jasper in distress.
Jasper put two pieces of bark on his shoulders to reduce the friction between his shoulders and the bamboo.
This man was very smart, and his ability to adapt to the wild was incredible.
“You didn’t sleep at all last night, did you? I couldn’t bear to wake you up. Today, I am planning to use all this bamboo to seal up the place we are sleeping at, so that you won’t be afraid anymore.” Jasper looked at her tenderly and said with a smile.
That smile was so beautiful that she didn’t dare to look at it. She was afraid that she would regret dying if she kept staring at it.
She lowered her eyes and said, “Thank you.”
“You’re my woman. It’s my duty to take care of you,” Jasper said naturally.
Stella looked at him and said, “I’ll carry two for you.”
“No, you need to make a lot of ropes later and deal with the pork from yesterday. You have a lot of work to do too.” Jasper didn’t want her to work too hard.
They returned to the stone house.
Jasper cut a bamboo stick into two halves and carried it to the makeshift bed. After briefly comparing the size of the stick with the bed, he went back down with an umbrella in hand.
Stella cut a section of the bamboo and cut it into two halves, making a simple bowl. She scooped in some of the pork and bamboo shoots and set it aside to cool.
Jasper held the parasol and said, “I’ve compared them. Our wooden bed is about 1. 6 meters wide, and the diameter of the thicker end is about 16 centimeters, while the diameter of the thinner end is about 10 centimeters. So, we’ll use 11 thick bamboo sticks for the width of the bed whereas we will use 19 thin bamboo sticks for the length of the bed which is 1. 8 meters long.”
“There are thirty sticks of bamboo here, and they are all 10 meters long. We can even chop them apart for future usage. Have you cut too many bamboos?” Stella couldn’t comprehend all of his actions.
“We should stay in a fixed place. We should build a house on the beach so that we can put our ingredients here, or it could be another place where we rest at too. This way, we don’t have to be worried about the rain.” Jasper explained.
Stella nodded and thought, “It is always good to prepare for the future.”
She handed the bowl to Jasper.
He accepted it wordlessly,
She also started to eat.
The wild boar tasted very natural. It had not consumed any hormone-infested food growing up. The bamboo shoots were also not tainted with growth hormones and pesticides, so they were very delicious.
Jasper must have come out early in the morning to stew these. It was already 12:15 in the afternoon now, and the pork was very soft and tender, the point where it melted in her mouth.
“It’s delicious.” Stella couldn’t help but sigh.
Jasper smiled dotingly. “Eat more if you like it. You’re too thin.”
“I haven’t become fat over the past 27 years. If I were to become fat on the island, I would be laughed at.” Stella teased herself.
“This place is rich in natural resources, rich in seafood, and rich in wild animals. Everything’s natural here. No one is competing for these resources, so we will probably get fat.”
“Oh, don’t dislike me when I get fatter, then,” she joked along with him.
“Your importance to me is directly proportional to your weight.” Jasper said seriously.
Stella smiled and said, “Doesn’t it mean that I only hold a little space in your heart right now?”
“It just shows that there is still lots of space for you to grow.”
“Oh.” Stella responded and lowered her head to eat the wild pork stewed bamboo shoots.
Jasper heard her tone of disappointment and guessed that he must have gone over the line. He asked cautiously, “Are you angry?”
Stella shook her head. “No, I want to eat as much as possible. Don’t stop me from getting fatter.”
Jasper smiled and said, “Don’t worry. Even if you don’t increase your weight, your position in my heart isn’t exactly low anyway.”
She knew it, so she took the bowl in his hand, scooped another portion into it, and handed it back to him. “You’re not that heavy in my heart yet. Eat more, dear.”
Looking at her bright face, Jasper’s heart skipped a beat. His eyes were shrouded in tender love. He lowered his head and kissed her on the lips. His voice was a little hoarse. “I’ve already kissed you. What do you want me to do next?”