Ye Ju walked down the road in despair and was hit by a runaway car, falling into the river. When she woke up, she found herself on an isolated island, not large, about the size of a medium residential complex, less than a kilometer in diameter.
From her panicked exploration after waking up, she knew the island was about the same size as the residential complex she lived in. Her complex had six buildings and a garden downstairs. Although not very large, the garden was exquisite, with a small bridge, flowing water, a pond, lotus flowers, and koi.
The buildings in her complex were quite tall, thirty stories high. It was a rather upscale and exquisite complex, but compared to it, this place was invigorating. She could see the vast blue sea at a glance. She supposed it was the sea, Ye Ju thought, because only the sea made one feel so small, its horizon endless.
This island was strange, with a small mountain in the middle. Ye Ju was sitting on the small hill. She had thought her world was ending when she was betrayed by her first love and the husband she had been with for ten years, experiencing heartbreak beyond words. But now, it had subsided.
When she learned that he was still capable of loving someone else, her heart had shattered. Yet, at this moment, she found her salvation. There was nothing, no one, that could make her die again.
From the moment she fell into the river, Ye Ju considered herself reborn. Even if she were alone here, isolated from the world, she would live bravely.
Because the sea looked so vast, and the sky so high. Wasn't there a saying that the world was so big, one should go explore it?
Ye Ju sat alone on the hillside until her stomach growled, realizing she hadn't eaten for a long time. She didn't know how she got here, nor how much time had passed since she fell into the river.
From the sun high in the sky to it slanting towards the west, it was almost dark. Ye Ju suddenly realized she needed to find food and firewood quickly. Fortunately, she had experience with camping and knew how to start a fire from growing up in the countryside. Fire was the most crucial element for survival in the wild. As for food, Ye Ju thought she'd walk along the beach, see if she could find any shellfish or crabs.
She had walked along the coast of this small island when she woke up, only missing the eastern area of the hillside. Standing on the mountaintop, Ye Ju saw some woods on the other side of the island. She didn't know if there were dangers inside, but they were pine woods and some bushes. As Ye Ju descended the hill, she picked up a wooden stick and decided to explore the eastern area, looking for fresh water.
The sun was about to set. Looking at the sunset, she estimated she had about one or two hours before it became completely dark, so she had to hurry. This island was about the same size as her residential complex, probably taking half an hour to walk around.
The eastern area was uneven, not very flat, with some forming small depressions and basins. Ye Ju was swatting at the grass to scare away snakes, as she was most afraid of them. While doing so, she collected dry branches and searched for fine fluff to start a fire.
Fortunately, she found some on some dry branches. Scraping it off with stones, she got a small tuft. The fluff didn't have to be from a specific plant; as long as it was dry and the fluffy surface could be scraped off into fibrous material, it was good for starting fires. Ye Ju grew up in the countryside, and these life skills were like instincts within her.
In a depression, she found water. Seeing bubbles at the bottom, Ye Ju assumed it was freshwater. Water bubbling up from underground was usually a spring, but she dared not drink it directly. Ye Ju dug the depression wider with the wooden stick, creating a water pool about a meter wide to collect water, and then dug a small ditch at a lower point for it to flow. In a short while, the water became clear to the bottom, further confirming it was a mountain spring.
Looking at the sky, she decided not to go further east. She turned back to see if she could find some small food by the sea. Without any containers to carry water, it was inconvenient, so she hurried back to the beach.
Upon returning to the beach, she was very lucky. She found two large crabs and a few shrimp in the crevices of the rocks, likely washed in by the waves. The crabs and shrimp were sluggish but definitely alive and edible. She stunned the crabs and wrapped them and the shrimp in leaves, weighing them down with stones.
Seeing that the sun had already set halfway, she quickly looked for hard stones. Having grown up in the countryside, she knew that hitting two hard stones together would create sparks, and she intended to use these sparks to ignite the fluff. Ye Ju found two hard stones without looking closely, just feeling they were suitable for striking a fire. After about ten minutes of vigorous friction and striking, a spark flew onto the fluff and it began to smoke.
The sea breeze was quite strong, so Ye Ju hid behind large rocks that enclosed her on three sides. She carefully blew on the small flame, as if cherishing the most precious thing in the world. The fire was lit. She carefully added dry leaves and branches to make the fire bigger. Watching the flames leap up, Ye Ju was very happy, feeling that being stranded on this isolated island was not so unlucky after all. Today had been quite fortunate. She found a thin stone slab and carefully built a stone rack next to the fire pit, preparing to grill the crabs on the stone slab. Heh heh, it didn't have the texture of teppanyaki, but a stone slab was good too.
There were still some remnants of the sunset on the horizon. She wanted to go back to the woods to find more firewood. She didn't know what dangers lurked here, but even if there were wild beasts, animals were afraid of fire. She also needed to find some large leaves, as large leaves had many uses; she'd learn from the "Indian Aces." Then, she'd bring back some freshwater. She moved several loads of firewood and piled them up on the side without rocks to act as a windbreak. With an opening left, the air circulation was better.
She picked many large leaves. She didn't know what kind of tree these leaves were from, but they were as large as lotus leaves. A few layers could cover a sleeping area. She spread a thick layer. Then, she threw in some large firewood, ready for the stone-slab grilled crabs and shrimp later.
While it was still light enough to see, Ye Ju ran to the woods again and discovered some wild vines. She could weave them into a bowl-like shape and then line it with large leaves. Well, a basket for carrying water was formed. Heh heh, Ye Ju couldn't help but giggle at the finished product.
Her grandmother's basket-weaving skills, learned when she was young, were still with her. Her grandmother was the person who had been with her the longest in this world. Her parents had died in an accident when she was eighteen. Her grandmother had passed away last year, peacefully. She felt a bit fortunate at this moment. If her grandmother were still alive, she didn't know how sad she would be knowing she was missing. She suddenly felt at peace. After all, he had stayed by her side when her grandmother passed away; she should be grateful for that alone.
As a woman of the new era, she knew how to let go and move on. There were men aplenty on the streets, or rather, well, there were none on this isolated island.
After a while, the crabs and shrimp had turned red, presumably cooked. She carefully used a wooden stick to pick them up onto the washed leaves. Then, she carefully placed the basket holding water onto the embers to heat. She had deliberately put a large log on the fire earlier, hoping to get some embers.
Ye Ju didn't know the principle behind it, but she knew it wouldn't break before the water boiled. It was completely dark now, and the water had boiled. After eating the crabs and shrimp, she felt warm all over, incredibly fresh and sweet, more delicious than any crab or shrimp she had eaten before. She picked up another small vine bowl and drank a bowl of water. It was sweet and refreshing, like the feeling after a sauna.
Ye Ju didn't pay much attention, thinking that this isolated island was free from pollution, hence the food and water were exceptionally good.