Besides modern manufactured water containers, one can actually find many natural water vessels in the wild.
As long as one’s mind is quick, ready-made containers are everywhere.
However, after seeing Wei Heng’s bamboo tube, everyone could only think of finding bamboo. Yet bamboo groves weren’t found everywhere, and jungle terrain was equally complex with thousands of plant species, meaning a certain plant might only grow densely in a specific location.
“Trees?” Big Mac asked in confusion. “How do you use a tree trunk?”
Zhou Youlan, on the other hand, had already figured out an idea.
“That’s right!” Reminded by him, Zhang Tongtong chimed in, “Just cut a section of tree trunk, a relatively thick one, and hollow out the middle. Wouldn’t it double as a water bottle after some polishing?”
In the wilderness, as long as it was usable, there was no way to be overly meticulous about perfection.
What Wei Heng suggested was indeed a feasible method for now, though the process would be somewhat more complex and troublesome.
“Right, right, right! This method is great. I’ll go tell everyone about it.”
Consequently, the live broadcast rooms of the entire production team turned into a scene of guests carving out tree hearts.
Those without cutting tools looked for stones with sharp edges, chipping away at the center bit by bit to carve out a concave hole in the middle of the wood.
Since Zhou Youlan had a machete, he first helped everyone chop the tree trunks down to size, mostly about the length of a forearm, which made them convenient to handle.
Lacking knives and physical strength, the girls could only chip away using sharp stones, but after half a day passed, there was still no effective progress.
“Let me help you with that. You girls don’t have much strength.”
Wang Chunqin took the piece of wood from Lin Yue’s hands. He had managed to pick up a very sharp stone, but after digging and chipping several times, he still hadn’t produced a visible hole.
Actually, he hadn’t even finished his own; he simply wanted to wait until Zhou Youlan finished cutting the wood for his group and then borrow a machete from him to use afterward.
However, seeing how hard the female celebrities were struggling, he wanted to step in and score some brownie points in front of the camera, as doing so would boost his popularity with the female guests.
With several girls staring at his actions, Wang Chunqin tried even harder, but chipping wood with a stone was indeed far from ideal. Without a day or two of effort, it was nearly impossible to grind out a genuinely usable container, especially since he lacked prior experience.
Working up a heavy sweat, Wang Chunqin had only managed to chisel out a tiny indentation.
Wiping away his sweat, he forced a smile. “Haha, it’s fine. We’re only just starting, so we’ll definitely get it done.”
Seeing how hard he was working and noticing that blisters were practically forming on his hands, Lin Yue awkwardly took her wood back. “I’ll just do it myself. You haven’t even finished your own yet, so work on that first.”
Wang Chunqin originally wanted to keep pushing, but he accidentally pressed against the two large water blisters on his palm, sending a sharp wave of pain through his hand.
The few of them squeezed out awkward smiles and silently took back their own pieces of wood. “We’ll just do it ourselves. Thanks anyway, Brother Qin.”
These were items meant for personal use, and everyone was supposed to be self-sufficient. Even if someone else was capable, nobody felt comfortable troubling others, especially since Wang Chunqin didn’t seem particularly skilled either.
“I’m going to see if Brother Zhou has finished dividing up the wood. I’ll borrow his machete, having a blade makes things much simpler.”
Hearing Wang Chunqin mention using a knife, Ruan Mengmeng suddenly remembered something.
Turning around, she saw Wei Heng resting with his arms crossed against a tree, his eyes fixed intently on Zhou Youlan over there as if lost in thought.
She stood up and walked over. “Brother Wei.”
Wei Heng raised his eyes, and Ruan Mengmeng offered a sweet smile. “Brother Wei, I remember you brought a knife with you. Could you please lend it to me for a moment?”
Without hesitation, Wei Heng pulled the dagger from his leg sheath and handed it to her.
“Thank you, Brother Wei!”
Ruan Mengmeng sat down nearby. Having a knife made things much smoother, but due to her weak grip strength, she could only carve bit by bit even with the blade, and she accidentally ended up scratching her hand.
“Sss ah!” Smarting from the pain, Ruan Mengmeng dropped the knife and wood, clutching her bleeding finger.
“What’s wrong?” Lin Yue hurried over. Seeing her finger bleeding, she quickly pulled out the first-aid kit and wrapped the remaining gauze around it.
“Good thing it didn’t hit the bone, just broke the skin.”
Lin Yue said, “Never mind, stop doing it. I’ll help you.”
“Sister Lin Yue, you haven’t even done your own yet. It’s fine, I’ll do it myself.”
Ruan Mengmeng picked the wood back up, but with her injured finger, she didn’t dare use too much force, making the work even more laborious than before.
Just as she felt so distressed she wanted to cry, a slender, fair hand reached out.
Without a word, Wei Heng simply nodded at her, signaling her to hand over the piece of wood.
Ruan Mengmeng actually felt a bit embarrassed to trouble him, but her finger genuinely hurt and lacked any strength.
Picking up the dagger from the ground, Wei Heng took the section of wood from Ruan Mengmeng’s hands. Leaving a half-finger’s width from the edge, he inserted the tip of the dagger into the heart of the wood, spinning it in a circle to separate the core. Then, cutting a slit through the middle, he carved out the wood core piece by piece, rapidly hollowing out the prototype of a water bottle.
Ruan Mengmeng’s eyes widened in amazement. Such a hard tree trunk, how did Wei Heng pull that off so easily?
Having borrowed a machete from Zhou Youlan, Wang Chunqin wanted to salvage his lost face in front of the female celebrities. He turned around only to see all the girls gathered around Wei Heng.
As if peeling fruit skin to extract the flesh, Wei Heng made a few strategic cuts with his dagger inside the wooden core, pulling out one segment after another until he had hollowed out the entire trunk section by section.
“Whoa, Brother Wei, how did you make it look so effortless? That’s amazing.”
“Hmph, who couldn’t do it with a knife?” Wang Chunqin muttered.
“I couldn’t do it with a knife just now, and I even cut my hand.”
“That’s because you girls don’t have enough strength.” Watching Wei Heng’s expressionless yet focused movements with an air of jealousy, Wang Chunqin sneered inwardly. “I couldn’t open it earlier because I was using a stone. If I had a knife, anyone could make one.”
Ruan Mengmeng curled her lip slightly. “Then why don’t you try?”
Wang Chunqin sat down next to Wei Heng. “Let’s try then.”
He could afford to lose in front of anyone, but he couldn’t lose in front of the girls, let alone lose to Wei Heng.
Even though Zhou Youlan’s machete had a much wider blade than a dagger, a sharp tip and a long blade were its greatest advantages. If Wang Chunqin possessed Wei Heng’s wrist strength to drive the blade deep in a single motion, things would be a bit simpler.
However, copying Wei Heng’s technique of trying to punch straight through to the bottom failed repeatedly after a few attempts.
Meanwhile, Wei Heng was already nearing completion. Since some sharp wood debris remained difficult to clean at the bottom, he fished a sharp razor blade out of his pack, grinding along the bottom until the wood shavings were scraped away and the base became smooth.
Just as Ruan Mengmeng thought it was finished, Wei Heng proceeded to shave away another layer from the exterior of the wood. His cuts were steady and razor-sharp; a single stroke sliced smoothly from top to bottom without snapping, leaving the cut surface so neat that no re-polishing was required.
Wei Heng even thoughtfully carved a small hole on either side for carrying straps, and designed the cap using a mortise and tenon interlocking structure, allowing the concave and convex parts to snap tightly together so that water wouldn’t leak out even when upended.
While Wang Chunqin hadn’t even managed to hollow out the indented wood core yet, Wei Heng had already finished the entire project.
Handing the water bottle over to Ruan Mengmeng, her eyes sparkled with a mix of adoration and gratitude. “Wow, thank you, Brother Wei! A purely handmade water bottle, this is incredible. There truly is nothing Brother Wei can’t do.”
“It can really be made successfully?” Lin Yue inspected it while evaluating. “I didn’t hold out much hope at first, but it looks fantastic.”
“A long knife is just too much trouble; it’s not as nimble as a short blade.” Glancing at it a few times, Wang Chunqin refused to admit defeat. “If I had a short blade, I could’ve made it too.”
Big Mac snatched the machete right out of his hand. “Complaining the knife is too long, huh? Then use a stone instead. Good thing I have a spare one right here.”
“Hey, you—”
The girls barely managed to hold back their laughter, while Wang Chunqin’s face cycled between shades of green and white, looking thoroughly miserable.
Seeing that Li Rongsheng wasn’t making any moves at all, Wei Heng extended his hand toward her as well.
Li Rongsheng, who usually disliked talking, shook her head repeatedly. “No need, I… I can manage without one.”
“How can you go without one?” Ruan Mengmeng said. “Didn’t Brother Zhou and Li Xiaohuan say this morning that freshwater will become even harder to find once we enter the rainforest, so having a water bottle is an absolute must.”
Hearing that Wei Heng had helped Ruan Mengmeng make a water bottle, Zhao Jie walked over holding her own piece of wood.
“Xiao Wei, they said you helped Mengmeng make a water bottle. I have tenosynovitis, so I really can’t exert any force in my wrist. Could you please help me make one too?”
“You young people are fast-handed and strong, so just consider it doing this older sister a favor. If you need anything in the future, just tell me.”
Without even waiting to ask if Wei Heng was willing, Zhao Jie shoved her barely touched block of wood straight into Wei Heng’s hands.
Holding two roasted fish, Zhang Tongtong stood nearby, finding the atmosphere awkward yet unsure of what to say.
[Emmm, does everyone else have an obligation to help you, auntie? Since you’re asking for a favor, could you at least have a better attitude?]
[So awkward. How is Wei Heng supposed to refuse? If he doesn’t refuse, he’ll look so aggrieved.]
[Wei Heng wouldn’t dare refuse. This woman always pulls rank in the industry, relying on her seniority to put on airs. She’s super high-maintenance.]
[Doesn’t Wei Heng just love showing off? Well, let him show off to his heart’s content, hahaha.]
[Many hands make light work, right? Isn’t Wei Heng so capable? Since he loves putting on an act, let him act all he wants.]
[Didn’t Wei Heng only help because Ruan Mengmeng got hurt? How is that showing off?]
[Wow, now helping an injured person is considered showing off? Wei Heng is simply guilty in your eyes, getting flamed like this for no reason.]
“How about everyone takes a break first? The grilled fish is ready.” Bringing over two skewers of grilled fish, Zhang Tongtong handed one to Wei Heng while frantically blinking and signaling him. “Brother Wei, you caught this fish, so you eat first. As for who gets the rest, you decide. The final say is yours.”
“You eat it,” Wei Heng replied.
Picking up the piece of wood, Wei Heng began carving once again.
The few celebrities gathered around couldn’t help but feel a shred of sympathy for Wei Heng. Whenever Zhao Jie appeared on any variety show in the industry, she was a terrifying presence that made junior colleagues nervous, primarily because she was fussy, stubborn, and loved bossing people around, requiring everyone else to obey her.
Though they thought it in their hearts, none of them dared to voice it.
Wang Chunqin suddenly scoffed, “As expected of capable Wei Heng, the rest of us can’t compare. Why don’t you help carve some for the others too? After all, none of us are as capable or experienced as you.”
Everyone turned to look at him simultaneously, clearly feeling he spoke too much.
Shrugging his shoulders, Wang Chunqin retorted, “Isn’t that true?”
Concentrating on the task in his hands, Wei Heng replied in a calm tone, “It’s rare to find someone whose verbal skills far surpass their physical abilities. You certainly stand alone in that regard.”