Riding the wind of rebirth

Everyone agreed with the idea, and Zhou Zhi didn't mind either, because wax is very useful as a combustion aid when camping. So everyone decided to hold a production activity here to collect all the insect wax.

This required two agile monkeys, and Yan Xiao and Yang Honghui quickly climbed up the tree.

Harvesting white wax is actually very simple. White wax is wrapped around tree branches, just like a thick pen tube wrapping around the pen core. Moreover, this pen tube is very brittle and can be peeled off with just a gentle pinch.

The two of them picked from the tree while everyone else caught them from below. It didn't take much effort to pick a large bag, weighing about twenty pounds.

This stuff isn't cheap. If it's processed and sold outside, it can fetch five or six yuan per kilogram. That means the white wax that everyone collects is worth over a hundred yuan.

After Zhouzhi told everyone the price, everyone was very happy, as if they had gotten a great deal.

He Shiqing asked worriedly, "Could these trees have been planted by the villagers? Otherwise, why would they be placed here for no reason, forming a small grove?"

Azi laughed and said, "These aren't actually purely wild. Just like the sweet potatoes we picked yesterday, people who go into the mountains usually don't pick all of these things. Just like what Brother Zhouzi and Brother Yang did yesterday, they leave some to continue to grow in the soil."

“These ash trees are actually similar,” Zhou Zhi said with a smile. “Seeds usually fall around large trees and then grow into saplings. However, these saplings have difficulty competing with large trees when they are young, so they often die because they cannot get enough sunlight. This is why it is difficult to see other large trees of the same kind around a large tree in a natural forest.”

"If mountain people see such saplings, they can dig them up and plant them outside the shade of big trees when they rest, and the saplings will most likely survive."

“This is a custom among the villagers,” Azi said. “There are about ten trees here. I guess they were transplanted by my grandfather or someone else after they saw the saplings. They eventually formed a small grove. But they don’t necessarily come to harvest every year. Just like yesterday’s sweet potatoes, whoever digs them up keeps them.”

"No wonder we got such a great deal," Wu Renzhong laughed. "The villagers have been so busy this year."

After collecting the white wax, everyone continued down the mountain along the stream and finally arrived at the campsite where they had camped before.

The small lake next to the campsite is formed by the confluence of two streams, one cold and one hot. Now it is the dry season, and the water in the cold stream has become a trickle, which is even clearer. Combined with the already clear hot spring, the two make the water in the small lake so pure that it is almost blue.

Aside from the lush greenery along the path to the hot spring, the surrounding area was filled with colorful forests in red, yellow, orange, and brown, leaving the group speechless for a moment. They could only stare blankly at this scene that should have belonged to a landscape photograph in a magazine.

It was Shamaricong who was the first to come to his senses: "This is the first time I've thought that Elbow's photography skills are just average. Now that I've seen this forest in person, it's actually even more beautiful than the photos he took!"

Zhou Zhi pulled out the camera: "You guys can use this to play around. Any shot here could be used as a computer screensaver. Salt Rat, have Yang He take him to collect firewood, and Old Yang will activate the equipment."

Azi said, "Why don't we help too?"

"No need for that," Zhou Zhi said with a smile. "When you go out to play, take the horses with you. Oh, and if you see any fresh wild vegetables, you can dig some up and bring them back."

"And what about me?" Wu Renzhong asked.

"Renzhong helped me clean the stove pit."

The group quickly split into three parts. Zhou Zhi had Lao Yang unpack everyone's belongings after they got off the mules. He picked up an entrenching tool first, then led Wu Renzhong to the earthen slope by the water to search for last year's stove pit. "Is it there? Why is there a straw hat here?"

After visiting this place several times, the location of the campsite has been basically settled. There are two stove pits on the side of the earthen slope. Due to the burning of fire, the surrounding soil has been sculpted and made more solid than the surrounding soil, so it can be used. Of course, it is better than the newly dug stove pits.

Because the grass in that area could not be restored, and to prevent it from being washed away by rain, Zhouzhi filled the inside of the stove with sand and covered it with a simple straw hat made of galangal leaves. He also dug a small drainage ditch around it, so the old stove is still easy to find.

They reopened the stove, cleaned the stove with a broom made of dried galangal leaves, took a piece of insect wax and some dried leaves, stuffed them into the stove and lit them, and then boiled a pot of water. Zhou Zhi and Wu Renzhong then returned and helped Yang Honghui organize the supplies they had brought.

A large portion of the supplies consisted of food. Zhou Zhi hung the cured meat, sausages, and pickled vegetables, which are easy to preserve under natural conditions, on a tripod made of three tree branches. He also put the dried goods such as rice and dried mushrooms, as well as seasonings, into a basket. The remaining pork, beef, mutton, and cleaned pheasant were packed into a titanium alloy tin box and taken to the stream.

The campsite is located between two streams, one warm and one cool. The cool stream flows down from the snow-capped mountains and is only about four or five degrees Celsius, which is about the same temperature as the refrigerator.

Build a enclosure in the stream with stones, put the titanium alloy box inside, and weigh it down with a large stone. A simple refrigerator is now in place.

Next came setting up the tent, awning, portable tables and chairs, arranging the tea set, and inflating the sleeping mats they had brought. The three of them were busy for quite a while.

As a camping enthusiast and resourceful individual, Zhou Zhi quickly reconstructed a considerable amount of camping equipment from memory and had his cousin find someone to make it for him. These designs were very convenient, and setting them up was not difficult at all.

By the time the base was set up, Yang He and Yan Xiao had already returned. Yang He was carrying a load of firewood, while Yan Xiao was carrying a large tree trunk to the camp and throwing it down in front of Zhou Zhi with a loud "bang," saying smugly, "That should be enough, right?!"

"Has Salt Rat gone mad?" Zhou Zhi laughed so hard he couldn't stop. "Such a big tree, why don't you just lead a mule to drag it back? Why bother carrying it yourself?"

Yan Xiao: "..."

"But you're willing to bet on service and keep your promise, I admire you for that!" Wu Renzhong said, offering a compliment.

Yan Xiao then became happy: "Then shouldn't we start making the wax now?"

Zhou Zhi laughed and said, "Aww, the water over there is already boiling."

"Do we need to find bamboo?" Yan Xiao asked. "It seems that candles are made by pouring wax into bamboo tubes, right?"

“No need to be so particular,” Zhou Zhi said. “I’ll teach you a simpler method in a bit, so we can make candles without bamboo tubes.”

The process of making wax is actually very simple, because white wax itself is very pure. The main thing is that it contains a lot of insect corpses, tree bark, leaves and other things.

Place a small pot into a pot of boiling water, and slowly add the wax flowers. The wax flowers will gradually melt into liquid wax as the water boils. Since wax is lighter than water, impurities easily float to the surface of the liquid wax and can be easily scooped out with a small spoon. (End of Chapter)