From Robinson Crusoe

Chapter 101 Frying Pan

The more urgent matters in the short term have been completed.

The wheat in the fields matures around July 7th, while the barley is a little earlier and can be harvested around July 15th.

The yield of barley is lower than that of wheat and its edible value is also relatively low.

But Chen Zhou did not plan to make wine and did not take barley seriously.

……

After discovering the natural fertilizer "pigeon droppings", he temporarily gave up the idea of continuing to cultivate the farmland on the mountain and decided to reclaim a new field at the foot of the mountain near the Pigeon Cave, or to reclaim land near the Rock River to facilitate the transportation of fertilizer and the cultivation of crops.

Of the two favorite locations, Chen Zhou prefers the hillside by the river.

There is plenty of sunshine and it is close to a water source, making irrigation convenient during the dry season. The only drawback is that it takes more effort to transport pigeon droppings.

But now he has plenty of time and five bearings installed in the casters of the ergonomic chair are available, so Chen Zhou doesn't think it's a big deal to transport pigeon droppings.

……

On the afternoon of July 7st, after returning home, Chen Zhou plucked and gutted all the wild pigeons and disposed of them cleanly.

The weather is hot during the dry season, and even if the pigeons are pickled with salt and hung in a cool place to dry, there is no guarantee that they will not deteriorate. The best way to preserve them is to eat them.

Of course, because he discovered a mineral suspected to be natural saltpeter, he had another option - refrigeration.

But the journey to the Pigeon Cave is not too far, and wild pigeons are not a precious resource. In Chen Zhou's opinion, it is a waste to waste time and resources to refrigerate pigeon meat.

It would be better to make a small refrigerator and put rum or arrack in it to cool it down, or squeeze a few glasses of lemon juice, sugarcane juice or other drinks to cool down.

In such a season and such an era, how pleasant it would be to lie in a hammock and take a sip of cold wine.

……

On the evening of the 1st, Chen Zhou stewed a pot of pigeon soup, added some kelp to enhance the flavor, and added fennel to enhance the flavor. The overall taste was good.

He ate six pigeons in total, and Lai Fu, Xiao Huihui, and the pregnant Tu Zi took care of the rest.

Once you pack your backpack with wild pigeons, they will all be used up.

On July 7, Chen Zhou took out the knocked-down mineral, smashed it with a hammer, and verified it carefully.

He found a wooden barrel, filled it half full with water, then added a large amount of crushed minerals and stirred it.

Soon, the water in the bucket began to emit cold air and gradually froze.

It turned out that the translucent crystals that looked like salt grains were indeed saltpeter, and they were high-purity potassium nitrate. They absorbed heat very quickly when dissolved in water, so his cold drink was finally settled.

On the 2nd, in addition to testing whether the mineral was saltpeter, Chen Zhou also moved the safe door and the safe to the beach, dismantled part of the wooden and stone walls, adjusted the angle, and built the door and the safe into it.

There were no such thick and regular metal plates on the ship, and lead plates were not suitable for making tools. He finally got a piece of metal suitable for cutting. He planned to cut the steel plate into the shape of the manuscript by repeated cutting.

The wooden pickaxe inlaid with iron wears out too quickly during the excavation process and easily becomes blunt when encountering rocks. The efficiency of expanding the cave is too low. If you have a steel pickaxe, many things can be done with half the effort.

Of course, the space-time cutter can only cut steel plates into suitable shapes, it cannot drill holes or process details.

After the pickaxe head is cut, Chen Zhou has a headache about how to install the wooden handle on it.

……

While waiting for the 19th mysterious reward, Chen Zhou began to level the floor of the bedroom, digging and moving white soil to lay the floor.

According to his previous idea, the floor inside the bedroom would be paved with wooden boards, and the outer edges close to the walls would be paved with stones or bricks.

The wood used for bedroom floors has been carefully selected and the tones are mostly consistent, making the home appear warm and cozy.

The kitchen, where fires are often lit, has its floor paved entirely with stone tiles to prevent accidental fires.

The next rainy season is in mid-August. Once the rain continues, it will be very difficult to collect materials and proceed with construction.

In order to avoid having nothing to do during the long rainy season, Chen Zhou not only laid the floor but also moved a lot of stones and white clay around the cave.

When distributing cement in the past, he felt that there was too much cement. After the cement was used up after several construction projects, he began to feel that the reward cement was too little.

Many strong and useful buildings require high-quality cement as a building material.

Stone bricks are now available, and if sufficient cement can be obtained, building brick and wood houses or walls that can resist attacks will no longer be a problem.

He was busy until July 7, and just like picking up a parcel as usual, Chen Zhou went to the beach to get his reward, carrying a mountaineering bag and Laifu.

……

He took a look at the reward center from a distance and found that the reward was packaged in a paper box and was not very large, so he lost interest and curiosity.

Estimating that this reward would be another piece of "useless scrap" or "something that is somewhat useful but not much", Chen Zhou simply ignored the reward and began to sort out the cut wood and stone walls.

Because safes and millstones to be cut were added to the wall, building a new wood and stone wall required more attention to detail and took more time.

He didn't eat lunch and worked until dark. Only after he finished building the new wall did Chen Zhou have time to cut open the cardboard box to check his reward.

The entire paper box is relatively flat and sealed on the side.

After cutting open the carton, the first thing that comes into view is a slightly angled wooden handle wrapped in plastic.

"What the hell?"

The moment he saw the wooden handle, the exhausted Chen Zhou immediately became alert. He grabbed the wooden handle and directly pulled out the items in the box.

This is a cast iron pan.

The diameter of the pot is about 23cm, which is not too deep, just right for frying fish, ribs and lamb slices. The handle is made of wood, which can better insulate heat.

The package also comes with a stainless steel clip, a brush and a bottle of maintenance oil.

For Chen Zhou, this is one of the rewards he has received so far that ranks among the top three in terms of cost-effectiveness, and its functionality may be second only to the two axes.

With this thing, you don't need to build a separate stove to make pancakes. You can just light a campfire and add some oil and start working.

And the frying pan can expand his recipes and add more cooking possibilities for him.

Compared to heavy copper frying pans that require a dedicated stove, frying pans also have the advantage of being portable.

When going on a long journey, bring seasonings and weapons with you. You can just kill a rabbit or a bird and start a fire on the spot to cook.

A good diet helps replenish energy, increase pleasure, and extend the distance traveled.

It is also beneficial for puppies like Laifu who like to eat cooked food.

On the evening of July 7, after returning home, Chen Zhou couldn't wait to use a frying pan to fry a few pieces of dried seal meat.

Of course, because it has been stored for too long, the seal meat does not taste pleasant.

Although a frying pan is a professional kitchen utensil, it does not enhance the taste of the food when used. You can also apply oil and put it in the pan for frying. It is not much different from a copper frying pan, except that it is heated evenly and not soft on one side and hard on the other.

……

On July 7, Chen Zhou harvested the ripe barley and placed it on the platform to dry.

On July 7th, the wheat was ripe.

The sky was gloomy that day and it looked like it was going to rain. After harvesting the wheat, Chen Zhou moved them into the bedroom.

After so much time of stacking and paving, the stone brick floors and wooden floors in the bedroom have been neatly laid and look much neater.

The harvested wheat was placed under the bedroom window.

A small square beam of light came in from outside the house, shining on the tops of the wheat, with dust floating in the beam.

Seeing this beautiful scene while transporting wheat, Chen Zhou couldn't help but find a cardboard and record this scene with a paintbrush.

This is the beauty of harvest.

...Since the stone mill had not yet been made, he was temporarily unable to grind the wheat grains into flour. He could only select the wheat grains in advance for future use.

After harvesting the crops, Chen Zhou rested for two days - carrying stones and white soil up the mountain every day was too tiring, so he needed to slow down.

On July 7, he returned to work.

There are actually quite a lot of things that can be done right now, but there are almost no particularly urgent things.

Although food was a little scarce, the rabbits in the traps, the wild pigeons in the pigeon holes, the frogs by the river, and the big birds that were caught from time to time could all be eaten.

If there is really nothing to eat, you can also eat wild goats.

If you are a little frugal, one wild goat is enough for a week's food, and the goat oil can be used to supplement fat.

……

June and July are the seasons of harvest and also the seasons for nurturing new life.

The female goat became pregnant first, and eight baby mice were subsequently caught.

At the end of June, Ti Zi and Xiao Hui Hui got married, and Ti Zi became pregnant with Xiao Hui Hui's child.

As time went on, the bellies of the goat and the rats grew bigger and bigger, and the eight mice grew even faster.

Thanks to abundant food, their bodies grew rapidly like balloons, and their fur became shiny and glossy.

If you only look at their skin without looking at their appearance, someone who doesn't know them might think they are otters.

Chen Zhou wasn't quite sure whether male or female mice were bigger.

But he could observe that there were obvious differences in the sizes of the rats in the rat pen, with three of them being larger and five being smaller.

Based on their body size, he determined that the three big ones were male mice and the five small ones were female mice.

However, on July 14, when he was feeding the mice, he saw the mice stand up to fight for the rabbit meatballs, and he accidentally discovered the correct way to identify the gender of the mice.

It turns out that the reproductive organs of mice approaching sub-adulthood can already be clearly seen.

The mouse that stood up to grab the rabbit meatballs had two obvious testicles on its buttocks, which meant it was a male mouse.

But this male rat was not among the three big rats, but the smaller one.

There were two "larger" mice whose testicles could not be seen when they were turned over, but two rows of nipples could be found on their bellies, leading to the conclusion that they were female mice.

After having a clear method of judgment, Chen Zhou used a wooden stick to flip the mice over and checked them one by one.

In the end he found that he was running a rat breeding factory.

Among these eight mice, there were six female mice and only two male mice. If the female mice could give birth to five pups per litter, after the first batch of mice were all pregnant and gave birth, he would be able to harvest a total of thirty baby mice.

According to his current fishing skills, these thirty poison-testing rats would be enough for him to use for more than half a year after they grow up.

Because he could only catch two or three kinds of fish each time.

Fortunately, the challenge did not force him on how to fish. After such a long period of personal experience, Chen Zhou has already understood the extent of his fishing skills, and has begun to prepare for setting up nets in the river and spearing fish.

In addition to fishing, catching seafood is also a good way to get food.

Every time he went to the beach at low tide, he would find dead fish or strange marine creatures such as jellyfish, shellfish, crabs, starfish, sea urchins, etc. on the wet sand, but he did not dare to eat them because he was not familiar with their toxicity.

With the selfless and courageous dedication of these "poison rat testers".

It is conceivable that the diet will expand in the future and will sooner or later include all species on the entire island.

Whenever Chen Zhou thought about his future happy life with seafood and delicacies every day, he would feel regretful.

He had countless fine ingredients but no seasonings, which was completely the opposite of modern society.

……

The resources and manpower on the island were limited, and of the common seasonings he could think of, only vinegar, wine, sauce and salt could be made.

Vinegar can be fermented from wine, which can be made from grapes or barley. If too much wine is brewed, it can be made into vinegar.

The demand for salt basically relies on the salt drying ponds on the seashore. Although the quality is slightly lower, the output is high and the main function is to satisfy your hunger.

The dry season is hot, and every week, you can harvest four or five kilograms of salt by scraping the cement crystallization pool, which is more than enough for Chen Zhou to eat. The goat couple also benefit from it and achieve salt freedom.

As for the production of sauce, it can only be produced when the wheat yield is high enough to support the consumption of large amounts of flour.

……

Chen Zhou's third grandmother was a good worker, very dexterous. She could easily make a broom, tie a feather duster, or twist a hemp rope.

The steamed bun paste she made is mellow and tempting. Adding a spoonful of it to stews can enhance the flavor.

Or you can add some minced meat and eggs, add a little oil, stir-fry them together, and pour them on the noodles. The taste is so delicious.

From her, Chen Zhou learned how to make soybean paste, the main raw materials of which are old-fashioned steamed buns and salt.

Old noodles are made by placing the kneaded dough on a panel and leaving it in the air for a long time, so that it absorbs wild yeast. This kind of noodles has its own bacteria, which is conducive to the fermentation of miso.

Break the steamed buns into small pieces and place them in a dark place where the temperature is not too high to ferment. After the steamed buns grow white hair, take them out to dry in the sun.

To speed up the drying of steamed buns, you can break the steamed bun pieces into smaller pieces until they are completely free of moisture, and then put them in a clean container.

After the main ingredients are prepared, you also need to boil water with seasonings such as pepper, aniseed, fennel, etc., and also use soy sauce and salt.

Chen Zhou naturally did not have any peppercorns, aniseed, or soy sauce.

But he had heard from his third grandmother that—

The sauce starter, also known as the sauce starter, only affects the fermentation speed during the sauce-making process and slightly affects the taste of the paste, but it has no decisive role in whether it will be successful.

The same goes for Sichuan peppercorns and aniseed, which only affect the taste of the finished paste, which is the difference between 60 points and 90 points. It will not make the paste unpalatable, and at most it will make the flavor of the paste less diverse.

After all, the most important ingredients are steamed buns, salt and water.

As long as you have these three ingredients, you can make soybean paste.

After the shredded steamed bread pieces have dried, prepare a clean large jar and pour the steamed bread pieces into it.

Then add cooled seasoning water or cooled clean water into the jar. You don’t need too much water, just enough to cover the steamed buns.

While adding water, also add salt into the tank according to the proportion.

According to Chen Zhousan’s grandmother, for people who like salty food, four ounces of salt can be added to one pound of steamed buns. If they don’t like it too salty, three ounces will be enough.

After adding all the main materials, seal the mouth of the jar with cloth - gauze is usually used in rural areas.

At this point, you can move the tank out to the sun to dry.

The sauce jars that are drying in the sun must not be exposed to rain and must be stirred every day.

Generally speaking, you can smell the aroma of the sauce after drying for a month.

Of course, strictly speaking, Chen Zhou currently does not have a suitable container for fermentation.

A wooden barrel definitely won’t work. The glass container is too small to hold many pieces of steamed bread, and it’s not easy to stir either.

A big iron can is a good choice, but it has the heavy task of boiling water.

The soybean paste needs to be dried for a month. During this month, you have to use an iron kettle to boil water, so you can't eat stewed dishes and it's not convenient to scoop out rice.

Chen Zhou’s solution to this problem is to make pottery.

He believed that before he had enough flour to make sauce, he would be able to build a charcoal kiln and a pottery furnace and successfully fire pottery jars of the right size.

(End of this chapter)