From Robinson Crusoe

It's fun to pass on the skills I have acquired to others.

Especially to teach people like indigenous people.

Chen Zhou can gain a lot of emotional value from their curious, shocked and even admiring eyes.

This kind of emotion that cannot be acted out is something that no modern person can give him.

In addition, the long-lost communication with people, rather than talking to animals or talking to himself, also brought Chen Zhou back to a sense of being alive.

After all, humans are social animals with innate social needs. This is the underlying logic formed since the ape period.

Whether it is emotional needs, the role played in society, or an inner sense of belonging, these are what humans pursue.

……

Chen Zhou took out two unused rattan hangers from the storage room, selected a pair of pottery jars of similar size and shape from the kitchen, and returned to the wooden house.

He demonstrated to two natives how to fix clay pots on a hanger and then put them on the fire to boil water.

During this process, he also emphasized the importance of protecting the hanger while boiling water, as well as fire prevention.

Especially the issue of fire prevention.

It is the dry season now, and although the humidity is high on the island, if someone accidentally ignites the weeds and a gust of wind blows, the fire will be unstoppable and at best will burn down an entire hillside.

If the situation gets serious and the forest is set on fire, the island might become a burning torch.

By then, not to mention the wood needed for construction and fuel for making fire, there will also be all kinds of fruits.

When the fire gets big and the smoke rises, it becomes a question whether one can continue to live in the cave.

Chen Zhou was very worried that the two natives had no fire awareness and would make a big mistake by randomly lighting a fire after getting the flint. He emphasized the fire prevention issue many times and taught them how to quickly put out the fire.

If there is water nearby, use it to water the area directly. If there is no water, you can bury the area with soil.

Seeing that the two natives seemed to understand but not quite, Chen Zhou was still worried for a moment and decided to supervise these two guys carefully for a while.

It is necessary to make sure that they do not treat making fire as a game or the flint as a toy.

……

After the fire-making instruction was over, as more firewood was added to the campfire, the water in the clay pot boiled.

Chen Zhou gave the two men a "test" on the spot, ordering them to put out the fire immediately and then remove the pottery jar.

The two natives listened to the class very seriously. When they saw Chen Zhou's serious face, they immediately ran to the side, picked up buckets of water and poured them on the campfire.

With a hissing sound, white smoke came out of the burning firewood and turned into black charcoal.

Chen Zhou was just about to praise the two natives for their execution, but he didn't expect that their fire-fighting operation was not over yet. After watering, they hurriedly scooped up soil with their hands and covered the charcoal.

Thinking that it would be better to have an extra layer of insurance, Chen Zhou did not stop them until they completely covered the charcoal with soil, then he called a halt.

……

The two natives dug the soil with their hands, and with the tense atmosphere created by Chen Zhou for them, they were so busy that beads of sweat appeared on their heads.

Hearing Chen Zhou's call to stop, the two who could already understand a few words immediately stopped their actions, knelt on one knee swiftly, and pressed their left chest with their muddy right hands, which made Chen Zhou feel a pain in his heart——

Your clothes!

He quickly touched the heads of the two natives and pulled them up. Thinking that he must teach them how to change clothes today, Chen Zhou began to educate them. After the water cooled down, he poured it into a container and then covered the container. In the future, they must drink the cold boiled water in the container when they are thirsty.

The concept of drinking boiled water is rather complicated, and it is an unheard-of rule for the indigenous people who have been drinking cold water since childhood.

Chen Zhou had no way of explaining to them that raw water contained parasite eggs, bacteria and harmful substances. He could only use his authority and power to force them to drink boiled water.

Fortunately, drinking boiled water is not an anti-human rule. After the natives understood it, they quickly accepted this new lifestyle.

They thought this was a custom in heaven.

……

It was already noon when they finished teaching and drinking boiled water, and the bonfire that Chen Zhou had lit had not yet been extinguished.

Using the remaining fire, he cooked the dumpling soup right next to the wooden house.

The clay pot used for cooking the soup had a large capacity, so Chen Zhou deliberately put in more noodles, and also added some dried meat, chopped green onions and a little chili pepper to the dumpling soup, making the whole pot of dumpling soup fragrant.

The bright red Sichuan pepper combined with the emerald green onion looks very appetizing.

The two natives held the bowls, smelled the aroma and couldn't wait to taste it.

Apparently, their tribe didn't have any spicy food. The two of them stared at the red pepper pieces floating in the noodle soup, thinking they were some delicious fruits, and chose them as their first bite.

The result was obvious. The extremely spicy pepper was like a flame, burning their taste buds and making them exhale so much that they couldn't stop.

Unfortunately, the dumpling soup was boiling hot, and they couldn't pour the noodle soup into their mouths to relieve the spiciness, which made them very anxious.

Chen Zhou enjoyed the dumpling soup in small sips, feeling the perfect spicy taste and meaty aroma. He almost couldn't help laughing when he saw the two natives with red faces and tears streaming down their faces from the spiciness.

However, considering his own image and the young age of the two natives, who might have never eaten chili peppers, he still poured each of them a glass of cold water to relieve the spiciness.

……

For humans, spiciness is indeed a form of pain.

When capsaicin stimulates the human body, the burning pain of the taste buds is impressive, and then the brain will secrete the pain mediator - endorphins, which transform the pain into pleasure.

Chen Zhou originally didn't like spicy food, but since he came to the island, where there were fewer seasonings, he gradually became addicted to eating chili peppers.

He used to eat spicy food occasionally, but now he can't live without it. If he doesn't eat chili peppers during a meal, it's like he's lost his soul and nothing he eats tastes good.

When the two natives first tried the chili pepper, they thought they were poisoned and took several gulps of cold water to relieve the pain in their mouths.

When they picked up the dumpling soup again, they dared not touch the small red pieces. Even the chopped green onions which were not very spicy made them feel afraid. They always avoided them when putting the spoon in and only picked the milky white small dumplings to eat.

……

While eating, the three of them gathered around the campfire.

Gradually, the two native boys noticed that Chen Zhou not only did not avoid the small red pieces, but would even specifically pick out the red pieces to eat. After eating, his face was full of enjoyment and he did not seem to feel any pain.

The two of them were now filled with admiration and respect for Chen Zhou. In their eyes—

Everything the gods do has a reason, and the wisdom contained therein is beyond their understanding.

If you can’t understand it, what’s the best way to learn it?
imitate!

After looking at each other, Doduru and Atun began to try eating the chili cubes.

At first, they simply couldn't stand the spiciness of Sichuan pepper, and it took them a long time to recover after eating a piece.

As they ate more and more peppers, they found that this strange food seemed to have some kind of magic. It was painful to eat but not disgusting.

The dumpling soup had cooled down, so the effect of the chili peppers had weakened, so the two of them ate faster and faster. …

After the meal, Chen Zhou was fine, with only a layer of fine beads of sweat on his forehead.

The two natives were crying and snotting, and their eyes were a little swollen.

Chen Zhou saw that they were enjoying eating chili peppers and never said anything to stop them.

I was just thinking that if the three of us cook and eat together again in the future, we should reduce the amount of chili peppers as appropriate, otherwise these two guys would definitely suffer from psychological trauma.

He didn't know that after eating this meal, the two indigenous teenagers who regarded him as their idol, a true god and even a father, not only did not have any traumatic feelings towards peppers, but instead fell in love with this magical red fruit.

……

In the afternoon, the first lesson Chen Zhou taught the two natives was personal hygiene and tableware and home hygiene.

These include personal hygiene, washing your face and feet every day, taking a bath regularly, brushing your teeth and other subjects.

There are also subjects such as washing food containers before and after meals, cleaning tableware, cleaning the cabin, wiping windows, etc.

Finally, Chen Zhou also brought two large ceramic basins, a wooden box of laundry detergent, and two sets of underwear and outerwear for the two natives to change.

……

In front of the lush green fields, next to the gradually dying campfire.

Accompanied by the rich scent of lavender, the clothes in the basin gradually became clean and white bubbles emerged on the water.

Rainbows were swirling on the transparent bubbles, a sight the two natives had never seen before and which caused them to exclaim in surprise repeatedly.

Accustomed to the natives' shouting, Chen Zhou turned a deaf ear to them and just carefully taught them how to use laundry detergent, and how to rub, knead and dry clothes.

……

As it was getting dark, Chen Zhou's class finally ended.

He did not waste any time throughout the day and taught the two natives almost all the basic life concepts that a modern human should understand.

However, since many of the habits deviated greatly from the habits that the natives had developed since childhood, and the content taught today was too much and too complicated, Chen Zhou estimated that the two natives would not be able to fully apply what they had learned in a day or two.

But it didn't matter, he had plenty of time, and the two natives had even more time than him.

With supervision and repetition day after day, it won't be too difficult to develop a habit.

……

Before lights were turned off at night, Chen Zhou followed the whole process and watched the two natives start with making a fire and boiling a pot of water.

Then use soil to extinguish the fire, use a wet rag to pad your hands, remove the boiling earthenware jar, pour some of it into the jar of water, and use some of it to mix with hot water to wash your feet.

After wiping their feet clean, he supervised the two of them to pour out the footwashing water, take off their coats, go to bed in their underwear, blow out the oil lamp, cover themselves with a quilt and rest. Only then was it over.

As the indigenous teenager had never used these tools before and was not used to it, it was not easy for him to complete the whole process.

Dodulu, who usually seems very clever, even got stuck once. Thanks to Ah Tuan who followed him and "copied homework", Dodulu finally finished today's "exam" smoothly.

As for their performance, Chen Zhou could only say that it was barely passing.

However, considering that the two had learned too much new knowledge today, mistakes were inevitable no matter how hard they worked. Chen Zhou did not punish or reprimand the indigenous teenagers for their mistakes.

……

When leaving the cabin, Chen Zhou thought of the extremely thin bodies of the two indigenous boys. Considering that they had been drinking raw water, eating unwashed fruits, and even eating raw animal meat since childhood, he estimated that both of them probably had parasites in their bodies.

It just so happened that the anthelmintic "Albendazole" stored in the cave had not been touched. He planned to give the two natives a few tablets of Albendazole according to the dosage tomorrow to deworm them.

The body is the capital of revolution. Only by keeping a good body can one become a better ox or horse.

Chen Zhou had finally gotten two such obedient and sensible natives, and he had invested some money in order to train them to become his confidants.

……

The day was coming to an end, and although the work of the natives had been completed, Chen Zhou still had things to do.

His "textbook" was only half written and there were still many patterns to be drawn.

It happened that today he had taught the natives a lot of knowledge about living habits, but there was no way to consolidate it. So he started with making a fire, and carefully outlined on the white clay board what he had taught today, such as personal hygiene.

When drawing the "teaching materials" at his desk, Chen Zhou always couldn't help but think of the indigenous boy's brown face, which was wrinkled and crying due to the spiciness of the chili pepper.

That embarrassed and helpless look, coupled with the confusion in the two people's eyes caused by the spicy food, made Chen Zhou laugh out loud several times.

In the original book, after Robinson came into contact with Friday, he was gradually moved by his innocence and straightforward and loyal character, and regarded him as the most loyal servant in the world.

When reading the book, Chen Zhou sometimes couldn't understand why Robinson Crusoe would trust a cannibal so much.

Only after real contact did he discover that these people who grew up in primitive tribes were indeed completely different from modern people.

The pure information environment gives them extraordinary concentration and a clear personality.

They are not so cunning, they do not know how to use the power in their hands for their own personal gain, and they will not use false smiles and false promises to hide their true thoughts.

They are like a blank piece of paper, or a glass of clear water that can be seen through at a glance.

How can you feel uncomfortable when you are with such a person?
It is no wonder that Robinson, who did not listen to his father, turned rebellious in his youth and embarked on the seafaring journey, would trust a cannibal like Friday without reservation.

Sometimes, sincerity is the best way to communicate.

……

After drawing the "Life Habits" teaching material, Chen Zhou still had some energy because this day's work was not boring and did not require too much physical effort.

He took out a piece of corrugated cardboard and felt the interest and inspiration for painting again. He painted on the cardboard while recalling his experiences during the day.

It didn't take long before a "pepper eating picture" was completed, depicting two natives sitting side by side, holding wooden bowls with painful looks on their faces.

This was the first time Chen Zhou had painted a person since he started the challenge more than two years ago. The proportions of the natives he drew were not harmonious and did not meet the standards of realism.

But he was deeply impressed by the expressions of the characters, so although the proportions of the natives he drew were distorted, their expressions were extremely vivid, giving a cartoon-like feel.

……

After the last stroke was made, Chen Zhou looked at the painting in his hand with great satisfaction. He took out a pen and signed his name in a casual manner on the lower right corner of the cardboard.

"Where should I hang it?"

Looking around the bedroom, he always felt that this painting was out of place with his serious landscape paintings and scenery sketches.

But the island is so big that you can always find a good spot for a painting.

Chen Zhou quickly figured out where to hang the painting—in the natives’ cabin. (End of this chapter)