From Robinson Crusoe

Time flies, and it is the end of December 1661 in a blink of an eye. There are only two days left until the new year.

Since rescuing the natives, Chen Zhou clearly felt that his mental state had improved greatly.

After all, communicating with pets is different from communicating with people. Even if the two natives couldn't understand most of what he said, just educating them could bring Chen Zhou enough spiritual comfort.

……

Moreover, the natives could not only vent his inner depression and awaken his gradually lost language ability, but also help him with his work.

Although the two natives are not yet fully capable of farming and animal husbandry, as time goes by, they are able to handle most simple tasks independently.

For example, carrying water, weeding, applying fertilizer, promptly detecting pests and diseases, and driving away animals wandering around the fields are all jobs that the natives can do very well.

As for fetching water and adding salt to the sheep, that is even simpler.

It is the dry season now, so there is no need to worry about the problem of being exposed to rain. We just need to make sure the goats do not return to the wild goat herd and count the number of goats every day.

In the past, Chen Zhou did everything by himself, but now, most of the time he just needs to play the role of a supervisor, and only gives instructions or demonstrates the correct method to them when the natives make mistakes or do something insufficient.

……

Just as he had expected before rescuing them, the two young natives were receptive to new things and had outstanding learning abilities.

Moreover, the two of them eat and live together, and can accelerate their progress by exchanging experiences.

Soon, they were able to complete their daily work skillfully, with one person responsible for the farmland and the other for livestock raising, and they could even finish all the work in less than the morning.

At the same time, their living habits were gradually developed by Chen Zhou.

They learned how to make fire, cook for themselves, wash dishes, and take care of their personal hygiene.

At Chen Zhou's request, the two would tidy up the cabin every day when they got up.

The bedding must be folded neatly, the wooden bed must be swept clean, the food must be placed in a drawer where dust does not easily accumulate, and the wooden bowls, spoons, and the chopsticks that the two people use inexperiencedly must be placed on the wooden rack.

These details, which do not need to be taken into account in the tribe, are undoubtedly cumbersome for indigenous teenagers, but they are obviously not as rebellious as their modern peers, nor do they ask so many whys.

As long as they can have a full meal, get a compliment, or get a piece of chocolate, it is the greatest satisfaction for them.

Not to mention that the living conditions here are many times better than those in the tribe, and the work is actually not that tiring. Most of the time, both of them enjoy it.

……

After taking anthelmintics and improving the quality of my meals, I was able to sleep longer and more regularly, and the nutritional composition of my diet became more balanced.

The skin of the two natives had visibly become much whiter than when they were first rescued, and their skinny bodies had become rounder.

Maybe because they laughed so much, the original aboriginal hostility on the faces of the two boys was reduced, and they looked somewhat like East Asians, which made Chen Zhou feel a little more familiar.

……

On December 12, before New Year's Day, Chen Zhou confidently handed over the crops and sheep to two natives, and went to the beach alone to catch seafood, and fished for an afternoon.

In order to avoid catching nothing, he prepared enough bait for this fishing trip and cooked a whole jar of cooked barley for making bait.

Although the results of the battle that day could not be called a bumper harvest, it was much better than the day when the natives went into the water to catch fish. At least it was enough for a meal.

……

New Year's Day, the anniversary of landing on the island, and his own birthday are the three important holidays planned by Chen Zhou.

Just like the indigenous people’s sacrifices, if one wants the two indigenous people to identify with this new home, in addition to improving their living standards, spiritual identification is also of paramount importance, and is even more important than material conditions.

December 12st to January 31st was the first festival that the two natives spent on the island. In order to create a festive atmosphere, Chen Zhou specially prepared a series of rituals.

……

The first thing in the ceremony is of course the feast.

The stimulation of taste buds and food with good color, aroma and taste have played an important role in the entire human history. In order to get spiritual satisfaction, gastrointestinal satisfaction is essential.

Moreover, the various dishes filling the entire table can itself create a festive atmosphere.

On New Year's Eve from 1661 to 1662, Chen Zhou prepared a seafood feast, and also made some dumplings with different fillings and some pastries.

The lights must be on at night and cannot be turned off until after midnight. This is also a ritual.

If there was enough gunpowder, Chen Zhou would even want to use it to fire a few shots to make the atmosphere more lively.

But gunpowder was a non-renewable resource for him. He would save it even for shooting training. He couldn't bear to spend it on such extravagant things as setting off cannons.

After the banquet was over, everyone rested until dawn, and then began the second step of the ceremony, which was also the highlight - the sacrifice.

Chen Zhou had already made a plan to worship Wang Lingguan, and even took great pains to build an exquisite temple. If he did not offer sacrifices, it would be a waste of effort.

Compared with the festive atmosphere of the banquet, the tone of the sacrifice is undoubtedly solemn and serious.

Even when the natives came to the island to hold a cannibal feast, they would paint their bodies black and white, like zebras, and bring priests and "witches" with them. In this regard, Chen Zhou's face-saving project could not be inferior to that of the primitive people.

He prepared to put on his most majestic outfit - the Iron Pagoda, and then go to worship with a gun.

When worshiping the gods, he would fire guns as a ritual of praying to God.

While intimidating the indigenous people, it can also increase the momentum and solemnity of the entire sacrifice.

There are also certain requirements for the posture of worshiping statues. It cannot be the kneeling etiquette on one knee to swear allegiance to him. It must be kneeling on both knees, with the head knocking on the ground with a sound.

Of course, as "the person closest to God", Chen Zhou can naturally be exempted from this set of etiquette.

After all, Wang Lingguan once lent him his base for cooking. Their relationship was so good that if he kowtowed again, it would seem awkward.

……

In fact, according to the modern emphasis on the area of sacrificial offerings, Chen Zhou's sacrificial procedure can be said to be quite simple.

There is no need to offer various tributes, no abstention from meat and fish, no need to bathe or fast, no need to wear specific styles of clothes, no music or dancing, and even the step of burning incense is omitted.

But there is nothing that can be done about it. A lively festival requires a lot of people. There are only three people on the island, so it won't be lively no matter how much effort we put in.

In the future, he will teach the natives to speak Chinese. Chen Zhou plans to put the entire arrangement of the sacrificial process on Wang Lingguan's head and say that this is God's will.

That way, if he rescued and domesticated more indigenous people and expanded the scale of the sacrifice in the future, he would have an easier time finding an excuse.

Anyway, Wang Lingguan can't talk, is it true or not? Whether to have more or fewer dishes, whether to burn incense or not, whether to fire a gun or not, whether to kowtow or not, isn't it all up to him with a word?

……

It's dark.

Duoduolu and Atun returned to the wooden house, lit the oil lamp, and read aloud to the pinyin board made of white mud on the wall, learning the pronunciation of Chinese pinyin. Since Chen Zhou found that they could handle the fields and sheep in just half a day, he assigned them this new task.

In order to draw more teaching materials, Chen Zhou had to dry more white clay boards.

He planned to add a "writing" assignment once the natives could read fluently, and these white clay tablets were prepared for them to write.

Listening, speaking, reading and writing, these are all mastered to be called learning a language.

Besides, he couldn't always shoulder the task of taming the natives and educating them all by himself. If he rescued more natives in the future, he would be very busy.

First train two trustworthy elites, give them the necessary status, and provide them with military support at critical moments, and then let them slowly manage other natives, so that they can liberate themselves - this is what Chen Zhou thought.

……

The childish recitation did not last long. Chen Zhou, who had put all the fish back into the courtyard, pushed the door and walked in.

"Rest for the night and follow me."

Just as he was about to leave the room, Chen Zhou added, "Don't blow out the lights."

The two natives have been living with Chen Zhou day and night for nearly half a month. They have communicated frequently in daily life, and Chen Zhou even deliberately increased the frequency of using some languages, so that the natives can already understand some common words.

Especially the words "come and go, front and back, up and down" used to command them.

He looked at Atun in confusion, not knowing why the gods asked him and his companions to go out at night, and not knowing why they could not blow out the lights before going out. Dodolu obediently stopped reciting, picked up the coat on the edge of the bed, and followed his companions out of the wooden house.

……

That night, not only was the wooden house where the two natives lived lit up, but even the wooden house at the other end of the farmland, which was far away, was lit up, emitting a hazy yellow light in the darkness.

There were lit oil lamps hanging under the watchtowers inside the wall, and there were even a few floor lamps set up on the top of the wide wall, decorating the entire hillside with bright lights.

Chen Zhou, who was walking in front, said nothing, but the two natives had already sensed the unusual atmosphere from the outdoor attire, and couldn't help feeling a little nervous as they walked.

……

The wooden door of the wall, which was usually closed, was wide open, and a light was lit every two meters in the courtyard.

Several short tables were put together to form a long table that ran through half of the yard, and the table was filled with unprocessed food.

Two bonfires were burning brightly, and the water in the clay pots above the fire was boiling.

Scallions, braided garlic, red peppers, mint, fennel, flour, rice, citrus, lemon, sugar cane, grapes, citrons...

The dazzling array of food dazzled the two natives. There was even a slaughtered and skinned wild goat hanging upside down on a wooden rack, revealing its pink and white flesh.

“Don’t look at it, we’re having a big dinner tonight.

I'm talking to you, kid. Go get some firewood. We'll need it for cooking later!"

Chen Zhou patted Duoduolu on the back——

This guy is not even eighteen years old. His nutrition level has improved in the past half month. Not only has his back become a lot wider, but he has also grown a little taller.

Before Dodolu could take any action, the clever Atun had already started looking for work. Although he seemed dull at times, he was sometimes smarter than Dodolu and had more perceptive eyes.

……

Urging the two natives to take action, Chen Zhou walked to the chopping board, picked up a kitchen knife and started to process the fish he caught today.

The three of them all have big appetites, so even if there are a lot of ingredients, they can't finish them in one meal and can be finished within two days.

Even if they can't eat it all, they can share it with cats and dogs, or let the "poison testers" moved outdoors get some, so Chen Zhou plans to make far more than one dish.

As for fish alone, there is a braised fish, a stewed fish and a grilled fish.

As for seafood, some are stir-fried, some are stewed, and some are steamed. The cooking methods and tastes are different.

And the highlight of the evening is the dumplings stuffed with lamb and green onions. They are made with the freshest lamb and the most tender green onions, so the taste is beyond words.

In addition to the main dishes, Chen Zhou also plans to prepare some fruit platters.

Unfortunately, the goat has not given birth to a lamb yet, so he has no goat milk to support himself for the time being, otherwise it would be great to ferment some yogurt to make cold drinks or ice cream.

……

The ample seasoning gave Chen Zhou more room to play.

His cooking skills were only average, with only a few of his specialties above the passing line. Most of the dishes were just barely edible and not at all delicious.

Since arriving on the island, I have been fooling my taste buds with limited ingredients almost every day for more than two years.

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. Gradually, Chen Zhou's cooking skills have been honed.

Especially the knife skills.

In the past, he had to use a grater to make fried potato shreds, but now he could cut them into even and thin pieces with his eyes closed. It was a pity that although he had the knife skills, he had no potatoes.

While cutting vegetables, Chen Zhou couldn't help but miss the taste of familiar vegetables such as potatoes, pumpkins, winter melons, eggplants, corn, etc.

“By the way, doesn’t the original book say that the staple food of these indigenous people is cassava?
If this world is really built according to the setting of Robinson Crusoe, then these two guys should know cassava!"

Thinking of this, Chen Zhou was about to call the two indigenous boys over to ask, but considering the language barrier, it would be difficult to explain to them what cassava was, so he gave up the idea.

And he knew that cassava was an extremely high-yielding plant, rich in starch.

It stands to reason that if there were a large amount of cassava in the tribe, even if people were thin, they would not be so thin. At most, they would have an unbalanced nutrition. It is impossible that most people would be starving and even have to rely on fishing to maintain the continuation of the tribe.

From this perspective, it is still unknown whether there is cassava in this archipelago.

“It seems that there is probably no cassava here.

But to be on the safe side, I'll ask these two guys after I've taught them to communicate with me normally.

If they only know how to dig wild cassava and don’t know how to grow cassava to produce food, it’s possible that they will dig up all the cassava and starve.”

……

His racing thoughts did not affect Chen Zhou's quick movements at all.

Like magic, the ingredients came out of the pot one by one and turned into hot dishes.

The two natives were completely dazzled, staring at the flying Malaysian kitchen knife in Chen Zhou's hand or the shaking frying pan, or staring at the dishes on the table in a daze.

They never thought that food could be processed in this way.

Tonight, Chen Zhou has undoubtedly opened a door to a new world for them. (End of this chapter)