From Robinson Crusoe

Chapter 52 The Rainy Season is Coming
It took five full days to boil away all the subcutaneous fat.

On the afternoon of February 2, Chen Zhou finished cooking the last piece of fat and put the seal oil that had dropped in temperature into a plastic bag - the hot oil would burn the plastic bag.

He then moved all the 5kg plastic bags to a wooden shelf in a light-proof and dry storage room for future use.

There are four types of seal oil packaging: glass containers, glass jars, large barrels and plastic bags.

Chen Zhou planned to use the oil in glass containers and large wine barrels as cooking oil. There were about 90 kilograms of oil, which would be enough for three years if the frequency of frying was not high.

During these three years, even if no seals landed here, he could still catch fish for oil or go to the other side of the island to hunt penguins for oil to replenish his fat.

As for the seal oil in the plastic bag, it will be used as lamp oil and is expected to last for more than a year of high-intensity use without any problems.

In addition to boiling the oil, Chen Zhou also cut most of the seal meat into thin strips, marinated them with salt, and simply baked them next to the fire. When the surface of the meat strips became dry, he hung them on a wooden rack to air dry.

The seal's lungs already had a somewhat rotten smell, so he didn't dare eat them. He could only cut them into pieces and throw them into the toilet for composting.

The seal's heart and liver were cut into small pieces and briefly fried in the pot while the oil was boiling. Some of it was given to Lai Fu and the two cats, and Chen Zhou put the rest in his pocket as a snack. It tasted pretty good.

During the oil-making process, all the fur on the small seal meat pieces was peeled off.

Following the process of processing large seal skins, Chen Zhou made many skin drying racks. He stretched the small seal skins taut, scraped off the remaining meat and fat, and arranged them neatly together with the large skin drying racks. It looked quite spectacular from a distance.

The two seals brought Chen Zhou huge benefits.

He can now eat as much meat as he wants and light as many lamps as he wants without having to worry about insufficient intake of fat and protein for a short period of time.

But the rich harvest is also accompanied by the consumption of resources, the most serious of which is the consumption of edible salt.

Chen Zhou originally had two large boxes and several small bags of salt. After making oil and marinating meat, he only had three bags of salt left.

These three bags of salt are only enough for cooking, stewing, and feeding sheep with salt for two or three months.

Now, new and old problems arise one after another. Food and fat have transformed into salt problems, which are bothering Chen Zhou again.

There are only ten days left in the dry season. While the sun is still strong, he'd better dig out the salt pond as soon as possible and get some coarse salt.

Otherwise, when the rainy season comes, he can only use the extremely inefficient salt boiling method to make salt indoors, or wait until the rainy season is over before he can produce salt on a large scale.

……

On February 2, the seal's skin was completely dry.

Chen Zhou cleaned the sand and other dirt from the fur, then wrapped the stone in a large seal skin and sank it into the water to soak.

This processing stage will last about 2 to 3 days until the longer outer layer of seal hair can be plucked out by hand before proceeding to the next step.

I don't know if it is a psychological effect.

As the rainy season approaches, Chen Zhou feels that the air in the mountains seems to be more humid than usual.

The wilted plants in the forest also became energetic, with their branches and leaves stretched out and looking radiant, as if welcoming the coming rainfall in advance.

A strong sense of urgency drove Chen Zhou to speed up his work.

Starting from February 2, he carried stones during the day and dug the foundation by lamplight at night, ensuring only 5 hours of sleep a day. He also reduced his meal time and worked hard to catch up.

On February 2, enough stones were finally collected. Chen Zhou dug the foundation while carrying door frames, window frames, doors and windows up the mountain.

During this time, he cut down a number of trees that were thick enough and piled them in the woods to dry.

The finished wood brought on board will eventually be used up, and he has to prepare for future consumption in advance.

On the afternoon of February 2, when he returned to the camp at the foot of the mountain, he unpacked the bronze statue of Wang Lingguan, took out the entire statue and laid it down to study whether its base could be removed.

Then he was surprised to find that the craftsman who made the bronze statue used very traditional techniques.

The base of the bronze statue was not glued or welded, but was installed at the bottom of the statue using a staggered interlocking technique.

If the base is to be removed, it is only necessary to use a chisel and hammer to pry apart the interlocking copper strips along the edge of the base, without causing too much damage to the statue. And after using the copper base, it may be possible to reinstall it in the same shape.

For Chen Zhou, this was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise.

It just so happened that he brought a chisel and a hammer with him when he went down the mountain. He had originally planned to dismantle it by force, but this time they came in handy by accident.

After working for a while, he successfully removed the base of the bronze statue.

The entire base is rectangular with curved corners and a slight concave interior. It is about 8 mm thick, which shows that the statue is made of solid material.

The most important thing is that this base comes with its own “pot edge”.

Press those protruding long copper strips down again and connect them together one by one to form a complete circle of the pot edge.

Although you can't expect them to completely stop the oil in the pan, it's better than nothing. At least when frying fish or meat, you don't have to worry about the ingredients in the middle of the pan sliding out of the side of the pan.

Of course, this "flat copper pan" is not perfect.

For example, there are no handles, so it is difficult to pick up the pot; it is easy to get burned; the concave arc is too small, so it cannot be used for stewing; and there is no lid, etc.

But for Chen Zhou, these shortcomings are completely acceptable.

After putting the bottomless statue back into the wooden box, Chen Zhou returned to the cave with the flat-bottomed copper pot on his back. Just as he was about to clean the pot and then light a fire to cook, he suddenly realized that he didn't have a stove suitable for the copper pot.

There are no holes on the base, so it is impossible to tie a rope or hang it on a bracket.

Before you can use it, you must have a stone or brick stove custom-made for it.

Building a stove is not a difficult task, but it does take some time.

According to the plan, other things should be prioritized right now. Now that the copper pots are back, we will be able to cook sooner or later.

Helplessly putting the flat copper pot against the kitchen wall, Chen Zhou turned to check the seal skin soaked in the water.

Perhaps because the bucket was too small, the long hair on the outer layer of the seal skin had not loosened after soaking for three days.

Today is already the fourth and a half day. Even if the soaking effect is poor due to insufficient water, it is time to end this process.

Taking the fur wrapped around the stone out of the water, Chen Zhou tried to pull out a handful of wet seal hair from the fur.

"That's it!"

Looking at the hair stuck on his fingers, he was very happy - the seal brain that had been left for many days was finally put to good use.

Light a bonfire, add a little fat to the seal brain, mix it all together and simmer it over the fire until the greasy mass becomes very thick.

Chen Zhou sat on a low stool and spread the fur on his knees. He smeared the thick paste made of brain and grease on the inside of the leather, and at the same time used a blunt knife and a wooden stick to scrape off the long hair on the seal skin.

Standing next to the fire, he would occasionally use the smoke from the wood to dry the fur.

According to the guy on the forum, the smoke can cause the mixture solution applied to the fur to react, making the fur soft and smooth.

The finishing work is meticulous and lengthy, and cannot be sloppily done.

I have been working lately almost every day. Compared with digging the foundation under the hanging oil lamp, processing fur is a rare light and enjoyable job.

He patiently processed the fur, not leaving out even the edges and corners.

The night was getting late and the glow of the campfire was fading.

Rub the soft, shiny seal fur between your hands and feel the smooth feel of its fine, dense undercoat.

Hanging the fur back on the drying rack and admiring the unique silver-white pattern on it, Chen Zhou felt a sense of accomplishment.

The first tanning of fur was so successful and the work went very smoothly. He could sleep well and have a sweet dream tonight.

(End of this chapter)