From Robinson Crusoe

Chapter 76 The Long-awaited Reward

Helplessly, Chen Zhou took out a piece of canvas from the bedside and wiped Lai Fu's saliva, then pushed it aside.

"Wait a minute, how can I feed you if it's not cooled down?

If you keep being greedy, I’ll burn your mouth!"

As he said this, he put on his shoes, grabbed a handful of dried fish from the wooden box at the foot of the bed, fed them to Xiao Huihui and Raisin, and also put some hay for the little chinchilla.

The new shelter is about 4 meters long and more than 2 meters wide. It is about 0.5 meters from the floor to the wooden beam, and there are -meter supporting columns under the floor. If it were not for the supplies, the space would be more than enough for one person to live in.

But there are too many important items and I can’t bear to part with any of them.

Chen Zhou, a 1.84-meter-tall young man, can only humble himself and try his best to use his body flexibility to cook and live in this small space.

After dinner, he fed Lai Fu, put the tableware on the stone bricks next to the stove, picked up his wide-brimmed hat, took off the leather raincoat hanging beside the bed, and as usual took an axe, and prepared to go to the beach.

When he lived in the cave, he usually washed the pots and bowls after eating before going out, otherwise the porridge would dry up and stick to the inner wall of the iron kettle, which had to be cleaned with a dagger, which was very troublesome.

However, the space in the wooden house has been fully utilized and there is no room for multiple water barrels.

Not to mention the wooden barrel, Chen Zhou didn't even take the big iron can used to boil water, and left it in the cave.

This is partly because iron cans are too heavy and take up too much space, and would be in the way if placed in a wooden house.

On the other hand, because iron cans are not easily damaged, even if the cave collapses, at most they will be buried in the sand and can be dug out and used, so it doesn’t matter where they are placed.

At present, there are only two wooden barrels in the house, which are filled with boiled water prepared in advance for cooking.

Before the earthquake was over, Chen Zhou prepared to wash his face and feet in a mountain stream or river to maintain personal hygiene. At the same time, he would not wash his clothes first, but would change them instead of washing them.

After all, it is too troublesome to boil water in the wooden house.

Only a small portion of the dry firewood reserves in the cave were moved out. These firewoods were to be used for starting fires and dealing with heavy rains, and were considered emergency reserves.

The wood outside is damp, and thick smoke is produced when it is burned. It is usually okay to mix it with dry firewood, but burning only wet wood will produce thick smoke. Even if the chimney can release 99% of the smoke, the remaining 1% is enough to fill the entire wooden house, making it impossible for people to open their eyes.

Clean drinking water is precious. Apart from brushing teeth and rinsing mouth, Chen Zhou does not plan to use a lot of water in other ways.

Anyway, this is an isolated island and I live alone, so it doesn't matter whether I clean up neatly or not. Just wash your hands and avoid getting sick from your mouth.

……

It is April 4th, and according to the timeline in Robinson Crusoe, the earthquake will hit in six or seven days.

This day is also the last mystery reward before the earthquake and the last mystery reward of this rainy season.

Thinking of the brain-shattering artifact from last time, Chen Zhou still had some expectations for this mysterious reward.

Even the small garbage from modern industry is not completely useless. If you disassemble it, you can always find some usable small parts. Just don't make wood carvings and wooden handicrafts that are all over the island.

Arrived at the beach in the rain.

As expected, from a distance, Chen Zhou saw the wooden and stone wall collapsed by the cutting effect.

Needless to say, the cutting effect of once every 15 days is excellent, but it is a pity that the preparation process is too complicated. Every time of rebuilding and tidying up, I have to be busy from morning to night. Without most of the day, the super-time and space cutting machine cannot be used effectively. This can be said to have its pros and cons.

They moved away the wooden boards and stones on the outside and walked to the rain shelter which was collapsing more and more seriously.

Thinking that he would have to reinforce the rain shelter when building and cutting the wall today, Chen Zhou lifted the thick canvas and took out the reward in the center of the shed.

The outer packaging of this reward is still a rectangular box, but the volume has been greatly reduced compared to previous rewards.

The reward box in the packaging bag is about 20 cm long, more than ten cm wide, and of similar height. It is filled to the brim and is quite heavy.

Chen Zhou felt relieved when he grabbed the box and shook it gently. He could not hear any sound of metal colliding, nor any sound of ceramics, glassware or plastic loosening.

There was a lot of work to be done, and Chen Zhou was worried that the rewards would be damaged by the rain if they were unpacked directly from the boxes, so he put a wooden board on the ground, stuffed the rewards back into the rain shelter, and began to readjust the wooden and stone walls.

……

He didn't eat lunch and another busy day passed. After the new cut wall was built, Chen Zhou cut down some trees to reinforce the rain shelter, and then took out the reward box and went home.

Lai Fu stayed outside with him for a whole day, his whole body was wet and his feet were covered with sand.

Pushing open the door of the wooden house, Chen Zhou stepped into the house, blocking Lai Fu with his body without taking off his leather raincoat.

When Lai Fu jumped into the room, he put his arms around Lai Fu's neck, pulled out a huge piece of canvas from under the bed, wrapped Lai Fu in it, rubbed it hard, and sucked out the moisture from between its hair.

After drying it a little, Chen Zhou loosened the canvas, and Lai Fu immediately turned his head and shook his body, trying to shake out the water droplets between his hair.

However, the raindrops that had formed were wiped away. Even if it tried with all its strength, it could only shake out a little bit of rain, which failed to wet the bed.

Woo~
As if lamenting his master's cunning, Lai Fu lay down against the door, resting his head on his chin, staring at the stove, where the smell of food still lingered.

"You weren't like this when you first got off the boat. Why are you getting more and more greedy?"

While teasing Lai Fu, Chen Zhou took off his leather raincoat and hung it next to the stove - it would be dried quickly after the fire was lit.

"Wait, I'm hungry too.

Oh, I still have to wash the pots and dishes first..."

As he muttered, he casually placed the reward box covered in rainwater next to the stove, packed up the dishes, picked up the large iron kettle, and prepared to scoop some dirty water from the puddle on the grass to wash it, and then bring it in later to scald it with hot water for disinfection.

When Lai Fu saw Chen Zhou was about to go out, he quickly got up, wagged his tail and wanted to follow him, but Chen Zhou ruthlessly held his head and pushed him back into the house.

"Just stay in the room for a while, or I'll have to wipe your fur."

After slamming the door shut, Chen Zhou heard Lai Fu scratching the wall with his claws. He sulked and scolded him, and the room suddenly became quiet.

"I know everything, but I have my own little ideas."

He jumped off the high platform, his body shook, and a pair of chopsticks placed horizontally on the plate fell into the muddy water on the ground.

Seeing that the chopsticks were covered with mud and water, Chen Zhou did not bend down to pick them up. He just reminded himself that after the sunroom was built, he should build a low ladder at the exit of the two rooms to avoid jumping and jumping in and out of the room and wasting energy.

……

Wash the pots and bowls, wipe them clean with small pieces of sealskin rags, and boil water to cook.

After taking off his wet coat, shoes and socks, Chen Zhou sat down on the bed and leaned against the wall. He picked up the reward box in a black bag.

After waiting for a day, the answer is finally revealed.

The packaging bag was placed next to the campfire and was hot in the hands.

Still use the knife to cut a straight line and tear open the bag.

After opening the bag, Chen Zhou saw a colorful cardboard packaging on the square box in the bag by the light of the fire. The square box was black with a black lid on the top. It looked very plain, similar to the small paper boxes for chewing gum in rural stores.

Look at the words printed on the cardboard packaging on the side facing the opening - smooth to the touch, sturdy and shatter-resistant, windproof and explosion-proof, and high-end inflatable.

"Oh, could this be?"

Delighted, Chen Zhou directly pulled off the black packaging bag, revealing the true appearance of the square box inside.

As he expected, it was a box of inflatable windproof lighters.

The whole box of lighters is like the commonly seen lighter packaging at the entrance of the supermarket, neatly inserted into the grooved base, except that there is an extra black plastic cover on it.

There are 6 lighters in vertical rows and 8 in horizontal rows, in different colors, made of plastic but not transparent.

He removed the plastic cover and took out a lighter. He looked at the butt of the lighter, which was also an opaque design. He couldn't tell how much butane gas was inside. Chen Zhou's joy was like a bucket of cold water poured on him.

According to his experience of using lighters, generally speaking, better quality gas lighters are either made of solid materials, have a metal shell, and feel heavy.

Or even though the material is plastic, the plastic is transparent, allowing people to see how much air is left inside.

An opaque design like this, coupled with a plastic shell and the so-called windproof and explosion-proof design, is usually of the worst quality and will have problems within a few days, either failing to ignite or the flame is very small.

“I hope the seller this time is a conscientious merchant.

I have been looking forward to the lighter since the second mysterious reward. Now it has finally arrived. Please don’t let me down!”

I tried using the lighter in my hand. It was still new as I had just unpacked it. It ignited smoothly and the flame was blue. There was no problem at all.

But the word "windproof" is not so reliable.

Because Chen Zhou just opened the door a little to let the wind from outside in, the flame of the lighter had no resistance and was blown out directly. It seemed that this was a gimmick of the merchant.

After closing the door and looking at the blazing fire, Chen Zhou couldn't help but feel a little scared when he remembered that he had just placed the reward box next to the fire.

If a spark really burst out from the fire and ignited the outer packaging, not to mention detonating the lighter, the fire alone would be enough to cost him half his life.

There was also half a barrel of gunpowder in the wooden house. If the fire spread, even if he escaped, all his accumulated belongings would be destroyed.

Having unknowingly walked through the gates of hell, Chen Zhou was glad that he had built a circle of fire-proof walls and laid a layer of stone slabs around the stove in advance, otherwise if an accident happened, the situation would be hard to predict.

……

Nearly two hundred days had passed since the flint was first used, and a layer of the iron blade had been knocked off.

Chen Zhou had long since gotten used to the feel of the flint, and was becoming more and more adept at using this fire-making tool from the 17th century.

Since there was no urgent work requiring fire at the moment, he decided to store the lighter for use later when he needed to make a quick fire while out.

This almost disposable lighter has excellent sealing properties and can be kept in a convenience store for seven or eight years and can be used normally. As long as the outer shell is not damaged, it can basically last until the end of the challenge.

If the 48 lighters are used less frequently, there may still be a few left after these 28 years.

In addition to normal fire making, Chen Zhou also wanted to use the electric ignition device inside the lighter to make an improved version of the flintlock with electric ignition. Combined with the spring removed from the Naoguabang artifact, the firing speed of the flintlock could achieve a qualitative leap.

However, the previous improved version drawings have not been completed yet. This time, new components have been added, and the design has to start over again, removing some bloated structures and providing a framework for the new structure. It will definitely not be manufactured in a short time, and we probably have to wait until the next rainy season.

……

In the early stages of the challenge, a box of lighters like this would definitely be a magical tool.

Especially for someone like Chen Zhou who has no experience in surviving in the wild, he simply does not have the patience and skills to make fire by drilling wood, and it is difficult for him to make a more convenient bow drill fire weapon.

If there was no flint on the ship, he would have to worry about preserving fire and making fire for a long time, which might even lead to various dangers, troubles and countless time wasted.

But today, 195 days later, having a lighter or not is no longer that important to Chen Zhou.

Even if the flint was broken, he could make a second one, or even bury the charcoal with soil to preserve the fire, or make a bow drill to make fire.

When tinder is available, a bow drill can make fire faster than a flint. However, the bow drill is too large and is not as portable as a flint.

After dinner and taking care of the four "divine beasts" at home, I shoveled a shovel of soil into the stove to press down the burning charcoal and keep the fire.

Added a new scar to the wood.

Lying on the bed, looking at the ceiling shrouded in darkness and listening to the sound of wind and rain outside, Chen Zhou turned over and couldn't fall asleep.

Accustomed to resting in the cave, he suddenly felt the lack of home atmosphere when he moved outside.

I was too tired a few days ago and fell asleep as soon as I touched the pillow, but tonight I missed the cave a little.

The bed was very low. If he leaned half of his shoulder out, he could touch Lai Fu who was lying on the ground with just one hand.

The fire dried Lai Fu's hair. When he put his fingers in, he could touch some tiny particles of soil, which were a bit rough.

"Laifu, are you asleep?"

Chen Zhou murmured.

Then he felt a wet, warm and soft object covering the back of his hand. It was Lai Fu's tongue.

After licking his master's hand, Lai Fu stretched out his hind legs, pushed against the wall of the wooden house, squeezed out a low growl from his throat, moved to the side of the bed, and tilted his head to look at Chen Zhou's face.

"Laifu, tell me, can I live beyond 28 years?"

Chen Zhou asked, rubbing Lai Fu's head in the dark.

"Laifu, can you stay with me until the challenge is over?"

There was no response from inside the wooden house, only the sound of raindrops hitting the shed, making a clattering sound.

After a moment's silence, Chen Zhou said.

"Laifu, have I ever told you that you are the best dog I have ever seen..."

He spoke incoherently, his chin resting on the bed, his eyelids already drooping uncontrollably.

He pinched Lai Fu's soft and warm ear in a daze and held it in his palm. His head fell to the side and his face was pressed against the edge of the bed, deformed.

Raindrops were drifting in the forest, and there was no light around the mowed grass.

A half-stretched wooden beam was placed between sturdy trees, and darkness covered half of the hut like a quilt.

The doors and windows were closed, and there was a faint sound of snoring.

　This is the first update. The next update should be late at night. Those who want to catch up can wait until tomorrow to read it. Staying up late is not good for your health.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)