Wandering America: My kill threshold is far ahead

Chapter 263 Refining Oil, Flour, and Upgrading the Shelter

Ma Jieke provided a comprehensive, hands-on training program for this hard-won prey, transforming every part of it into a means of survival.

The first step, of course, is to slit the throat and bleed the hunter, which is as simple as closing your eyes when you sleep.

The second step is a little tricky. Since fish minks are mustelids and belong to the same group as skunks, they have scent glands on their buttocks. The entire gland must be removed very carefully. If it ruptures during the procedure, the entire fish mink will be contaminated and become inedible.

After these two steps, the potential fishy smell and odor have been largely eliminated.

Next, of course, is skinning, which is no challenge for the experienced Ma Jie, since he had already experimented on rabbits and foxes before.

For animals that walk on all fours, the skinning methods are largely the same, and the tubular skinning method can be used.

The term "tube-shaped" refers to the process of peeling the animal's skin and fur into a tube shape from the body, thus obtaining a complete leather tube.

The fat under the skin is a good thing. Cut it off and cut it into pieces. Put it in a pot and simmer it over low heat. When the fat gradually becomes transparent and starts to release oil, stir it constantly with a spatula.

When the meat pieces turn into golden-yellow cracklings and the oil production no longer increases significantly, add wild scallion segments and lemon balm and fry until dry and thoroughly cooked. Before removing from the heat, remove the waste and add a pinch of salt to help prevent spoilage.

In this way, you get two delicious things at the same time: oil and oil residue.

Although the quantity is small, it is more precious than gold to the survivors.

Oils, needless to say, are a game-changer when used to cook other foods.

Pork cracklings can be eaten directly or used as a side dish to enhance the flavor of other ingredients.

There's not much to say about mink meat; it's only slightly better than fox meat, and you can only get a few pounds of it in total. The taste isn't as good as that of herbivores either, so you have to stew it for a long time to remove the odor as much as possible.

Of course, what truly made Ma Jieke willing to take the risk was actually its skin.

Although the fur of mink is not as good as that of mink, which is used to make raw materials for mink coats, under these living conditions, it is good enough to get an animal skin at all. What more could you ask for?

The tanning method is the same as the previous fox pelt, using brain marrow as a natural tanning agent. Even the frame used to support the pelt is readily available, so there's no need to bother making it.

As for its uses, there are countless: leather hats, leather gloves, leather earmuffs, leather insoles...

With a little more imagination, it can even be sewn into water bags and utility bags.

No needle or thread needed; you can sharpen the small bones inside the mink to get a bone needle.

Bone needles first appeared in the Neolithic Age, about 1 years ago. If humans could do it 1 years ago, why can't modern humans do it?

The remaining bones, after being sharpened, can be used to make hunting arrows. The quality is certainly not comparable to industrial products, but the quantity is large. Even if they can only be used once, it is better than watching helplessly as ammunition and food run out.

The most outrageous thing is the tendon on the back of the mink. After being dried and torn into thin shreds, this stuff is extremely strong and is a top-grade material for sewing leather goods, perfectly filling the gaps in paracord that are in short supply.

If you don't find it disgusting, your stomach and bladder, after being thoroughly cleaned, can be used as containers for water.

After the intestines are thoroughly cleaned, they can be made into very strong ropes, which can even replace bowstrings.

In short, to a hungry person, a mink is just a lump of meat.

To top survival experts, it is a treasure trove of decomposable resources.

As the 20th day of the competition approached, Pegasus Jack showed no signs of slacking off. In addition to his daily fishing, gathering, and trapping, he also took time to go hunting every day. It was good if he could catch prey, but it didn't matter if he couldn't; he could just consider it as accumulating experience points for himself.

As I said before, you can't rush these things. If large prey were so easy to hunt, there wouldn't be so many survival strategies like starvation, grass-eating, and trap-trapping. Who the hell wouldn't want to have an endless supply of meat in their shelter?

The core skill [Resource Exploration], which refreshes every 3 days, was not wasted. First, following the navigation instructions, after a long trek and free climbing, a very well hidden bird's nest was found, and several bird eggs were successfully stolen.

The reason for using the word "theft" is that, according to the Migratory Bird Convention Act, disturbing, moving, or stealing birds in Canada is illegal.

It is illegal to collect or possess any migratory birds (including their eggs and nests).

But Ma Jieke isn't the kind of honest guy. "I've already taken my pants off, and you're telling me this, so what? Go ahead and shoot me if you dare."

Of course, I wasn't stupid enough to do that with the camera on; I didn't want to cause trouble for myself or the production team.

Otherwise, given the irrational nature of these radical leftists, they'll fight you to the death.

In addition to the protected bird eggs, we also harvested a bag of acorns, the kind of nuts that squirrels in cartoons store up for winter, with a distinctive "little hat" on top.

This stuff has an extremely bitter taste because it contains tannins, but you can extract the tannins by crushing the shelled acorn kernels and repeatedly boiling them in water.

Processed acorns have no astringent taste and a texture similar to chestnuts and sweet potatoes; they are a precious wild starch.

The normal way to eat it is to bake it dry and eat it directly, but Ma Jie decided to try something different.

He first heated the stone slab, then spread the wet acorn fragments on it to dry slowly, and then used another stone slab to press it on and roll it back and forth.

You have to understand that even in the early days, humans used donkeys to pull millstones, so his current behavior is just exhausting the silly boy.

However, thanks to his [Physical Energy Absorption] and [Working Body], his stamina is almost as good as a donkey's.

After a long and tedious process, the thoroughly dried acorn kernels are further processed into acorn flour.

He carefully collected the "flour," which, although only a few pounds, was extremely precious to him.

Although this acorn powder can be stored for a long time to prepare for the upcoming long winter, Ma Jie still couldn't resist the temptation.

Take out a portion on the spot, add salt and cooled boiled water, knead it into a patty shape, cover it with a layer of chopped green onions, roll it up, and then press it into a patty shape again.

Once the fire was lit, he first opened the can of grease. The cooled animal fat had solidified and turned into a milky white paste.

Carefully scoop out a spoonful and place it in the pot, quietly watching the oil gradually heat up and melt from a solid to a liquid state.

Then, put the dough in. The hot oil sizzles as it comes into contact with the dough and scallions, creating an enticing sizzling sound.

Once the bottom was almost done, Ma Jie used his merciless iron hand to flip it over and continue cooking.

Soon, a wild-style scallion pancake was ready. Although it didn't look very appealing and a lot of the scallions were burnt, in Ma Jie's eyes, he wouldn't trade it for any delicacy at this moment.

Being able to eat food similar to that of modern civilized society in the wilderness is not just about filling one's stomach; it also contains a great deal of happiness and hope.

"Fufu, it's so hot." Looking at the freshly made scallion pancake, Ma Jie took a bite.

How to describe the taste? It's definitely different from real flour. The aftertaste is more of a nutty aroma, but this is the best he could do. After all, the conditions are limited, and he shouldn't have any more expectations.

After finishing the entire scallion pancake, he smiled at the camera and said, "I know some viewers will question this. They think it's not cost-effective to go through all this trouble just to make a pancake. They might as well just eat it directly, which would also reduce food waste. But don't forget, you're just sitting in front of your screens watching me. I've been here for 20 days without running water, electricity, a cell phone, or anyone to talk to. So this isn't just a simple scallion pancake; it's my hope for survival. I'll make more of this kind of hope in the future. That's all."

The next day, Ma Jieke woke up from his sleep. As soon as he opened the wooden door of the shelter, the howling autumn wind swept in, carrying fallen leaves.

Bang! Faced with this terrible weather, he slammed the door shut, picked up the heavy log he had just put down, braced one end against the door panel, and firmly placed the other end against the ground to form a stable triangular support.

To ensure the shelter was draft-free, Ma Jieke put a lot of thought into it. He first adopted a windowless design, leaving only a peephole that could be blocked at any time.

Two closing systems were designed on the door. One is a "door-stopping bar" that can be operated by hand, which can add an extra layer of security from the inside when sleeping at night.

The other method requires more skill. Simply put, it involves using a precise mortise and tenon structure to install guide rails on the inside of the door panel and below the door frame, ensuring a tight fit, and then inserting a wooden stick of suitable length and thickness.

When the wooden stick passes through the guide rail, it effectively "locks" the door from the inside. To open the door, simply pull out the wooden stick.

The problem is that this only locks the door from the inside; once a person leaves the house, there's no way to guarantee their safety.

But this is no big deal for a country known for its infrastructure development. They use hardwood nails, make a small hole in the door, thread a paracord through the hole, tie one end to a wooden stick, and leave the other end outside the door. When leaving the house, they pull the paracord tight, and when the door closes, they let go, causing the wooden stick to fall straight down and lock itself in place. When returning home, they simply pull it up again, and the stick is lifted up again.

Don't think it's cumbersome. A door that can't be closed properly means heat loss, strong winds, and unexpected "visits" from various insects and even small animals.

As he sat in front of the plane, waiting for the wind to subside, he envisioned in his mind how to build the perfect fire pit.

After all, starting a fire directly in a shelter is a different concept from having a picnic outdoors.

As far as I can remember, there was a contestant who burned down his house in the middle of the night because he didn't design his fire pit well.

As his ideas gradually became richer and more mature, and more and more practical, the wind force also decreased significantly.

That's how the weather is in the wilderness—unpredictable and ever-changing, even the weather station would be at a loss.

After setting up the fixed location, Ma Jieke began collecting stones. Just like building a shelter, this was not only a physical task but also a mental one, requiring him to find stones with a higher degree of compatibility.

These stones in his mind were arranged and combined like 3D models, constantly calculating precise geometric models in advance to fill in the defects and gaps between them.

In addition, clay is an indispensable raw material, along with sand and fine straw, which, when mixed with clay, can effectively improve the strength of the material.

Just collecting these things kept Ma Jie busy all morning. He took a short break to eat, and then officially started work in the afternoon.

Although I felt it wouldn't be very entertaining, I still decided to start broadcasting it. The main reason is that viewers have been a bit tired of watching mukbangs every day lately.

Unexpectedly, the show was incredibly popular. Just one minute after it started airing, it had already reached over 5,000 online viewers, and the number was still increasing at a visible rate. At this rate, it's only a matter of time before the number of viewers exceeds 10,000.

"Hello everyone, good afternoon." Ma Jie greeted the camera: "It's a workday today, and I really didn't expect so many friends to come and watch. Time is limited, so I won't waste any more time. Let me give you a heads-up: today's live stream might be a bit boring, but I'll try my best to make these two hours as interesting as possible."

"Let me briefly explain the situation. These stones and clay you see are the raw materials I'm using to build the hearth. Can anyone answer where the most efficient and safest place to build a hearth is?"

As soon as the question was asked, the comments section erupted with enthusiastic responses, including some witty and clever ones.

"Is that even a question, Teacher Ma? It definitely needs to be in a corner, otherwise, in the center of the room?"

"I think it should be built in the rest area so that people can sleep by the fire and not be afraid of the cold."

"Do you guys even understand anything? A bunch of idiots who didn't finish elementary school. A hearth is a place for burning firewood. Haven't you learned the three elements of combustion? Combustible material, oxidant, and ignition point. The oxidant is mainly oxygen, so the correct answer should be that it faces the door to ensure air circulation."

Looking at these answers, Ma Jie smiled knowingly and said, "Students who said it was built in the corner, don't leave after school. I'll call your parents. The corner is the worst place in the entire shelter in terms of ventilation, and it's very difficult to start a fire. Some students have already mentioned this, so I'd like to give them special praise."

At this point, the tone suddenly shifted: "But don't be too quick to gloat behind your screen, because you're not much better off than him. Do you know what it means to be directly facing the door? It means that cold air will blow directly onto the hearth, not only will the fire not burn well, but it will also fill the whole house with smoke."

"As for building it in the rest area, do you want the teacher to die sooner? If a spark were to land on my sleeping bag, I would be roasted into jerky. Sleeping while warming myself by a fire, what were you thinking? You wouldn't say something like that without ten years of brain hemorrhage."

"Alright, now I'll reveal the correct answer." Ma Jieke said, getting up and walking to the center of the shelter, stomping his foot on the ground: "This is the ideal location. The heat released from the fire pit will be evenly distributed throughout the entire stone house, doubling the heating efficiency. All students who answered incorrectly, stand here for 5 minutes as punishment."

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