Chapter 230 - 104: Garlic!
In Wei City, morning rain moistens the light dust, the guest house is green and the willows are fresh.
The cool atmosphere on the island had long been driven away by the scorching heat that lasted for four months.
As a light rain fell, on the morning of August 11, Chen Zhou set out with his backpack towards the beach, breathing in the air with a slight hint of dust, and feeling just two words—refreshing.
The long-awaited rain awakened the forest, and all the wilted and withered plants became vibrant again.
Even the frog croaks and bird calls in the forest seemed more lively.
Lai Fu's fur was thick, shedding a layer during the dry season, the remaining thinner layer still made it feel hot, often being baked to the point of lethargy.
Entering the dry season, this was the happiest morning it had run.
...
The rain last night and this morning was neither too heavy nor too light, the thick canvas on the platform wasn't penetrated by the rain, and the pottery kiln below remained intact.
With nothing distressing, Chen Zhou's mood was naturally more relaxed.
Moreover, today was the day to "open the blind box," thinking about the new mysterious rewards on the beach, he had a subtle feeling that something good might come out this time.
This was not based on experience or predictions from previous rewards, it was entirely his intuition.
Who could blame him for being in a good mood today, when optimistic, there are no difficulties in the world.
With familiarity, he came to the beach, moved away the wooden board stones still bearing raindrops.
This time, Chen Zhou planned to "unwrap the blind box" and check the true form of the rewards in advance.
With a calm mind, he walked to the center of rewards, where a small paper box about 20cm long, and 8cm wide lay quietly.
The outer layer of the paper box was densely wrapped with tape, almost completely enveloping the box, after being soaked by rain, it still didn't wetten the box.
Honestly, at the moment he saw this little thing, Chen Zhou was a bit disappointed.
Over twenty mysterious rewards had left him with a rigid impression—big is beautiful, more is good.
All large-volume mysterious rewards, even if not particularly useful, can somewhat provide unexpected functionality.
Like that Wang Lingguan statue, before obtaining the skillet, its base had faithfully served the function of a frying pan, catering to Chen Zhou's stomach.
And then there's that bulky ergonomic chair, although most components were useless, just the bearings extracted from the five wheels made Chen Zhou laugh with joy.
With his skills, plus the island's rudimentary industrial conditions, crafting a bearing by hand would likely be hard even if given 28 years.
Compared to large rewards, the most useful among small rewards was only the box of lighters and the ear-pick set.
Other than those, things like phone cases, Electronic Wooden Fish, butt plugs, shoehorns, were "defective modern craftsmanship" that could make Chen Zhou break down.
Having learned from past experiences, regarding the items within this small paper box he was holding, he held little hope.
But since he left the house in a good mood today, he wasn't particularly fixated on what the reward might be, just hoping it wasn't something like wooden products or phone cases, at least it could be of some use.
He took out the dagger, ready to cut open the tape on the box, Chen Zhou shook the box casually.
Hearing a clattering sound from inside, as if some loose parts were packed within, he guessed it might be a box of hard candies.
Without thinking further, he exerted force with his right hand, the dagger's sharp tip immediately pierced into the tape, easily slicing a straight line.
Peeling off the thick tape, opening the top of the paper box, plump white garlic cloves appeared in Chen Zhou's sight.
For a moment, he thought he was seeing things, hallucinating.
So he hurriedly placed the paper box on the ground and rubbed his eyes.
Looking again inside the paper box, numerous plump white garlic cloves still huddled together, not one more, not one less.
The joy in his heart was indescribable, fearing being played by the reward providers, Chen Zhou picked up a garlic clove with skin and sniffed it.
The characteristic smell of garlic wafted into his nostrils, combined with the texture of the garlic skin, the weight of the clove, all confirming to him—
"This is not a dream, you really got a box of garlic seeds."
"Wow, the heavens have opened their eyes, the program crew finally showed some conscience!
I thought this kind of seasoning wouldn't be given until the 28th year!"
Putting the garlic cloves back into the paper box, Chen Zhou clenched his fist, almost shouting out in joy.
Regarding seasonings, he had already faced too many failures.
The suspected wild chili plants brought back from River Valley Plain couldn't be used as pepper at all, only ruining the original taste of ingredients.
Mountain celery was not suited to the soil, it perished within days in the sunroom.
If it weren't for the mint and fennel grown in the ship doctor's jar, his culinary flavor would be even worse than now.
From any angle, these garlic seeds were a solution to his urgent needs.
Besides this reward, there was basically no other way to obtain it, hoping to find wild garlic on the island was more unlikely than expecting a generator to fall from the sky.
...
"This stuff must be stored well."
Carefully smoothing the garlic cloves in the paper box, and then covering the box lid, securing it with the remaining slightly sticky tape, Chen Zhou placed the box of garlic into his backpack.
Among vegetables, garlic's growth rate can certainly be ranked at the forefront.
A maturity period of about a month is enough to stand out among peers.
And garlic is easy to plant, just place the garlic clove with the tip up in the soil, sprinkle some water as needed. Plus, its reproduction speed is fast, not only can the garlic clove itself be eaten, but also garlic sprouts can be stir-fried.
As for sweet and sour garlic, mashed garlic, the combination of garlic and meat, are undoubtedly delicacies.