Chapter 283 - 126: Fishing Grand Gift Pack
February 5, 1661, a new rain heralded the arrival of the rainy season.
Clouds obscured the sun, and the light inside the cave was dimmer than usual.
The chandelier was lit, and the stove was lit.
The sound of burning wood traveled from the kitchen to the bedroom, accompanied by occasional crisp pops.
With the door tightly closed, the room was free from drafts, the lamp's light was bright and steady, and the warmth from the fire wall was increasing.
Chen Zhou stood by the bedroom window, hands behind his back. The newly lacquered window frame was snugly embedded in the outer wall, looking exceptionally neat.
The not-so-clean glass was covered with raindrop curtains blown in by the wind.
The water stains washed away the dust covering the glass, blurring the distant scene.
The sky and earth seemed embedded in these small squares of glass, resembling a Van Gogh painting.
The cat still loved warm places and gathered in front of the fire wall.
The clothes and towels washed last night were still hanging on the drying rack.
Tizi lay lazily and relaxed against the wall, with Guang Dang and Gray Ball snuggling it, and Tiger Head lay on its back, restlessly hooking the hem of a shirt with its claw, soon getting stuck in the pants fabric, meowing anxiously.
Lai Fu lay properly beside Chen Zhou, with drooping eyelids, accompanying his master in watching the drizzling rain outside the window.
The sound of the rain was so tranquil, without lightning or thunder.
Just standing quietly like this, gazing into the distance, could calm one's mind, as if merging with the breeze outside, blowing across the hills and drifting towards the vast sea.
...
The initially dry platform was hit by raindrops, sending up wisps of light smoke, with small pits of water resembling dimples on the earth, blossoming one after another.
But the dust-laden smoke soon disappeared, turning into winding streams, leveling the pits and flowing elsewhere.
In such weather, even someone as restless as Chen Zhou wanted to take a day off or enjoy a good nap.
He added some wood to the stove, thinking of taking a hot bath at home later, before returning to the bedroom.
Nowadays, the bedroom could be described as a "small but complete sparrow."
Upon entering, there were a clothes rack, shoe rack, storage box, and a row of unnamed wildflowers along the window, ready to bloom.
Walking on the wooden floor, the partition wall next to the kitchen extended into a fire wall, with a drying rack in front and a desk on the inside.
The edge of the desk had a black matte wooden rack made of ironwood, with several separate compartments, some containing self-made purple ink by Chen Zhou, some with ink brought from the ship, and the most exquisite compartment housed the small bottle of ink that came with a fountain pen.
Since this ink was so precious, Chen Zhou had hardly used it.
In addition to the cat-proof wooden rack, the desk also had Chen Zhou's commonly used paper and pen and that Robinson Crusoe.
Beside the desk was a floor lamp, which was Chen Zhou's main light source for study and work.
Behind the desk, besides a comfortable wooden chair, stood a tall storage shelf made of brightly colored fir planks and creamy white wood, holding books Chen Zhou had brought from the ship. The "Intangible Cultural Heritage Overview: Bamboo, Rattan, and Straw Weaving Comprehensive Guide" was also placed there.
Of course, the number of books Chen Zhou had collected was not enough to fill the entire storage shelf, so it also held small pottery pieces made by Chen Zhou and self-made wooden models, along with a few bottles of good wine he had scavenged.
The pottery was far less beautiful than ceramics, and given Chen Zhou's unskilled craftsmanship, they looked quite adorably ugly.
However, making many inevitably led to a few masterpieces, among which "Running Lai Fu," "Tizi's Family," and "Sheep Flock" were vividly crafted.
Especially "Running Lai Fu," although its appearance was rough, its form captured Lai Fu's charm, that lively and exuberantly energetic essence, unmistakably evident at a glance.
The wooden models benefited from Chen Zhou's consistent attention to detail and pursuit of perfection, appearing structurally tight and aesthetically pleasing.
The bottom tier of the storage shelf contained a few model machines, the finest of them. Whether it was a soil huller, a foot-operated pestle, a water pestle, or a millstone, they were fully functional real tools, only less efficient.
The storage shelf took up the left half of the bedroom, with a corridor over a meter wide on the right side, between it and the storage room wall.
Further inside was Chen Zhou's resting area.
Besides a bed, the resting area housed a cat nest, chinchilla box, mirror, wardrobe, nightstand, and other storage facilities.
Due to space constraints, the furniture wasn't exactly orderly, but it could still be deemed neat and clean.
Particularly the furniture moved from the captain's cabin and first mate's room, all in European vintage style, unifying the bedroom's ambiance.
On the inside of the bed and nightstand, near the sandstone cave wall, was a longer and taller storage shelf.
Behind the storage shelf was the still-expanding sandstone cave wall.
Without it, the yellow sandstone in "Primitive People style" would have been visible from the bed, losing its aesthetic appeal.
...
The walls on either side of the bedroom displayed paintings carefully chosen by Chen Zhou.
Among them were the ocean's roaring waves, the forest's lush beauty, the lively rock beach, the evolution of the cave, the mischievous moments of kittens, scenes of bountiful harvests, and the warmth of Lai Fu sleeping peacefully...
Recently, two new works were added, depicting a tall, burly crew-cut man and a giant dead fish.
The crew-cut man was young, but his face was weathered and aged by the sea wind and years of hard work.