Chapter 257 - 115: Anniversary Feast · Happy New Year to Everyone! (Part 2)
Quietly reflecting on the lesson, he thought that next time he cooked shellfish, he must clean them thoroughly in advance to scrape off all the grit and gravel, to avoid such issues.
With this matter in mind, he still took out the cooked shellfish from the pot, poured out the briny water, and rinsed the fine sand from the iron pot.
Having already confirmed these shellfish were non-toxic, even if slightly gritty, he couldn't throw them away. Seeing the eagerly awaiting cats and dogs, Chen Zhou could only act as a "laborer," prying open the shells with a small knife and digging out the meat for them to eat.
But before that, he had to complete the final step of grilling fish—pouring garlic paste.
Since he had not yet achieved "garlic freedom," the amount of garlic paste Chen Zhou could use was very limited, so he had to use it precisely.
With a small spoon, he took some minced garlic, carefully spreading it into the grilled cracks on the fish, then used chopsticks to break apart the fish meat and put it in his mouth to savor.
Even though he didn't know the species of this fish, and hadn't eaten many kinds of sea fish.
After chewing, Chen Zhou couldn't find a single fault with the taste of this fish.
Just as he had thought before—high-quality ingredients often only need the simplest cooking methods.
The grilled unknown fish flesh was tender and lacked the earthy smell typical of carp or grass carp that Chen Zhou had eaten before.
Although the fish's flavor was slightly bland due to insufficient seasoning, the fish's inherent freshness made up for it.
Moreover, this fish had very few bones, mainly only the hard bone in the center of the body, with no small bones, making it exceedingly enjoyable to eat bite after bite.
...
While eating fish, the cats and dogs all gathered around Chen Zhou, just as the abalone and scallops he had fished out were laid out on the table.
His mouth was busy with fish, and his hands weren't idle either, picking up the boiled shellfish and prying them open with a small knife, removing the shellfish meat, and wiping off the sand to feed the waiting "big and little gluttons."
The one with the biggest appetite and the most credit, Lai Fu, understandably got to enjoy the most shellfish meat.
However, it seemed not very interested in this food hidden in shells, and after eating a few pieces of shellfish meat, it lowered its head and lay down to the side.
Meanwhile, Tizi and Xiao Huihui were eating with great relish, especially Xiao Huihui—for Chen Zhou had never seen it dislike anything edible.
...
The brave sacrifice of the poison-testing mice opened up more dietary possibilities.
As September 30 drew nearer, Chen Zhou nervously prepared his anniversary feast, readying a variety of dishes.
Modern food brought as a reward was an essential part of it.
In this unfamiliar world, stranded on an isolated island in the vast ocean, one's soul feels so helpless.
Sometimes, only food from the homeland could make him feel secure, find a pillar of life, and a direction to move forward.
Canned peaches, hazelnuts, pine nuts, and a few slightly shriveled, bitter almonds, garlic sprouts, garlic cloves…
They were not the highlight of the feast, but they were the most dazzling part; without them, Chen Zhou's life would be much less interesting.
...
Aside from the "Modern Anchor" that keeps Chen Zhou from getting lost in the fog of loneliness, the island's food was to occupy more space.
After all, he has to live here for nearly ten thousand days, and indigenous food will always be the main theme of life.
Oranges, tangerines, sugarcane, grapes.
Orange, white, purple-pink, either sliced or peeled, come together into a plate of fresh fruits, with varying sweet and sour flavors.
Flatbread, rice, either baked or boiled, each having its fragrance.
The most attractive to Chen Zhou was the diverse variety of meats.
In recent days, he put aside all other work, focusing on hunting and exploring the forest.
With Lai Fu's help, and the poison-testing mice ensuring food safety, his courage was much greater than before.
Lizards, parrots, unknown birds, snakes he could see and hunt, even particularly large insects and various tree frogs could not escape his clutches.
Surprisingly, with all these attempts, a new menu was not developed, but many small mice were poisoned to death.
Poor creatures, they had been in this world for just over a month before being sent away by the cruel "Prison Warden" Chen Zhou.
However, it didn't matter because the female mice's reproductive efficiency was much faster than Chen Zhou imagined.
In the past few days, when he put the male mice with the females, he noticed they again showed signs of affection. He estimated that in about one and a half months, a new batch of poison-testing mice could be born.
...
No strange food had been found for now, but normal foods—goat, seafood, and even pigeons and frogs, were plenty prepared by Chen Zhou.
In addition, he had an unexpected gain.
Perhaps it was luck. On September 29, the day before the anniversary feast, while going to the sea in the morning, he finally saw the longed-for sea turtle, though there was only one.
During the tide's ebb, the massive creature lay on the moist beach and could be seen from afar.
Reflecting on it later, Chen Zhou could never forget how excited he was when he saw the sea turtle, wishing he could fly over with wings and chop it with an axe.
Resisting the impulse, he constantly reminded himself to stay calm—
The position where the sea turtle lay was very close to the sea, and once startled, it might be a futile effort.
Suppressing his inner excitement, Chen Zhou took off his backpack, holding only Sharp Axe, crouched low, and stealthily approached the sea turtle.
From twenty meters away, he could vaguely see the turtle's brownish shell with complex yellow patterns of varying depths.
Having seen crafts made from tortoise shell in various treasure appraisal programs, Chen Zhou couldn't be sure if this turtle was a tortoise but thought it resembled one by about seventy to eighty percent.
Thus, the sea turtle in his mind was not merely untasted turtle meat or eggs but also a potential moving little gold mine.
Of course, this little gold mine had the potential to land him in jail for over ten years.
Should there be a few more "little gold mines," it wouldn't be impossible for him to be given a 7.62mm "peanut" to consume.
Quietly approaching within a dozen meters, carefully observing the turtle's movements, noticing it watching him and showing signs of turning around, Chen Zhou suddenly accelerated.
Just like when he had clubbed seals before, once close enough, he sprinted on the moist fine sand.
Always moving slowly while crouched, Chen Zhou's stamina was well preserved; within this dozen-meter range, even if the turtle grew hundreds of legs like a centipede, it couldn't outrun him.
In a flash, Chen Zhou reached the turtle, raised the axe, and struck its head.
Compared to cutting a seal, this time his actions were somewhat overly cautious.
After all, tortoise shell is a particularly valuable item; a complete one is priced differently from one with poor condition, and breaking a corner could mean a loss of tens of thousands, making him naturally careful not to damage his future wealth.
A sea turtle has a severe disadvantage, possessing high defense on its back, but unable to retract its head and limbs into the shell like some land turtles, making its defense seem reminiscent of the Maginot Line.
In the sea, it swims fast, relying on agile turns to avoid attacks.
On land, facing frantic attacks, there was nothing they could do.
Without the seals' thick layers of fat to absorb damage, each blow of the axe blade fell soundly on the turtle's head.
After only a couple of strikes, with blood splattering, the turtle's skull was shattered.
It didn't even have time to let out a wail before it stopped moving, obediently lying on the sand.
Not expecting the battle to end so fast, Chen Zhou felt a bit unsatisfied.
Setting down the axe, he grabbed the turtle's shell, trying to drag its body, only to find it was much heavier than he imagined.
The whole turtle's shell was about a meter in length, resembling a colorful small round table.
Maybe because it hadn't been polished, up close it didn't look nearly as splendid as antique tortoise shells Chen Zhou had seen, lacking that aristocratic air left by the passage of time.
Having such a large shell, the turtle's weight was naturally heavy as well.
Dragging it on the wet sand involved considerable resistance, and Chen Zhou made a quiet calculation, estimating that removing the drag caused by resistance, the turtle's weight was at least 180 pounds, possibly 200 pounds.
Such a large corpse tossed on the beach couldn't be dragged away by his arms alone, so it had to be dismembered.