Chapter 274 - 122: Super Satisfying 450 Toolbox (Part 2)
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Grabbing the handle on the side of the tool cart, Chen Zhou tried to lift it, estimating the entire cart weighed about one hundred and forty to fifty jin. He didn't pull it off the wooden pallet.
This was, after all, a sandy beach. Such a heavy tool cart would cause the four omnidirectional wheels to sink deep into the sand and become immobile.
Just like moving the containers and the internal Damascus steel billets, he took out the tools from the drawers first, emptying them before taking the empty tool cart away, which seemed more prudent.
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After two days of back-and-forth, he brought the auto repair toolbox back to the cave dwelling, further compressing the available space in the storage room.
Once he organized all the tools, the first thing Chen Zhou did was dismantle the omnidirectional wheels from under the tool cart and install them on a thick wooden board, two meters long and one and a half meters wide, with nails attached.
He then added handles to the wooden board, repaired the mountain road, and pushed it, dragging the container onto a platform, temporarily placing it outside.
The appearance of the omnidirectional wheels seemed to be a kind reminder from the Space-Time Administration Bureau—
Stop fussing over your bent wood into wheels project, it's pointless. Why bother when we can give you something better?
But Chen Zhou did not accept their kindness. He was not someone who easily gave up. The bent wood technique had already consumed almost a month of effort, and just like completing pottery, it was about to become successful. How could he give up at this crucial moment?
As they say, the journey of a hundred miles begins at ninety. With ninety-nine bows already done, why hesitate at the last one?
Moreover, now with both practice and theoretical knowledge, the manufactured wheels were becoming increasingly perfect; he had no reason to give up.
After all, there are still over nine thousand days in the future; he couldn't just rely on these four omnidirectional wheels forever.
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He continued to engage in his work.
As December neared its end, Chen Zhou did not forget to climb the mountains to observe the beach, searching for any movements from the cannibal tribes.
Nearly a year had passed; the site where the tribes once held their cannibal feasts had long been leveled by torrential rain. From afar, the sandy ground appeared flat and wide as if nothing had happened.
He watched diligently until the end of December, only going to the beach to claim a reward on December 24th. Until New Year's Day of 1661, Chen Zhou didn't see the tribes landing on the island.
The truth was just as he had surmised — the tribes landed on the island every other year.
In 1659, they held a cannibal feast; therefore, they wouldn't hold another in 1660.
By 1661, which was this year, they would gather on the island again. If he wanted to acquire labor or find a more intelligent companion to be more helpful, there were less than twelve months to prepare.
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As for the reward on December 24th, it was probably the most disappointing after a whole year—
A box of 24 mixed bags of instant noodles.
Inside were a few flavors that Chen Zhou liked, including Lao Tan sauerkraut beef noodles, spicy sour beef noodles, and classic braised beef noodles, fresh shrimp and fish plate noodles, tomato beef noodles, and golden soup beef noodles, four bags of each flavor.
The shelf life of instant noodles isn't as long as canned goods. Chen Zhou couldn't resist his cravings the day he got them and immediately cooked a bag of Lao Tan sauerkraut beef noodles.
Since one bag of noodles was not enough to satisfy, he also added a lot of dough pieces into the pot.
The second crop of wheat had matured long ago, and the third batch of rice was harvested a few days ago, with most of the fields sown. The new crop even used fertilizer and grew promisingly, along with goat milk from the nanny goat and crops fetched from the sea, the island's "food crisis" had been successfully overcome.
However, even though there was more food, it wasn't enough to be wasteful, as everything was grown through hard work.
Having experienced the hardships of "every grain of rice comes from growing pains," Chen Zhou never dared to waste food, always careful with portions when cooking to avoid leftovers.
The island was still in the dry season, and the weather was hot. Leftovers spoiled quickly; even in the kitchen with a lower temperature, they only lasted seven to eight hours at most before souring.
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When he was in high school, self-study at night lasted until almost ten o'clock, with dinner around six.
During that time, Chen Zhou was still growing, tall and skinny, with a quick metabolism, so he always had to buy some snacks from the school store to fill his stomach after night study when returning to the dormitory.
Back then, Lao Tan sauerkraut beef noodles were his favorite, and he would drink the noodle soup dry. He kept it up for three years.
While at university, sometimes he was too lazy to go to the cafeteria and found takeout too expensive, so he ate instant noodles in his dormitory, consuming countless bowls of Lao Tan sauerkraut beef noodles until he finally got sick of them.
He even ate so much that later during work, the mere distant smell of Lao Tan sauerkraut made him nauseous in the dormitory.
Chen Zhou once thought his affinity with Lao Tan sauerkraut had come to an end, and that he wouldn't eat it ever again in this lifetime.
Unexpectedly, after living on a deserted island for more than a year, "an old friend reunites," and among all six flavors, Lao Tan sauerkraut was still his favorite.
Boiling water, adding the seasoning packets and sauerkraut pack into the noodles, the familiar sour and spicy aroma made his mouth water instinctively.
Later, eating the noodles left him sweating profusely, extremely satisfied, even gulping down the sticky noodle soup without leaving a drop.
In the past, Chen Zhou never understood what it meant to "meet an old friend in a foreign place." After this period of life on a deserted island, having a pot of Lao Tan sauerkraut beef noodles helped him finally grasp the sentiment of the phrase.
It's just a pity that this flavor only had four packets, with a shelf life of less than six months, so his opportunities to savor them were limited.
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While instant noodles brought enjoyment to Chen Zhou's taste buds, time and effort advanced the progress of bent wood craftsmanship.