Chapter 29 - 11: Matchlock Gun (Part 2)
Thinking the flavor of the batter soup was too bland, he added a small piece of cheese to the pot.
Although he didn’t like the strange taste of the cheese, choosing the best among mediocre options, compared to fatty salted meat chunks and preserved animal organs that seemed like they came from Hell, cheese was at least edible.
The boiling water rolled like a greedy mouth, swallowing the ingredients in the pot.
The fire gradually weakened, finally drawing back its rampant flames, retreating into the wood.
A simple pot of cheese-braised batter was finished.
Leaving the lid open to let the food cool, he washed the long-handled spoon and tableware, served himself a steaming bowl of cheese-braised batter, and squatted by the stove to eat.
The love of cooked food is ingrained in the genes of the Chinese descendants.
The warm batter was dense, with a faint grain aroma, and the cheese perfectly added a touch of salty flavor to it.
𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
After being cooked in boiling water, the sour and stinky smell from fermentation had almost vanished; the dairy flavor hidden within the cheese was released, blending harmoniously with the batter.
He blew on the steam above the bowl while stirring the batter with a small spoon, taking small bites.
As his stomach gradually filled up, a warm current dispelled the chill in his body; Chen Zhou felt the fullness of strength again.
He put down the tableware and looked at the iron can, finding some batter leftover inside, so he scooped it out and stored it in a large wooden cup for later that night.
Then came the cook’s most disliked part—scrubbing the pots and pans after the meal. Chen Zhou wiped the can’s walls according to the procedure, added several cups of water, and threw in a few pieces of wood, preparing to boil some water for drinking later.
In fact, he was also quite disgusted by the drinking water in the large barrel covered with algae and moss.
Each time he scooped up a spoonful of water and saw the green impurities within, it reminded him of that classic line from Hellsgate in World of Warcraft—"But Gul’dan, what was the price?"
Fortunately, there wasn’t terrifying demon blood in this water, at most just an overflow of bacteria and microbes, but boiling would make it safe.
A man on a boat is not in control of his body; it’s merely some dirty water, not enough to threaten his life.
Chen Zhou painted a rosy picture for himself—
"Just endure a few more days. Once the raft is built and I reach the island, everything will get better."
Thinking this way, he buttoned up his coat.
Although he felt like his cold symptoms had fully recovered after the meal, it had just rained outside, and if blown by the wind unwittingly, the illness could easily recur—there’s no room for carelessness.
Extinguishing the oil lamp, Chen Zhou planned to return to Robinson’s room, put on some underwear, and then continue indoor work to organize supplies.
Time is precious, and there must be no delays.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he took a step, the big dog that had been sitting quietly beside him suddenly stood up, blocked his way, raising its head, and panting with its tongue out without making a sound, wagging its tail incessantly.
Although Chen Zhou liked dogs, he never had any experience raising one, and his knowledge of this creature was limited to what he found online. Being blocked suddenly, he was quite puzzled and tentatively asked.
"What’s the matter, what do you want?"
As soon as he spoke, he regretted it, feeling like he had a screw loose.
Not to mention the dog couldn’t understand human language, even if it could, it should understand English, not Mandarin—this was like playing the lute to a cow.
Unexpectedly, the big dog reacted to the words; it walked over to the bucket by itself, scratched its side with a paw, and then turned to look at Chen Zhou, as if to say: "I want water."
"Hey!"
"Can it really understand?"
Perhaps due to lack of experience, it was indeed the first time Chen Zhou had encountered such an intelligent dog.
He had heard the smartest dog breed is the Border Collie, although he wasn’t sure how smart Border Collies could be, he figured it couldn’t be much smarter than this guy.
Taking an empty wooden bowl, he filled it with water and placed it in front of the big dog, watching it quickly lap it up. Chen Zhou couldn’t help feeling a bit careless.
Given this guy hadn’t eaten and had been lying by the kitchen door this whole time, in retrospect, it must not have had any food or drink yet, and when it came up and sat next to him earlier, it was likely waiting to be fed water, but he hadn’t realized it.
Luckily, this dog was clever enough to stop him in time; otherwise, if it had been thirsty for much longer, who knows what problems might have arisen.
As these random thoughts crossed his mind, before long, the big dog had already finished the water in the bowl; it seemed its thirst was not yet quenched and scratched the bucket again.
So Chen Zhou gave it two more bowls of water, and the big dog was finally satisfied, lazily collapsing onto the floor, flipping over to show its belly with eyes squinting in a state of utter contentment, wagging its tail.
Lacking experience in raising dogs, Chen Zhou did not understand what this weird posture of the big dog meant.
Thinking about it, after having a satisfying drink, there probably wasn’t any urgent need left for this guy.
So he played hands-off and started tidying up the wooden bowls, opting to ignore the dog’s actions, and turned around to go up to the deck.
At sea, the storms come and go quickly.
After a burst of rain like galloping horses, the gloomy clouds temporarily ran out of energy, silent and subdued, quietly gathering strength for the next wave of rain.
Looking into the distance, the terrifying scene of lightning and thunder on the horizon had already disappeared.
The gray clouds were torn open, and a broad, dazzling beam of light, like the sword of Heaven, slanted from the distant sky onto the sea, dyeing the blue water in golden hues.
Standing on the deck, Chen Zhou was captivated by the spectacular scenery and stood in amazement for a long time.
"In the face of the vast powers of the universe, what do individuals’ joys and sorrows really count for?"
The sunlight shone on one side of his face, making him squint, and elicited reflections in his heart, alleviating many of the suppressed gloomy emotions.