Chapter 309 - 136: A Snake Hidden in the Vines
On the morning of August 2nd, Chen Zhou awoke from his bedroom with a slight trace of alcohol.
The images in his mind still lingered on the clear liquor he poured into his cup before going to sleep last night. He scratched his tousled hair, thinking he should find time to get a haircut, and hurriedly got up from the bed.
Today is the day for a long journey, there’s no delay.
He washed his face with cool water, carefully squeezed a bit of toothpaste onto a homemade small brush to brush his teeth, and began packing his gear.
This trip would be much more comfortable than the last time he went out.
Besides his hiking backpack, he also brought along a large sunshade umbrella that came with the fishing toolbox, and a sleeping bag.
Though it’s still the dry season, the rainy season is approaching, with the sky increasingly clouded, and occasionally a heavy damp wind blowing in from the sea.
Camping out, if it rains, this umbrella can at least provide some shelter from the wind and rain.
As for the sleeping bag, it was one of the four rewards delivered in the past two months.
It’s not very thick, weighs around 1.5kg, filled with down, shaped like an envelope, and comes with a built-in raised pillow.
When used, one can not only crawl inside to rest but also unzip the side of the sleeping bag to unfold it into bedding, allowing for a more relaxed sleeping position.
The island’s climate is hot, so there’s no need to stay snug in the sleeping bag for warmth at night. The bag’s unfolding design is very considerate, otherwise, one would definitely sweat excessively upon waking.
...
Besides the sleeping bag, the other three rewards were fairly standard.
Delivered on June 7 were two mercury thermometers, which Chen Zhou placed in the drawer of the bedside table, to measure temperature in case of a cold or fever in the future.
The June 22 reward was the sleeping bag. The July 7 reward was ten buckets of waterproof paint.
However, these ten buckets were wall waterproof paint, which wasn’t particularly useful for Chen Zhou as he needed waterproof paint suitable for wood.
Moreover, all ten buckets of paint were pink, even if they could be applied on stone brick walls, he wasn’t keen on using them.
The July 22 reward was ten bags of 25kg high-gluten flour, along with fifty small packets of dry yeast.
Among consumables, the flour could mostly improve Chen Zhou’s meals, but the dry yeast was more useful. Steaming buns or making bread is tricky without this yeast.
Regrettably, fifty packets of dry yeast are still too few and have an expiration limit, so won’t last long.
But Chen Zhou knows a way to let the yeast have "infinite refills."
After the dough is ready, break off a piece, dry it, and store it in a jar for one to two years without worry.
The next time yeast is needed, just add this piece of dough to the new one, allowing yeast to play its role.
However, usually being busy, sometimes even forgetting to feed the cats and dogs, steaming buns is too much trouble. Chen Zhou temporarily decided not to make dough starters, letting the dry yeast quietly stay in the packaging is quite good.
If trouble can be avoided, he’d rather not eat buns.
...
He bound the sleeping bag into a small roll with hemp rope, intending to tie it on top or bottom of the hiking backpack later. When picking close combat weapons, Chen Zhou was perplexed.
Thanks to mysterious rewards, he indeed possessed quite a few melee weapons.
Among them were the likes of the Longbow and Hand Axe, which can serve as both tools and weapons, as well as kitchen knives and daggers that are portable and relatively light, and even assembled spears which can only be used as weapons.
There were even some obscure tools like pipe wrenches, adjustable spanners, and various heavy metal auto repair tools that could serve as weapons.
A hatchet would definitely be necessary, otherwise, he couldn’t even prepare firewood for camping.
For handling food, Chen Zhou hesitated whether to bring a kitchen knife.
This trip was planned for four days away.
Departing on the second, returning on the sixth, the dry rations needed for these four days were already prepared, including a share for Lai Fu.
Drinking water was resolved using cans. As he walked along the river, whenever thirsty, he just needed to set up a campfire to directly boil water without worrying about a lack of clean water.
During this period, he tried not to hunt, focusing solely on rushing ahead, searching for crops, then transplanting some plants from the Fruit Tree Valley and collecting seeds of ripened fruits.
Under these circumstances, specifically bringing a knife to cut and handle food seemed utterly unnecessary.
As for the spear, after some thought, Chen Zhou opted to leave it at home in the end.
This thing is too long, can’t fit in the hiking backpack, and it’s quite hefty, carrying it would be inconvenient.
Moreover, on this journey, Chen Zhou planned only to stay half a day in the plain area, trying hard to see if he could find cassava there, if not, heading straight for the Fruit Tree Valley.
The valley is full of trees, not suitable for using such a long-handled weapon.
Facing numerous flaws, the spear was rightly eliminated, replaced by a bow and ten arrows—when confronting game, the bow and arrow seem far more useful than the spear.
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Packing the gear took over an hour.
It was roughly 9 in the morning, just when the sun was intense, Chen Zhou finally shouldered his backpack, called Lai Fu to his side, and set off towards the River Valley Plain.
Home pets were all taken care of with food ready, the cat’s food bowl had water and dried fish, the chinchilla’s "luxurious little villa" had plenty of fresh and dried grass.
Even the test mice were treated to leftover food from a birthday banquet, having quite an unforgettable time.
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With curiosity towards unexplored territories, Chen Zhou tightened the straw hat on his head.
Descending the mountain, he turned into the coastal woods, advancing deeper into the island along the river.