Chapter 315 - 138: The 45th Mysterious Reward
On the evening of August 4th, Chen Zhou, with a fully packed backpack, returned to the cave dwelling with Lai Fu.
After reaching home, he immediately took out the saplings transplanted into clay pots from his backpack and placed them beside the nursery at the entrance to prevent them from dying due to heat and jostling.
...
Ever since he got the Autumn White Almonds, he had the idea of planting an orchard near his home.
The gradually growing Autumn White Almond saplings were all planted on the sun-facing slope closest to the cave dwelling. To prevent goats or wild rabbits from nibbling on the trees before they matured, Chen Zhou placed a wooden fence around the almond grove.
Below the almond grove, he transplanted many orange and lemon trees.
These fruit trees, which are more commonly found in the forest, often had robust plants nearby. He carefully dug them out, trying not to harm the roots of the young trees, and transplanted them elsewhere, and their survival rate was not low.
However, as one of the most widespread fruit trees on the island, lemons and oranges weren’t as valued as almond trees. They didn’t have a fence around them, and whether they could grow smoothly depended on luck.
In addition to the fruit grove on the sunny slope, Chen Zhou also planned to create a small vegetable garden in his courtyard and plant a few more trees.
When laying floor tiles on the platform, he deliberately left some bare soil spaces, considering future needs.
Among them was a small vegetable patch for planting peppers, garlic, mint, fennel, and other spices.
There was also a grape-growing area with wooden frames set up in advance, and a few spots where orange trees and Autumn White Almonds had already been planted.
Once the cocoa and citron tree saplings he brought back this time regained their vigor, Chen Zhou would also plant them in the courtyard.
Although he wouldn’t be able to feast on their fruits in the short term, isn’t there a saying—
"The best time to plant a tree was ten years ago, the second best time is now."
Thinking of his future happy life, Chen Zhou felt it was necessary to plant a few trees in the yard in advance.
Besides, trees are different from crops. As long as you take care of them when they are young, once they grow, they are unlikely to die due to climate or other reasons, saving a lot of worry.
...
Comfortably slept at home.
On August 5th, Chen Zhou got up full of energy, tidied up the room, dealt with household chores, and eagerly prepared to make some hot chocolate for a taste.
Currently, his cooking tools were quite complete. The kitchen basically had all the pots and pans needed, although there were a few oddly shaped ones, they could still be used.
...
It was already afternoon when he started making chocolate.
The cats at home were napping at the kitchen door, seeming to relish the dry season’s heat.
Especially Xiao Huihui, who always sprawled on the ground, exposing its light gray belly, sniffing the kitchen’s aroma and enjoying the good life.
During outdoor camping, Lai Fu would always take the initiative to assume the night watch. After returning home, it regained a relaxed state.
But unlike the cats, it didn’t like resting in the kitchen during the day, preferring to lie in the courtyard, nestled in a corner of the wall.
The indoors were too narrow; the tables, chairs, and storage shelves restricted its movement.
The courtyard was much more spacious, as long as it didn’t run outside, Chen Zhou wouldn’t restrain it.
After a good sleep, getting up and moving around the courtyard wall, the small yard wasn’t big, but it was enough for a run.
If it wanted to feel the breeze, it could walk up the stairs reserved within the courtyard and look into the distance, immersed in the mountain breeze. Although not as free as running wildly outside, it was much more comfortable than staying cooped up indoors.
...
The fire in the stove blazed furiously, and the pouring heat made the room increasingly hot.
The doors and windows of the kitchen were wide open, and three blooming flower pots were placed on the low window sill. A butterfly, having flown in from who knows where, landed on a flower, flapping its wings.
Xiao Huihui lazily opened its eyes, glanced at the butterfly, and continued to sleep.
Hui Hui came running from the direction of the storage room, snuggling against its father’s big belly, licking its fur and making a purring sound.
On the stove, the clay drying rack made by Chen Zhou from white clay was filled with cocoa beans.
Under high-temperature baking, they rapidly lost moisture, becoming exceptionally dry.
Beside the blazing stove fire, Chen Zhou sat on a low stool, weaving a sieve with processed hay strips—having something to do was better than idling.
When this batch of cocoa beans dried, he quickly grasped the handle of the drying rack with a rabbit fur cushion, removed the layers, poured out the scorching cocoa beans, and put a new batch up.
The dried cocoa beans, when ground into fine powder, became the raw material for making rough chocolate.
However, they were much larger than wheat grains. To put them into the millstone specifically made for grinding wheat, he had to smash them with a hammer first.
Luckily, there were a few slightly concave metal pieces at home. After wiping them clean, he only needed to place the cocoa beans inside and pound them.
Before processing the second batch of cocoa beans, Chen Zhou had pounded the first batch into small pieces, then poured them into the millstone for grinding.
Without spices like cinnamon or vanilla, he prepared some sugar and a little butter, hoping they could enhance the chocolate’s taste.
After modern chocolate is ground, it needs to undergo "refining" at the heating stage.
Refining is the process of putting the cocoa mass in a large container and constantly stirring it to refine the cocoa particles.
The refined chocolate has a smoother, more delicate texture and a more lustrous appearance than roughly made chocolate.
Chen Zhou learned that high-end chocolates, like Swiss chocolate, often undergo refining for up to 72 hours, giving Swiss chocolate its silky-smooth texture.