Chapter 523 - 46: A Day in 1665 (Part 2)
The two chefs dedicated to cooking for the Leader had long mastered Chen Zhou’s routine.
Before Chen Zhou woke up, they had already cleaned the ingredients and prepared the seasonings.
When they saw the Leader and that big dog approaching from afar through the large bright kitchen window, they immediately lit the stove, picked up their spatulas, and began cooking.
Today’s meal for Chen Zhou was as usual—a fried fish, a plate of stir-fried squid tentacles for the meat dishes, and eggplant in sauce with tomato scrambled eggs for the vegetarian dishes, served with a glass of chilled lemonade and two steamed buns. While it couldn’t be called lavish, on this small island, it was considered top-tier treatment.
...
During meals in the dining room, the two chefs stood by the table. Chen Zhou often chatted with them to learn about the island’s trivial household matters.
In the past half year, besides researching and making machines for weaving wool, Chen Zhou also completed many small tasks he had previously imagined.
For instance, capturing those large birds resembling wild geese that roost by the water and housing them at home for domestication.
With large nets woven from grass ropes, the islanders managed to capture a batch of these large birds after a few days of waiting, clipping their wing feathers and placing them in cages, feeding them grain daily.
After several months of feeding and taming, these large birds were plump like countryside geese, waddling on the ground all day as if they had forgotten how to fly.
Some female birds even lost their ability to lay eggs due to an abundance of fat, forcing the islanders to find ways to help them lose weight.
The eggs in Chen Zhou’s tomato scrambled eggs came from these large birds.
However, these birds were not like the completely domesticated geese of modern times. Although they laid eggs, their production was too low.
In good moods, the females laid eggs once every few weeks, but in bad moods, not even one egg would be seen for one or two months of raising them.
In modern times, such unqualified poultry would have been eliminated long ago.
But on the island, there were few egg-laying fowl. Besides these large birds, only pigeons remained suitable for home breeding.
However, pigeon eggs were too small to be satisfying, making these large birds quite the savory treat in comparison.
The island had plenty of grass seeds and coarse grains, and when the fishing boats returned daily, they brought back plenty of small fish, shrimp, and shellfish, so there was no pressure in raising these large birds. Chen Zhou had no thoughts of killing them and kept them—
If worse came to worst, they could still be slaughtered for meat.
He told the islanders raising the birds.
As for whether the large birds could be domesticated into geese like flocks over the years, Chen Zhou didn’t dare boast.
Now he was the Leader, and every word he said was weighty; every unfulfilled promise would damage his prestige.
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Besides capturing large birds for domestication, Chen Zhou also caught some parrots.
There were many types of parrots on the island, some large, some small, with colors varying from white, yellow, light pink, red, to green...
Chen Zhou was unaware of which parrot Robinson kept during his time on the island, so he instructed the islanders to catch one of each kind for him, housing them together in a cage afterward.
After some observation and selection, he finally kept one parrot in his second-story bedroom.
Though unremarkable in appearance, the parrot was especially smart and hyperactive, giving the impression of owning a husky.
As Chen Zhou aged, the cats and dogs he raised became more Buddhist-like, withdrawing into themselves for entire days, making the house seem especially quiet.
In such times, he preferred more lively animals; this parrot, able to mimic the sound of an angle grinder and being very clever, suited his tastes perfectly.
...
As Chen Zhou ate, Lai Fu was not idle either.
While the two chefs prepared a meal for the Leader, they also made food for Lai Fu.
However, Lai Fu was currently on a diet, and its food was less greasy, with fewer carbohydrates, mainly consisting of boiled lamb leg without salt, tasting bland and flavorless.
Lai Fu showed little interest in the pale boiled meat, lowering its head to look at the cut-up pieces in the ceramic bowl, sniffing at it, then looking up at Chen Zhou.
Seeing its owner engrossed in eating and ignoring it, Lai Fu couldn’t help frowning.
The aroma of the food on the table drifted into its nostrils, making the food in front of it seem even more unpalatable.
After eating such a diet for a week in a row, Lai Fu had strong aversions to it today.
With drooping cheeks, sitting upright on the ground, after pondering seriously for a moment, Lai Fu finally mustered the courage to place a paw on its owner’s leg, widening its eyes, tilting its head pitifully, signaling to Chen Zhou for some tasty food.
Chen Zhou was well aware of Lai Fu’s little schemes; he was ready to sternly admonish Lai Fu to dutifully continue its diet.
However, upon seeing Lai Fu’s aggrieved expression, Chen Zhou couldn’t bring himself to speak harshly.
"There should be some sauced eggplant left in the pot; rinse it with warm water later, mix the eggplant with some lamb for it,"
he instructed, patting Lai Fu on the head.
...
Mysterious rewards had brought a lot of change to this island, which wasn’t rich in resources.
From the initial seasoning like onions, ginger, garlic, and chili, to high-yield crops such as corn and potatoes, and now to eggplants, leeks, celery, and cabbages.
It could be said that as long as Chen Zhou wished, he could basically enjoy modern home-cooked dishes on the island.
Currently, the only shortage on the island seemed to be poultry and livestock.
It’s a pity that ever since receiving a pair of cows, no living beings had appeared as part of the mysterious reward.
The chicken and pork Chen Zhou missed remained out of reach.