Chapter 133 - 53: The Last Reward Before the Rainy Season
February 10, Chen Zhou woke up a bit late.
He picked up the wooden cup on the bedside table, took a sip of water, and glanced at the somewhat gloomy weather outside the cave. He knew it might rain today.
The closer it gets to the rainy season, the more weather like this appears.
The continuous drizzle is just an appetizer. When the rainy season arrives, raging storms and consecutive days of rain will become the norm.
After getting dressed, he went to the kitchen to check the seal skin on the drying rack.
After a whole night, the mixture of brain fat and fur had thoroughly reacted.
At this moment, the entire piece of fur no longer seemed so greasy. It felt slightly damp and exceptionally soft to the touch, making Chen Zhou dismiss the idea of laying it on the ground—that would be a waste!
The tanned seal skin looked great and felt fantastic, with the only downside being the smell.
It might be because the seal brain had been stored in the jar too long, becoming somewhat spoiled, coupled with the fur's inherent smell, which wasn't great either.
When combined and heated, the whole seal skin faintly emanated a stinky odor, which would probably need more time drying before being hung on the room wall.
The large seal skin was successfully tanned, and the small seal skin would be ready for drying in a day.
They were much easier to handle than the large seal skin; even if wrapped in stone, they didn't need big stones, and the soaking process should be quicker.
Chen Zhou hadn't yet decided what to do with the small seal skin. After all, he had only been on the deserted island for over four months, and there was no significant shortage of clothing or shoes, so he didn't need to make clothes anytime soon.
Moreover, he figured that even in the final ten years, he wouldn't worry about clothing.
Because he brought all the clothes down from the entire ship, even if he wore out two suits a year, it was enough to last him these twenty-eight years.
In the short term, the small seal skin could only be used as a rag or left to gather dust in the storage room.
While making a fire and eating, Chen Zhou thought of a new problem—the stove chimney structure.
In the northwest region, old-fashioned cave chimneys usually extend from the roof, and with metal chimneys, cave chimneys can also turn a corner and extend out from the side.
But the chimney in Chen Zhou's cave differed from the Loess Plateau; digging upward would require at least ten meters to get through, and there was no suitable flue material to divert it sideways.
Once the outer wall was built, the interior was sealed with no channel for smoke to escape. Dry wood burning was fine, but wet wood would choke him.
Chen Zhou knew of a kind of stove called a smokeless stove; most people who served in the military could dig such a stove, which reportedly produced little smoke, making it hard for enemies to detect.
He wanted to dig a smokeless stove in the kitchen, but unfortunately, he didn't know how.
As the rainy season approached, unable to dig a long chimney temporarily, he could only build half a wall first in the kitchen and leave the other half to be built after solving the chimney problem.
After eating, Chen Zhou fed the cats and dogs.
After more than half a month of day-and-night companionship and desensitization training, Tizi no longer resisted human touch and gradually adapted to being fed. Now, even when stared at, it could eat freely, no longer appearing as cautious and fearful.
Fearing Tizi would turn into another Xiao Huihui after some time living worry-free, Chen Zhou decided to release it today, tie it in the kitchen, and let it get to know its work tasks.
He had caught such an agile wild cat by sheer luck and didn't want the second one to become wasted.
...
Having not stepped out of the wooden box for a long time, upon seeing the outside world, Tizi's every move still reflected the caution inherent in wild animals.
The thin rope around its neck made it uncomfortable, and as it slowly moved forward, it frequently lifted its paws to fiddle with the rope, trying to remove the bothersome thing, but to no avail.
Xiao Huihui followed closely behind Tizi, craning its neck, like a perverted weirdo, continuously sniffing Tizi's rear, looking as though it couldn't resist sticking out its tongue for a lick.
Towards this fat and oddly-shaped companion, Tizi had no friendly intentions and immediately retaliated with a swipe.
Despite Xiao Huihui's plumpness, its reaction speed was not slow at all. Even before Tizi's sharp claws could get close, Xiao Huihui bounced away like a rubber ball hitting the ground.
Before long, seeing Tizi calm down, Xiao Huihui again approached with a flattering look, only to face yet another attack and dodge, which gave Chen Zhou quite a headache.
Tying Tizi to a kitchen wooden rack leg, giving it two bowls, one filled with water and the other with meat, he patiently observed for a while, and after confirming no stress reactions, he left the cave dwelling with Lai Fu.
Shortly after Chen Zhou left, Xiao Huihui, for the Nth time, stealthily approached Tizi, eager to bond with this pretty lady.
For some reason, Tizi's attack this time was much quicker; Xiao Huihui didn't manage to react in time and took a solid hit.
Tizi's sharp claws directly scratched open Xiao Huihui's neck, sending cat fur flying.
Oww~
Xiao Huihui let out a painful cry, like a cannonball fired from a barrel, bursting forth with unprecedented speed. It stirred up dust on the sandy ground and darted into the bedroom, hiding in its cat nest without a peep.
Its skin was tough and rough, so it only suffered a superficial wound, but the physical pain couldn't compare to the hurt to its soul.
Racking its little brain, Xiao Huihui couldn't figure out why, after such prolonged exchange through the box with this pretty sister and becoming quite familiar, it still got beaten up.
...
Chen Zhou remained unaware of Xiao Huihui's plight, as he was busy weeding in the field.