From Robinson Crusoe

Chapter 10 Kitchen
The kitchen was even darker than the hold.

After entering the room, except for a little light coming in from the door, one can still barely make out objects, and the depths are almost pitch black.

Apart from the furnishings piled on the wooden shelves on both sides, the only thing visible was the tall, blurry outline of the stove.

Fortunately, the lighting problem in the bottom cabin not only bothered Chen Zhou, but was also criticized by the crew members.

In order to avoid cooking in the dark, they hung an oil lamp behind the kitchen door. The oil lamp was woven with iron bars, and a hook was screwed out of the top, which could be hung on the iron ring on the ceiling for easy removal.

But the location where the lamp is hung is very gloomy.

When you push open the door, your view behind the door will naturally be mostly blocked by the door panel, so that only one-third of the upper edge of the oil lamp is exposed in the dark environment, waiting to be discovered like playing hide-and-seek.

If the big dog had not rushed into the kitchen so fast and pushed the door hard, pushing the door panel to the hanging lamp and hitting the bottom edge of the oil lamp, making a noise, Chen Zhou would probably not be able to find the lamp for a while.

Seeing the dog running happily into the depths of the darkness and heading straight for an object that looked like a barrel, Chen Zhou quickly spoke up to stop it.

However, this guy was so hungry that his eyes turned red. Before Chen Zhou could finish his words, he jumped up nimbly and pushed the lid of the barrel off with his head. Then he grasped the wall of the barrel, stretched his neck and took out a round pancake-like thing from it. He threw it on the ground, stepped on it with his paws, and began to gobble it up.

You can't just pick out the food that's already in someone's mouth. Understanding that the big dog was eager to eat after being hungry for a day and a night, Chen Zhou just let it go and let it eat at the buffet.

Besides, he didn't have time to take care of the big dog because he was faced with a very embarrassing new problem - how to light the lamp?

According to normal logic, there must be tools for making fire in the kitchen where food is cooked, but this is where the embarrassment lies.

Because Chen Zhou didn't know what objects were generally used to start fires in 17th century Europe, he couldn't search quickly based on the characteristics of the fire starting tools.

The whole kitchen is neither big nor small.

Not only was the light dim, but there were also a large number of containers of different shapes placed there. There were shelves high up and cabinets low down. In the corners were large wooden barrels with small wooden boxes stacked on top of them. Trying to find a fire-starting tool in this garbage dump-like mess was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

If you don't set a specific goal and just rely on luck, it will take at least an hour to find the right goal if you're lucky.

There was no other way, Chen Zhou could only use the process of elimination and compare and judge one by one based on what he had seen and heard.

He first ruled out electronic lighters and matches, two fire-making tools that would never appear on the ship.

He then ruled out old-fashioned kerosene lighters that used gears and flint to create fire.

European watchmakers in 1659 were highly skilled and did have the technology to create a gear friction ignition device.

However, this fire-making tool, which was complex and took as long to manufacture as a pocket watch, was very expensive and would have become a luxury item popular among the aristocracy, just like mechanical watches. It would have been impossible for it to appear in the bottom kitchen of a slave ship.

Excluding these fire-making tools with extremely low probability of appearing, with Chen Zhou's limited knowledge, the only tools he could think of for starting a fire were flint, tinder, a fire bow for drilling wood to make fire, and a set of three items: flint, tinder and flint, which were more advanced than the fire bow.

Among these three fire-making tools, the flint used for striking fire is the most ancient and primitive, and it disappeared after the Stone Age.

Tinder is afraid of moisture, has a complicated production process, and has a time limit for preserving the fire, so it is not suitable for ships.

The fire bow can start a fire quickly, but it takes up a large area, is not easy to carry, is easily affected by the environment, is afraid of moisture, and is not suitable for the marine environment.

The only item most likely to be used by sailors is the three-piece flint set.

Thanks to the fact that he often browsed forums and watched videos after get off work, Chen Zhou had seen the appearance of a traditional flint in a promotional video by a host who focused on outdoor survival.

It is an isosceles trapezoidal iron sheet slightly larger than the palm, with a cutting edge ground on the bottom edge and a piece of leather wrapped around the top edge to protect the fingers that are easily injured during intense striking movements.

Usually, the flint is placed together with the flint and tinder. They are the inseparable three-piece set of ignition and none of them can be missing.

If a sailor was worried about losing them, he might have carried them in a pocket or box.

Trying hard to recall the characteristics of the flint, Chen Zhou searched the low cabinets and wooden shelves in a small area with the oil lamp as the center.

Not long after, he found a fire-making tool that looked like a three-piece flint set in a small box on a wooden shelf next to the stove. The tool included an oval iron piece with a knot, a heavy flint, and a ball of dry rope that smelled of grease.

He picked up the flint and tried to rub it against the iron sheet. With the strong friction between the side of the flint and the flint, a string of dazzling sparks suddenly flashed in the dim kitchen.

Smelling the pungent smell of gunpowder, Chen Zhou grinned.

“Hey, that really works!”

He quickly squeezed the dry rope into a ball, held the flint in one hand and the flint in the other, and began to hammer violently.

After trying more than a dozen times, there were quite a lot of beautiful sparks, but they all floated on the surface of the flint and disappeared in a flash. Not to mention igniting the rope ball, they didn't fall down at all.

Holding the hot flint, Chen Zhou was confused.

"Is it because this thing has been out of repair for a long time, or am I opening it in the wrong way? Why can't it light a fire?"

After resting for a while, he thought that he had not tried enough times and his strength was not strong enough, so he started a new round of knocking.

Ding~ding…

The sound of metal knocking was rhythmic, the smell of frictional heat became stronger, and the sparks became brighter. Several times, he dropped the flint, leaving small black spots on the surface of the dry rope ball, but he was always just one step short of success.

With the experience of failure accumulated, Chen Zhou began to lower the flint and bring it closer to the rope ball, while adjusting the angle of the flint and flint according to the size of the sparks.

Eventually he discovered that the sparks were largest and most dense when the most vulnerable edge of the flint touched the uneven surface of the flint.

It was not until this moment that Chen Zhou understood why the flint had to be made with a thin blade. It was to allow the harder flint to break the iron filings through rapid friction and create sparks. He had been touching the flint with the side, so it was no wonder that he couldn't start a fire.

After mastering the trick, the sparks produced by Chen Zhou became bigger and bigger.

Finally, with a powerful collision, a shining spark fell between the flint and the steel, landed in the embrace of the rope, and a wisp of thin smoke rose.

"Success!"

Beads of sweat appeared on Chen Zhou's forehead. He nervously put down the flint and moved his face close to the rope ball, carefully blowing air to fan the flame.

The small flame in the rope ball suddenly expanded with the help of the wind, and then a visible flame appeared. It quickly devoured the tinder, giving off the smell of burning oil, and grew to the size of the tip of a little finger in just a few seconds.

Fearing that he would miss the opportunity, Chen Zhou bravely grasped the other half of the rope that had not yet been lit and brought it to the wick inside the oil lamp.

The small flame kissed the cotton thread soaked in lamp oil, and a cloud of black smoke suddenly rose. With a crackling sound, the flame split into two balls, one half was still in the rope ball, and the other half was attached to the wick.

The oil lamp finally lit.

Not wanting to waste the remaining tinder, Chen Zhou took a deep breath and blew out the flame in the rope ball, waiting quietly for the wick in the oil lamp to burn fully and melt the solidified oil.

The warm yellow light flickered, and with the help of this flickering light, Chen Zhou could see the inside of the kitchen clearly.

The stove undoubtedly occupies the largest area in the room.

It is made entirely of small brown square bricks, with a chimney leading to the upper floor. The bottom is shaped like an old-fashioned clock, standing close to the wall in the center of the room.

There is a pit at the bottom of the stove for placing firewood for the fire, and the pit is surrounded by a low brick wall to prevent the fire from spreading uncontrollably to other places.

Hanging on the pit was a large round iron can, which weighed at least thirty pounds. The bottom of the can was covered with a layer of ash from the firewood, and the mouth of the can was covered with a lid.

The wooden floor next to the stove was covered with bricks and covered with mud, needless to say, for fire prevention. Next to the stove, there were two large wooden barrels more than half a person tall.

Holding the oil lamp, Chen Zhou took a closer look and found that the bucket was full of water. Under the flickering flames, the water surface was as calm as a mirror, and the dark green algae on the barrel wall and impurities floating in the barrel were clearly visible.

Looking at the bottom of the barrel again, a regular cube was vaguely protruding from the carpet-like green moss. The surface of the cube was also covered with a layer of green moss, and it was impossible to tell what it was.

Chen Zhou had already prepared himself mentally for the poor sanitary conditions on board.

After boiling, the bacteria and algae in the water will be killed, and at most it will taste a little strange, but it is harmless.

But adding condiments of unknown ingredients to drinking water is too much. For example, the small square at the bottom of the barrel, Chen Zhou must figure out what it is, otherwise he would never dare to drink this water.

This is not him making a fuss.

Throughout human history, there have been many cases of people taking intestinal poisons as if they were elixirs.

Even a man of great talent and strategy like Li Shimin would believe the words of an alchemist and take an elixir of life made of mercury and heavy metals, which eventually led to his death.

Even in a technologically advanced country like the United States, there is a superstition about radium water, which has caused this radioactive substance to become popular across the country, poisoning countless people and even causing the death of millionaires.

Even these smart people couldn't avoid being deceived, let alone the ignorant 17th century.

In this era, it is very likely that uneducated sailors would place some kind of heavy metal that is easily soluble in water, such as lead, in the water in search of a sweeter taste.

If Chen Zhou drank this water with excessive lead content without knowing why, his IQ would probably drop to the same level as Gou Zi's soon.

For the sake of his life, Chen Zhou took off half of his shirt, reached his bare arms into the bucket, grabbed the edge of the small cube and fished it out.

Perhaps because the water surface distorted the light, when Chen Zhou held it in his hand, he found that the metal block was not as heavy as it looked from above.

The upward side of the block is covered with green moss, and the bottom is light dark brown. It doesn't seem too heavy when you weigh it.

Whether on campus or in the factory, Chen Zhou often deals with metal products of different compositions. Compared with ordinary people, he believes that he understands the weight of different materials better.

Therefore, just by touching it, he felt that this metal could not be lead.

Lead has one of the highest densities of all metals. Even a small piece of it would be very heavy in the hand. Chen Zhou believed that his intuition was trustworthy.

Feeling the weight of the metal block again, Chen Zhou estimated that its density should be higher than iron and copper, but lower than lead and gold. Combined with its unique color after oxidation, its composition was obvious - it was a piece of silver.

In order to verify his guess, Chen Zhou scraped the surface of the metal block with a flint, and sure enough, a few shallow scratches were left.

The Mohs hardness of lead is about 1.5, while the hardness of silver is above 2.5, and the hardness of iron is at least 4.

If the metal block was cast from lead, the scratches would be much deeper, and this level of scratches would indicate that it is indeed silver.

As for the reason for putting silver bars in the bucket, Chen Zhou thought it might be to purify drinking water.

Although he didn't know when the use of silver for sterilization first originated, there are many museums in his hometown that house Yuan Dynasty cultural relics. Through the one-day museum tours organized by his school in junior high and high school, Chen Zhou learned that as early as the Yuan Dynasty, Mongolian nobles used silver flat pots to preserve mare's milk to prevent it from spoiling.

I guess that hundreds of years later in Europe, using silver to sterilize and purify drinking water would not be new knowledge.

It's a pity that the piece of silver is too small and the bucket is too big. It might be a stretch to expect it to purify a few liters of water, let alone a full bucket. It's really too much to ask for more than just silver.

Moreover, only this wooden barrel contained silver bars. The bottom of the other wooden barrel was empty, and only a vague mark could be seen.

Chen Zhou reasonably speculated that this small piece of silver was most likely used in rotation, "taking turns bathing" in two buckets and being moved every few days to ensure that the drinking water in each bucket was disinfected.

But in his opinion, this is more like a way of covering up one's own mistakes.

After all, everyone knows that the water is not clean, and even using silver bars will not help. It is just for psychological comfort so that they can convince themselves to drink the water calmly.

In addition to the large wooden barrel for water, there are two tall wooden racks on the left side of the stove, all of which are divided into four layers.

On the top layer was a row of sacks, some of which were open, revealing long loaves of bread as thick as arms.

The bread is black in color, with dense spots on the surface, like a face full of freckles, which makes people lose their appetite.

On the second layer from top to bottom were large iron kettles, wooden cups with handles and shallow wooden bowls, several iron knives and forks, and a large iron spoon with a long handle for scooping water.

The bottom two layers were filled with small wooden barrels. Chen Zhou curiously opened the lids and was almost fainted by the strange smell that gushed out.

The barrels contain all kinds of strange pickled foods, including fat-cured meat chunks, salted peas, pickled vegetables, and salted animal offal...

Judging from the traces spilled out of the barrel, the sailors' daily meals were a hodgepodge of these dark dishes. It was hard to imagine what kind of "feast" would be stewed together from all these ugly-looking and horrible-tasting things. Anyway, Chen Zhou didn't dare to try it.

Aside from the dark cans, the only thing in the keg that resembled normal food was the fermented cheese.

But this kind of cheese is not the sweet cheese that Chen Zhou is familiar with, but a salty cheese that is closer to cottage cheese. In addition to the unique smell brought by the fermented bacteria, it also emits a faint stench. It is a bit disgusting at first, but after getting used to it, it feels quite fragrant for some reason.

There are also several large wooden barrels on the right side of the stove, placed on their sides and stacked in three layers.

There is a tube connected to the barrel cover that can be moved up and down. Nothing will happen when the tube is facing upwards, but as long as it is bent downwards, the wine will flow out.

Chen Zhou didn't drink often, so he had no way of judging the quality of this barreled wine. He just used a long-handled spoon to scoop up a few drops and smelled it. He felt that in addition to the smell of alcohol, this wine also had a special sweet fragrance, so he guessed that the taste should not be too bad.

It's just that there is too much unfinished work now, and drinking will delay it. When the raft is built and all the supplies are moved to the island, we can prepare a sumptuous dinner and get tipsy to celebrate.

Pour out the wine and continue walking to the right along the wine barrel, and you will reach the "Dog Carrying Biscuit Ruins".

The lid of the big barrel had been pushed to the ground by the big dog a long time ago. In the warm light, Chen Zhou saw a whole barrel filled with gray-white round cakes.

These round cakes sell much better than brown bread sticks. They seem to be made of wheat flour, kneaded into shape, and then baked to dehydrate.

If you pick up a piece at random and break it open, you can see that the inside of the cake is very tight, with almost no pores. It looks more like a brick or wood than food.

Chen Zhou tried to take a bite.

The dry outer skin is sharp and a bit prickly when broken into pieces.

The cake filling turns into fine crumbs after chewing, rolling quickly in the mouth and softening slightly after absorbing saliva. Not only does it have no flavor, but it also has a rough texture and is difficult to swallow.

Compared to this bread, the French baguette and Russian bread, which are famous for their hardness, can be considered as peerless delicacies.

Chen Zhou completed more than a week's worth of exercise for his cheeks by eating just a small piece of round cake. His face was grim as he swallowed the cake crumbs in his mouth with difficulty. He wanted to try the cheese that looked pretty good out of disbelief.

The results were as expected.

The milky flavor of this cheese is very subtle. If you are not told in advance that it is a dairy product, you will not be able to taste it at all. The main taste is salty and smelly, occasionally mixed with the sour and mellow taste of mold fermentation.

If Chen Zhou were asked to find an appropriate adjective for this cheese, he would like to call it - Cthulhu cheese.

　Please read, recommend, comment, and comment on the chapter. Balls~
　　

(End of this chapter)