From Robinson Crusoe

Having been on the island for nearly three years, the reward, which is given every 15 days, has gradually changed its date depending on the number of days in the month.

Coincidentally, August 1, 1662, was the day the sixty-ninth mysterious reward arrived.

Moreover, this day is one of the island's three major festivals, and also Chen Zhou's "new birthday" in this new world.

……

Despite being in a period of preparation for war, the atmosphere on the island remains tense for the time being.

Out of respect for the festival he personally designed, Chen Zhou still planned to hold a simple banquet and take the newcomers to this "big family" to worship the "god" who had no presence, and to visit the temple that had not been open for half a year.

Of course, before that, he had to get up early to go to the beach to collect his reward.

……

Since solving the "key duplication" mystery on May 18 and obtaining the "Simplified Production Method of Explosives" on August 1, Chen Zhou has received a total of four rewards.

Since life on the island was largely self-sufficient, these rewards, like most of those received in 1662, were merely icing on the cake, and some were not even icing on the cake at all.

For example, the reward on July 17th was a high-end billiard cue. After opening the packaging and checking the reward, Chen Zhou threw it into a corner of the storage room and hasn't looked at it a second time since.

6月2日的奖励则是800块50*50cm，厚度约6mm，表面针织底背PVC材质的贴片地毯，一水儿的灰白配色。

At the time, there were only three people on the island: Chen Zhou, Saturday, and Sunday. It took quite a bit of effort to get them up the mountain.

These PVC carpets are now neatly stacked in the storage room, and Chen Zhou plans to use them when he builds his own "villa" in the future.

The island is damp, making these soft-bottomed, non-slip, moisture-proof, and durable patch carpets perfect for it.

Although Chen Zhou preferred the solid wood flooring cut from the timeline, in this timeline, the room still needed some modern items to remind him where he came from.

The reward for June 17th is six outdoor insulated boxes, which can be used to refrigerate seafood and cold drinks, and storing meals is also no problem.

Each insulated box has a standard capacity of 18L, and comes with two 450ml ice packs and ten self-suction ice bags.

They greatly improved Chen Zhou's quality of life.

On Saturdays, meals are delivered to the construction site using insulated boxes.

The weather was scorching hot, and all the trees on the beach and in the nearby woodlands had been cut down. There was nowhere to find shade, and the only way to escape the heat at lunchtime was to hide in the trenches.

At times like these, a sip of chilled juice or a refreshing glass of rum feels incredibly comforting.

If you're feeling lazy and don't want to cook on weekdays, you can have a few simple dishes cooked at home on Saturday and delivered over. It's a special treat to have a private meal prepared for you.

Unfortunately, the 18L insulated box still doesn't have enough internal space. Although there are 60 self-suction ice packs, they are semi-disposable. After melting, they need to be put into Chen Zhou's "basic refrigerator" to freeze, which takes at least a whole day to freeze completely, and they might even leak, making them somewhat useless.

Of course, compared to the mystery reward on July 2nd, the insulated box is still much more useful.

The reward delivered on July 2nd was a whopping 1000 large synthetic resin octopus head massagers, in five different colors, filling the box to the brim.

When Chen Zhou saw the packaging box, which was as big as a shipping container, he was overjoyed and thought he had won some big prize.

Fearing his secret would be exposed, he deliberately moved his time to another place on Saturday and Sunday to open the box alone. What he found was a huge pile of colorful octopuses, which made him furious.

……

Resin is indeed a good thing, but only natural resins.

If synthetic resins that have already been manufactured into finished products are to be reused, they can basically only be crushed, then heated by a special machine to soften them, and then reprocessed into granules for the production of low-end plastic products.

Alternatively, the active ingredients can be dissolved in a specific solvent, and the impurities can be separated and recycled.

Unfortunately, Chen Zhou couldn't do either of these recycling methods.

He could only cut these synthetic resin products into plastic parts, or, more simply, throw them directly into the furnace to burn—which would then cause pollution problems.

……

Of course, besides these options, Chen Zhou, who has now begun to communicate with the outside world, has another choice—

He could export these cute and exquisitely crafted resin products overseas to the Spanish or other maritime powers during the Age of Exploration in exchange for more valuable gold and silver.

……

On the evening of July 31, the two groups of indigenous people who had finished their work received a notification—

Tonight they will wash their bodies overnight, clean their clothes and let them dry, because there is an important ceremony tomorrow.

The order was delivered by Sunday, a jinx, along with a large box of laundry detergent to aid in the work.

When the indigenous people received the notice, they were busy preparing dinner. Upon seeing Sunday's stern face, they immediately stopped what they were doing and went to bathe in the mountain stream.

Fearing punishment, they carefully covered the lit campfire with soil before leaving the gathering place to avoid causing the "fire" they had heard about in class.

……

The natives were busy washing their bodies, and counting down the days until Saturday and Sunday on the calendar, they naturally knew early on that tomorrow was an important holiday.

I boiled a large pot of water in advance on Saturday and prepared a change of clothes.

After delivering the order on Sunday, they will wash themselves near the cabin.

……

That night, the indigenous people who only had one set of clothes were allowed to stay in the clean houses so as not to soil their clothes that they had worked so hard to wash.

The natives responsible for building the fortifications moved into large wooden huts in the camp at the foot of the mountain.

The other two indigenous people who worked on the farm on Sundays were given a rare treat and were allowed to rest in a wooden cabin on the mountain.

The wooden house on the mountain was built by Chen Zhou to avoid the earthquake. After the supplies stored inside were moved out, the interior space was very spacious, with doors, windows and a stove. The sunroom at the other end was covered with grapevines, making it much more comfortable to live in than the simple wooden house down the mountain.

On ordinary days, tending the crops and herding the goats are the jobs of these two natives.

As for pruning the grapevines, that was mainly the responsibility of Saturdays—it was an easy job that didn't take long and could be done whenever I had some free time.

As a result, the two natives, despite working for Sunday for half a month, never saw the beautiful house.

The night they moved in, lying on the soft mattress, the two of them were so happy that they couldn't sleep for half the night.

Upon returning to their homes on Sunday, with no one around to supervise them, the two men immediately began chatting excitedly.

They weren't discussing anything as important as escaping the island or plotting to murder the leader; they had neither the idea nor the guts to do so.

The two talked about their happy new life on the island, and eventually their conversation came back to the spacious wooden house.

They quickly reached a consensus on several points—

First, Sunday, who is in charge of managing them, is an absolute jerk, but this jerk is too powerful, so you still have to keep your head down and not offend him.

Second, Zebra is a sycophant, just like those warriors who always follow the original tribal chief and only know how to say nice things. But Zebra is smarter; at least he learns to speak very quickly.

Third, there's nothing wrong with running errands for the leader, and it's certainly not shameful.

If they could eat rare delicacies every day, wear better clothes and shoes, and stand still and watch others while they worked without having to exert themselves, they would be willing to follow the leader.

Fourth, if they do their work well, learn to speak quickly, and can please the leader, perhaps they too can live in the zebra's house—

They never imagined they would one day live in such a wooden house.

The cabins on Saturdays and Sundays were already the best place for them to stay, and right now, even just a small shack for each of them would make them very happy.

Such magnificent and sturdy houses rightfully belong to the high and mighty leaders; they do not yet believe they are worthy of that title.

Even in the distant future, they don't believe they possess that potential.

……

On the morning of August 1st, Chen Zhou got up very early and arrived at the beach.

Seven indigenous people are dressing properly under the supervision of Saturday and Sunday as a special treat for the festival. Those who have no shoes are given a pair of temporary shoes today.

In the past, dressing was as simple as putting on clothes.

During festivals, one cannot be unkempt, with even the buttons fastened crookedly.

Today, clothes not only need to be washed clean, but also worn properly. Not to mention that not a single wrinkle can be seen, they should at least be straightened and folded.

……

Chen Zhou was still more than ten meters away from the collapsed wooden and stone wall, and before he got close, he heard a deep and resonant "Moo~".

At first, he thought he was hallucinating—

This is an island, how could we hear cows mooing?

But as he got closer to the wooden and stone wall, through the wooden planks and stones that obstructed his view, he heard two more mooing sounds from cows, and realized that things were not so simple.

When he got close to the wooden and stone wall, although the cow had stopped mooing, he could still faintly smell the odor of cow dung.

"No way? They can send live things over?"

……

Since the start of the challenge, a total of sixty-nine mystery rewards have been delivered.

Chen Zhou had received all sorts of materials, from common to niche, from inexpensive to expensive, including military materials like TNT and seamless rifling steel pipes. But this was the first time he had ever encountered a living creature.

Before he even reached the wooden and stone wall, he kept hearing cows mooing from inside. He thought it was some kind of sound-producing device, but little did he know it was actually cows.

"I don't know if it's a draft animal or a dairy cow. They can't exactly send me an African buffalo, can they...?"

Today is my birthday. Even if the Time and Space Administration has the worst sense of humor, they can't just release a bull to gore someone to death on their birthday...

Despite this thought, Chen Zhou still felt uncertain.

Just to be on the safe side, he also asked Saturday and Sunday to bring along the other natives, and also to bring their respective weapons.

……

Under Sunday's direction, the natives did their best to keep their clothes clean as they carefully dismantled the wooden and stone wall from top to bottom.

During this time, the occasional mooing of cattle coming from inside the wall made them extremely uneasy.

After all, cattle had never existed on the islands where they lived since ancient times. To the natives, cattle were a kind of "devil" or "monster" that existed outside their imagination.

The deep, resonant moo of the cow was something they had never heard before.

When dismantling the wooden and stone walls, most indigenous people felt it was not a good task.

Two timid fellows, smelling the cow dung, thought that some kind of terrifying cannibalistic monster was hiding inside the wall, and their legs began to tremble.

If it weren't for Chen Zhou and Sunday's long-standing influence and their supervision from behind, these two guys would have turned around and run away.

...Let alone the timid natives, even the zebra, the "leader's loyal dog," was somewhat intimidated by the faint, heavy breathing coming from within the wooden and stone walls during the dismantling process.

But he has always been a staunch supporter of the "new leader faction".

Now that we've reached a critical moment, everyone can afford to falter, but he is the one who absolutely cannot.

Therefore, even though his heart was in turmoil, he still had to maintain his composure and take the lead, diligently moving planks and bricks to set an example for the other natives.

……

In fact, it wasn't just the newly arrived island natives who were feeling uneasy.

It can be said that, apart from Chen Zhou, who knew that there were cows inside the wall and understood what cows were, the two of them were somewhat afraid even on Saturdays and Sundays.

It was better if he brought his long knife on Sunday.

On Saturday, all he had was a whip, and the thought of facing off against wild beasts made him feel somewhat insecure.

……

The wooden and stone walls, which were over two meters high, gradually became lower. The natives who were closest to the walls were the first to see the creatures inside. They were so frightened that they screamed and almost tumbled down the raised steps.

He hysterically shouted words like "devil," "monster," and the names of some terrifying man-eating beasts from indigenous mythology, and after descending the steps, he ran frantically toward the woodland.

If Sunday hadn't been quick-witted enough to stop him and draw his long sword, this guy probably would have already run away like a 100-meter sprinter.

The first fearful native stirred up the fear within all the natives, leaving Chen Zhou somewhat puzzled—

Could there really be a three-headed minotaur locked inside the wall?

……

The message indicated that the indigenous people should remain calm on Saturday.

To be on the safe side, Chen Zhou took the long knife from Sunday and slowly and steadily walked up the raised steps, peering into the wall.

Upon seeing this, he almost burst out laughing—

It turned out to be a false alarm.

The reward inside the wall was just as he expected: an ordinary cow, not some strangely shaped or ferocious exotic beast.

Moreover, there was more than one cow; there were two large, adult cows.

They were all kept in huge iron cages, the space inside of which was so cramped that it was difficult to even turn around, which explains why they kept mooing in their anxiety.

One of the cows was relatively small, covered in short brown hair, and had a pair of large udders hanging from its lower abdomen, making it look like a dairy cow that was good at producing milk.

Chen Zhou was very familiar with the other cow.

It was an exceptionally large bull, muscular and covered with large yellow and white spots.

In Chen Zhou's hometown, this type of cattle is usually used as a breeding bull to improve ordinary cattle with poor bloodlines and low meat yield. It has a name that locals are familiar with - Simmental cattle.

This breed of cattle has been improved and selected over a century, and it has outstanding performance in meat production, milk production, and even draft power. In particular, its meat production is among the best of all cattle breeds.

The bull that was sent as a reward this time is of far superior quality to ordinary Simmental cattle.

Having some knowledge of animal husbandry and having previously helped veterinarians with artificial insemination, Chen Zhou could tell at a glance that this male stud was quite valuable.

A bull of this size, with a long head and short neck, a long and muscular body, a broad chest and high shoulders, and strong thighs, weighing at least 1500 pounds, would likely cost at least a thousand yuan to extract semen from.

The price of a whole male stud can be over 100,000, or even 200,000.

……

"The Time and Space Administration is really generous; they sent me such a great gift for my birthday!"

Staring at the two cows, a male and a female, in the cage, Chen Zhou couldn't help but spread a smile across his face.

The difference between two cows, one male and one female, and a single cow is like heaven and earth.

Having these two cows means he will have a continuous supply of milk, an endless supply of beef, and cowhide in the future.

Although the island is not lacking in resources, its diet is still somewhat monotonous due to various limitations.

Especially the meat, which consists of only a few kinds: mutton, pigeon, rabbit, fish, and the "goose" that occasionally roosts on the island.

As for Chen Zhou's favorite pork and beef, apart from the cured meats he has buried, you can't find a trace of them on the island.

These two cows fulfilled one of his biggest regrets; they were a truly useful reward that greatly improved his quality of life.

……

However, Chen Zhou cannot release both cows from their cages yet.

Cows are usually more docile; you can lead them by tying a rope around their necks.

The male is not so easy to deal with. If this nearly one-ton behemoth were to run freely and reveal its thick horns, none of the people on the island could guarantee that they could capture it without harming it.

Chen Zhou also noticed that, in addition to the two cows inside the wall, there was a large green package in the corner.

However, the iron cage containing the oxen was too large, and the two oxen were too conspicuous, which is why he did not notice the package immediately.

……

After dispelling the slight fear caused by the natives, Chen Zhou calmly walked down the steps and ordered Sunday to give the natives a stern lecture before letting them continue moving and tidying the wooden and stone walls.

As the island's master and the "new leader" in the hearts of the natives, Chen Zhou is their backbone.

Seeing Chen Zhou's calm demeanor, the natives, though still somewhat frightened, were no longer as panicked as before.

They all tried their best to remain calm, control their inner turmoil, and concentrate on their work to avoid punishment.

……

When half of the wall was demolished, two enormous figures appeared, prompting both Saturday and Sunday to exclaim in surprise.

Unlike the natives, they didn't work on the front lines, nor did they see what a cow looked like early on, so when they first saw such a huge creature, they naturally couldn't hide their astonishment.

Standing beside the two, Chen Zhou never told them what was locked inside the wall, wanting to enjoy the surprised looks on the two little ones' faces.

A teenager who hasn't even grown his first hair yet, pretending to be mature all the time.

Little brat, trying to act all high and mighty?

This time, you can't keep up the act anymore!

……

After he calmed down on Saturday and Sunday, he spoke to the two of them in an elder's tone, explaining what a "cow" really is.

He specifically mentioned that cows can produce milk, and their milk production far exceeds that of goats.

After all, the goats on the island were not dairy goats bred specifically for milk production in later generations; they were just ordinary goats.

Moreover, even if they are dairy goats, their milk production is far from comparable to that of dairy cows that specialize in producing milk.

According to Chen Zhou, some adult dairy cows with high milk production can produce about 40 jin (20 catties) of milk per day.

The combined daily milk production of all the ewes he currently owns during their lactation period is far less than that number.

……

Having followed Chen Zhou for so long, I have a fairly broad understanding of the benefits of milk, whether it's Saturday or Sunday.

They knew that adding milk or butter made from milk to the hot cocoa would make it more fragrant and flavorful. They also knew that adding tea leaves and a little salt to boiled milk would make a unique milk tea that was not only delicious but also filling.

Besides being used to make various foods, cooked milk itself is also an excellent beverage.

The sheep on the island graze on grass regardless of the rainy or dry season, never eating feed, and the milk they produce is much more fragrant than dairy products from modern ranches.

Not to mention the two natives, even Chen Zhou, who has drunk a lot of dairy products in modern times, thought the flavor was excellent.

He even felt that the milk produced by the free-range goats on the island tasted a level better than the goat milk sold by the Mongolian herders in his hometown.

The two natives already had a good impression of milk.

So when they heard that cows could also produce milk, and that the milk was better in both quantity and taste than that of sheep, their eyes lit up.

……

However, Chen Zhou's introduction to cattle did not stop at the milk production part.

He then went on to explain the uses of cattle in agriculture.

It can serve as the main force for cultivating land, undertaking heavy physical labor such as plowing, sowing, and even harvesting. Its manure can be used as fertilizer or dried and used as fuel.

If an oxcart is manufactured, it can also be used to transport goods; in this respect, the transport capacity of one ox is greater than that of more than ten people.

They live to produce milk and to do labor.

Even after death, the cow can still offer its body, contributing large amounts of beef, heart, and tendon.

After being tanned, cowhide is used as leather, and its performance in all aspects is far superior to that of ordinary animal fur. Chen Zhou estimated that the only leather on the island that could surpass cowhide was probably seal skin.

However, the probability of encountering seals is extremely low.

In another month and a half, he will have been on the island for three years. In these three years, he has only seen those two seals, and he has never seen them again since.

Expecting to continuously obtain leather and grease from seals is simply a pipe dream.

If we really want to produce leather stably, we used to rely on goats, but from now on we'll rely on these two cows.

……

In Chen Zhou's words, the cow is simply a perfect animal, capable of working, producing milk, and providing meat.

His vision of a bright future captivated Saturday and Sunday.

After Chen Zhou finished his introduction, Saturday and Sunday both volunteered to let Chen Zhou entrust the cattle to them for care.

On Sundays, in particular, he took a liking to the strong and majestic bull and felt that it was an honorable job to raise such a large creature.

Seeing Sunday's enthusiasm, Chen Zhou readily agreed and handed over the responsibility of raising the male and female cows to him.

……

Of course, there is often a significant gap between reality and imagination.

Once he truly accepts the job on Sunday, he will gradually discover that while the honesty of oxen is second to none among animals, their temper and stubbornness are not something that ordinary people can handle.

By then, it will be too late for him to back out and give up this arduous task. (End of Chapter)