From Robinson Crusoe

Chapter 19 Mysterious Reward
Since returning to the island on October 10, Chen Zhou has completely turned into a beast of burden. Apart from the necessary eating, drinking, defecating, urinating and sleeping, he basically spends the rest of his time on the raft.

After Lai Fu followed him ashore, he never returned to the boat.

This guy has been quite excited recently. He sits on the raft with his big body weighing more than 70 kilograms. Not only does he move around a lot, but he also keeps trying to jump into the water.

At first Chen Zhou felt sorry for it and wanted to take it with him. Later he became annoyed by it and scolded it several times without any result. So he built a kennel for it at the edge of the forest and let it guard the hillside.

To be honest, Lai Fu does a really good job as a security guard.

Compared to the creatures on the island, Lai Fu is a giant in size, has a loud voice, and is very alert.

Regardless of its combat power, it is still very intimidating at first glance.

After occupying the territory at the edge of the forest, it urinated at the base of the surrounding tree trunks to mark its territory. Sometimes it chased wild cats and rabbits that dared to approach, and even drove away many water birds that nested in the weeds by the river. Naturally, there were no beasts that were willing to risk their lives to harm the supplies.

Although Chen Zhou is the owner, he does not live as freely and comfortably as Lai Fu.

After the intense wood sawing work, he faced a new and arduous job - carrying goods.

He was tossed on the sea three times a day, and after finally getting ashore, he had to pull the "door cart" and drag heavy objects uphill, which always made him exhausted.

Although his body was tired, Chen Zhou's spirit was not depressed. Instead, he became more positive and optimistic as the number of times he moved things increased.

The hoarding habit inherited from his ancestors is engraved in his genes.

No matter how tired he was, as long as he saw the supplies on the ship decreasing little by little and the supplies on the island increasing little by little, and thought about the benefits he would receive in the future from the current hardships, and that these supplies would support him for many years, Chen Zhou would have a solid sense of security.

In the north, people always prepare for the long and harsh winter by piling up mountains of firewood, and he did the same.

After moving the supplies, if the wind direction is occasionally wrong, Chen Zhou will rest on the shore.

He cleared a large circular clearing in the forest and neatly placed small shacks filled with supply boxes on the edge of the clearing, moving them little by little towards the center of the circle.

The huts were all covered with linen canvas, which was covered with a layer of thin branches. From a distance, they looked like a small primitive camp.

A large fire pit was dug in the center of the open space. A large iron kettle was hung on a tripod made of thick wooden stakes above the pit. Chen Zhou often stewed dishes here.

After having diarrhea after eating sashimi last time, he was still afraid of unfamiliar food, so even though he lived next to a river, he did not catch any fish or pick wild fruits and vegetables to eat.

When it comes to wildlife and plants, Chen Zhou is a complete novice.

Most of the fish he knew were freshwater fish, and the edible wild fruits he knew were all plants commonly found in the Tropic of Cancer area, such as mountain apricot, sea buckthorn, wild apricot, wild cherry, and wild strawberry. This kind of poor knowledge was completely useless on a deserted island in the South Pacific.

Fortunately, there was enough food left on the sailboat. Even if they ate everything, there would be enough to wait until the seeds sprouted and harvest the next season's crops.

Besides, there are goats, hares and other prey deep in the island, so if you have time, you won’t have to worry about food and drink.

From the 10th to the 13th, Chen Zhou maintained a steady pace of moving things.

We get up early every morning to carry out the first batch of transportation, unload the supplies on shore, make lunch, then return to the boat and start the second batch of transportation.

After the second trip, they did not rest but started the third trip directly. After arriving at the shore and unloading the goods, if the wind direction was favorable, they would return to the boat to sleep. If the wind direction was unfavorable, they would sleep in the woods.

Three rare sunny days.

On the evening of the 13th, after unloading the cargo, Chen Zhou sat by the fire, gazing at the red clouds in the sky. He knew that his good days were over.

The southwest wind was blowing, the tide had receded, and the situation seemed favorable, but he did not dare to row back to the boat.

If there is a storm along the coast, the sea will definitely be rough. This is Chen Zhou's new experience.

In this kind of weather, the sea may go crazy at any time. By then, not to mention the small raft, even the stranded sailboat will be in danger.

So he would rather get wet in the rain on shore than risk going out to sea.

What's more, his situation today is different from before.

More than 2,000 kilograms of supplies are piled up in the eight small shacks around. They are Chen Zhou's confidence.

Even if he never got on the ship again from tonight, he could still survive, at most his life would be a little more tiring.

It's better to be a little tired than to gamble your life.

With the help of the firelight, he set up a small tent for himself overnight. He spread a layer of dry branches and sticks at the bottom of the tent as fuel for the next day, and put a torn mattress on the bottom to prevent hurting his waist.

After sprinkling dirt to extinguish the fire, Chen Zhou crawled into the tent, curled up on the simple bed and closed his eyes.

As expected, in the middle of the night, the rain really started to fall, falling on the thick canvas, making a dull pattering sound.

The forest absorbs the rainfall and gives birth to vigorous vitality.

Flashes of lightning briefly illuminate the slope and the dusty young leaves and branches, making them look lush and green.

Rainwater seeped in through the cracks at the bottom of the tent, soaking Chen Zhou's trouser legs, and together with the rumbling thunder, woke him up.

In such an environment and weather, it is naturally impossible to continue sleeping.

Looking outside, it was pitch black in the forest, so there was no need to think about outdoor activities.

Bored, Chen Zhou recalled the moving work of the past few days, trying to find out if there were any omissions.

According to the plan, the first things to be brought ashore were tools.

There were not many of these precious items. Except for the extremely heavy capstans, the difficult-to-disassemble large tools such as the rudders of the ocean-going ships, the carpenters' tool boxes, hand axes, long knives and other goods had already been moved into the camp.

The next priority was resources, among which finished wood of various shapes was moved first. Most of them were placed under the shack to separate the forest land from the bottom of the wooden boxes, preventing rainwater from gathering into streams and flowing into the boxes, destroying the precious materials.

In addition to timber resources, most of the tar, gunpowder, canvas and ropes were also delivered to the island.

However, the total number of resources is too large, and there are still wooden walls, floors, spare masts, etc. on the ship that have not been dismantled.

The main mast was too thick and needed to be sawed into small pieces for transportation. The lead plates in the gunner's room were of little use and were too heavy. Chen Zhou planned to get rid of these time-consuming and labor-intensive things as a last resort.

Clothing, bedding and other consumables were light in weight and easy to carry, so they were queued up and brought up ahead of time.

Several well-maintained matchlock rifles, along with dangerous items such as gunpowder and lead bullets, were separated and placed outside the open space to prevent fire and explosion.

Among the food, seasonings and raw materials were the most precious. Chen Zhou brought all the salt, sugar, wine and tea found on the ship to the shore.

Among the ready-made foods, he only moved a box of his favorite white bread and a bucket of cheese that looked good.

As for the smelly pickled meats and inedible salted vegetables, Chen Zhou just wanted to say "good luck to them".

After stockpiling most of the necessities of life, he packed the silver tableware, coins, decorative paintings found in the first mate's room, some valuable-looking handicrafts found in the captain's room, and Robinson's Bible into a box and shipped them ashore.

Thinking of the three Bibles inlaid with rubies, Chen Zhou remembered that when he was moving things at noon, he found a cabinet that had been overlooked in the corner of the wooden shelf in the bottom cabin.

The cupboard was locked. After searching around for a while but failing to find the key, he violently broke the lock open and found several high-quality razors, scissors and daggers that he had not yet been able to bring ashore.

If a storm comes tonight and destroys the sailboat, it will be difficult to shave and trim my hair in the future without a razor.

“Alas, we shouldn’t have moved that box of bedding, there’s already enough luggage on shore.

I am too lazy and greedy. I should take off the bedding and take away the razors and scissors..."

After reviewing a mistake, Chen Zhou reflected silently and planned the priority of transporting the next batch of supplies.

“The furnishings in the first mate’s room are even more luxurious than those in the captain’s room, especially the hammock, which is really comfortable.

It’s a pity that those large bookcases and shelves cannot be moved.

When we get on board again, we should take a closer look. If we can disassemble it for transportation, that would be the best. If we can't disassemble it, we can saw a hole in the side wall of the first mate's room and then make a pulley to suspend it on the raft.

Oh, and the captain's big wooden bed and the carpets in their rooms."

As he thought about it, Chen Zhou muttered to himself to strengthen his memory.

"The small bedside tables, tables, chairs, benches, railings, and windows in each room will all come in handy in the future."

As he was thinking, the sound of rain outside the tent became louder and louder, interfering with Chen Zhou's concentration. His thoughts drifted to the future and then to the past.

In just over ten days, modern life seemed so distant that it seemed like something that happened in the last lifetime.

Thinking of the ridiculous challenge rules and himself lying on the bed and reading the comments leisurely, Chen Zhou was a little dazed. "Hey, why don't I have a system?
Others' island life is like a vacation, but mine is like being in prison. It's fine if I have to work from morning till night, but I don't even get paid."

"Eh!

How could I have forgotten that the rules also state that there would be a mysterious reward every fifteen days.

Could it be that……"

Chen Zhou finally remembered a piece of information that was useful to him and jumped out of the tent.

Unexpectedly, the back of his head hit the wooden frame, and he cried out in pain.

Counting the days, we will land on the island on September 9th and the challenge will begin. If we count from the day we land on the island, it will be the 30th day after tonight.

In order to make sure that his memory was correct, this ignored rule made Chen Zhou toss and turn and unable to sleep all night.

Everything on the isolated island is completely in line with the historical background of the 17th century.

Relying only on your brain and hands, even if you make a hundred times the effort, you cannot significantly improve the quality of life. If you want to live freely and happily, you can only seek help from the outside world.

“So, what exactly will the mystery reward be?
Time Travel Administration.

How classy it sounds.

For a unit like this, if you don't give me a cheat code, you should at least give me some unlimited gems to play with..."

Looking back on his life experience, Chen Zhou felt that he was not like the protagonist of a novel, as he had neither lost his parents nor had a beautiful sister who was obsessed with her brother. So he humbly lowered his expectations.

“It doesn’t have to be an Infinity Stone, it can be an entire alien weapon or a large wind turbine.

I don't mind.

If all else fails, give me a motorboat.

If you don't have a jet ski, I can accept a diesel engine and a few barrels of oil.

That way I can dismantle the entire boat and bring it back to the island."

"Or give me a ..."

The unknown mysterious reward made Chen Zhou anxious.

Listening to the sound of rain and feeling the dampness in the forest, he lay back on his bed, his mind full of thoughts, unable to close his eyes for a long time.

As an inland person, I have been working continuously by the sea for such a long time, adapting to the physical fatigue and the unfamiliar water and soil.

In fact, Chen Zhou had been unable to rest for a long time. He was just enduring, waiting for the storm to destroy the ship, waiting for all the supplies to be brought ashore, waiting for the day when he could rest.

Now, this waiting has been transformed into torment, or torture, by the sudden hope.

He tossed and turned in the tent for who knows how many times, and finally he fell into a deep sleep due to exhaustion.

In the early morning, the air is clear and bright.

The tent on the clearing in the forest suddenly fell over. With a cry of pain, Chen Zhou crawled out wrapped in blackened bedding.

Just now, he dreamed that the challenge reward was a Godzilla.

The monster landed on the beach without warning, crushed the small camp he had built with great effort, and then swallowed up Lai Fu who was barking at it.

The whole forest was in a mess at that time.

In a panic, he was just trying to save his life, running all the way, but he didn't expect that there was a tree root under his feet, and he tripped and fell.

Godzilla opened his bloody mouth and leaned over to swallow him alive.

He could only fight back with both punches and kicks, and then with a loud bang, he kicked the tent over.

Godzilla is gone, and the dream is over.

He straightened up, rubbed his aching back, and looked out at the sea. There was nothing outside the rocky beach. Chen Zhou was glad that it was just a dream.

"Blessing!"

He called out, and when he saw the dog come out of its kennel, looking sleepy, he felt a little relieved.

“Maybe I was thinking too much about rewards before going to bed.

They say dreams are the opposite of reality, so I'm lucky this time."

To comfort himself, Chen Zhou walked around the tent and didn't find anything suspicious. He looked towards the rocky beach in confusion.

"what happened?

Why not?

Do we have to wait until night?
Or did you forget to send it to me?"

Chen Zhou was distracted by the question of "what exactly is the mysterious reward?" and didn't even have time to eat breakfast. He hurriedly picked up his musket, lead bullets and other items, hung a sharp short axe around his waist, and ran straight to the beach.

He was going to go to the place where he had landed on the night of September 9, and if the ship was not there, he would paddle a raft to the ship to check.

If there is none on board, we will have to wait until tonight or tomorrow.

The rules of the challenge have not been wrong so far, and Chen Zhou doesn't think that those who have the ability to distort time and space will break their promise over such a trivial matter.

Although the rain was heavy in the second half of the night, it did not last long.

There were still some dirty white foams floating on the sea after the rain, and dead fish were washed ashore from time to time. A few seabirds were pickily picking up the fish carcasses with their slender long legs, looking for delicious parts.

Lai Fu followed Chen Zhou closely, walked up the hillside, passed through the sparsely wooded area, and came to the top of the landing beach.

From a distance, Chen Zhou saw the small tree with Robinson's and his own clothes hanging on it.

They were all wet from the rain blown by the wind and had turned dark in color, but the cloth strips that tied them were not loose, and even the position of the packages had not changed much. It was obvious that no curious birds or wild cats had fiddled with them.

Chen Zhou was so busy transporting supplies that he was always stuck on the sailboat and the riverbank, and had no free time to take the clothes away.

Returning here, he had no interest in the package.

He just kept his eyes wide open, scanning the beach, looking for eye-catching objects.

As he got closer, he seemed to see something reflecting on the wet sand from a distance.

"Mysterious reward!"

Chen Zhou was overjoyed and ran over with the heavy musket on his back.

As he got closer, he saw that the reflective object was actually a yellow corrugated cardboard box wrapped with two strips of transparent tape. It gave him a sense of déjà vu of low-quality express packaging from Bing Xixi, and a bad premonition suddenly arose in his heart.

Closing his mouth and controlling his heavy breathing, fearing that his luck would be blown away, Chen Zhou carefully picked up the paper box.

The lower half of the paper box was soaked with sand, and a hole was dug out with a little force from my fingers.

Holding it in the hand, it feels very light, as if it is nothing.

"High-tech is all portable, so it's normal for it to be lighter."

The uneasiness in his heart intensified again. Chen Zhou tried to deceive himself, tilting his head and squinting his eyes to look into the small hole he had dug.

Total darkness.

Like scratching a lottery ticket, he enlarged the hole little by little.

Seeing the colorful wrapping paper gradually revealed, Chen Zhou's heart sank a little.

Finally, he opened the paper box, and the "mysterious reward" that came once every fifteen days finally saw the light of day again -

It turned out to be a Peppa Pig phone case made of pink silicone!
　Thanks to Sanqian Mengluo for the reward.

　　Thanks to 156426482, Mepivacaine, Sunset Otaku Group, Mr. Tam, Wang Ji, and Holy Light Wave for their monthly tickets. Thank you all!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)