From Robinson Crusoe

Chapter 3 Rock Beach
The wind blew all night long.

It was not until dawn that the incessant whistling died down, replaced by the sound of surging tides.

Chen Zhou did not sleep well on his first night on the isolated island.

He had bizarre dreams one after another. The past came out from the depths of his memory and played in his mind in fragmented form, some were sad, some were painful, some were scary...

So Chen Zhou woke up from his dreams again and again, and his sleep was cut into pieces.

For a tired person, this kind of sleep quality is obviously very poor.

Affected by his sleep quality, Chen Zhou's mood became more and more irritable after waking up again and again. He even wanted to stay awake until dawn with his eyes open.

Fortunately, his mind remained somewhat clear.

The remaining sanity reminded Chen Zhou that if he stayed up all night, his exhausted body and depressed spirit tomorrow would greatly increase the risk of boarding the ship, and even take his life.

The pressure of survival forced Chen Zhou to calm down, and he could only fall asleep with difficulty after tossing and turning.

At daybreak, Chen Zhou was awakened by the urge to urinate.

He still maintained the same posture as when he fell asleep last time, leaning against the tree trunk, half sitting and half lying.

Although this posture is not conducive to rest, it provides a good field of vision and allows one to quickly stand up in case of emergencies, which can give Chen Zhou some pitiful sense of security.

Lack of sleep caused Chen Zhou to feel a sharp pain in the head. Those broken and chaotic dreams wandered in his mind like noisy crows, and his smoking throat pulled him back to reality.

Yawning, Chen Zhou slowly stood up with the help of a tree and walked to the side to drain the water.

The pleasure after excretion slightly diluted the physical discomfort. After fastening his belt, Chen Zhou raised his head and glanced at the sky casually.

The dense dark clouds from last night have been dispersed by the wind. The sun has not yet risen. There is no boundary between the sea and the sky, which is filled with a tranquil and pure blue. The stars dot the sky like broken diamonds stuck in a velvet carpet.

Among the twinkling stars, a round moon radiates its bright light, covering the beach with a layer of silver gauze.

The sounds of insects and birds chirped could be heard from the dense forest. A seagull flew out from the forest, gliding along the heaving sea water and soon disappeared from sight.

The cool breeze brushed against my face. The indescribably quiet atmosphere, coupled with the cold sky and the empty ocean of sand, made people feel a little sad out of nowhere.

"it's beautiful."

Chen Zhou murmured to himself, praising sincerely.

The clear moonlit sky had a beauty that had not been tainted by modern industry. It reminded him of his hometown as a child and the cool summer evenings when he would sit in the courtyard, snuggle up to his grandmother, listen to stories and count the stars.

What a happy time that was, so happy that it seemed as if there were no worries in the world.

Now that he was in a different time and space, he couldn't help but feel that although his hometown had become farther away than ever before, it also seemed more intimate, clearer, and more nostalgic than ever before.

Chen Zhou didn't know that September 1659, 9 was the 30th day of the eighth month of the th year of the Shunzhi reign in the lunar calendar.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for families to reunite and enjoy the moon and lanterns, but he was "a stranger in a foreign land", sleeping on an isolated island, starving until dawn.

Swallowing a mouthful of saliva to moisten his thirsty throat and pursing his cracked lips, Chen Zhou untied the knot and took off the clothes tied to the tree last night.

He had not had any water for more than ten hours since arriving on the island. The burning sensation in his stomach and the dry throat reminded him that he must drink some fresh water as soon as possible, and it would be best if he could find some food to fill his stomach.

Chen Zhou considered himself to be a self-aware man, and he knew very well how big the gap was between him and Robinson.

Robinson boarded the ship at the age of nineteen and has often wandered on the sea since then. He once escaped from the Moorish territory along the African coastline in a small boat. He was an experienced sailor who had been engaged in physical labor for many years and an adventurer with excellent water skills.

Before coming to the isolated island, Chen Zhou had never been in close contact with the sea. From childhood to adulthood, he had only swam secretly in rivers and ponds in the countryside a few times. It is no exaggeration to say that he is half a landlubber.

Moreover, as a modern man who has been looking after and maintaining equipment in a cement factory all year round, his body has long been deteriorating. Compared with Robinson Crusoe, who has been baptized by wind and waves, his endurance and physical fitness must be much inferior.

Under the same physical condition, what Robinson can do, Chen Zhou may not be able to do.

Therefore, if he didn't replenish water and eat something, with his physical condition, he would most likely drown in the sea.

But people have been forced to this point, and they have to board that ship.

With no choice, Chen Zhou could only try his best to adjust his condition. Every bit of energy he accumulated could increase the success rate of boarding the ship.

As for whether the unboiled water on the desert island contained parasites and bacteria, or whether drinking it would cause dysentery, he didn't care.

After all, he had neither a water container nor a tool for making fire. Even if he had a water container, it would be a fantasy to expect him, a man with no experience in surviving in the wild, to successfully make a fire in the wet woods.

After watching a few episodes of Wilderness, I don’t really think of myself as Bear Grylls.

Moreover, disease is only a potential threat. If you cannot get on board the ship, you will face a lot of trouble.

Chen Zhou thought clearly. He put his clothes on his shoulders and was about to set off. Suddenly, his eyes turned and he vaguely remembered that the original book seemed to mention that Robinson drank some water after landing on the island.

So he quickly took out the book "Robinson Crusoe" from his pocket and carefully read the details after landing on the island under the faint moonlight.

Soon, he found the part about the water source.

According to the book, Robinson Crusoe started from the place where he landed on the island and walked about one furlong along the coast before he found fresh water.

The footer thoughtfully notes: Furlong, a unit of length, 1 furlong is approximately equal to 0.2 kilometers, or 200 meters.

However, the author did not elaborate on the specific direction Robinson took when he was looking for fresh water, nor did he describe whether the water source was a river or a spring, but at least he confirmed the fact that there was fresh water nearby.

Chen Zhou thought about it and felt that 200 meters was not a very far distance. Even if he failed and had to turn back, it would not waste much time and energy.

He estimated that the place where he rested should be similar to the place where Robinson landed on the island, so he simply walked straight along the coast starting from the small tree where the clothes were tied.

The silhouettes of the mountains were reflected in the gray light of the morning sun. The lush forest stretched darkly from the slightly flat top of the mountain to the foot of the mountain. The morning star hung high on the side of the peak, and together with those unnamed constellations, it watched the lonely traveler on the coast.

The beach was bare, with only light yellow gravel and seaweed and shells washed up by the tide, but no coconuts or other fruits that Chen Zhou hoped to see. The coastal area that gradually turned into soil also had no low-lying grass plants, and even the trees seemed to be malnourished, sparsely planted on the ground, with branches tangled in a mess, making them look like a group of hungry, unkempt beggars.

The two little birds perched among the messy branches. They were afraid of Chen Zhou's footsteps, so they huddled together. After they were sure that the "monster" passing through the woods posed no threat to them, they cautiously poked their heads out and walked out one after the other.

However, they did not notice that a large gray-brown cat had been following them quietly for a long time.

It kept its waist low the whole time, with even its ears pressed against its scalp, and moved silently. When the distance was shortened, it suddenly jumped out, stretched out its front paws to hook the selected prey, and then its body relaxed and tightened like a spring, and with a press and a bite, it locked the bird's neck.

The bird that was bitten naturally refused to give up its life. It flapped its wings and struggled hard. Its feathers flew everywhere and blood stained the cat's mouth, but it was of no avail.

The other bird that managed to survive cried in fear, and ran away wildly, and suddenly dived into the branches next to Chen Zhou. Chen Zhou was so scared that he turned around in a hurry and quickly picked up the cloth bag made of clothes on his shoulder to prepare for the enemy.

The bright moonlight shone through the slender treetops onto the forest floor, allowing Chen Zhou to clearly see the perpetrator of the tragedy behind him.

The cat's face was covered with light white bird feathers. It was quite courageous, with its green eyes wide open. Even when being stared at by Chen Zhou, who was much bigger than it, it did not panic. It just held its prey tightly in its mouth and made a continuous whining warning sound from its throat.

Seeing that the culprit who scared him turned out to be a cat, Chen Zhou's tense heart finally relaxed. However, he did not look down on the cat because of its small size. He still broke off a thin branch nearby and waved it to drive it away.

"Go, go!"

Before the branches had waved a few times, the cat nimbly jumped with the bird in its mouth, climbed up the tree trunk, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The sudden hunting scattered the little energy that Chen Zhou had left. Worried that there might be other wild animals in the forest, he found a stronger and longer wooden stick to protect himself and continued to move forward carefully.

Not long after they walked, they heard the sound of gurgling water in the distance. When Chen Zhou heard it, a look of joy appeared on his face.

The goddess of luck finally favored him, and he did not get frightened in vain, nor did he go down the wrong path.

We quickened our pace and walked through the woods. The terrain gradually sloped down to reveal a flat and wide rocky beach.

At this time, the tide seemed to have receded, leaving only a layer of impermeable shallow water covering the beach, surging with the waves.

Rocks of varying sizes are covered with mud, moss, kelp and seaweed, or attached with shellfish and barnacles. They have different shapes and are distributed in the mud like chess pieces.

Many unknown small crabs crawled sideways, leaving criss-crossing traces on the "chessboard". Slightly protruding pores could be seen everywhere in the dark beach, and the holes drilled by mantis shrimps and razor clams almost covered the entire rocky beach.

Upstream of the beach, the terrain gradually rises, and a silver jade belt flows out from the woods in the valley formed by the gentle slope. With a pleasant sound, it rushes towards the rocky beach and merges with the sea water.

A cool breeze blew, bringing the coolness of the water and the fishy smell of shrimps and crabs to Chen Zhou's face. He looked at the rocky beach from afar, and his heart couldn't help but jump for joy.

There is no doubt that this is a freshwater river originating from the island.

On an island, fresh water is undoubtedly the most precious resource, and flowing water is much cleaner than stagnant water, which can greatly reduce the risk of diarrhea.

Just by looking at the river from afar, Chen Zhou felt that his thirst was relieved a lot, and his inner uneasiness and anxiety were also diluted a little.

Controlling the urge to run down the hillside, Chen Zhou walked slowly while observing the environment near the rocky beach.

The soil and rivers washed down from the island have nourished this land together. The gentle slopes are green and covered with shrubs and short grass. Wild flowers of various colors are covered with dewdrops and blooming, competing for beauty under the soft moonlight.

As Chen Zhou waded through the grass, frightened insects and birds nesting in the bushes kept jumping out, and the chirping of insects also became quieter.

Just like the clear moonlit sky, the entire isolated island is like an innocent virgin, and everything about her remains in its most original state.

In modern society, it is almost impossible to find such a place. Even the top of Mount Everest, which is 8848 feet above sea level, has been left with countless traces of human beings.

However, Chen Zhou did not feel that there was anything valuable about this place. He walked on this green land which could be called a "luxury" and arrived at the riverside a few minutes later.

The storm had just passed and the air was very humid, with annoying mosquitoes everywhere.

The soil along the river was soft and moist with stagnant water.

In order to protect the non-renewable shoes on his feet, Chen Zhou had to throw away the wooden stick, hold his shoes and walk barefoot, stepping straight into the river.

The water in the early morning was cool but not cold, and it flowed slowly. It was very comfortable to soak the calves, and it almost made Chen Zhou want to swim a lap, but thirst eventually got the better of him.

So he bent down slightly, held up his clothes and shoes with his left hand to prevent them from getting wet, and put the water into his mouth with his right hand.

The cool river water moistened his throat, and his thirst disappeared in an instant, making Chen Zhou feel refreshed.

After drinking a few sips of water, he still wasn't satisfied, so he washed his face to clear his mind completely.

Finding a stable source of fresh water is undoubtedly good news that is exciting. Chen Zhou can list several benefits just by thinking about it.

For example, the slopes on both sides of the Tamsui River are suitable for planting crops. Not only is irrigation convenient, but there are also fish, shrimps and crabs in the river, which can be a long-term and stable source of food. With his appetite, he can eat more than he can finish all the river and seafood until he dies.

There are many birds nesting in the bushes along the river. During the breeding season, you can take out the bird eggs and eat them. If you have the opportunity, you can also tame some human-friendly birds and raise them. On an isolated island, poultry meat and eggs are obviously high-quality, safe and delicious sources of protein.

The river itself is also a resource. Perhaps a waterwheel mill can be designed to grind grains or even thresh the ears of grain. For Chen Zhou, who majored in mechanical design, manufacturing and automation, this may take a lot of effort, but it is not impossible.

As for the silt and sand in the ditches, they can be used to make pottery or burn bricks, and can serve as important construction materials. Only one night had passed, but Chen Zhou still remembered the experiences shared by the so-called "Jingdezhen masters" on the forum.

Moreover, from Chen Zhou's unprofessional point of view, this rocky beach is connected to the sea, the terrain is flat and the water flow is gentle. If the timing of high and low tides is mastered, it should be no problem to serve as a temporary dock to unload the cargo moved from the ship.

Of course, all this is based on the premise that he can successfully board the ship and build the mortise and tenon structure raft, which is just a beautiful fantasy at present.

However, although fantasy is illusory, it can ignite people's fighting spirit. Even if it is an unattainable goal, as long as there is hope, one can get closer to it step by step.

After drawing a big pie for himself, Chen Zhou wiped the corner of his mouth and slowly walked ashore.

I filled half my stomach with cold water, and I could almost hear the rumbling sound in my stomach as I walked.

The thirst naturally disappeared, and the hunger also dissipated temporarily. I stepped on a piece of short grass and sat on the soft green ground, with the fragrance of flowers and plants in my nose.

Just at this moment, Chen Zhou felt more comfortable than ever before. He simply lay down on the grass and took a nap with his clothes as a pillow.

(End of this chapter)