From Robinson Crusoe

It was almost October, and the temperature in the Baihar Mountains was getting lower and lower.

The daytime temperature remains between 3 and 6 degrees Celsius, but it quickly drops below zero once the sun sets.

Moreover, as winter approaches, the days in the entire challenge area become shorter and shorter, and Chen Zhou and Paul have to get up before dawn and start working in the dark with torches in hand.

……

The snowfall briefly stopped for a while, but the wind never stopped, especially on the mountainside, where the wind was stronger and the perceived temperature was lower.

While he was still able to handle the shelter's affairs before leaving, Chen Zhou had Paul receive injections of gene-editing agents and cold-resistance gene-modifying agents.

Although the Time and Space Administration always shows malice in unexpected ways, their descriptions of various items are never deceptive.

The gene-modified injections may have helped alleviate the side effects to some extent, but the various symptoms caused by the cold-resistance gene modification still took a toll on Paul.

He also experienced symptoms such as skin swelling, abdominal pain and diarrhea, muscle aches and loss of appetite. He was in a daze, staggered when walking, and was almost unable to do any work, so he could only lie in the shelter.

Edema made Paul's thin face rounder, making him look rather comical.

During meals, Chen Zhou often joked about Paul's face, saying that the cold-resistant gene-modifying agent also had the effect of making him fat. Paul just laughed it off.

During the period of experiencing side effects, diarrhea will deplete the body's already limited energy reserves, and at the same time, appetite will also decrease.

Every day, after cooking pine nuts, Paul had to force himself to swallow more food during meals.

Even with the addition of some meat chunks and sour berries, the bland pine nut porridge is far from appetizing.

During this period, suffering from both mental and physical torment, Paul's craving for spirits reached its peak. He told Chen Zhou more than once during meals that he wanted to try brewing wine, no matter how bad it tasted or how low the alcohol content was.

Chen Zhou initially thought it was a joke by Paul, who was so hungry for alcohol that he was actually joking. However, after his symptoms subsided, Paul actually began to study how to brew alcohol in the cold mountain shelter.

Of course, Paul knew which was more important, personal interest or the team's interests; he would only mutter about trying it after finishing his work.

……

While waiting for Paul's genetic modification to be completed, Chen Zhou mainly did three things—

Collect fuel, collect pine nuts, hunt wild animals.

Nestled within a vast primeval forest, the sanctuary is surrounded by pines and firs, ensuring ample firewood as you descend the slope.

But anyone with experience living in high latitudes knows that you can't wait until you need fuel to go up the mountain with an axe to cut down trees, or it will be too late.

As winter deepens, the snow piles up into a thick layer that doesn't melt at all. Naturally fallen tree branches are buried under the snow and frozen solid.

Even if you pick up such firewood, it will be soaked by snow water and will not dry or light in a short time. Even if it does light, it will only produce smoke that will make it impossible for people to open their eyes.

If there is a blizzard, people cannot even leave their homes.

The heavy snow blown by the wind covered the entire mountain, blocking the door from the outside. After the snow outside was cleared, it was difficult to go anywhere.

Back then, the energy required to find, cut, and move a single piece of firewood could exceed the energy required for the firewood itself.

If a blizzard lasts for a long time, such as five days and five nights, ordinary people will have no chance to go out and can only rely on the fuel stored at home.

On the grasslands, raging blizzards are called "white disasters," the worst kind of calamity for herders.

The wind and snow were merciless.

Chen Zhou once witnessed a herdsman who owned hundreds of cattle and sheep lose all his property overnight.

Even in modern times, with intact sheds that can shield against wind and snow, if a snowstorm lasts too long and blocks roads, preventing fodder from being delivered in time, the herders' cattle and sheep may still starve to death.

Therefore, firewood has always been one of the most important things in Chen Zhou's mind.

……

In most rural areas of northern China, there is no central heating. Rural households usually install their own boilers and use radiators for warmth.

In the early years, boilers were still a rarity. Although coal prices were low, people's incomes were also low. Some frugal families simply didn't burn coal in the winter and relied on burning wood to get through the winter.

You can't use a boiler to burn wood—

Boilers burn quickly, consume a lot of fuel, and heat up slowly, making them inferior to sheet metal stoves.

When Chen Zhou was a child, his maternal grandmother's family relied on a stove and a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) for heating in winter.

He estimated that at least 10,000 jin of firewood would be consumed in a winter.

Of course, this is because his maternal grandmother's house not only had a stove, but also two heated brick beds in the east and west rooms. In winter, they also had to warm the swill for the pigs, so their consumption was naturally much higher than that of ordinary families.

But in reality, five tons of firewood is still considered economical.

Because his hometown has long winters, lasting from the beginning of October to the end of April of the following year, which is nearly five months in total, when using a boiler for heating, at least four tons of coal are needed. Compared to that, five tons of firewood is not an exaggerated number.

The prehistoric world, in terms of both the duration and the coldness of winter, would have far exceeded that of Chen Zhou's hometown.

Chen Zhou estimated that he would need to prepare at least 20,000 jin of firewood to barely have enough, and that was only because the shelter was small enough that the heat source required for heating was not that high.

However, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. The shelter was small, but it was too rudimentary. Even though the cracks in the walls were treated to prevent wind and heat, the wind would still seep into the room when a strong wind blew.

The wind blowing into the house will constantly take away the heat. At the coldest time, even if the stove is kept burning all day, the house can only barely maintain a temperature of seven or eight degrees Celsius. It would be the best case scenario if people don't freeze.

……

As for collecting pine nuts, it was, of course, to have enough food when we couldn't go out.

Before setting off to find salt, Chen Zhou and Paul searched all over the mountains for tree holes and rock crevices where squirrels stored food, and dug up and collected a large number of pine nuts.

At that time, the pine nuts on the mountain had not yet matured in large quantities. The pine nuts they collected were only in quantity, not in quality. They were not fresh, and some of them were old pine nuts that had dried out and cracked. Even when cooked, they were hard and contained almost no oil, and the taste was not good.

The squirrels have already slowed down their activity levels, attempting to survive the winter in "standby mode".

For Chen Zhou, the snowfall was not frequent enough to hinder his operations, making it the perfect time to raid homes.

While he was at it, he could cut down trees and search for squirrel burrows to collect the various nuts stored by the squirrels and enrich his own granary.

Collecting pine nuts is much easier than storing firewood.

Both he and Paul had larger appetites than the average person, but all things considered, they would need at most 500 jin (250 catties) to eat three meals a day throughout the winter.

Squirrels don't have a concept of "enough" when it comes to storing nuts; their instincts drive them to "save as many as they can."

Young squirrels, in particular, are more anxious about food shortages than other squirrels because they don't have any leftover food from previous years. They often spend more time storing more pine nuts. Digging into the tree holes, you can find anywhere from about 4 pounds of pine nuts to as much as 15 pounds, a mixture of old and fresh pine nuts that almost fills the tree hole.

With the help of these hardworking "little elves," Chen Zhou quickly collected enough food.

As for the squirrels that had lost their food reserves, in order to prevent them from dying of hunger, Chen Zhou caught them and handed them over to the sawtooth tiger.

The three tiger cubs, whose size was growing larger, loved this unusually agile prey. As soon as they saw Chen Zhou put the squirrel on the ground, they would chase after it like madmen.

Some squirrels lost their hard-earned food, their faith collapsed, and once they were on all fours, they even forgot to run away, and were caught and eaten by the sawtooth tiger.

Some squirrels always had a strong will to survive, and they immediately fled with all their might after Chen Zhou let go.

Most of these squirrels still couldn't escape the clutches of the sawtooth tiger, but some lucky ones were agile enough to climb trees at top speed.

The sawtooth tiger is good at running but not good at climbing, so it can only watch helplessly as squirrels climb trees.

……

Firewood was used for warmth, carbohydrates for sustenance, and wild animals were the main source of fur, fat, and protein.

Large herbivores are rare in the Baihar Mountains, making hunting wild animals the most difficult task for Chen Zhou.

You can look for squirrels while cutting down trees, but you can't hunt wild animals at the same time.

Therefore, this job is basically a matter of luck. It would be best if you could encounter wild animals on the mountain, but there's nothing you can do if you don't.

Regarding this task, Chen Zhou plans to go down the mountain and do it himself after Paul's genetic modification is completed.

Besides hunting wild animals, he could also dig up some rock salt and look for the two missing wandering knights. He wanted to see if there was any chance to save the bow and also ask for their two large antlered deer.

Snowfall isn't frequent enough right now. He's carefully calculated that if he can get the mount and complete the gene-modification injection before the end of October, he might be able to return to the Black Forest and bring back a large amount of coal, even if he takes some risks.

The calorific value of coal is about four times that of firewood. Having several hundred kilograms of coal would be like having a strong insurance policy if you wanted to survive a long, cold winter.

However, Chen Zhou didn't have much hope of reuniting with the wandering knight.

When we parted ways, we all shared at least one common goal—

Beacon.

Now that the beacon has disappeared, all challengers have vanished into the vast North, and any chance of reuniting is purely by chance.

On this 600,000 square kilometers of land, the possibility is almost zero.

……

The good weather lasted for more than ten days.

In mid-October, Paul's genetic modification was finally nearing completion, and the side effects he experienced were greatly reduced. He was finally able to leave the shelter and engage in outdoor work.

By this time, Chen Zhou had stockpiled approximately 6000 jin of firewood.

He rarely picked up fallen branches, let alone cut down trees that had been dead for many years.

Once the branches fall to the ground, they will naturally decompose. They feel light when picked up, with only a little bark on the outside and the inside already rotten. They can be used to start a fire, but once lit, they won't burn for very long.

Dead trees may look sturdy, but they can actually be broken with a single kick, especially near the roots where insects and ants have already hollowed them out, making them unsuitable for burning as firewood.

He particularly favored trees that were diseased and in a state of semi-death, often exhibiting a state of "half-paralysis," with one part already dead and the other still alive.

Its dead parts were not rotten, nor were they too badly eaten by woodworms, and they had almost lost their moisture, making them ideal for firewood.

The living part is also affected by the dead part, and compared with the healthy tree, it also has a low water content and does not produce much smoke when burned.

In addition, Chen Zhou also liked dry tree roots or tree branches with burls.

These two special types of wood grow extremely slowly, have high density, feel like heavy stones, are extremely heat-resistant, and burn for as long as coal; one piece is equivalent to two pieces of ordinary wood.

However, compared to common timber, the dry tree roots and burls that can be dug up are relatively rare. Like wild animals in the mountains, they can only be found by chance. On good days, you can find dozens or hundreds of pieces, but on bad days, you can only collect a dozen or so pieces at most.

……

The weather is getting colder and colder, and the salt from our spoils is simply not enough.

Seeing the gloomy skies of the past few days, as if another snowfall was imminent, Chen Zhou didn't want to delay any longer. After confirming that Paul was alright, able to take care of himself and complete the necessary tasks, Chen Zhou immediately packed his equipment, preparing to go down the mountain to collect rock salt and, incidentally, hunt a few large wild animals.

The mountain winds grew stronger, so he had to peel off several thick animal hides, tan them, and sew two windproof and warm leather coats to wear.

If you go out in winter wearing only this combat suit, you'll freeze to death.

In addition to the clothes people wear, the beds in the shelter also need to be layered several times. The cold air rises from the ground. Currently, there is only a simple fireplace inside the shelter, and there is no heated kang (a traditional heated platform bed).

Chen Zhou and Paul placed a few logs on the ground, laid some flattened planks on the logs, and made a simple wooden bed.

The wooden bed is about 40cm off the ground, so sleeping on it is not much different from sleeping on the floor.

After storing the necessary supplies for winter, if there is still time, Chen Zhou plans to build a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove), fire a ceramic stove, and then slightly expand the shelter by building a fire wall around the inside.

This way, the heat generated by fuel consumption can be fully utilized, and the outer firewall can also block the cold wind blowing into the house from the outside, helping them conserve fat and last longer.

……

I'm so young, I'll eat you to death.

When they first started raising the three saw-toothed tigers, they were still cubs, and each day they ate about the same amount as Chen Zhou and his companion.

They are now nearly four months old, young serrated tigers, a time when they are growing rapidly and their appetite has increased dramatically.

The largest of the three, Tiger Cub Da, eats at least 5 jin (2.5 catties) of meat every day. Tiger Cub Er and Tiger Cub San are slightly smaller, but their appetites are no less than their eldest brother's. These three brothers eat at least half an antelope or half a young deer every day. Usually, Chen Zhou or Paul have to catch some snacks for them, which are squirrels.

There are few animals on the mountain, and it's already quite a struggle to feed these three gluttons.

On this trip down the mountain, Chen Zhou planned to bring all three saw-toothed tigers with him to lighten Paul's burden.

As the saying goes, it takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone. Paul's leg injury has not fully healed yet, and he can barely put weight on it. It would be better to rely on the three-headed saw-toothed tiger to support him than to rely on him to support these three guys.

At least three saw-toothed tigers would hunt together, and occasionally they could catch agile antelopes.

Paul, who used a cane, even had to set traps or throw stones at squirrels to catch them. (End of Chapter)