From Robinson Crusoe

Chapter 4: Seabird's Devotion

As if to make up for the poor sleep before, this sleep was deep and peaceful.

The chirping of insects and birds became the best lullaby, gently rocking Chen Zhou's peaceful dream.

It was not until noon when the island's subtropical climate began to show its edge and the scorching sun splashed on his face that Chen Zhou drowsily raised his arms to cover his eyes and slowly woke up.

The sunlight made his vision dark. Chen Zhou got up, rubbed his face, and looked at the daylight on the isolated island, still feeling a little dazed.

The world has swept away its gloom and regained its freshness and brightness, with fresh flowers and tender grass, in all colors.

A breeze blew across the hillside, and a white butterfly that had landed in the center of the flower next to Chen Zhou was startled and flew away with its wings flapping.

The chirping of insects stopped for a moment due to the noise of the grass, but soon became noisy again.

Down the slope, the rocky beach that was covered with a layer of shallow water in the early morning has been filled with sea water. The overlapping waves are advancing in an orderly manner, steadily and slowly hitting the beach. Even the sound of the water seems exceptionally gentle.

Just as described in the book, after the storm, it was a rare day when the sea was extremely calm.

Chen Zhou sat there for a while, finally getting rid of the laziness after waking up.

He got up and fertilized the flowers and plants. Suddenly, he felt his stomach was empty. The hunger that had been dormant for a long time came back, reminding him that it was time to find food.

The body does not lie. The soft limbs have lost some of their strength due to hunger, and the empty stomach is craving for starch, sugar, fiber, fat or protein.

After walking a few steps like a headless fly, Chen Zhou felt a growing sense of urgency as he thought about what he was going to do next.

Looking around, he saw birds perched on the tops of bushes on both sides of the river, preening their feathers, which reminded him of taking bird eggs.

Chen Zhou wasn’t sure whether October was the breeding season for birds on the island, so he could only hope for good luck.

So he dragged his tired body through the grass, on the damp river bank, in the misty water, and among the densely intertwined branches, crouching down to look for "Schrödinger's eggs".

As time passed, the temperature continued to rise, but the wind became weaker.

The scorching sun baked the isolated island, and a fishy smell of soil wafted from the green land on the river bank.

Chen Zhou gained nothing and sat dejectedly on the slope.

Obviously, luck was not on his side this time.

He just groped in vain among the grass and pulled at the green wall of bushes, hoping to touch a bird's nest or something round, while worrying about catching a huge and fat insect, or worse, being bitten by a snake hiding in the grass.

Green, thick or thin, all kinds of green were roughly stuffed into his eyes.

Tangled vines, slender branches of shrubs, dwarf flowers, water plants...

Those colors that gradually faded or even disappeared after entering society are returning in a strong way, occupying Chen Zhou's eyes and making him dizzy.

It's not easy, nor is it as fun as traveling or camping.

Even that little bit of novelty quickly dissipated with the passage of time, leaving only the physical fatigue and psychological pressure becoming increasingly heavier.

More than two hours were wasted like this.

Staring blankly at the emerald green bushes, Chen Zhou felt all the accumulated fatigue surge up at once. Together with the hot weather, it made him feel a little nauseous.

Acid surged up from his stomach and Chen Zhou swallowed it down forcefully.

The situation is no longer optimistic.

The irritability caused by hunger affected his mood. He knew that this was a normal physiological reaction and kept comforting himself.

"This is just a small difficulty. You must stay calm and don't panic. As long as you find food, everything will be fine."

Now, Chen Zhou has deeply realized that looking for bird eggs was a bad decision.

It's a matter of life and death, and he must forgo safe and acceptable bird eggs in favor of something easy to catch but risky and difficult to swallow.

For example, the insects that can be seen everywhere in the grass, the mantis shrimps and crabs on the rocks, the fish swimming in the stream, and the shellfish and snails attached to the rocks.

He did what he said. Spurred by hunger, Chen Zhou's motivation reached an unprecedented level.

He anticipated that the captured crabs, fish and shrimps would require a container, so he untied the bundled clothes and prepared to use Robinson's coat as a pocket to hold the spoils.

While untying the knot, he thought of taking the knife with him, which would make it easier to kill prey and dissect food.

Then, Chen Zhou suddenly remembered that there were a few pieces of candied fruit in Robinson's shirt pocket. He was so happy that he couldn't express it in words. He quickly spread out the coat that was rolled into a ball and took out the candied fruit that was stuck together.

One night was not enough to dry the candied fruit soaked in sea water. The sticky mass was dark red in color with dark brown spots in some places, and did not look good.

As for its taste, there is no need to describe it.

Any food soaked in sea water will become salty and bitter. The already sweet candied fruit mixed with sea water probably tastes better than most so-called dark dishes.

But at this critical moment, for Chen Zhou, there is no better food than this candied fruit.

He frowned, broke off a piece of candied fruit, put it into his mouth, and chewed it carefully.

The taste was terrible. The excess sugar produced an extremely strong sweetness, but it could not completely cover up the salty and bitter taste of the salt and minerals in the sea water. Add to that the faint fishy smell of the algae, and it became a disgusting hodgepodge.

And the more you chew, the stronger the taste of the candied fruit becomes in your mouth and the harder it is to dissipate.

At first, Chen Zhou almost couldn't help spitting out the candied fruit, but he finally forced himself to adapt to the taste and concentrated on enjoying this "gift from Robinson Crusoe", taking in the energy brought by the sugar in the food.

The choking sweetness and the slight satisfaction brought by the food stimulated the production of dopamine, and Chen Zhou's mood quickly improved.

He originally wanted to eat the whole piece of candied fruit in one go, but then he thought that the portion was too small. Even if he ate it all, it would not be enough to replenish his energy. He would definitely have to eat some raw food such as fish, crab, shrimp and shellfish later, which might taste even worse. He should leave some candied fruit to eat with it, otherwise he might not be able to swallow it.

Chen Zhou carefully put the knife and the remaining candied fruit into his trouser pockets, put on Robinson's coat, left the rest of the clothes and shoes on the slope, and walked into the rocky beach with his spirits lifted.

The tide that had been rising since early morning had now submerged most of the rocky beach. Chess-piece-like rocks sank into the sea, and the waves were like the soft belly of an exhausted conch, slowly and tiredly surging forward.

As the tide rises, shrimps and crabs climb up the beach, gather into large groups and compete to lie on the sand, or turn their claws around, or shake their limbs, stirring up balls of mud in the shallow water.

Seabirds that had heard the news circled in the sky, looking down, and from time to time they would swoop down and pick up a crab or a small silver fish. Chen Zhou waded through the water, crouching, and clumsily tried to catch crabs in the shallows. After several attempts, he got nothing and was covered in mud and looked miserable.

The seabirds, however, were making frequent catches, flying in the sky with their prey in their beaks, showing off. The flapping sounds of their wings made the frustrated Chen Zhou feel even more unbalanced.

Raising one arm to block the sunlight, he squinted his eyes and looked at the active flock of birds. Thinking that he was still hungry, he couldn't help feeling jealous and wished he could pull them down from the sky and snatch the prey from their mouths.

As the old saying goes, poverty breeds evil schemes while wealth breeds consciences. Chen Zhou, who had nothing in his mind, started to think evil and actually came up with a spooky idea.

He gave up hunting with his bare hands and concentrated on picking up stones. Whenever he saw a seabird catching a fish, he would throw stones at it.

The seabirds that have grown up on isolated islands have never seen such a method. Regardless of whether they can hit the enemy or not, they are so scared that they dodge sideways and scream at the top of their lungs to warn.

This statement was exactly what Chen Zhou wanted.

He stared at the shallows with eyes wide open, and whenever he saw a fish fall from a seabird's mouth, he would quickly rush to pick it up.

The fish and crabs caught by the bird's beak are not as lively as their counterparts in the water on the beach. After falling to the ground, they are exhausted and have no strength left to flap their arms. The unlucky ones will faint after hitting the rocks. You can just walk to the side and bend down to pick them up.

In this way, relying on human wisdom, Chen Zhou's fishing efficiency increased greatly, and he soon collected a bag of small fish that he couldn't name and a dozen crabs with missing limbs.

Overhead, angry seabirds were still chirping noisily, cursing the shameless robber, but they could do nothing and could only throw a few inaccurate "dung bombs" at him.

Chen Zhou ignored the seabirds' protests, weighed his heavy coat, tied the sleeves into a knot and slung them over his shoulders, then left the beach smelling of fish.

Coming to the riverside, he found a flat stone and spread out his coat. Looking at the pile of fish and crabs of all sizes, Chen Zhou hesitated at the thought of eating them, and couldn't help feeling at a loss as to where to start.

He grew up inland, and the only seafood he had come into contact with the most was hairtail. Faced with these unfamiliar foods, he had no idea which ones were poisonous and which ones were not, and whether they could be eaten.

But if you change your mindset, always looking back and forth like this will not only be a waste of your own work, but also a waste of those "passionate and dedicated" seabirds.

Besides, the seabirds ate so many fish, but they were not poisoned to death. They were still alive and kicking on the rocks to forage for food. I couldn’t be so unlucky to be poisoned to death by a fish.

Things have come to this point, and we can't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Having made up his mind, Chen Zhou pulled out a knife and squatted by the river to prepare the ingredients.

After being covered in coats for a long time in the harsh, dry and stuffy environment, most of these half-dead fish died, leaving only a few tenacious crabs spitting bubbles and gasping for air.

Chen Zhou was not interested in crabs at first, but seeing them struggling to crawl out despite losing limbs, he couldn't help but feel sympathy. He simply gathered the dead and living crabs into a pile and pushed them into the river. The dozens of small fish left were enough for him to have a full meal.

Dip the blade into the river to wash away the salt stains left by the sea water.

Chen Zhou quickly cut off the head and tail with his knife, cut open the fish from the belly, took out the internal organs, rinsed them clean with river water, and placed them on a stone to wait for consumption.

After a short while, all the small fish were processed and neatly stacked on the stone surface. Their scales shone silvery and were quite spectacular. At least they looked more like real food than candied fruit.

Chen Zhou stretched out two fingers and picked up the smallest fish, then carefully put it into his mouth and tasted it.

The taste of this crude sashimi without dipping sauce was not as bad as he had imagined.

Maybe because it died not long ago, the fish meat is very tender and a little crispy. Although it has a strong fishy smell, it also exudes a light salty and sweet taste on the tip of the tongue. It is generally not disgusting. However, the fish bones and fine scales greatly affect the taste.

Bah, bah, bah…

After spitting a few times and wiping the fish scales from the corners of his mouth, Chen Zhou learned his lesson and used a knife to cut the remaining fish into thin slices. He luxuriously discarded the fish bones and parts with scales, and then stuffed the slices into his mouth, swallowing them as quickly as possible.

Raw fish has a strong fishy smell. When it becomes unbearable, Chen Zhou takes out the remaining candied fruit and uses the stronger sweetness to cover up the fishy smell.

However, even if he ate it with candied fruit, he would feel disgusted after eating a few pieces of fish, and would instinctively want to spit out the fish as soon as it entered his mouth.

Every time this happened, Chen Zhou would take a break, rinse his mouth with some river water, and then continue to fight with the food.

One after another, the small fish on the stone surface became fewer and fewer, and Chen Zhou gradually felt full.

The chewed sashimi passes through the esophagus and reaches the gastrointestinal tract. After being broken down by gastric acid, it enters the small intestine and large intestine. The nutrients are filtered and absorbed layer by layer, and converted into energy that flows into the torso.

He clenched his fists, feeling the contraction and relaxation of his muscles, and the huge rock pressing on Chen Zhou's heart was finally lifted.

He knew that he had recovered his strength, and he felt more confident.

Although this strength was not as strong as when he was at his most energetic, it was enough to support him to wade across the beach, swim through several hundred meters of shallow sea, and then grab the rope hanging from the bowmast chain and climb up to the front cabin.

Anyway, the worst is over.

After swallowing the last piece of candied fruit, feeling the sweetness and bitterness that his mouth had gradually adapted to, Chen Zhou put away Robinson Crusoe's dead fish-smelling coat and knife, and walked slowly and firmly toward the hillside.

There were many other things that worried him.

Bacteria in raw water; harmful substances in candied fruits; parasites in fish; wind and waves on the sea; poisonous jellyfish and sea snakes in the sea water; and the stomach and intestines, an unstable factor that can explode at any time.

But things in the world can't always be perfect.

He doesn't have the power to change everything, he just makes choices between different paths - neither the best nor the worst choice.

For Chen Zhou, life has always been like this.

In the previous twenty-five years, he had made many choices against his will in response to his elders and life's wishes. It is still unclear whether those choices were good or bad, but his mediocre life is closely related to these choices.

Now, he no longer has to bear responsibilities and favors, nor does he have to care about other people's opinions. Everything he does is decided by himself.

No matter what the outcome is, this alone is far better than before.

I came to the top of the slope, picked up my shoes and clothes from the short grass, tied them with cloth strips as usual, and walked towards the beach.

After noon, the tide will recede very far. In such sunny weather, you can see the stranded merchant ship from a distance. After wading through the shallow water and boarding the ship, the difficulty of this challenge will drop sharply, and the distance to the 72 will be greatly shortened.

Sitting down on the warm beach and looking at the merchant ships in the distance, Chen Zhou took out "Robinson Crusoe" and started reading it.

All he had to do now was wait, wait for the tide to ebb, wait for the best time to board the ship.

However, although it is still waiting, the waiting at this moment is more worth looking forward to and more interesting than the waiting in the cement factory.

(End of this chapter)