From Robinson Crusoe

Chapter 59 Sickness
From February 2 to February 19, the rain hardly stopped.

Fortunately, although the rain continued, it was not heavy and was far from reaching the level of a rainstorm, so going out was not greatly affected.

Worried that the mother goat and her baby would continue to be tied to the grass with nowhere to shelter from the rain and get sick, Chen Zhou untied the long rope around the mother goat's neck and put foot straps on them so that they could move freely.

The mother goat and her baby goat were already very familiar with Chen Zhou and were not afraid of him, so it was not difficult to capture them.

But considering that the flock of sheep was nearby and fearing that the mother goat and her baby would run away with the flock, Chen Zhou deliberately placed a salt bowl in the abandoned cave on the mountainside.

Every afternoon he would take some time to take the mother and calf goats to the cave to lick salt, helping them develop a habit of going there to replenish salt.

In this way, even if they are free-range, they will go to the cave regularly to obtain salt, and the probability of escape is greatly reduced.

Solving the goat problem only takes up a small part of Chen Zhou's working time.

The water from the last rainstorm washed away the edge of the sand platform at the entrance of the cave. Chen Zhou had always wanted to build a wall along the edge of the platform to reinforce it.

However, due to the busy schedule, only one-third of the outer wall of the cave has been built so far, not to mention the platform wall which is hundreds of meters long. There is simply no time to do it.

There's no telling when a rainstorm might come.

In order to prepare for a rainy day, Chen Zhou cut down some trees, repaired them into wooden stakes, sharpened the bottom, and smashed them into the edge of the landslide area, thus preliminarily stabilizing the edge of the platform.

He also dug several drainage ditches on the platform to drain flooding that might be caused by future heavy rains.

……

The platform slope protection project did not take up too much of Chen Zhou's energy.

The last time he made a fire to boil water, he realized that the amount of firewood needed to cook, trim wood and study pottery firing indoors during the rainy season would be astronomical.

In order to give myself something to do every day so as not to waste time at home.

He began to cut down trees in large quantities and then brought the wood into the kitchen.

The kitchen is about 7.5 meters deep and 6 meters wide. The numbers seem large, but it is actually only 45 square meters.

The stove, the big iron cans, the small bricks that were brought in, the grain racks, and the racks for drying fish, seal meat, and seal skins took up more than half of the interior space, leaving a walking passage, and the remaining ten square meters could not hold much wood.

Considering that we would need to build a large stove in the future, and perhaps also add a pottery stove, a wood-burning stove and other facilities, the kitchen space was simply not enough.

Chen Zhou could only put a small part of the firewood in the kitchen, and most of the firewood was piled in the storage room.

But the storage room is not bigger than the kitchen. After the supplies in the camp are moved in in the future, the usable space will surely be limited.

The 140-square-meter space is more than enough for an individual, but it is too tight for a large material warehouse.

The second phase of expansion project will be carried out sooner or later, so Chen Zhou will just live here for the time being.

In order to prevent the kitchen and storage room from appearing too crowded, he reduced the usable area of the bedroom and moved the leather drying rack and some supplies into the bedroom.

……

Outdoor work such as chopping and moving firewood, looking after farmland, and building slope protection occupied all of Chen Zhou's time during the day.

At night, he lit an oil lamp and began to process the chopped logs.

The wood of this tree is denser than that of the false poplar and is white in color. Chen Zhou had not named it before, but now he named it the "Wheel Tree".

It took more than an hour to cut down the cartwheel tree, and even more time to peel the bark and cut it into thick logs.

At present, Chen Zhou has used charcoal to draw a regular circle on the dense annual rings, and chiseled off the excess wood on the edge of the "spare wheel".

He is now considering whether to add spokes to the wheels and how to make the axles more wear-resistant and have lower friction.

……

February 2, cloudy, strong wind.

The rain stopped in the early morning.

In the middle of the night, Chen Zhou suddenly felt cold all over and shivered. He quickly got up, put on an extra layer of quilt, and lit two oil lamps, placing them on the left and right sides of the bed, hoping to use them to keep warm.

The light made his face red, but the coldness that seemed to come from deep in his bones never diminished.

Chen Zhou realized that he might have a cold.

After working in the rain for several days in a row, my clothes are often wet when I get home.

He always thought that his body was strong enough and his immunity was higher than that of ordinary people, so he would not be troubled by minor illnesses such as colds and flu. Unexpectedly, he still got it.

Chen Zhou forced himself to stay awake, curled up in the quilt, and thought about what to do.

Generally speaking, minor colds can be cured by one's own immunity, so there is no need to worry too much.

But this is an isolated island, there are no doctors or medicines, and if the cold develops seriously, it can be fatal.

The first treatment he thought of was Robinson Crusoe - chewing tobacco leaves, soaking tobacco leaves in wine, or smoking them.

The tobacco leaves brought down from the ship were kept in the camp at the foot of the mountain and were never consumed. They were enough for him to use the tobacco leaves to treat his illness.

It just so happened that the rain stopped today, so we didn't have to risk getting wet when going down the mountain.

But Chen Zhou knew that it was hard to say whether Robinson's recovery process had anything to do with his treatment. With his physical condition at the time, he was strong enough to survive the cold, and the process from his illness to his recovery was also consistent with the duration of immunity taking effect.

As for using tobacco leaves to treat diseases, it can mostly only serve as a psychological comfort.

Whether chewing it dry, soaking it in wine, or smoking it, it is a stimulation or even destruction to the taste and olfactory system. Chen Zhou would never try it unless it is absolutely necessary.

Of course, he also knew a thing or two about the effects of tobacco leaves.

In the early years when tobacco was not strictly controlled, the elderly in the countryside smoked tobacco grown in their own vegetable gardens.

In addition to drying the tobacco leaves into dry tobacco for smoking yourself, tobacco oil can treat mosquito bites, and taking tobacco leaves soaked in water can treat colds. These are all well-known folk remedies.

After all, tobacco is a traditional Chinese medicine with a warm nature.

It is not unpopular knowledge that most Chinese medicines with warm nature can treat colds.

If tobacco leaves were nearby, he might try soaking them in water and drinking them.

The problem is that he is too far away from the tobacco leaves now. If it rains while he is out and he gets wet, his condition will get worse and the subsequent risks will be great.

"First boil some hot water to drink, then make some lean meat noodle porridge, and see if there is any improvement. If it doesn't work, go down the mountain to get some tobacco leaves.

And I have an unreliable trump card - the ship's doctor's medicine.

When I really have no other options, I will try even DDT."

Thinking of this, Chen Zhouqiang pulled himself together, got up from the bed, put on his clothes, and walked into the kitchen carrying an oil lamp.

At least there is a wall in the bedroom to block the wind, but after entering the kitchen, the strong wind from outside blows in, making people feel even colder.

Although it was a subtropical area with an average temperature of around 30 degrees, it felt like being in the coldest part of the north, so cold that Chen Zhou got goose bumps.

Tremblingly, Chen Zhou took fire from the oil lamp and lit the bonfire. While waiting for the flames to grow bigger, he put on the seal skin.

After drying in a ventilated place for half a month, the odor on the fur is almost gone, and it is difficult to smell the fishy stench unless you smell it carefully.

The soft and thin seal skin had excellent thermal insulation effect, blocking the cold wind outside, making him feel a little better.

Lai Fu didn't know why his master got up so early today, so he came over to sniff Chen Zhou's scent. Animals can get a lot of information from smell, including gender, age, whether they are in heat, whether they have any diseases, etc.

As if it realized that Chen Zhou was sick, it did not pester its owner to play as usual. Instead, it sat obediently by the campfire, silently staring at Chen Zhou's face with a concerned expression.

Although the firewood in the cave was placed in a dry environment to dry, it had been exposed to the rain after all. Although the surface was dry, the inside was still damp. When it burned, thick smoke billowed, which was both irritating and choking.

Sitting by the campfire, the wind blew the smoke into the cave, making Chen Zhou cry. He could only cover himself with the seal skin that was mopping the ground and go to the bedroom to take shelter.

After finally waiting for the water in the firewood to disperse, something went wrong when filling the large iron kettle with water.

Somehow the iron kettle, which was placed safely next to the wooden barrel, was suddenly kicked over, and the water in the kettle spilled onto Chen Zhou's shoes, soaking his socks and trouser legs.

If a person is unlucky, even drinking cold water will get stuck in his teeth.

I was not feeling well, and my mood was affected after encountering this kind of thing, which made me feel even worse.

There was no way. Chen Zhou couldn't get angry with Tiehu, so he could only silently blame himself for not being careful.

Refill the kettle with water, hang it on the tripod, and wait for the water to boil.

While the water was boiling, he was not idle. He first went back to the bedroom to change his pants and shoes and socks.

He pulled out another burning piece of wood to start the fire, lit the stove, selected a piece of seal meat, cut it, and waited for the fire to get big enough to fry it.

While curled up on the stool, Chen Zhou noticed that the end of the seal skin had been dirty from dragging on the ground, so he dusted it off, then gathered up the excess fur and piled it on his knees.

He was tall, wearing a seal skin and sitting hunched on the ground, looking like a monster covered with stripes.

As the firewood started burning, the smoke decreased, and the fire under the stove was strong enough before the water in the kettle boiled.

Including the oil lamp, three heat sources quickly raised the temperature in the kitchen.

While pouring oil into the flat copper pan and adding seal meat, Chen Zhou remembered something he had forgotten - catching wild goats.

On the day he rediscovered the wild goats, while carving the date on a piece of pineapple wood at night, he was also thinking about observing the movements of the herd of goats on the sunny slope platform.

It is best to follow them along their hoof prints, find a suitable place to set traps, and catch a few more goats for domestication.

This is not only for drinking goat milk and eating mutton, but also for the concern that the sheep will migrate back in the rainy season and leave again in the dry season. It will take more time and energy to catch them at that time.

I didn't expect that after a good night's sleep, he would have forgotten such an important matter, otherwise he might have been eating mutton now.

"Is it because I am too busy that I neglected this matter, or is it because I am getting old and my memory is starting to decline..."

Chen Zhou thought, turn the seal meat in the copper pot over and sprinkle salt on it.

"I'm only in my twenties and my memory is not good. I will have Alzheimer's disease when I'm in my fifties..."

Without daring to think about this problem in detail, he used a small knife to take out the fried meat, put it on the silver plate, cut it into small pieces and chewed it slowly.

Outside the kitchen was a gray-blue sky, and the wind was blowing through the forest.

There are no birds singing or insects chirping in the early morning.

The world was very quiet, so quiet that Chen Zhou could clearly hear the sound of himself chewing.

While eating, he touched his forehead.

It was hot, scalding even.

But this heat doesn't feel like a high fever, it's more like being burned by fire.

Comfort yourself.

"It's just a minor cold. If you take a good rest, you will recover soon. There's no need to worry about it."

Chen Zhou found half a bottle of Arrack that had been left over a long time ago and poured himself a small glass.

The aroma of arrack evoked painful memories for Grape, reminding it of the twice-daily wound cleansing and disinfection it used to do. It quietly walked behind the grain rack and hid.

Without noticing Tizi's actions, Chen Zhou drank the whole glass of Arrack, savoring the lingering fragrance in his mouth and shook his head.

Alcohol can dilate blood vessels and promote blood circulation in a short period of time, giving people the illusion of body heat.

He hoped that this glass of wine would ease the chill in his body and allow him to finish his meal in comfort.

Chen Zhou had lost his appetite after catching a cold, and felt full after eating only two pieces of meat. He knew that his appetite was much more than that, so he forced himself to eat the third piece of meat.

Just at this moment, the water in the big iron kettle boiled.

Lift the lid of the kettle, scoop out a cup of hot water, and leave the campfire and stove fire burning.

Picking up the oil lamp and carrying boiling water, Chen Zhou returned to the bedroom, put the oil lamp on the bedside table, covered the quilt with seal skin, and got into bed again.

Lai Fu followed him without saying a word and lay beside the bed.

It should be around three or four in the morning. Chen Zhou waited for the hot water to cool down a little, then sipped it while blowing on it to warm his stomach.

He wanted to cook some porridge, but he felt really unwell. He felt neither physically nor mentally strong and just wanted to sleep, so he gave up the plan and decided to cook a meal after waking up.

Bending over, he pressed the quilt tightly around his body, leaving only his head outside. He was obviously very sleepy, but Chen Zhou couldn't fall asleep.

He touched his forehead, his armpits, and rubbed his stomach, fearing that he had a high fever or diarrhea.

Diarrhea itself is easy to treat. Edible soil usually contains montmorillonite powder, which is a great anti-diarrhea drug. The only thing to worry about is that catching a cold while going to the toilet may make the condition worse.

A high fever is serious.

There are no antipyretics on the island, and once a high fever persists it becomes difficult to deal with.

The only way Chen Zhou can think of to deal with a high fever is to use a wet cloth to rub alcohol on his body to dissipate the heat, but that is only a stopgap measure and cannot solve the problem.

If a high fever lasts for a long time, it will soon cause damage to the nervous system, leading to encephalitis, pneumonia, respiratory tract infection and other diseases.

Even if it's not that serious, the threat of dehydration is real.

With his current medical conditions, these are fatal complications and cannot be treated at all.

Worried and afraid, with all sorts of random thoughts in his mind, he tossed and turned, then curled up in his bed without moving.

My body was alternating between hot and cold, and I felt very uncomfortable.

Unable to fall asleep for a while, Chen Zhou felt uncomfortable lying down, so he got up to drink some water.

He quickly drank up a large wooden cup of hot water. He felt very full and lay on the bed in a daze. He finally fell asleep and had a nightmare again.

He dreamed that he was between magma and an erupting volcano. The sky and the earth were all red, and the heat was rolling, making people want to pee.

Go forward, there is fire in front of you; go backward, there is lava behind you.

He unbuttoned his pants and was about to solve the problem on the spot when Chen Zhou suddenly woke up.

It turned out that he was holding his urine. If he didn't wake up in time, he would have wet the bed, even though he was in his twenties.

　Thanks to: The Monk Who Rings the Bell, Jiujiujiu, Book Friend with Last Number 2266, Unforgettable but Harder to Turn Back, Tao Tutu, Mr_July, Super Boss, Lao Tuxiong, Ming Dynasty, Mo Xiyan, Book Friend with Last Number 8959, Wandering in the Sea of People, Cat's Blind, Tucaodi SAMA, and Xinghegurenlai's monthly tickets, thank you for your support!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)