From Robinson Crusoe

Chapter 84 Going Home
Early in the morning on the 25th, Chen Zhou took his little ones away from the river valley plain and returned to the beach.

Although this trip was fruitful, due to time constraints, there are still some regrets.

For example, the cassava, the staple food of the Native Americans, mentioned in the book, could not be found. The exact location of the pigeon holes and the migration routes of the sheep were not very clear.

Chen Zhou knew nothing about the cassava plant.

He only knew that it was a rhizome plant and the edible part was buried in the soil. As for what the plant above ground looked like, he had no idea.

Therefore, it is basically impossible to find cassava in the river valley plain by relying on your eyes or luck. You have to use a hoe and a wooden shovel and dig down one shovel at a time to dig out this plant.

In fact, Chen Zhou was still looking forward to the taste of cassava.

He has come into contact with many root vegetables in his life, such as potatoes, purple sweet potatoes, taro, and sweet potatoes, all of which taste very good.

Potatoes, in particular, are never tiring to eat, whether they are fried, stir-fried, boiled, baked or roasted.

Although sweet potatoes are mainly sweet, eating too much of them will not make you feel sick like other sweets.

Although he eats relatively little root vegetables like purple sweet potatoes and taro, he feels that they are versatile foods that can be eaten alone or with seasonings. They are not only filling but also easy to carry and are high-quality foods.

Love the whole thing and love the whole thing. Since there are root vegetables such as potatoes in the past, and cassava has the word "potato" in its name, so it is a distant relative of potato, sweet potato and purple potato. Naturally, Chen Zhou has a good impression of this "Indian food" that he has never met.

When he left the river valley plain, he had already made up his mind that next time he came, he must bring tools with him and dig deep into the ground to find the cassava.

In fact, the surprises brought to Chen Zhou by this trip exceeded his expectations, especially the plants that were suspected to be wild peppers and mountain celery. If they were later confirmed to be true, the changes in his diet could be said to be subversive.

Chili pepper is a seasoning widely used in various cuisines. It can cover up the mutton and enhance the flavor, and is a perfect match with fish and mutton.

It can also be dried into chili skins, or chopped into chili sauce to add a warm flavor to life.

On a humid island, eating chili peppers regularly is not only helpful in increasing appetite, but also in removing dampness. Its importance is self-evident.

When reading Robinson Crusoe, Chen Zhou never thought that this island would contain such rich resources.

Knowing nothing about botany, he had no idea that most of the vegetables that are commonplace in modern life originated in America.

For example, his favorite potatoes, peppers, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes were first brought from America by colonists and plunderers, and then spread to all parts of the world.

There are also vegetables and fruits such as pumpkin, beans, pineapple, guava, yacon, sunflower, corn, and cocoa, the raw material for making chocolate, all of which have their origins in America.

If the island was not located in the ocean, far away from the mainland, blocking the interaction of species, he would probably see many more "familiar faces" than he does now.

……

Although the way here and the way back home are different, they basically still go through the forest.

If the island was replaced by a primeval forest in Siberia or North America, Chen Zhou would never dare to go so deep into the forest.

His confidence came from the size of the island and its non-threatening biomes. He knew he would not get lost in the forest or encounter any scary beasts, so he dared to go anywhere.

Besides, the terrain along the way is not very undulating, there are no cliffs, and at most there are shrubs, tree roots and vines blocking the road, which has little impact on people.

We walked for the whole day, only stopping for a short meal at noon. We prepared a small meal for Lai Fu to fill his stomach, and our progress was basically not delayed.

The way home along the river to the beach is much smoother than the uphill road. Chen Zhou's speed did not decrease due to the opening of a new road, but increased instead.

The sun had not yet set, and the sound of waves could be heard in the distance.

Coming out of the sparse seaside woods, he heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar mountain peaks and the wooden and stone walls built on the beach in the distance.

Just as he had thought before, if he went northwest or northeast from the landing point, he would find two completely different rivers.

One of them originates from the mountains and flows into the sea to form a rocky beach.

The other one runs through the river valley plain, basically flowing within the island, and its source is unknown.

The place where Robinson built his shelter was actually near the river in the valley plain.

It was also on this beach that Robinson witnessed an earthquake shaking huge rocks off the mountain and into the sea, which gave him a genuine fear of natural disasters.

Since he was in a shelter on the mountain, he missed the spectacular scene. After realizing that he and Robinson were in different positions, he also had a guess about the location of the pigeon hole.

……

In order to make it easier to distinguish, Chen Zhou gave the two rivers simple names, one called Yan River and the other called Gu River.

Most of the valley river basin is plain, and the trees in the forest are not too dense, making it easy to travel.

On the way home, Chen Zhou also saw the bark that the goats had gnawed off and the wool that they had scraped off the bushes.

Later, he even found an old goat that had fallen behind, which was older and thinner than the one he had caught in the noose.

The old goat had one blind eye, its teeth were almost worn flat, its chin had no beard, and it was as thin as a piece of paper. There was not even a bit of flesh left on its legs. It lay in the forest, barely surviving.

Chen Zhou was too lazy to eat this inferior mutton.

If you want to eat lamb chops, you need some meat. It’s so troublesome to light a fire. You can’t just lick the bones.

He originally wanted to let the old goat go and let it die of old age, but when he saw that Jinfu had been following him for several days and was so tired that he had lost weight, he couldn't bear it and stabbed the old goat to death with a knife.

The sheep's blood was drained for Lai Fu to lick to replenish salt and water. Then the sheep's legs were roughly removed, the sheep's chest was cut open, and the heart was taken out for Lai Fu to eat.

After finishing the "afternoon snack" that was delivered to his door, he led Lai Fu, who was well fed and drunk, to continue on his way.

……

It took a total of 5 days starting from the day we set out, most of which was spent on finding the way and confirming the direction. The actual exploration of the river valley plain only took a day and a half.

Fortunately, the time was short and the gains were great.

Chen Zhou put down the bundle of sugarcane tied to his back with a hemp rope and took out the plants in the glass jar from his pocket. Seeing that they still retained some greenness, he was happy.

After bringing these plants to a suitable place and settling them there, he would go to the river valley plain several more times to bring back more plants or ripe fruits and seeds.

Especially for sugarcane and peppers, which have higher consumption, their reproduction speed is too slow on their own, so they have to be moved here from the river valley.

It's not that he has nothing to do and has to find work for himself, but mainly because the cave house is built here and the sunk cost is invested here. Even if the river valley plain is more suitable for reclaiming land and building a farm, he won't have the time to reclaim it in a short time.

On the other hand, the refresh point of the mysterious reward is also on the beach.

The cutting every 15 days completely bound him to the beach. Unless the mysterious reward could follow him, he would have to stay here most of the time for the next days.

……

After checking the plants he brought back, Chen Zhou came to the mysterious reward refresh point and looked at the stacked wood and stone walls.

After entering the dry season and without wind and rain, the wooden and stone walls were less affected. After five days, there was no change at all.

The beach, on the other hand, had been exposed to the sun all day and was still scorching hot even now when it was dark. One could still feel the intense heat when standing on it.

The 4th mysterious reward will arrive on April 26, and then you will have to reorganize the cut wooden planks and stones and build a new wall.

After walking for a day, Chen Zhou was exhausted both physically and mentally.

After being away from home for five days, he missed the wooden bed with a mattress at home, his seal skin quilt, and the comfortable environment without having to worry about being attacked by wild beasts.

There is still work to be done tomorrow. If he still sleeps outdoors in the mountains, it will not be easy for him to recover from the fatigue accumulated over the past few days. He will have to lie in bed and sleep comfortably.

Then I thought about the crops in the fields, and Xiao Huihui, Grapes and the little chinchilla that stayed in the cave.

I wondered if they were fighting or hungry, if I had enough food for them, and if they were destroying the house, breaking mirrors, knocking over dishes, or pooping and peeing on the bed.

Only then did he realize that, without realizing it, there had been so many things here that were worth his concern and had been changed by him.

He forced himself to be strong, put the bundle of sugarcane on his back, picked up his bag, took out the water bottle and drank the last bit of cold boiled water to moisten his throat.

Calling Lai Fu, Chen Zhou started walking along the beach and began to fill in the last piece of the puzzle of his journey.

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(End of this chapter)