From Robinson Crusoe

Chapter 92: Get some frogs

The second day of the holiday happens to be May 5.21st.

In the 21st century, because it sounds like "I love you", this date has become the "second Valentine's Day" when couples send each other gifts and enhance their relationship.

But for Chen Zhou who is on the isolated island, on May 5.21st, no one will say they love him, and there will be no gifts.

If you look into it more closely, the situation may be even worse. Not only is there no love, but there is also a group of creatures that hate him to the core - fish.

……

For a mature fisherman, the purpose of fishing is often not for the fish, but to enjoy the process of fishing.

Of course, it is also possible that the fisherman cannot catch a big fish, and it is too embarrassing to take the small fish home, so he can only use this reason to comfort himself.

Compared with experienced fishermen, Chen Zhou can barely be considered a "newbie".

He is only in his twenties and has not yet developed the leisurely mentality of those in their fifties or sixties approaching retirement.

The purpose of fishing is very clear, which is to catch big fish and catch a lot of them.

From the first time he tried fishing, he finally caught a big fish, but the fish accidentally escaped and slapped him in the face. Since then, he has been holding back a strong desire in his heart - one day he must take revenge and restore his dignity.

Unfortunately, although he later improved his fishing rod, installed a float and a reel, and prepared a scoop net, and went to the small lake to fish many times, he never saw such a large fish again, and even small fish were few and far between.

In the Air Force, a paradise with such abundant resources, it is really like "poor students have too many stationery" and their skills are not sophisticated.

In this regard, Chen Zhou could only attribute the failure to the fact that he had too little time for fishing, too many trivial matters, and was unable to calm down.

Or like the guy on the forum, give a reasonable explanation from the perspective of location environment, bait, weather, atmospheric pressure or even metaphysics.

Anyway, it’s not that I’m too bad.

……

Early in the morning on the 21st, after dinner, I took care of the "divine beasts" at home.

Fully armed, carrying all his tools and a rifle, he headed straight for the lake.

After digging a large box of insect bait, Chen Zhou's fishing trip began.

After the so-called novice protection period, he felt that it was becoming increasingly difficult to successfully catch fish.

Especially when you sit in one place and wait for more than ten minutes without any fish biting the hook, you feel anxious and helpless, and all kinds of doubts arise, as if your sitting posture and fishing movements will affect the fish and affect their biting.

After working for a whole morning, it would be a shame to say that I got nothing. But there was not a single big fish worth showing off, only small ones about the length of a finger.

These small fish are very aggressive and will be the first to take the bait when they see it wriggling. No one can rush as fast as them.

When I caught it, I found it looked very beautiful, with fine scales all over its body looking colorful under the sunlight. If it were sold as an ornamental fish now, I'm sure the price would not be low.

But what Chen Zhou wants is not good looks, but delicious food.

He already has enough pets.

Eight new mouths were added to the family yesterday. When they grow up, it will take a lot of energy and resources to feed a dog, two cats, chinchillas and mice. Before solving these many problems, he doesn't want to bring new animals home, even if they are fish, which are less troublesome.

Now the poison tester at home is ready. He will go out for a day of fishing. He has to get a decent fish to feed to the young mice to test the toxicity first.

For small fish like these, you might have to catch seventy or eighty of them to make enough for a plate, so there is no need to test for poison.

……

After noon, around two or three in the afternoon, the sun gradually became hotter, and even a brimmed hat could not protect against the scorching sun.

Looking at the float swaying left and right in the waves, Chen Zhou supported his chin, holding the fishing rod in one hand, and sat on the edge of the shade of the tree.

The environment is warm.

Listening to the chirping of insects and the rustling of leaves and being baked by the heat, he almost fell asleep.

Lai Fu invited him to play several times, but he always waved his hand and refused. He always stayed here, waiting for the fish to take the bait.

In fact, he has been fishing for such a long time and has had his share of good luck.

For example, half an hour ago, he finally encountered a school of fish and caught five small fish in a row. Unexpectedly, Lai Fu suddenly jumped into the lake to take a bath, ruining his good fortune.

Naturally, Lai Fu couldn't escape a scolding afterwards.

The guy knew he had done something wrong, so he ran upstream to catch frogs.

From afar, only the croaking of frogs and the barking of dogs could be heard. From time to time, there would be the angry barking of a dog when it couldn't catch a frog, and the splashing sound of it jumping into the water, reminding Chen Zhou that it was still there.

Chen Zhou felt that Lai Fu should bear some responsibility since he couldn't catch any fish.

He didn't know how good the fish's hearing was, but he guessed that with a huge creature hanging around nearby, any normal fish would have no intention of taking the bait, except for those with intellectual disabilities.

……

After enduring the hottest period of the day, around four in the afternoon, a few dark clouds suddenly appeared in the sky, blocking the sun and lowering the temperature slightly.

Lai Fu had had enough fun, and with his hair and water plants all wet, he lay down tiredly behind Chen Zhou, closing his eyes and waiting for the sun to dry him.

It was estimated that he had not caught any fish for an hour and a half. Chen Zhou was prepared to get nothing, so he simply found a piece of soft soil by the lake, stuck the fishing rod into it, and let the fish decide whether to bite the hook or not. He then went to the side to make a fire and cook.

After obtaining the lighter, he always carried two fire-making tools with him: a flint and a lighter.

According to his idea, when the environment is dry and it is convenient to make fire, he would use flint to make fire.

If the weather is humid or you need fire urgently, use a lighter.

But in actual use, the convenience and fire-making speed of the lighter completely crushed the flint.

With just a light press, the dead leaves and twigs can be ignited. This feeling allows Chen Zhou to regain some of the illusion that he is still living in modern times.

In the cave, he could still resist the urge to use a lighter and instead used flint to make a fire.

When he goes outside, he always uses his lighter first, even if he is not in urgent need of fire.

This may be because he misses modern life, but more likely it is due to laziness.

He lit a bonfire, took out a small can, cooked some dried meat, and when he saw Lai Fu's miserable appearance, Chen Zhou suddenly remembered the promise he had made to Lai Fu -

"I'll make time to teach them a lesson for you some other day. I'll catch dozens of them and roast them for you to vent your anger."

It seemed to have happened when he was moving the first batch of supplies from the ship, but when I thought about it carefully, it seemed a little vague.

If he hadn't been there again by the river, surrounded by the croaking of frogs, and if Lai Fu hadn't been defeated in a fight with the frogs, he might not have been able to remember it.

He took out from his pocket the small wooden box that Robinson had used to store his tobacco - it was now used to store salt.

Shaking it gently and hearing the sound of salt grains shaking inside, Chen Zhou decided to put fishing aside for the time being and catch some frogs to eat, which would not be considered a empty-handed return.

This thing is in the open, jumping around, and is much easier to catch than the fish hiding underwater.

He boiled some hot broth, let it cool and used it to fill his stomach, then picked up a scoop net and began to catch frogs courting mates on both sides of the river.

……

Chen Zhou heard that there is a kind of frog commonly known as "frog" in the south. The meat is tender and delicious. In some places, it is a famous delicacy. There are also famous dishes such as dry-pot frog and braised frog.

In his hometown, frogs are not called that way. They are usually called toads, but they are distinguished from toads.

When he was about five or six years old, a distant uncle who worked at a reservoir gave them a nylon bag of live frogs.

At that time, catching wild frogs was illegal. His uncle was afraid of being seen, so after catching the frogs late at night, he went straight to his house, gutted the frogs, and fried them for food that night.

Chen Zhou was young, and when he saw the fried frog being cut open, he couldn't help but feel a little scared and didn't dare to eat it at all.

Later, on the recommendation of his parents and uncle, he tried a few pieces and found that the fried and crispy frog meat did have a unique flavor.

Maybe it was the filter of childhood, and when he thinks of it now, he still feels the sweet taste in his mouth and never forgets it. Since then, the punishment for killing wild animals has become more and more severe, and the reservoir has gradually been closed. Private fishing is not allowed, and even nearby villagers are not allowed to approach. His uncle also left the reservoir to work outside.

He never tasted fried frog again.

Although catching frogs in broad daylight is different from the frogs he caught when he was a child, Chen Zhou still finds it particularly fun.

Lai Fu saw that his master had also made enemies with those noisy animals, so he got up in a hurry without even sleeping and followed Chen Zhou to fight the frogs and take revenge on them.

Of course, it's hard to say whether its behavior is helpful or disruptive.

Since it joined, Chen Zhou's capture efficiency has not only not improved, but has decreased a lot.

……

Almost a month into the dry season, the river level has dropped slightly, but the wetlands on both sides of the river that provide habitat for frogs have not dried up.

After walking a few steps, the pair of leather boots on Chen Zhou's feet were filled with mud.

There were several times when his boots got stuck in the mud. He pulled hard, pulled his feet out of the boots, and stepped into the mud, getting his calves, thighs, and even the hem of his clothes covered in mud. In a blink of an eye, he became even more embarrassed than Lai Fu.

Fortunately, the wet mud by the river has no rotten smell, only fishy smell and the unique smell of aquatic plant stems and leaves, which is very cool when applied on the body.

This reminded Chen Zhou of a facial mask his mother often used, which seemed to be called deep sea mud mask. It was black and felt no different from this wet mud.

Holding the scoop net tightly, he tried his best to ignore Lai Fu's influence, aimed at the frog's position, and hauled it down steadily and accurately, with little chance of missing.

Around five o'clock in the afternoon, the light was no longer so bright.

On the muddy river bank, there is usually only one chance to catch a frog. Once the net is out of reach, the frightened frog will leap into the grass or river and you will never be able to catch it again.

When he had caught two or three frogs, Chen Zhou returned to the lake and put them in a bucket.

In addition to the frogs, there were also a few small fish that were caught and a shallow layer of water scooped from the lake in the bucket. Apart from the small fish that were released, this was all Chen Zhou had reaped from fishing for most of the day.

After putting the frogs into the bucket, Chen Zhou also added a lid to the bucket to prevent the frogs from jumping out.

...

There are many kinds of frogs on the island, unlike his hometown where there are only two kinds: frogs and toads.

In the forest, you can occasionally see brightly colored, suspected poisonous forest frogs.

There is also the gliding forest frog, which is emerald green in color, has a translucent belly, and likes to jump from trees and glide with its webbed feet spread out.

However, the habitats of these frogs are different from those of riverbank frogs. They are mainly concentrated in dense forests with dense vegetation, which are convenient for avoiding natural enemies, and never go to the riverside with flat and open terrain.

The frogs by the river are mostly plain in appearance, with dark green or brown backs, some with camouflage-like spots, and they vary in size. They do not look as dangerous as the brightly colored wood frogs.

During the process of catching frogs, Chen Zhou will carefully select and remove the smaller frogs, leaving only the plump adult frogs.

Although he was the only one on the island who caught frogs in large quantities, he could not drain the pond of fish.

If frogs are delicious, he will come to catch them every few days. Even if he is the only one catching them, it may affect the entire population. After all, this is just a small island and the ecology is relatively fragile.

For Chen Zhou, catching frogs is much more interesting than fishing.

Catching frogs only takes a few tens of seconds to get a visible harvest, but when fishing, you can only see the float swaying on the water, and you have no idea when a fish will take the bait.

After working hard for less than an hour, he had collected half a bucket of fat frogs.

Thinking that these ingredients would be enough for a big meal for himself and Lai Fu, Chen Zhou took the scoop net covered with grass leaves and mud to the river to wash it, and cleaned his boots and pants at the same time. Then he went ashore with his wet clothes on and returned to the campfire.

The firewood that was added to the campfire before catching frogs was almost burned out, flickering with a faint flame.

The fishing rod stuck in the mud was slightly loose and tilted towards the water, with the float still on the water. It looked no different from before catching the frog.

With an unrealistic wish, Chen Zhou began to reel in the line, hoping to see a big fish hanging on the hook.

However, the reality is cruel. The one-hour long "willing ones take the bait" session yielded no results and only resulted in the loss of a earthworm.

“I knew fishing was unreliable.

Next time you should bring a net. Even fishing in the river or using a wooden spear will yield more than fishing."

Thinking secretly, Chen Zhou took out a dagger, caught a frog from the bucket, and cut it open.

When he went down the mountain early in the morning, he was full of confidence. He never thought that he would not catch any big fish after a whole day of fishing, and finally he had to catch frogs to eat. Therefore, he only brought a small portable can of food, thinking that he would just cook some broth for lunch.

I never expected that even though the river was full of fish, I didn't catch a single big one. I caught so many frogs, but I didn't have the right cooking utensils.

It was getting dark, and it was obviously unrealistic to go back to the cave to get the copper wok, so I could only roast a few to taste them.

As for the remaining frogs, they are put into a bucket, taken back to the cave, processed and fried, and saved as a midnight snack or for tomorrow's consumption.

The weather on the island is so hot that if they are kept locked up until tomorrow noon, these frogs will probably become smelly.

The frog's body is covered with mucus, and its belly is soft and tough, and the feeling of cutting it makes people feel nauseous.

After cutting open the stomach, the exposed organs were crowded together in a mess, which was completely different from the distribution of organs of the mammals that Chen Zhou usually slaughtered, making him at a loss as to where to start.

While he was hesitating, the frog, whose stomach had been ripped open, could not wait any longer and kicked its legs hard in an attempt to escape from the clutches of the devil.

Seeing this, Chen Zhou could only grab all the organs in the frog's abdomen and pull them out, then rinse the empty frog shell in water to wash away the remaining tissues.

While cleaning the frogs, he reminisced about his childhood, trying to remember whether the dish of frogs his mother fried had heads.

However, that incident happened so long ago that he couldn't even remember the exact year. He only vaguely remembered the cause and effect and that the fried frogs smelled delicious. As for whether those frogs had heads, he really couldn't remember.

Worried that the head would not taste good, Chen Zhou cut off the frog's head, leaving only the four legs and a layer of skin on the frog's back.

He beheaded, gutted and cleaned the animals one by one. He really had some talent in slaughtering and his technique became more and more skilled.

In a short while, Chen Zhou had processed more than thirty frogs.

Placing these ingredients on the rocks next to the campfire, he began to collect branches suitable for cutting into sticks and adding fuel to the embers.

……

At dusk, the bonfire was burning brightly.

In the bright yellow light, the frog on the skewer flipped on the flames.

The small wooden box was opened and placed aside. Chen Zhou would occasionally take out a pinch of salt and sprinkle it on the roasted frogs, creating a fragrant aroma.

At first, Lai Fu was puzzled by his master's behavior and didn't know why he wanted to lock those noisy and cunning little creatures into the barrel.

As the slaughter was completed and the meat was skewered and grilled, it gradually became restless as it smelled the aroma.

As if it had lice on its body, it moved its butt left and right, stuck out its tongue, drooled, and its eyes sparkled in the firelight as it stared straight at the golden roasted frog.

"Why do I make you so greedy?"

Teasing Lai Fu and worried that the wild frogs might be half-cooked and contain parasites, Chen Zhou roasted them for a little longer, almost until the skin on the frog's back was burnt before setting the frog skewers aside to cool.

"It smells right, but I don't know what it tastes like in my mouth."

Chen Zhou thought -

He was not afraid that the frog was poisonous.

Often traveling between the beach, the campsite and the cave, he had often seen wild cats and large birds resembling wild geese in the nearby woods preying on frogs. Sometimes, when it was late at night, he could even see snakes devouring frogs, with their bellies bulging, and they would lie in the grass waiting for digestion.

After eating the frogs, they were all alive and well. They didn't roll on the ground in pain, nor did they become listless or vomit blood.

Just like the small fish snatched from the seabirds’ mouths the day after landing on the island, these are all safe foods that have been inspected and certified by “wild poison testers”.

　Thanks to: Book friend with the last digit 8595, I who avoids alcohol, Huanmiexian, Live!, Lightly injured, Sword shadows reflected by stars, Acting Five, Xuanxing Pavilion, Diejun Shihuo, Book friend with the last digit 7614, Book friend with the last digit 9704, Shenjingzhengjing, scfy for their monthly tickets. Thank you for your support!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)