HUN Chapter 21: Daily Life in the Wilderness

Time had reached the twenty-ninth day. After the newly built clay brick stove had burned all night, hot embers still remained in the firebox, keeping the entire stone house warm.

Lin Yu'an stretched, his joints making soft crackling sounds, his face showing a trace of lazy satisfaction.

He walked to the stove, stirred the embers, and added some dry pine cones and kindling. The flames quickly rekindled.

He started the camera.

"I slept so comfortably last night! This stove is absolutely fantastic! I feel like I'm living in a luxury suite at a five-star hotel! Haha!"

While speaking, Lin Yu'an picked up several half-smoked trout jerky from the corner, skewered them on sharpened twigs, and placed them over the stove opening to slowly roast and heat.

"Guys, watch me prepare breakfast."

Breakfast consisted of fragrant roasted fish jerky paired with a steaming cup of "wild pine needle tea" with a faint pine scent that supposedly provided vitamin C, though the taste was truly indescribable.

Lin Yu'an chewed with satisfaction, "Mmm... this fish jerky tastes really good, the meat is still tender, and the smoky flavor is still there."

The completion of the new stove greatly improved Lin Yu'an's quality of life.

He no longer had to endure the smoke-filled house from the crude fire pit. The flat opening above the firebox became a natural "stovetop."

He could directly roast food on it or place cookware to stew soups, with thermal efficiency much higher than using a fire directly.

After breakfast, Lin Yu'an didn't rush to go outside but decided to first improve the interior of his new home.

He used some sharpened twigs and paracord to create several simple hooks and storage racks on the stone walls.

These were for hanging clothes and tools, as well as storing commonly used items, making the previously somewhat cluttered stone house interior neat and orderly.

When the sunlight was just right, Lin Yu'an took his American hunting bow and entered the forest again to try his luck.

"Today's goal is still to see if I can hunt grouse, wood pigeons, or other small game, and also collect those Jerusalem artichokes that should be ripe by now."

While checking his bow and arrows, he said to the camera.

"Although I discovered traces of large herbivores a few days ago, I still need more time to familiarize myself with their living habits and the terrain of this area. I can't act rashly."

He came to the berry-rich area and carefully searched, his eyes scanning every corner of the forest, his ears alertly catching any suspicious sounds.

Unfortunately, today's good luck didn't seem to visit again. After spending nearly two hours, he only startled a few timid wood pigeons from afar and discovered no other prey.

Lin Yu'an wasn't discouraged. He found a sheltered rock to sit on and said to the camera, "It seems hunting really does require a bit of luck."

"Fortunately, we won't return empty-handed. There's still a large patch of Jerusalem artichokes in this forest waiting for us to collect."

Just as he was preparing to return the same way, his attention was suddenly drawn to a special scene across the stream.

It was a shallow area covered with dense aquatic plants where the current was relatively gentle. He vaguely saw what appeared to be dark shadows quickly shuttling among the water plants!

"Hmm? What's that?" Lin Yu'an immediately crouched down and became alert! Using the riverside shrubs as cover, he carefully observed.

Soon, he could clearly see the true identity of those dark shadows, they were actually a group of beavers!

A full three or four plump beavers were busily gnawing on the roots and stems of aquatic plants in that shallow area.

Another one seemed to be slapping the water surface with its flat, large tail, as if playing.

Lin Yu'an's eyes immediately lit up, his voice full of surprise, "Wow! Guys! Beavers! This is good stuff!"

But he didn't act immediately. Beavers were very alert and spent most of their time in water, making direct hunting with bow and arrow very difficult.

Lin Yu'an analyzed to the camera, "Directly attacking them isn't a wise choice. I need to first observe their activity patterns."

"Find their fixed paths to shore, or the entrances to their dens, then consider using traps or... other more effective methods for hunting."

Lin Yu'an observed covertly from the shore for nearly an hour. The beavers had disappeared somewhere, but he had roughly figured out the layout of their den.

He carefully marked these locations with charcoal on his homemade bark map.

"Alright, today's exploration ends here."

Lin Yu'an put away the map with satisfaction and said to the camera, "Discovering a potential 'big treasure' makes this trip worthwhile."

"Tomorrow, we'll thoroughly study how to turn these 'underwater engineers' into our dinner! Now let's go collect some Jerusalem artichokes!"

Following his remembered route, he headed toward the sunny hillside area with relatively loose and fertile soil, very suitable for Jerusalem artichoke growth.

Soon, a patch of yellowed but still upright Jerusalem artichoke stalks appeared before him!

He put down his backpack and took out a stick he had previously sharpened and fire-hardened from his waist. This was his simple digging tool.

"Collecting Jerusalem artichokes is simple, just like digging potatoes. Find the main stem and dig down around it."

He selected a relatively sturdy-looking Jerusalem artichoke stalk and carefully scraped away the surrounding soil with the stick.

Soon, some irregularly shaped tubers resembling ginger but lighter in color were exposed.

"Wow, look at the size of this!"

Lin Yu'an excitedly dug out a Jerusalem artichoke as large as half his palm, its surface still carrying the fresh scent of earth.

Setting aside the dug Jerusalem artichokes, he continued searching around the same plant's root area. Jerusalem artichoke tubers usually grow in clusters, and one plant often yields quite a few.

This patch of Jerusalem artichokes was growing well, with each plant yielding a good harvest. Soil flew in his hands as blocks of various sized Jerusalem artichokes were liberated from the earth.

After spending about two hours, this patch of Jerusalem artichokes had been completely harvested. He roughly estimated there were at least forty pounds.

"Today's Jerusalem artichoke collection mission is perfectly complete! These Jerusalem artichokes are enough for me to eat for a week!"

Lin Yu'an brushed the soil from his hands. His backpack was stuffed full, and his face showed the joy of harvest.

He shouldered the heavy backpack. With these Jerusalem artichokes, combined with the previously stored fish jerky and possibly captured beavers in the future, food would have basic security in the short term.

Lin Yu'an hummed an off-key tune and walked toward the stone shelter with his full harvest.

Returning to the warm stone house, Lin Yu'an dumped all the Jerusalem artichokes from his backpack onto the ground, preparing to select a few for tonight's dinner.

The newly built clay brick stove was currently radiating warm comfort, with flames burning steadily in the firebox.

He simply rinsed the selected Jerusalem artichokes with clean water to remove surface soil, then threw them directly into the area below the firebox where embers remained but the fire wasn't large.

While turning the Jerusalem artichokes with a fire poker to heat them evenly, Lin Yu'an said to the camera.

"The simplest way to eat Jerusalem artichokes is roasted or boiled. Roasted Jerusalem artichokes have a soft texture with a hint of sweetness, very delicious."

While waiting for the Jerusalem artichokes to roast, Lin Yu'an wasn't idle.

He took out the birch bark map marked with charcoal showing the beaver activity areas and studied it carefully.

"Based on my observations today, those beavers have fixed landing points, mainly concentrated near that shallow area with dense aquatic plants."

"They're very alert. If I directly shoot them with arrows in open water, the success rate would be too low, and if I miss, it would easily cause them to change activity areas."

"If I could find their den and set traps while waiting, the hunting success rate would greatly increase."

While thinking, he used charcoal to sketch various types of trap arrangements on the map.

The aroma of roasted Jerusalem artichokes gradually wafted from the stove, stimulating Lin Yu'an's appetite. He used the fire poker to pull out the Jerusalem artichokes with charred black skins and set them aside to cool slightly.

Soon, he couldn't wait to break open a roasted Jerusalem artichoke. The golden interior steamed, and he blew on it before carefully taking a bite.

"Mmm... these fully ripe Jerusalem artichokes taste so much better compared to the half-ripe ones I collected before!"

"This soft texture is truly nature's gift!"

While enjoying the delicious roasted Jerusalem artichokes, he mentally rehearsed the feasibility of various schemes for catching beavers.

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