Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 355: Chapter 227: The Idea for a Saw

[Enjoying delicious seafood mashed potatoes on the shores of Panama. Happiness +1]

After he finished the entire tube of mashed potatoes, an unexpected system notification quietly sounded.

He had, after all, eaten this just a few days ago. Although he had improved the recipe, the difference wasn’t huge, so getting even one point of happiness was a pleasant surprise.

’Only 3 more points to reach 15. I have to finish the bamboo raft tomorrow. That should give me 3 points, right?’

He pulled up his panel for a look, forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart, and began eating his second serving of mashed potatoes.

After adopting his method, Erica picked up her pace considerably. In just a short while, she had also devoured an entire tube and let out an unceremonious burp.

"BURP~"

"Ah, that feels so good. My body is all warm, and I feel like every single one of my pores has opened up. It’s like I just got out of a sauna."

"That’s right," Lin Chen said with a muffled nod, stuffing another spoonful into his mouth. "We Da Xia People make congee when we’re sick or don’t have an appetite. It’s usually not seafood congee, though, but a vegetable and meat one. Doctors generally don’t recommend eating seafood when you’re ill."

"Will you make some for me after the competition is over? I want to learn how, so I can cook it for my dad. Then he’ll have to stop saying my cooking is terrible!"

"We’ll see, assuming you can even find me by then."

"Fine, you just wait! I’ll pop up out of nowhere and scare you to death!"

Erica lifted her chin confidently. Without touching the other serving of mashed potatoes, she stood up and dusted herself off.

"Thanks for the meal! I’m full. Let me know the next time you’re making something delicious, ’kay? Love ya~"

Lin Chen rolled his eyes but made no move to stop her.

’Besides, she only gave me one bamboo tube’s worth last time. Her eating a serving of mine just makes us even.’

’Making two servings was just standard Da Xia People’s courtesy on my part. Whether she ate it was up to her.’

’Perfect. If she’s not eating it, I’ll just save it for breakfast tomorrow.’

He scooped up another spoonful of the piping hot mashed potatoes, blew on it to cool it down, and popped it into his mouth.

As he chewed, the unique springiness of the sea cucumber was particularly noticeable among the other soft, tender ingredients.

The texture of this unidentified species of sea cucumber was almost identical to the ones he remembered. It was incredibly springy, almost like chewing on rubber. He wasn’t sure if he hadn’t stewed it long enough, if there was an issue with how it was rehydrated, or if this was simply its natural texture. In any case, it didn’t have any particular flavor beyond providing a bit of chewiness.

Still, sea cucumbers were high in protein, so he’d definitely still gather them whenever he came across them.

He was still a little worried about his terrible luck with hunting and fishing. If he went several days without a catch, he could at least use the sea cucumbers to get some protein and fill his stomach.

He quickly finished the second tube of mashed potatoes and washed it clean. The bamboo container could be reused until it was completely burned through.

He didn’t rest after heading back, either. He continuously wove thin bamboo strips into rope.

This task was much easier than splitting the bamboo. Braiding three strips into a single rope only took a few minutes.

He didn’t intend to use the finished bamboo ropes for the raft just yet. Instead, he first reinforced the four walls of the bamboo house, tightly binding the ends of the horizontally stacked bamboo logs to the vertical bamboo supports. This way, the bamboo walls were no longer just individual pieces but a unified structure.

After reinforcing all four walls, he then tied the roof to the walls as well, making the bamboo house incredibly sturdy. He would no longer have to fear being at the mercy of a storm.

Gazing at the now-complete bamboo house before him, he breathed a heartfelt sigh of relief as a quiet sense of pride welled up inside him.

[Successfully built a bamboo house on the shores of Panama. Happiness +2]

He froze for a moment, then scratched his head as realization dawned.

’I completely forgot that the shelter counts as a handcrafted item. This is good, though. At least now I’m guaranteed to have enough points to get Diving Proficiency after I finish the raft tomorrow.’

’Since I’ll be able to dive soon, making a fishing spear needs to be my next priority. I could also place fish traps on the seabed and use the guts from the seafood as bait. I might get some unexpected catches that way.’

He didn’t have any good ideas on how to make a fishing spear just yet.

One idea was to fashion a spearhead from the metal can he had found and tie it to a stick. But the can was a rare resource, and he was hesitant to use it for this purpose.

’Oh, well. I’ll worry about it tomorrow. Maybe I’ll have a better idea then.’

He’d always had a positive outlook. He didn’t dwell on uncertainties, as that would only create needless anxiety.

As long as he had a general direction and a simple goal to ensure his survival, he was happy to take the rest as it came, day by day.

...

「Day Sixteen.」

As usual, Lin Chen was up with the sun.

He was used to this routine. His years as a chef had honed his biological clock, enabling him to wake up at a very specific time each day. Back then, he would even open his eyes ten or so minutes before his alarm went off.

He carried the two baskets of purslane, chili leaves, and chilis he had gathered yesterday down to the stream and submerged them, baskets and all, in the water to rinse them.

The basket’s unique mesh-like structure was perfect for washing and filtering out impurities, and he didn’t have to worry about the contents being washed away.

’They’re clean, but... where am I going to pickle them?’

He stared blankly at the chili leaves bobbing in the stream, suddenly realizing he had overlooked a very serious problem.

He didn’t have a container.

Pickling didn’t necessarily require a completely sealed container, but he needed something that could at least hold liquid.

A bamboo tube would work, but its interior was full of nodes. Clearing them out while keeping the tube itself intact would be no easy task.