Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 358: Chapter 228: Simple Iron Saw (2)

He held the crude saw, laid a piece of bamboo horizontally on the ground, and then propped the piece he needed to cut diagonally on top of it, holding it steady with his foot to keep it from rolling.

He lined the saw up with the white mark, took a deep breath to suppress his unease, and began pulling and pushing with force.

Because the sides of the saw’s teeth had been hammered inward, only the very tips were sharp. This made it slip a little as he cut.

Furthermore, the tips of the teeth were relatively thin and bent easily during cutting.

He was only halfway through when several teeth bent out of shape, requiring him to hammer them straight again before he could continue.

’This... doesn’t seem to work very well, does it?’

He frowned, raising the saw to eye level and staring intently at the teeth.

’Maybe I should work on it some more? Try sharpening the sides of the teeth?’

If even a knife blade could be sharpened with a stone, grinding down the material from a can would be even easier.

He immediately stopped cutting the bamboo, grabbed the saw, and headed back toward the stream.

If you’re going to work, you need the right tools for the job. Using something that wasn’t up to snuff would only make him more frustrated.

Sharpening a serrated edge wasn’t as straightforward as a knife blade; it required precise, section-by-section grinding.

He spent the entire afternoon on this task, only finishing his work when the sky had turned completely dark.

The originally strange-looking saw teeth hadn’t just been sharpened; he had also forged them a second time.

He had folded in the sides of each tooth’s original tip, much like folding a paper airplane. Then he hammered the overlapping parts completely flat, pressing the two layers tightly together before finally grinding them.

The resulting saw teeth had double the thickness and hardness. Even hammering them with a rock wouldn’t bend them as easily as before.

’Alright, back to try it out!’

This time, the saw did not disappoint. Not only was there a distinct cutting feel when he used it, but the whole process became much smoother.

Accompanied by the SCRAPING sound of the cut, a dense layer of bamboo dust fell to the ground.

CLACK.

A section of bamboo with a smooth edge fell away.

Watching the bamboo tube roll onto the ground, his confidence surged. He decided to skip dinner, rolled up his sleeves, and started on the second piece of bamboo.

After sawing through three pieces in a row, his back was soaked with sweat. He had no choice but to take off his outer shirt, continuing his work in just the short-sleeved shirt underneath.

HUFF... HUFF...

’Is it really this tiring?’

After cutting two more, he felt his arms and abs twitching, and his calves and thighs were incredibly sore.

’Is it because I haven’t redeemed the Saw Proficiency skill? Does that mean my posture is wrong, and maybe my cutting technique is off too? Is that why I’m so exhausted?’

’Hah, I refuse to believe it. If five isn’t enough, I’ll do ten. If ten isn’t enough, I’ll do twenty. I’ll definitely figure out the trick if I do it enough. Every point saved is a point earned. Now that I have a saw, I’m not about to spend 15 Happiness Points just to make it a little easier.’

He figured that subsequent tools wouldn’t earn him many more points. After all, the metal can saw and the raft were pretty much top-tier tools. In comparison, furniture made by simple assembly probably wouldn’t be very challenging.

No challenge meant little sense of accomplishment, which naturally meant not many Happiness Points.

Not unless he could create another tool on the same level as the saw or the bamboo raft, or some new, highly useful object—an essential item with extreme functionality, like rope.

By the time he had sawed through all the bamboo, it was already ten o’clock at night.

There was no helping it; the work was utterly exhausting. Plus, he had already depleted his energy earlier in the day. He was running purely on willpower at this point.

After a quick rinse, he hung his clean shirt and outer shirt by the fire to dry. Only then did he have a moment to fix himself a simple dinner.

’What should I eat... After all this physical labor, I definitely need to replenish my carbs. Otherwise, I might wake up with low blood sugar tomorrow.’

’Right now, I only have potatoes and taro. This taro is too starchy for my liking. I’ll save it for making desserts later.’

’Plain roasted potatoes are also a bit hard to get down. Is there a way to make them taste better?’

’Wait, roasted potatoes? I’ve got it!’

As if struck by an idea, his eyes lit up. He immediately picked up two large, clean potatoes, began to peel them, and then cut them into wide, thin slices.

’How could I have forgotten about this? This is exactly how they make grilled potato slices for barbecue. The only difference is that those are usually deep-fried, or at least brushed with oil while grilling.’

He had no oil, but if he just grilled them directly, they wouldn’t taste very good.

After a moment’s thought, he opened two coconuts. Once the coconut water came to a boil, he dropped the potato slices in for thirty seconds before taking them out.

After being boiled, the potato slices turned a noticeably deeper yellow and became relatively soft, no longer hard, brittle, and raw-tasting.

He skewered them all on a branch, placed it on his bamboo-slat grill rack, and began to slowly roast them over the high heat of the charcoal.

"You can’t use an open flame for potato slices. The smoke will blacken them instantly. It’s best to use charcoal."

He had to flip them every thirty seconds. While waiting, he didn’t stay idle; he took out a few red chili peppers that had been drying in the sun for two days.

The peppers were clearly shriveled from the sun, their skins having changed from bright red to a dark, dusky red. They weren’t completely dry yet, still retaining a bit of moisture.

To get them to the ideal state, he’d likely need another day or two.

He grabbed a handful and tossed them right next to the hot coals, letting the high heat of the charcoal blacken them.

You can’t roast these semi-dry peppers for too long. They need to be turned occasionally, as leaving them for even a few extra seconds can burn them completely.

The whole process took only two or three minutes. If they were completely dried chilies, the time would be even shorter.

"What I’m making now is a scorched chili powder. It’s a very famous seasoning in the southwestern region of the Great Xia. It combines the spiciness of chili peppers with an added layer of a charred, smoky fragrance—a very unique aroma."

"So how do you tell if the peppers are roasted properly? It’s actually quite simple: you use your nose and your eyes."

"Like this."

He picked out a chili from beside the coals that was grayish-black all over. The stem was completely carbonized.

"This is a scorched chili pepper, but that doesn’t mean it’s inedible. Only the surface is charred; the inside is perfectly fine. It’s the same principle as roasting bell peppers in Western cooking."

"Besides charring the surface, you also need to smell the distinct fragrance of the chili. Once both of those things happen, it means they’re done. You have to take them out immediately. Another ten seconds and you’ll have genuine charcoal."

"You can crush the roasted chilies directly, or you can cut them open, scrape out the seeds, and then crush them. Both methods have their pros and cons."

"The seeds are the spiciest part of the chili, and they develop a bitter taste after being scorched. This version is good for pairing with wet ingredients, like soy sauce or something similar."

"If you can’t handle too much spice and don’t like the bitterness, you can scoop out the seeds. What’s left is pure chili flesh, with only a rich aroma and a mild heat. It’s perfect for barbecues or as a dry dip."

As he spoke, he tossed the scorched chilies into a bamboo tube and began to crush them.

Just as he finished with that, the potato slices were also perfectly roasted.

Even without being brushed with oil, the blanched potato slices had developed a pale, crisp shell from the high heat, somewhat similar to the surface of a french fry.

First, he brushed on a light layer of oyster sauce for a base flavor, then sprinkled on a handful of the crushed scorched chili.

’Too bad I don’t have any cumin, or this would taste amazing.’

He took a bite while it was still hot. The surface was slightly crisp, the inside soft and fluffy. The savory umami and saltiness of the oyster sauce were just right, with a faint sweetness from the coconut water still detectable. Combined with the rich, smoky aroma of the crushed chili, every chew filled his mouth with flavor.

’This is so much better than a plain roasted potato. Looks like I’ll have to unlock more potato recipes in the future. And the taro desserts can be put on the agenda too. But I’ll think about all that after the raft is completely finished tomorrow.’