Culinary God in Wilderness

Chapter 378: Chapter 238: Re-exploring the Seabed (Part 2)

The chili pepper leaves had been pickled fresh, and they had already started to turn a dark, brownish-green. The taro leaves, which were dried before being pickled, had turned completely dark brown.

The Purslane stems were already a reddish-brown, so only the color of their leaves had changed.

He tasted a bit of each. They were slightly sour, but the dominant flavor was still saltiness.

’I need to pickle these for at least another day or two before they’re ready. The flavor isn’t strong enough yet.’

After checking all the pickled vegetables, he finally started to process the sweet potatoes.

There was no need to peel them. He just cut off any pitted spots or areas that looked difficult to clean, then sliced them, cut them into strips, and finally diced them before pouring them into the tree stump he had hollowed out yesterday.

For a mallet, he had sawed off a forked piece of wood. The fork served as a natural handle, allowing it to be used as both a hammer and a mallet.

THUD.

THUD.

The heavy wooden mallet struck down again and again inside the stump’s hollow, and the diced sweet potatoes were quickly pounded flat and mashed.

The first round was just to get a feel for it and to see if any improvements were needed.

Starting from the second round, his movements quickened significantly, and he increased the amount to two sweet potatoes per batch.

After half an hour of experimenting, he determined that the most he could effectively pound at once was a quantity equivalent to three fists. Any more and it would be uneven; any less and it would be inefficient.

The pounded sweet potato pulp was piled into bamboo tubes that had been split in half. The natural nodes of the bamboo formed small, separate compartments.

The amount of sweet potato mash in each section couldn’t be too much—just over half-full was good. Once half a bamboo tube was filled, he could add water to the top, stir it evenly, and let it sit.

With the help of the natural wooden mallet, the task of pounding sweet potato mash became incredibly easy. Besides the slight soreness and numbness in his arms from the repetitive impact, he felt almost no discomfort.

He didn’t even use his military knife to cut the sweet potatoes, opting for a bamboo knife instead.

The military knife was too small and only suitable for cutting smaller food items. For a delicate operation like dicing, a larger blade was much more convenient.

For two whole days, he didn’t go anywhere. Whenever he had a spare moment, he sat in front of the tree stump and worked until every last sweet potato was processed, only then letting out a sigh of relief.

’If these were normal red-hearted sweet potatoes, I might have saved a few to eat. But this white-cored variety doesn’t taste good when eaten directly. It’s only suitable for extracting starch.’

After settling for a full day, the first batch of sweet potato mash had been filtered once last night. With another half-day today, the starch that had settled at the bottom was already much whiter, having lost yesterday’s yellowish tint.

He poured off all the excess water from the surface, used his hands to break up the congealed block of sweet potato starch, and put it back into the bamboo tubes.

’This should be about right. I’ll see if a day of sun-drying tomorrow is enough to get it completely dry. Once it’s fully dried, I can store it and use it whenever I need to.’

’The batch I prepared today will have to sit until tomorrow morning to be filtered once, then I’ll soak it a second time. By tomorrow night, it will be in the same state as the first batch.’

Working nonstop for two full days was fulfilling, but his body was also pushed to the brink of exhaustion.

Ever since he could no longer see the audience’s comments, it felt as if the entire world had fallen silent.

He had to admit the production team’s escalating strategy was brilliantly executed. First, there were two rounds of supply drops. Then, they allowed the audience to pass on information. Finally, once the circle shrank, they unceremoniously cut off this sole connection to the outside world, inducing a short-term state of anxiety and restlessness in the contestants.

’I wonder what that girl Erica is up to at this hour. I haven’t seen her these past two days. Did she go into the mountains?’

’Haven’t seen that old guy Andre in a while either. That glutton seems to be getting serious about having a showdown with me this time. He hasn’t even shown his face.’

’Oh well, this is fine too. I should think about what delicious things I can make with the sweet potato starch tomorrow.’

After three straight days of just filling his stomach, he felt like his cravings were getting out of control.

This was especially true of the Sea Catfish he’d grilled last night. Even with the help of crushed dried chilies and oyster sauce, he could still taste a distinct fishiness. He had basically eaten the whole thing with a frown on his face.

The fishiness was a cross between an earthy taste and a fishy one. Surface seasonings couldn’t cover it up at all. Only stewing it with heavy spices could completely mask the flavor.

He had resolved right then and there that no matter how nutritious that thing was, he would absolutely not eat another bite of it before returning to the city.

While the sun had yet to set, he put on his Hat Lamp, grabbed his bamboo knife, slung the bamboo basket over his back, and headed into the forest. For the first time in a while, he went to visit the soapnut tree and took a few branches.

A single branch had countless smaller boughs, and each bough was laden with densely packed soapnuts.

The total amount from these few branches had to be at least two or three catties, which would be enough for his daily washing and laundry for over a month.

It was already dark by the time he headed back, so he had to turn on his Hat Lamp and follow the route he had taken earlier.

As he walked, just as he returned to the side of the small creek, flashes of white light suddenly flickered on the mountaintop.

His heart skipped a beat. He instinctively turned off his Hat Lamp to avoid letting anyone pinpoint his location.

It wasn’t that he was scared, but the resources in the area were limited, and he didn’t want more people coming to divvy them up.

Erica and Andre were both decent people and wouldn’t come to compete for his resources, but if he ran into someone less considerate, he’d be the one to suffer.

’It’s been almost a month, and someone’s still on the move? Or is it a contestant who lives on the other side of the mountain, exploring the map?’

He took a long look at the location where the light had flashed, then followed the creek downstream. Using the faint moonlight, he quickly returned to the location of his aqueduct and followed its path to successfully navigate back to his bamboo house in the dark.

Only then did the flickering light on the mountaintop disappear. He didn’t know if the person had been obscured by the forest or had simply left.

Lin Chen stripped off his clothes and submerged himself in the bathtub, feeling that familiar, comfortable sensation wash over his entire body as he let out a long, soft sigh.

’A bath is nice and all, but it would be so much better if it were hot water...’

’Let’s see, there’s a lot I can make with sweet potato starch. What should I make first tomorrow...’

’Oh, wait. What I make depends on the ingredients. Looks like I’ll have to go down to the sea tonight and catch something. It’s about time I treated myself.’

...

「Two in the morning.」

After dozing for a few hours, Lin Chen appeared on the reef flat. He followed the familiar path through the water to his bamboo raft, brought the fish trap with him, and paddled out toward the vast, open sea.

’The moonlight is pretty dim today, so visibility on the water isn’t great. I wonder if that will have any significant effect on the marine life.’

He sat on the raft, paddling forward while occasionally looking around and into the water below, trying to spot anything useful.

But unfortunately, there was no school of Flying Fish like last time. The entire sea was quiet, save for the constant, rhythmic sound of the waves.

Only when large, dark shadows appeared beneath the raft, their general shapes indistinct, did he finally stop. After stowing the paddle, he tossed the fish trap into the sea.

Just like last time, the fish trap had two rocks inside to help it sink to the seabed. He left the bamboo basket on the raft.

Diving with the basket would hinder his movements somewhat. Since the fish trap was already underwater to serve as a container, there was no need for the basket just yet.

SPLASH.

He dove in headfirst. Using the force of his entry and gravity, his body moved swiftly, and he swam with the agility of a fish, reaching the seabed in just a few seconds.

After a quick scan, he realized this wasn’t the same area he had visited last time. The shapes of the coral clusters on the seafloor were completely different.

This was normal. Unless there was a fixed marker on the surface, not even a captain or fisherman with years of sailing experience could guarantee they would stop at the exact same spot every time.

’Perfect! Just what I wanted!’

A different area of the sea meant that all the seafood resources were untouched. Whether he’d hit the jackpot or come back empty-handed, it all depended on his performance!

He kicked his feet rapidly and dove directly under a rock crevice, letting the light from his Hat Lamp tear through the perpetual darkness.

With a single glance, he saw a huge head poking out from the crevice. Its entire body was covered in leopard-like spots, its mouth was wide open, and its two rows of sharp teeth gleamed brightly.