Live Strong in the Wilderness-Chapter 35: Delicious Fish Fillets

It’s getting late today, so Xu Yi didn’t plan to cut down the umbrella trees. Instead, he chopped some timber nearby to store for firewood.

By the way, clearing the area a bit would help ward off animal attacks.

With the machete in his hand, Xu Yi saved a lot of effort.

One by one, tree trunks as thick as a bowl fell in front of Xu Yi.

After chopping for more than an hour, Xu Yi shook his numb arms.

He focused on chopping and now had to start cleaning up.

Next, the branches needed to be trimmed down for firewood. The trunks had to be cut into sections, split, and dried. That’s a big project, taking several days.

So, Xu Yi only dragged some branches back.

Lu Ke was still reinforcing the fence, but she was already two-thirds done.

"Lu Ke, take a break, leave it to me." Xu Yi placed the freshly gathered firewood beside the fire to dry.

Lu Ke glanced at the time, thinking it would soon be time to cook dinner, so she stopped her work.

Her hands were blistered, but she didn’t frown even once.

"Xu Yi, how about we have boiled fish slices tonight?" Now that she had her own knife, Lu Ke could properly slice the fish.

"Sure, it sounds delicious." Xu Yi looked forward to it.

"I’ll check if the mushrooms have grown; if so, they’d make a nice addition. It’s a pity we don’t have any chili peppers now," Lu Ke said with a bit of regret.

"As long as they’re on the island, we’ll find them," Xu Yi grinned, then continued with the tasks Lu Ke hadn’t completed.

Xu Yi worked faster than Lu Ke.

Lu Ke glanced at Xu Yi’s back, then picked up a plastic bag and Xu Yi’s basket to get some water. She also took all the pottery to be cleaned.

Fetching water went peacefully this time, without any danger.

After returning with the water, Lu Ke started slicing the fish on a stone slab.

The mushrooms hadn’t fully grown, so she sprayed some water on them.

The water in the pot boiled quickly, and Lu Ke put a large bowl of fish slices into the pot to cook.

Soon, the fish slices were boiling, releasing a fragrant aroma.

"Xu Yi, it’s time to eat," Lu Ke placed the bowls and chopsticks on a small stone slab, noting that she still needed a ladle and a slotted spoon, which could be included in the next batch of pottery.

Besides those, she also needed to make some ceramic plates for the vegetables.

Hmm, she’d also need a kettle for water storage.

With a kettle, a water tub would be necessary, and it should be large enough to hold a day’s supply of water.

With a water tub, they naturally needed a dipper.

The more Lu Ke thought about it, the more she realized how many things they lacked.

A home needed so many things.

"What are you thinking about?" Xu Yi asked after washing his hands, noticing Lu Ke spacing out.

"I was thinking about what pottery we need to make next time. It’s a pity we don’t have a notebook, otherwise, I could jot it down," Lu Ke explained. There was so much to do, she was afraid she’d forget something.

"We could make paper," Xu Yi suggested with a smile. Making paper was essential too.

They were still suffering from using tree branches; if they had toilet paper, their quality of life would greatly improve. Especially for Lu Ke, whose menstrual cycle was approaching, there was a real need for paper.

"Really, can we?" Lu Ke’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Her period was only ten days away, causing her concern about handling it then.

If they had paper, that troublesome issue could be resolved.

"Of course we can, it doesn’t have to be too refined; functional toilet paper isn’t a problem," Xu Yi nodded. He’d read plenty of books in his world, including ones on papermaking.

Given their current conditions, they couldn’t make anything too refined, but simple toilet paper was feasible.

Regardless, it would be much better than using tree branches, right?

"That sounds great! Tell me what materials you need; I can help prepare them," Lu Ke felt she needed toilet paper even more than Xu Yi, making her extra eager.

"Tomorrow, let’s explore the area to see if we can find suitable materials," Xu Yi kept this task in mind, as improving their living standards was necessary.

These days, they didn’t need to worry about food; dried fish could last them several days.

"Sounds good." Lu Ke smiled, then picked up her rice bowl.

With bowls, they no longer needed to wait for the pot to be empty before drinking the soup.

Lu Ke’s eyes lit up after sipping the fish soup.

"Xu Yi, this fish soup is so fresh and sweet; it’s delicious," she immediately promoted it.

Xu Yi then picked up his bowl, tasted a sip, and sighed in satisfaction.

"It is indeed delicious. Our Lu Ke’s cooking skills are improving," Xu Yi complimented, then picked up a slice of fish.

Taking a bite, it felt chewy.

"Wow, it’s so tasty," Lu Ke’s eyes glowed as she claimed it the best fish she’d ever tasted.

Xu Yi said nothing, continuing to eat.

There was still a pot of fish slices cooking.

"It looks so delicious. I’m getting hungry just watching it. Problem is, I just had a full meal."

"Perhaps the food on that planet is particularly tasty; it’s not the first time I’ve heard that their food is good."

"Truly envious, to be able to eat boiled fish slices in the wild, and they look so delicious."

"Compared to Loli Ke and the others, we’re really pathetic. We’ve been eating wild vegetables for two days straight, and raw at that,"

Speaking of Wanzi, everyone felt some sympathy.

They hadn’t found a water source nor caught any prey.

Their location was a canyon, flanked by mountains, making it necessary to venture out to see the sea.

They supplemented with wild vegetable juice for hydration.

They were somewhat lucky, as there were many wild vegetables nearby, and the juice was decent.

However, Wang Jin couldn’t bear it any longer.

She’d started her period yesterday, severely affecting her pace.

"Cousin, I really can’t endure anymore. Maybe we should give up; there are still four hundred groups, it wouldn’t matter without ours," Wang Jin’s period symptoms were intense, and she preferred lying down, unwilling to go anywhere.

Today, Lu Yao had a hard time convincing Wang Jin to keep moving, to search for a water source together.

They’d endured these tough days, surviving the hardest times.

And now, they consider quitting?