Starting from Robinson Crusoe-Chapter 116 - 44: Pushcart, Rabbits, Lemons, and Crops

The rope-drawn wooden handcart had borne too much cargo, and on the way to shore, it often rubbed against the ground, wearing down a layer from the thick wooden bottom.

On the rewarding path, Chen Zhou had to stop every dozen meters to clear obstacles such as stones and sticks, and check the packaging boxes secured to the wood by the rope, fearing that the painting on top would be scratched or the statue inside would topple over—any defects in the second-hand goods would severely devalue them.

Fortunately, the beach was smooth, making it suitable for the cart to move steadily.

The total distance from the landing spot to the camp was about four to five hundred meters; beyond the beach, the speed significantly slowed.

After moving into the camp, to properly store the large wooden boxes, Chen Zhou cleared a shed meant for small furniture pieces.

After finishing these tasks, more than three hours had passed, and there was no immediate need to watch over the statues.

Next, Chen Zhou still had to tidy the furniture moved out, taking them to the caves.

These pieces mostly came from the rooms in the ship's cabin.

There were tables and chairs, bedside cabinets, and also shelves and low cabinets. The materials used were quite ordinary, with thin planks and light weight, making them easy to carry despite their cumbersome size, except for the strain on the waist.

Taking advantage of the statue placement, Chen Zhou planned to move doors, windows, and some portable supplies into the caves.

As the caves gradually improved, the decorations inside remained extremely crude.

The makeshift bed, which also doubled as a dining table and desk, along with the bedside cabinet holding tableware, had already brought some inconvenience to Chen Zhou's life.

He hoped that once the stone walls were built and the doors and windows installed, the kitchen would be furnished with a food rack, dining cabinet, and cutting table.

The storage room should have wooden boxes and shelves arranged neatly so that needed items could be found immediately.

In the bedroom, commonly used clothes, valuables, firearms, and weapons, as well as the cat and chinchilla, should have their own places, avoiding having to squeeze in with people constantly.

Moreover, facilities for lighting, such as ceilings and chandeliers, should also be installed soon.

After the stone walls were built, the already poor lighting in the caves would degrade further.

Approaching dusk, without starting a fire or lighting a lamp, it would be nearly impossible to see into the depths of the cave; thus, the sooner these living facilities were perfected, the better.

Because he rarely worked at night, the lamp oil brought from the ship had hardly been used, with plenty remaining, and there were also quite a number of candles.

Chen Zhou roughly estimated that if he used sparingly, the lamp oil should last him about six months, after which he would have to produce and supplement the oil himself.

His ideal oil-producing animals were fish, penguins, or seals.

Although it sounded bizarre, the original Robinson Crusoe did mention that seals indeed appeared on the island, and they weren't far from the landing area.

On clear days, one could spot them through a telescope from atop the mountain.

As for penguins, they appeared on the other end of the island, where the beaches were inhabited by numerous seabirds.

Seals and penguins both had an extremely high fat content.

Especially seals; if one were hunted, it might provide enough oil for use for two to three months, and seal oil could also serve as cooking oil for frying.

However, Chen Zhou had always been preoccupied with other tasks, preventing him from going.

If he could have carved out some time daily for hunting at the beach, he might have already caught two seals and been enjoying seal oil-fried meat by now.

...

On the afternoon of January 12th, Chen Zhou shuttled between the camp and the caves, moving furniture.

He tied small furniture pieces together with ropes to enhance efficiency, but the long distance meant it took an entire afternoon without finishing the task.

The path up the mountain was rugged, with steep slopes and step-like obstacles, limiting the effectiveness of the handcart.

The arduous moving process rekindled Chen Zhou's idea of constructing a wheelbarrow.

The body structure of a wheelbarrow is actually quite simple, with the only difficulty being the wheels.

Previously, faced with the threat of a storm on the ship, he could only devise some quick fixes.

Now, without time pressure, to facilitate transportation work, making the wheelbarrow could rightfully be put back on the agenda.

The technique of bending wood was once mentioned in Encouraging Learning.

Straight wood in the string, bending it into a wheel, its curve conforms to the form.

In class, the teacher's slides displayed the entire process—first soaking the wood, then using fire to soften the wood fibers, twisting it around a cylindrical steel ring, kneading the wood into the shape of a noodle, and shaping it into various forms.

In the hands of a seasoned craftsman, this process seemed easier than drinking water.

But how it would turn out in actual implementation, what difficulties would be encountered, Chen Zhou was unsure.

His biggest concern was making mistakes in temperature control during the fire-softening process. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

If not careful, it wouldn't be bending that creates it, but bending that "burns" it.

But just knowing the technique of "bending" already surpassed Robinson by far.

In Chen Zhou's opinion, as long as he was willing to experiment and improve, he would definitely create a practical wheelbarrow.

Modern people have an advantage over Robinson in not only knowledge but also mindset.

If he managed to go a step further, he could even create a "goat-drawn cart", using sturdy billy goats to pull the cart, thus conserving human energy.

Unfortunately, up to now, the wheelbarrow remained in the conceptual stage; he hadn't even soaked the wood, let alone baked it.

At the end of the day's work, sitting in a chair having dinner, recalling the numerous urgent issues awaiting solutions ahead, Chen Zhou couldn't help but remember the challenges posed by fellow netizens.