Starting from Robinson Crusoe-Chapter 118 - 44: Wheelbarrow, Rabbits, Lemons, and Crops

The traps set on the afternoon of the 11th have so far yielded only one rabbit, yet there are plenty of wild fruits needing testing.

To enrich his menu, Chen Zhou had to increase the number of "recruitment notices" and "hire" some taste testers.

After returning to the cave, having eaten, as usual, he first wandered around the fields, scaring off birds hovering nearby, then Chen Zhou continued to pick up dirt.

...

Time quickly advanced to January 21st.

Within that week, Chen Zhou caught three more rabbits.

Unfortunately, these rabbits were caught in traps at midnight.

Due to their vigorous struggle, Chen Zhou lost the chance to personally dispatch them, so he had to dismember them, cook and consume part himself, while feeding the other part to the cats and dogs.

Meanwhile, the "rabbit skin flag" at the field's edge gained three more pieces; the rabbit skins, including brown, yellow, and gray, added a unique distinctive sight.

The road to hunting split-mouth rabbits is long and arduous.

The woodland is teeming with wild rabbits, and Chen Zhou's current efforts aren't sufficient to pose a threat to the entire rabbit population. He can only strive to protect his crops from being harmed.

On January 17th, he noticed some green sprouts on the rows of rice plants.

Subsequent observation confirmed that they weren't weeds but rice seedlings, which excited him for the entire day.

He carefully calculated the seed germination rate.

Possibly due to meticulous selection, Chen Zhou found the seeds he sowed had a germination rate of around 35%.

If there are seeds in the soil that grow at a slower pace, the germination rate might be even higher.

The conditions on board were extremely harsh, damp, and dirty.

The 17th-century rice varieties aren't like modern seeds carefully selected and treated to resist diseases, so achieving such a high germination rate genuinely exceeded Chen Zhou's expectations.

More than three hundred rice seeds were sown, and now 128 rice seedlings have sprouted.

If all goes well, in as little as three months, or up to five months, they'll grow into a rice field, providing fuller, healthier, and excellent seeds for the next season's crop.

Besides rice, barley and wheat have also gradually emerged from the soil.

Their growth is considerably slower than rice, not showing up until January 19th.

Both barley and wheat have slightly higher germination rates than rice, with barley reaching about 41%, and wheat around 39%.

But because the quantity of wheat seeds is much lower than rice, despite higher germination rates, the total number of wheat plants is far less than rice, only a little over eighty plants.

When selecting wheat seeds, Chen Zhou deliberately planted the two types of wheat in different rows.

After germination, he showed some bias toward the two types of wheat.

Since wheat can be ground into flour, it receives extra attention.

Chen Zhou wished he could pry his eyes open and hang them above the wheat field even while sleeping, to monitor if any animals were ruining his precious crops.

Barley, meanwhile, became the neglected child.

The reason lies with Chen Zhou's mother.

After entering middle age, Chen Zhou's mother often watches healthcare TV shows or browses health-focused short videos and has heard that barley is rich in vitamins, can lower blood sugar and aid in weight loss; she thus bought barley grains from the supermarket and mixed them with rice to eat.

Chen Zhou greatly dislikes the coarse texture of barley grains, and at home, he couldn't avoid his mother's kindness.

Forced to eat barley meals countless times, he developed a bias against barley.

To change his mother's perspective, Chen Zhou even researched the uses of barley.

Realizing this unpleasant stuff is mainly used for making alcohol and very few foods, and primarily serves as animal feed further deepened his distaste.

Yet, providing educational information to his mother had little effect.

The middle-aged zeal for health is unshakeable, especially for foods labeled as natural and side-effect-free.

Now isolated on a deserted island, without conditions for alcohol production, livestock are also freestanding, requiring no barley for feed.

He then remained indifferent towards barley.

But since barley is planted right next to the wheat, absentmindedly spotting them inevitably means caring for them, he reluctantly takes care of them, watering and weeding.

Ultimately, when truly accounted, the actual treatment of both types of wheat doesn't differ much.