Starting from Robinson Crusoe-Chapter 82 - 30: Shelter

Digging is an instinctive behavior ingrained in human DNA.

The entrance to the deep cave is narrow and easy to defend but difficult to attack.

In winter, it provides warmth, in summer, protection from rain, and it can also shield against cold winds and scorching sun.

Primitive people lit fires in caves to survive the cold, long Ice Ages.

They hunted mammoths, fought fiercely with beasts like the blade-toothed tiger, giant ground sloth, and cave bear, and used fur and grease to keep warm, sheltering their wounded tribesmen, young children, and women and elderly people.

In that wild era, the continuation of the human race was once in jeopardy. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

At the mountain-top cave relics, burned animal bones and broken ape-man skeletons were not far apart.

For reproduction, for survival, the ancestors of humans repeatedly contested caves with ferocious cave lions and cave bears.

Eventually, our ancestors defeated them with fire, wisdom, and unity.

Throughout this process, the importance of caves has been passed down through generations.

Even into the modern era, there are still cave dwellings in the northwest and earth cellars in the northeast, and shepherds on the grasslands would still dig caves as temporary shelters.

Not to mention the hobbits' Bag End in films, or the classic survival building game MC with its dig three fill one outdoor rest stations, and the mountain-drilling nuclear shelters.

Among these various types of caves, there are both imaginative wonders and realistic designs.

Bag End is clearly the most comfortable, luxurious, beautiful, and secure-looking cave dwelling, but it requires too much work.

Chen Zhou decided to take the northwest cave dwelling as a model for designing and digging his own shelter.

The inside of the shelter is three meters high, and the depth depends on when they hit the unshakable rock layer.

The bedroom, living room, dining room, and other rooms requiring lighting should be closer to the outside; he had many wooden doors and windows dismounted from the ship that could be used.

If conditions permit, the living room should be dug larger if possible.

The furnishings taken from the first mate's room and the captain's cabin were very luxurious, including two large mirrors with brass frames, and some framed oil paintings and carpets which could be placed in the living room to enhance the overall style of the construction.

The kitchen and toilet should be built separately.

Chen Zhou planned to build the toilet on a platform more than ten meters away from the rooms so that the smell wouldn't drift inside and affect the mood.

Between the toilet and the main entrance of the house, a screen wall should be erected to block the wind blowing into the room.

Considering the insufficient number of bricks, the screen wall will be made of stones and clay.

A stove should be built inside the kitchen, with a flue leading to the earthen bed in the bedroom, providing warmth to the room during the rainy season.

Even though it is generally warm here, the long-term coastal humid environment increases the risk of rheumatism and can easily cause clothes and furniture to mildew, so a stable heat source to reduce humidity is still necessary.

All the bricks used to set up a stove on the ship were transported to the island, and they are enough to build an earthen bed.

With the remaining bricks, Chen Zhou planned to lay a small fireplace in the living room, situated towards the outside so the smoke could be directly vented outdoors.

Apart from heating, the fireplace could also be used for roasting food and drying clothes during the rainy season heavy with moisture.

If there are still bricks left after building the small fireplace, they can be used to construct a stove, which would make it convenient to bake bread or flatbreads and also to dry some meat.

As for the raisin drying room, it should certainly be built in a sunny place, as this is not the suitable choice.

To prevent fire, the indoor floor is best laid with stone instead of wooden planks, though the ceiling and partition walls can use wood.

However, the mountain is not like the ship; there aren't as many flammable materials.

Therefore, regarding the choice of materials for wall decor and flooring, Chen Zhou has not yet made a definite decision.

Stone flooring is indeed fireproof, but it's uneven and not aesthetically pleasing.

If the fireproofing is done well, wooden flooring is still more attractive.

Especially with yellow pine wood, its dense and natural wood grain can provide a refreshing and bright feeling.

As for the indoor load-bearing structures, bricks would naturally be best, but Chen Zhou doesn't have that many, so he can only use stone or wood.

Using stone would require yellow clay as a filler; otherwise, if the stone columns collapse, they could very well crush him to death.

Relatively speaking, wood is more convenient.

If willing to spend considerable time, imitating the structure of Bag End with arching wooden beams and wooden pillars to support the ceiling could potentially be more reliable than stone columns.

A qualified shelter, besides the necessary bedroom, kitchen, living room, and toilet, also needs vast storage space.

After all, he still has tons of supplies below the mountain.

Furthermore, in the future, grapes can be dried, and citrus, sugar cane, lemons, animal hides, dried fish, or tortoise shells mentioned by forum users all need dry and sanitary storage rooms.

Chen Zhou planned to open a separate weapons room and a tools room in the cave to store firearms, cold weapons, and various tools.

As for the material storage room, it will need a separate room dug out; food should be stored deep within the kitchen, preferably digging down to set up a basement.

Once life stabilizes, he might attempt brewing wine in the basement, fermenting soybean paste, pickling vegetables, or making cheese.

The platform outside the inner chamber should be leveled with excavated sand; if that's insufficient, soil needs to be brought in from elsewhere.

After cutting all the trees outside the platform, it's best to dig trenches on the slope, which can more effectively slow down approaching attackers.

A low wall should be built around the edge of the platform to withstand the arrows of the natives and resist the lead bullet attacks from matchlock guns…