Starting from Robinson Crusoe-Chapter 93 - 34: Rear Fittings_2

Before that, he needed to transport some finished wood up the mountain, including the main mast from the ship, some planks, and short keels.

The wood on the ship was painted, treated to prevent decay.

Before being installed on the ship, this wood had been air-dried, making it resistant to rotting, with a long lifespan, and reliable for load-bearing pillars.

Though there was an abundance of wood on the island, it wasn't suitable for direct use.

Wet wood has a high moisture content, easily susceptible to insect and fungal attacks during storage, and is more likely to crack and deform, affecting its lifespan and structural strength.

Moreover, wet wood is much heavier than dry wood, making it inconvenient to transport.

In Chen Zhou's hometown, before erecting the roof beam while building a house, suitable wood must be selected, cut down, debarked, and left to air dry in a ventilated area for one or two years until the moisture evaporates before it can be assembled into a beam and hoisted onto the gable wall.

Ancestral experience passed down cannot be ignored.

To avoid any issues with important load-bearing pillars, Chen Zhou planned to initially use these finished woods, meanwhile selecting some suitably long and thick wood from the forest, cut and debark them, stack them to dry in the forest for future use.

After three days of moving wood, the clearing of sand and stones inside the cave had not been interrupted.

The platform at the entrance of the cave had extended over ten meters, with a noticeable drop between the leveled land and the slope.

On this leveled land, Chen Zhou began sawing wood, manufacturing load-bearing components.

The cave had a flat top, unable to use an arched load-bearing structure; although this design lacked artistry and seemed inflexible, it could reduce his workload.

Chen Zhou planned to use six load-bearing pillars to separate the main living room, kitchen, and storage room.

The pillars would simultaneously support vertically and horizontally interlocked beams, providing sturdy support for the top sandstone layer.

Fortunately, during the material transportation, there was no slack, leaving a good amount of wood available for use.

The Sharp Axe's involvement in rough structural repairs sped up Chen Zhou's progress considerably compared to before, and with the woodworking experience gained from crafting a raft, the progress on the load-bearing pillars was quite smooth.

During this period, he also didn't forget to regularly climb the hill to observe the beach.

The single-tube telescope from 17th-century Europe, though incomparable to modern telescopes, had proven highly practical after maritime testing.

In clear weather, looking down, the changes on the northeastern beach were in full view.

The open yellow beach lacked obstacles, with no blind spots; if indigenous people landed, they would be detected, even if the timing was off, traces of their post-cannibal feast would be visible the following day.

However, after observing for so long, Chen Zhou had yet to detect any indigenous landings, making him doubt his predictions at times.

But since December wasn't over, with life at stake, he needed to continue observing.

December 20th.

Four load-bearing pillars had been installed in the cave.

A large amount of Fish Swim Bladder Glue was applied to the mortise and tenon joints, tightly binding the beams and pillars, giving the primitive-looking cave a hint of civilization.

Due to recent focus on manufacturing load-bearing pillars and beams, the progress on clearing sand and stones was delayed, making the 140-plus-square cave appear quite crowded.

Chen Zhou planned to complete the installation of all load-bearing structures before clearing sand and stones, and finally build the outer walls, install windows and doors.

Besides avoiding being hasty,

he never had time to look for loam or suitable clay, another reason.

To be precise, the matter of building walls hadn't even started; even if he dropped everything to begin immediately, it wouldn't work.

One has to eat one bite at a time, and tackle one task at a time.

At noon, during rest time,

Chen Zhou set up a tripod on the platform at the cave entrance, hung an iron pot to heat salty milk tea, soaked hard bread, chewing slowly and leisurely.

Chewing slowly aids digestion, reduces gastrointestinal load, and prevents high blood sugar.

He had forgotten where he learned this knowledge.

But Chen Zhou remembered he still had over 10,200 days to spend on the island.

To prevent his bodily functions from deteriorating too quickly, he started trying to change his long-standing lifestyle habits, striving to maintain good physical condition.

After eating, he picked up the telescope, slung the matchlock gun over his back, called Lai Fu, and went up the mountain as if going for a walk.

Crossing the boundary between light and dark, he donned a sun hat, heading upward.

He thought this would be a climb similar to many others, yielding no results.

Upon reaching the ridge, before even raising the telescope, Chen Zhou saw wisps of blue smoke rising from the beach.

The sun was high, and the campfire distorted the air, but the thin smoke wasn't very conspicuous.

If he hadn't had fewer opportunities to use electronic products as a child, boasting excellent eyesight, he might have missed it.

"They really came?"

He gestured for Lai Fu to be silent, pressed his hat brim tight, wishing he could cover his head with dead leaves, disguising himself as a withered tree or wild grass, pulled out the telescope, and peeked downward.

Two large Canoes were parked on the coastal beach, already dragged ashore by the natives.

At that moment, a campfire was lit, naked indigenous people were meticulously preparing the feast, never even glancing at the mountain top.

Some ran into the nearby woods to gather firewood, others were dragging prisoners off the Canoe, and some waved their arms and chanted, seemingly reciting incantations.

Their skin was a dark brown, even darker than the South Americans Chen Zhou pictured.

Perhaps this was because they did not wear clothes, sun-tanned.

Their facial features were blurred due to their dark skin, making it difficult to distinguish their appearance.