He carried the two big birds back to the camp, bled them briefly, cleaned the mud off their feathers, and then took a nap.
When he woke, the tide had just receded, not yet the best ti for beachcombing.
With nothing to do, Chen Zhou planned to take a stroll along the beach first.
In the original novel, during the days Robinson was stranded on the isolated island, the finest delicacy he tasted was turtle eggs.
Those eggs didn't need any seasoning; whether roasted or boiled, they were equally fragrant and delicious.
Even when Robinson later drank at broth and ate homade raisins and flatbread, he still couldn't forget the turtle eggs.
Chen Zhou knew that the beaches near the northern part of the island were breeding grounds for large sea turtles; when the temperature was right, one could see hundreds, if not thousands, of turtles digging holes and laying eggs on the beach.
But the northern part of the island was dozens of kiloters away from here, and the mountain roads were bumpy. If not detouring by boat, it'd be difficult to make a round trip in one or two days, so capturing turtles there was quite a challenge.
Luckily, there were plenty of turtles, and a few would always stand out, sneaking to the southern beaches, near his landing point, to lay eggs.
If he was lucky today, he might just encounter such a turtle.
At that ti, he would not only harvest turtle eggs and at but also peel off a tortoise shell.
If the turtles in the book were indeed the precious specins as described, one tortoise shell's value would surpass all the silver tableware in the first mate's room combined.
Of course, Chen Zhou always abided by the rules and didn't know much about the market for tortoise shells.
Therefore, he could only make a conservative estimate and didn't dare claim that the shell's value would exceed those gold coins since gold was much more precious than silver.
Strolling leisurely with four-square steps to the seaside, Chen Zhou found that after the tide receded, many broken seaweed pieces and fish and crabs were left on the sand.
Especially on the nearby reef, there was even more seaweed, resembling dark green ribbons.
"Can this stuff be eaten? It looks quite fresh."
Squatting beside a piece of seaweed, Chen Zhou curiously poked it with his hand.
In his hotown, seaweed typically appears in the dried form in shopping malls and supermarkets; seeing these pieces over a ter wide still dripping with seawater was a first for him.
The seaweed didn't have a strong odor, just the unique fishy sll of seawater. When he poked it, it wasn't sticky, just firm and elastic, seeming not to have spoiled.
"How about mixing so for pickles?"
After hesitating for a mont, in order to add up to four dishes and one soup for the New Year's Eve feast, Chen Zhou returned to the camp with a wooden bucket, filled half a bucket with river water, and soaked a few pieces of seemingly good condition seaweed in it.
After cleaning them thoroughly, he planned to divide the seaweed into three parts, sprinkle salt on the largest part, slice it, and dry it.
With the remaining seaweed, he would make so boiled dishes tonight, also prepare a cold dish with it, pairing these with seafood or bird at dumplings, promising a special flavor.
Carrying the bucket back to camp, Chen Zhou started fiddling with crabs and fish on the beach again.
To avoid accidentally touching poisonous jellyfish or the legendary blue-ringed octopus, he deliberately found a short stick to replace his hand.
Going west along the beach, he poked at gas holes, turning over with the short stick.
Most of what Chen Zhou saw were dead fish with their bellies up and very small crabs.
Occasionally, he'd encounter shells with bizarre patterns, completely different from the cat-eye snails or clams he was familiar with, all unfamiliar, making him afraid to pick them up.
"If only those people who made fake beachcombing videos found lobsters, geoducks, and large sea cucumbers from Australia here...
If that really happens, I would take back all the criticism and apologize to them."
Silently making a wish in his heart, hoping to encounter a fresh Australian lobster tied with hemp rope, Chen Zhou continued forward.
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