January 29th, early morning.
The sun had not yet risen, and Chen Zhou was already awake.
Yesterday's excessive sleep made it impossible for him to sleep a full eight hours.
Despite his reluctance to face it, the most troubling issue had occurred—his biological clock was disrupted.
Normally, he would get up about two hours later and start his day's work.
Now, due to working late the day before and sleeping heavily yesterday, he couldn't sleep during the ti he should be sleeping or work during the ti he should be working.
Based on his past experience of staying up late, Chen Zhou estimated that he would feel sleepy around four or five in the afternoon today.
If he wanted to correct his sleep pattern, he couldn't take a nap, no matter how sleepy he felt in the afternoon, and must stay awake until the normal rest ti.
Doing so might make him wake up slightly later tomorrow, but by the day after, he could return to normal.
If he went with his instincts and slept whenever he felt sleepy, adjusting the sleep schedule might be a hassle, potentially remaining a ss even two or three weeks later.
...
After taking care of the daily necessities, Chen Zhou routinely checked on Tizi's injuries.
When he opened the box lid, the sudden bright light made Tizi's pupils shrink from round to a fine needle.
It gazed quietly at the dried fish in Chen Zhou's hand with its beautiful light green eyes, looking very eager to eat.
But out of a wild animal's caution or a feline's natural reserve, it neither made a sound of begging nor stretched its claws to reach out.
Holding the dried fish in one hand, Chen Zhou tentatively extended his other hand to touch Tizi's head.
ow~
The close contact with an unfamiliar animal made Tizi extrely uncomfortable, and it let out a sharp cry as if electrified, retreating to the other side of the wooden box.
Seeing Tizi still highly vigilant against people, Chen Zhou couldn't force dostication, so he had to throw in the small dried fish, covered the box again, and left the place.
Compared to the sensitive Tizi, the Little Dragon Cat seed overly carefree.
Since being captured in the kiln cave, it only showed slight discomfort on the first day, even scratching the wooden box to escape.
Soon after, it succumbed to the abundance of food, spending its days eating and sleeping, now starting to grow towards the size of Xiao Huihui.
Whenever Chen Zhou cleaned the waste in Tizi and Little Dragon Cat's nests, he always marveled—this little thing produces more droppings than a cat.
Having seen videos online of chinchillas bathing in dust, Chen Zhou always wanted to gather so dry, fine dirt, put it in a bowl, and let the Little Dragon Cat try it.
But this period he was busy handling various tasks, leaving no ti to bond with the chinchilla.
Worried that the Little Dragon Cat might "run away," not obediently bathing when released, but instead being focused on escaping, Chen Zhou never dared to try.
Perhaps one day when the Little Dragon Cat can beco as responsive as Lai Fu, called to co and go, he might enjoy watching the chinchilla's adorable bathing behavior.
...
On the 29th, Chen Zhou started hauling seal at from early morning until dusk, completing the task.
Accustod to carrying rocks up the mountain from the Broken Cliff all day, he was used to the feeling of full wooden buckets, a few hundred pounds of at and bones were no big deal.
If not for the distance, he would have finished it long before.
During the latter part of the transporting work, as he expected, the drowsiness from lack of sleep interfered with his concentration.
But there was wind in the mountains, and insects and birds chirped in the woods.
The natural environnt drove away his sleepiness.
And the rugged roads, though slightly tiring, didn't make him crave sleep imnsely.
So he hardened himself and persisted.
On the final trip, Chen Zhou unleashed Lai Fu, bringing the dog longing for freedom back to the kiln cave with him.
During dinner, he roasted so seal at for Lai Fu, Xiao Huihui, and Tizi.
Lai Fu and Xiao Huihui unconditionally trusted Chen Zhou and ate whatever he gave.
Tizi remained wary, refusing to touch the roasted seal at placed beside it as long as anyone was watching.
Only when the wooden box was tightly closed, and the surroundings dark, gaining a slight sense of security, would it start to eat on its own.
After the al, Chen Zhou wanted to push a bit longer, and with the fire not yet extinguished and the large iron pot still hot, he planned to cut so seal fat to render Seal Oil.
Stepping outside and glancing at the sky, feeling that the ti was about right, he realized that sleeping too late would be detrintal.
Cleaning up the dishes and tying Lai Fu at the field's edge, he went back to the room to sleep.
...
January 30th.
Waking up at the familiar ti, pleased for his routine's return to normal, Chen Zhou suddenly rembered he forgot to mark the calendar for the past three days.
So he crawled out of bed without even putting on clothes, fetched the wedge of pineapple wood and the dagger, and sat at the bedside to make the three markings.
Looking closely at the densely packed markings on the wooden block and counting them carefully, 122 days, not more, not less, Chen Zhou breathed a sigh of relief.
Like completing daily tasks, such as feeding pets, tending to fields, and feeding sheep, he began today's important task—rendering Seal Oil.
Chen Zhou knew very little about creatures like seals.
He was utterly ignorant of the techniques and special steps required for rendering Seal Oil.
At his hotown, he only had seen the detailed process of rendering pork and mutton fat and guessed that seals might not be vastly different from pigs or sheep. Heating the large iron pot, with seal at chunks, salt, and cool boiled water ready, Chen Zhou prepared for his first attempt.
As the large seal had been skinned, the small seal's skin was still attached to the at, and he brought only small seal at.
While rendering oil, he could peel off the small seal at's skin and fur, saving them for tanning.
The large seal's whole skin could be made into a rug, while the small seal's skin could be made into a handkerchief or cloth.
He could also sew the small seal skins into a seal skin tapestry, placing it next to the large seal, reuniting the couple.
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