Chapter 488: Chapter 485 Uninvited Guest
The eighth night.
The flickering campfire illuminated Bi Fang’s profile.
In a pit next to him, lay the fur of two peeled squirrels.
As for the at…
Bi Fang flipped the two spit rods in front of him, one on the left and one on the right, both squirrels plump and sizzling with fat, which he had to keep flipping to prevent the grease from dripping.
Animal fat is good stuff, not a drop to be wasted.
The squirrels were roasted until crispy on the outside and tender inside, but were not yet cooked through. Beside them was a string of various roasted insects, and before that, there was an essential step.
Bi Fang picked up a bamboo tube next to him and carefully moved it off the campfire.
The bamboo tube was split in half, filled with water, which was now bubbling rrily, and in the middle of the boiling water, a pale yellow crystalline structure stood like a “small mountain.”
This was a “salt mountain.”
The freshly extracted mineral salt could be eaten, but it wasn’t safe primarily because of bacteria—perhaps the part that Bi Fang scraped was just the spot the Wild Baizhi Ox had licked?
Even if no Wild Baizhi Ox had licked it, maybe there were other animals?
Even if no animal had licked it, the salt from the bat cave wasn’t safe either.
Furthermore, mineral salt contains not only salt but also many other impurities. Although eating a small amount is not an issue, it’s definitely not okay to consu a lot.
So, Bi Fang demonstrated the simplest way to reduce the risks to the greatest extent.
He first dissolved the mineral salt in pure water, heated it with fire until the salt solution boiled, continued to heat it on low fla until a large number of white crystals appeared in the container, and then stopped heating.
Boiling the water served a dual purpose: sterilization and taking advantage of the effect temperature has on solubility.
“The solubility of sodium chloride is minimally affected by temperature; at a normal temperature of 20 degrees, the saturation solubility is about 36 grams; when heated to 90 degrees, it’s only 39 grams.”
“Typical impurities, like potassium chloride and magnesium chloride, undergo significant changes in solubility as temperature increases. For example, with magnesium chloride, at a normal temperature of 20 degrees, the saturation solubility is about 55 grams; when heated to 90 degrees, it rises to 70 grams.”
Bi Fang scooped out all the salt grains with a small spoon; this was the third ti he had crystallized the salt.
Each ti, he would fill the container with water, boil it vigorously, steaming for at least half an hour before enough salt could crystallize.
“So when the solubility of sodium chloride in water reaches saturation, magnesium chloride is far from saturated. As the water temperature rises, the difference in their saturation solubility becos greater and greater.”
“In the end, as the water solution is heated to a certain high temperature and the water evaporates, sodium chloride begins to crystallize, while magnesium chloride is still completely dissolved in the water. That’s a preliminary purification,” he said.
After stirring with a stick, Bi Fang set it down and smiled, “This is content from junior high school chemistry; I guess everyone knows about it, right?”
[Ah yes, we know, Dog’s head]
[Did you learn that? It makes my head spin.]
[Returned it all to the teacher already.]
[I have a vague mory, but I’ve completely forgotten why to do it that way.]
[Indeed, if you’re good at math, physics, and chemistry, you can go anywhere in the world without fear. Old Fang’s skill could even let him take the college entrance exam.]
[Am I here to learn? Am I here to learn how to cook? What have I learned today? Three questions to ask myself daily.]
[Shrimp? And pig heart?]
Using a spoon, Bi Fang scraped the salt from the container, dissolved it again in pure water, and finally poured it into a container fitted with activated charcoal. The charcoal was sandwiched between clean large leaves, tied with several small holes at the top.
Bi Fang explained, “Since I don’t have gauze, my charcoal particles are quite large, so they won’t co out easily. Of course, there might be so charcoal ash, but that’s not a problem, eating a bit of charcoal is harmless.”
“This filtration is mainly for adsorbing impurities. After this step, the filtered brine is heated again, and once the salt crystallizes, it’s ready to eat.”
By the ti the salt crystals had precipitated again, the squirrels were roasted just right. This ti, Bi Fang did not char them but roasted them to a golden-brown status.
He picked up the bamboo tube with the brine, and under the firelight, although not very clear, the viewers could tell that compared to the original mineral salt, this batch of salt was much whiter, though the granules were large and very different from household table salt.
In fact, modern saltmaking is a highly industrialized and standardized process.
It evolved from the precise understanding of the composition of rock salt, comprehensive research in chemistry, and an industrial basis for saltmaking into the modern industry we see today.
To “simply” purify fine table salt in the wilderness is extrely difficult.
The wasted effort and energy aren’t worth it, and even if Bi Fang knew the process, he wouldn’t do it; obtaining coarse salt suitable for long-term consumption was already enough.
Bi Fang carefully pinched a pinch of salt from the tip of the little mountain and sprinkled it evenly on the roasted squirrel. The large salt grains imdiately lted into the hot oil and flesh upon contact and disappeared.
A stronger fragrance wafted up to his nose, Bi Fang tore the lemongrass into shreds and gently scattered it over the skin, adding a unique lemon scent to the already aromatic sll.
Fanning the aroma, Bi Fang took a deep breath, savored it for a long ti, then slowly exhaled.
“So fragrant!”
[I’m so hungry]
[It’s nine o’clock, ti for a late-night snack]
[Whoo Whoo Whoo, squirrels are so cute, how can you eat squirrels, whoo whoo whoo]
[So tempting, pah, so tempting]
[Salt truly is the king of flavors, envious]
His stomach had already started growling, and Bi Fang, unable to wait any longer, picked up a stick and bit into the at along with the bone, chewing heartily.
The abundant fat burst in his mouth, accompanied by a salty freshness he hadn’t tasted for a long ti. The bones, mixed with the flesh, were chewed into bony pulp, and everything was so delicious that he felt he could even swallow his tongue.
The two squirrels were eaten completely clean, not even leaving behind bone scraps; the insect skewers were equally crispy and delicious.
After a satisfying al, Bi Fang, still chewing on the stick, quickly brushed his teeth, then took a warm bath, before crawling into the hammock he had rigged up to sleep.
Surviving Day Nine in the Banna Rainforest.
Bi Fang got up early and followed the trail markers through the woods towards the campsite.
“If we really get lost in the forest, we can leave so clue-like signs for any potential rescuers, indicating you have been to this place and in which direction you’re heading.”
“A proper sign must let soone know at a glance that it is man-made and contains so information.”
“There are many ways to do this. If there are stones, you can use them; if not, wood, grass, or leaves can serve as markers. Moreover, it’s best to use more than one thod to increase redundancy and avoid destruction by animals or natural factors.”
Stones, pebbles, sticks, tall grass can all be used as markers.
Bi Fang used stones and tall grass together, stacking several fist-sized rocks and adding a knot of tall grass leaning in one direction to indicate distance through the number of tied grass knots.
One knot signifies fifty ters, so if there are three knots tied together, that ans the next marker is 150 ters ahead.
“In the rainforest, it’s better not to use pebbles because heavy rain could wash them away; it’s preferable to use fist-sized stones, stacking them into different shapes to indicate direction, and using trees to indicate distance. Basically, these are the two main elents.”
“Also, during the day, another effective way to attract rescuers is by burning grass and leaves, as thick smoke can reveal your position well.
At night, you can use any resources you have to create a large bonfire. If you have enough fuel, you should set up three fires in a triangle, each about 10 ters apart.
Of course, doing this is predicated on ensuring that you won’t start a forest fire, as that would almost certainly lead to a hundred-percent chance of perishing within it.”
Bi Fang chatted incessantly with the audience as he made his way to the campsite, sohow not encountering any mishaps.
By noon, that familiar shelter finally reappeared before everyone’s eyes.
“My God, I’ve finally arrived.”
Bi Fang dropped the heavy bark fra to the ground, stretching his sore shoulders. His forehead was dripping with sweat after running all morning, nearly succumbing to exhaustion as he had run out of water.
He had discarded all the tools he could, and now, on his person, all that remained was a grass skirt, a wooden spear, Stone Dagger, red clay powder, so materials, a few bamboo tubes and funnel bags, and lastly the bark fra, which was covering the hard-earned iron bacteria, topped with a conical hat.
He had even discarded the raincoat because it was too heavy.
“It’s been almost four days since I’ve been ho. Let’s not go in just yet. I chose an uphill location so rainwater is less likely to collect here, but that may have attracted a lot of insects to gather. Let’s smoke them out first.”
Bi Fang pulled up the inconspicuous yellow chrysanthemum at his waist, bundled it with lemongrass, and lit it on the fire.
“This is pyrethrum I found on the way this morning. People cultivate it specially for pest control because its flower head contains four insecticidal components, including Pyrethrin I and II and Cinerin I and II. However, they are all easily hydrolyzed and vanish, so keep it away from water.”
[Wait, isn’t this chrysanthemum used for making tea?]
[This thing can kill insects?]
[Damn, is it safe for humans to eat it?]
[It can’t touch water, so can it touch fire?]
“This isn’t Hangbai chrysanthemum used for tea; it just looks similar. You guys wouldn’t usually co across it, it’s grown for industrial pesticides, and it’s rare in the wild.”
Bi Fang tossed the smoking pyrethrum inside the shelter and waited quietly for the smoke to spread.
“Its insecticidal action works by paralyzing the insects’ nervous systems, and it’s quite potent. Generally, after being paralyzed and knocked out, insects can recover within 24 hours; houseflies will be paralyzed within 10 minutes, and the mortality rate is about 60-70%.”
“It’s also poisonous to arthropods, fish, amphibians, and reptiles; however, it’s not clearly toxic to birds or mammals. So we don’t need to worry too much about it causing harm to humans.”
The drone approached the ground near the shelter, and the audience could clearly see insignificant little insects struggling to flee outward.
So who were too slow didn’t even make it out of the smoke range before they started to slow down, and soon after, they lay on the ground, motionless.
[Holy shit, that’s so potent poison!]
[Can it kill mosquitoes? I’ve been nearly eaten alive these past few days]
[I want to try this in my house too]
About half an hour later, Bi Fang entered the shelter and extinguished the pyrethrum.
“Without pyrethrum, we can use pine needles or sage, which have the sa effect, but the waiting ti will be longer. They work best in a sealed environnt; at ho, however, this thod can be used for insect repellent. Let’s skip pyrethrum, it’s toxic no matter how you look at it.”
Bi Fang rummaged through the shelter he hadn’t visited in a long ti, picking up several stunned stiff insects and tossing them out.
He also swept up the leaves blown in by the wind, but no sooner had he cleared a patch than a giant paw print caught everyone’s attention.
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