Chapter 43: Preparations in Daily Life
Chapter 43: Preparations in Daily Life
Meanwhile, Linsey had already embarked on his return journey.
He headed towards the cemetery church in the east, reciting words under his breath:
"Joel's meticulously crafted backpack, let's give it a try."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Linsey activated his Portable Bag.
In the next moment, the newly acquired backpack transformed into a portable bag.
In the past, Linsey had tried transforming numerous backpacks into portable bags in town, but regardless of the material or size, the transformed bags only had a maximum of 30 slots.
However, Joel's meticulously crafted backpack directly increased the number of slots by a large margin!
It had a whopping 48 slots! At the same time, because Joel used his craftsmanship to create a well-organized compartmentalized effect for the backpack. So, after the transformation, a new "One-Touch Organize" icon appeared in the upper right corner of Linsey's Portable Bag.
Linsey immediately tested this new function.
He clicked on "One-Touch Organize," and the captured prey, miscellaneous items usually stored inside, and the prepared supply of fresh water in the backpack were instantly arranged neatly by category, making everything clear at a glance.
At the same time, it also disrupted Linsey's preferred arrangement.
"..."
Linsey's face turned black with frustration.
He meticulously rearranged the items back to his preferred order and only then set off again.
"Joel really put a lot of effort into this," Linsey sighed to himself.
As he expressed his admiration, Linsey soon returned to the cemetery church.
However, he did not go straight home but took a detour, heading to the forest next to the cemetery.
Here, several tall and majestic maple trees were growing.
At a height between 1.5 and 2 meters, the trunks of the maple trees were inserted with thin sap-collecting tubes, which channeled the maple sap. The other end of the tubes was connected to wooden barrels used to collect the sap flowing through the tubes.
This was the setup Linsey had arranged to prepare the necessary syrup.
He filled a wooden barrel with maple sap and put it into his portable bag, then carefully collected the tubes and treated the wounds before returning home.
"Mother Superior, I'm back!"
Linsey greeted as soon as he entered.
Red Moon was still sitting in the chapel, engaged in her seemingly unchanging prayer.
Upon seeing Linsey's return, Red Moon merely nodded slightly and reminded him, "I've left food for you in the kitchen."
Linsey was already accustomed to Red Moon's way of communication.
He nodded in gratitude and headed to the kitchen.
As usual, a loaf of bread and a bowl of vegetable soup were placed on the kitchen table.
Linsey ate his meal while placing the captured prey on the kitchen chopping board.
Five pine grouse, one wild rabbit, and three squirrels.
Due to the abundant harvest, Linsey did not turn in the other prey but kept them for himself.
He skillfully bled the prey, plucked the feathers, and skinned them.
Then, he separated the meat, organs, and fat.
At this step, the meat processing was almost complete, and from here on, it was just a matter of smoking or pickling for preservation.
But Linsey's actions did not stop there.
After dividing the meat, he took out the collected maple sap from his backpack.
Without modern collection equipment, the wooden barrel could not keep out tiny flying insects that came to steal a bite.
The bottom of the barrel was filled with drowned insects, like a layer of tiny sesame seeds.
"Why do you have to compete with me for food?"
Linsey muttered with a smirk.
He did not mind and carefully scooped out the insects from the maple sap. Then, he lit the stove in the kitchen again and started boiling the maple sap.
The process was simple, yet time-consuming.
Linsey boiled the maple sap, leaving behind the sweet maple syrup.
Fortunately, Linsey had the Cooking skill at the Mastery level, which greatly sped up the process compared to an ordinary person.
While the syrup was simmering, Linsey took out a mortar and pestle from the kitchen corner and began grinding flour.
Eventually, the flour, animal fat, lean meat, syrup, and a pinch of salt were mixed together. Linsey picked up a bit of the mixture with his fingers and tasted it.
"Hmm... Perfect!"
Then, Linsey started kneading it, forming it into a large brick-like shape.
After about a quarter of an hour, Linsey let out a sigh and took the food brick outside.
By now, night had fallen. Red Moon had just extinguished her lamp, and the starry sky enveloped the autumn night.
A gentle breeze blew through, bringing a cool sensation to the small courtyard within the church.
Linsey stretched lazily and chose a suitable spot.
He laid down a layer of hemp cloth on the ground, placed the freshly made food brick on it, and covered it with an insect-proof net.
"Finally done."
Linsey stood in the courtyard, gazing up at the vast sky.
In this weather, the mixture would take about a day to set. Once it was ready, Linsey would cut it into cookie-sized pieces, bake them in the oven, and then dry them again.
When this step was complete, the preparations would be finished.
The work was almost done.
This was the ration Linsey had prepared for himself—meat biscuits.
According to rumors, the first expedition team to conquer the polar region in his previous life had used similar dry provisions, which was a tribute to history.
However, the taste...
Even with the Cooking skill boost, the meat biscuits were not a joke when it came to their saltiness, sourness, astringency, greasiness, and bitterness.
But breaking through Black Mountain was not something that could be achieved by talking about it.
This was an expedition, and a truly long-distance expedition across the world!
Even though Linsey had good hunting abilities, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't find himself in an environment without access to prey. Therefore, these long-term storable and energy-rich dry provisions were essential preparations.
As long as the effect was good, Linsey could accept the taste.
This wasn't the first time Linsey had prepared meat biscuits.
After reaching the Mastery level in Cooking, Linsey would occasionally hunt and make these meat biscuits himself.
Over time, the biscuits accumulated.
Now, he had a total of 443 meat biscuits and a supply of clear water in his backpack.
At the same time, he was also prepared for other emergencies.
Using the plant knowledge taught by Finn, Linsey had collected two types of emetic seeds with different principles, three types of rapid hemostatic herbs, one type of mosquito-repellent plant coating, and coca leaves for stimulating the mind or numbing injuries.
Dong!
Midnight was approaching, and the town's bell rang to mark the time.
At this moment, the accelerated maple syrup was finally ready.
Linsey stored them in jars and put some in his backpack, leaving the rest in the kitchen for Red Moon to use.
After that, he returned to his cabin.
He carefully lit the oil lamp on the table and read The Explorer Phi and the Mountain Wild Woman for half an hour by its light.
Linsey's day finally ended, and he lay in bed, falling into a deep sleep.
Tomorrow, he had to go to the Lord's Manor, so he couldn't stay up late.
(End of Chapter)
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