The rainy season brought new problems. The rock crevices on the sandy beach used to be ideal natural salt deposits, forming saturated brines that would precipitate edible sodium chloride crystals every so often.
But now, the brines in the rocky pits diluted by the rain had freshened back into ordinary seawater, or even fresher than ordinary seawater, unable to precipitate any salt crystals at all.
Lu Zhe tried looking around to see if there were any sheltered places with residual salt crystals left.
If it really came down to it, they'd have to boil seawater, but the purity and taste of the sodium chloride crystals extracted this way were far inferior to those produced naturally from brine.
He searched for hours but didn't find any.
July 16th, the 37th day stranded on the deserted island. Lu Zhe had Ning Shu and Tang Xiaoguo boil seawater while he himself went into the woods to look for food.
After all, the salt-boiling method Tang Xiaoguo had learned from somewhere could tide them over for a period of time.
They would have to wait for an opportunity to settle down and use vats to crystallize salt from brine.
Unexpectedly, Lu Zhe had originally gone into the woods to find food, but ended up finding "salt" there!
Saltwood!
Anacardiaceae, a deciduous tree!
The fruits inside the canopy bore white crystals. Lu Zhe tasted one, it was slightly sour with a prominent saltiness. This "salt" tasted much better than what they boiled out, though unfortunately it was a resin that couldn't provide sodium.
Still good though!
He could bring some back to season their food, and also soak it in water to make vinegar!
"Ding! Obtained medicinal item Maydis Fructus, +1 potential point!"
This thing was formidable, a famous traditional Chinese medicine, capable of stopping diarrhea, staunching bleeding, and reducing inflammation.
But it wasn't the fruit of the saltwood tree. Rather, it was a gall formed from aphid secretions on the saplings, easily reminding one of certain uncomfortable images from the Bug Valley of Yunnan.
He'd take it back for later use.
Returning to camp to try his luck by the seaside again, he found Ning Shu looking very pleased with herself. Turned out she had found a 20-plus kilogram sea turtle on the beach.
Lu Zhe looked at the sea turtle and nodded approvingly: "Not bad, we've got our protein for today."
"Lu Zhe, you're going to eat it?"
"What else?"
"Hey! Turtles are so docile and cute. When I flipped it over, it didn't resist at all, just like a human's best friend. How could you just say you're going to eat it like that?" Ning Shu said indignantly, then added lightly: "At least... give it a trial first!"
Lu Zhe almost spewed out a mouthful of blood.
"And you'd be totally fine with that?"
"Yup!"
"Well I can't think of any charges."
"Then... I know, my hand got cut when I picked it up!"
Lu Zhe nodded: "That's charge enough!"
Tang Xiaoguo had also finished boiling the salt. The white salt crystals looked no different from table salt.
He tasted some. Slightly bitter, still mixed with small amounts of magnesium chloride and potassium chloride. Couldn't eat too much of it, but occasionally supplementing their sodium intake with it shouldn't be an issue.
That night, they used the turtle shell as a pot placed over the campfire. Seasoned it with spicy salt, and enjoyed a delicious turtle feast.
On July 17th at noon, Lu Zhe brought the two girls back to the bear cave, finally reuniting with their companions.
Five days felt like a whole month. Meeting again inevitably aroused some emotional outbursts.
Once everyone had calmed down, Lu Zhe recounted what he saw and learned during the mountain ascent.
Shen Bing asked: "So you've decided to move?"
Lu Zhe nodded: "This move should be our last on Volcano Island. There's fresh water, mountain goats, and arable land there. It's also relatively close to the sea. I think it's the most ideal habitation site on this island."
Jiang Yao sighed: "We have gotten a little sick of it here. We should find a new place."
Lin Qianqian said: "When do we set off then?"
"We can start preparing today. Bring food and necessary tools, and we can head out tomorrow."
iaobai: "Councilor Dad, front me some funds. I want to hire ten thousand professional miners for a project!" [Five-Star Mission Issued: Capture the leader of the Blood Heaven Pirate Gang, who is on the run in the Radiant Star Sector. It is said the gang has over a hundred members. Proceed with caution.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, lend me the family's hundred-thousand-strong Lu Army!" [Seven-Star Mission Issued: Subdue a juvenile Void Dragon Beast.] Lu Xiaobai: "Councilor Dad, I'm taking your tamed Void Dragon Beast King out for a family reunion!" I said, System, don't you have any slightly more challenging missions? You're just not up to par! [Nine-Star Mission Issued: Become the Human Councilor.] Lu Xiaobai: "Dad, there's a small matter I'd like to discuss with you..."
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
igrating to the cultivation world for two hundred years, I've managed to lie low and reach the Nascent Soul stage. Only now does my golden finger arrive? ...
