Desert Island Survival: I took my concubine and raised wolf cubs

Chapter 59 Disappointment
Cotton is a light-loving plant and has very high requirements for light.The more light there is, the more vigorously it will grow and the higher the quality of the cotton it will produce.

At the same time, during the growth process of cotton, the temperature and moisture required are higher than other plants.

If the temperature is low and the water is insufficient, its growth will be slow and delayed, resulting in reduced yield, late maturity and reduced quality.

Plants, like animals, will choose a suitable place to live.

Therefore, Wen Xian specially picked sunny areas to find cotton.Unfortunately, after half a month of searching, nothing was found. However, there were more and more mushrooms and wild vegetables in the cave.

In the past half month, except for some small game such as pheasants and hares, they had not encountered any other large beasts such as wild boars when they went into the mountains.

Wen Xian was helpless and frustrated. After coming back for dinner, she collapsed in the cave and refused to move.

The corner of Wu Junlan's mouth moved slightly, and she couldn't help but said: "Madam, why don't you go to the other side of the mountain?"

"No." Wen Xian refused without thinking, "There must be wolves or other large beasts on the other side of the mountain, so we can't take risks."

She recently discovered that this side of the cave is shady because she was looking for cotton.Although there is still plenty of sunlight, the lighting time is shorter than on the back.

It has no impact on life, but it does have an impact on plant growth.

Thinking of the howling of wolves that she had not heard for a long time, Wen Xian guessed that those large beasts were on the top of the mountain, or on the sunny side of the other side of the mountain.

Cotton is what you need, but your life is more important.Rather than looking for cotton among wolves, she would rather settle for the next best thing and choose to burn more charcoal.

"What if." Wu Junlan gritted her teeth and said unwillingly, "What if there are no wolves? Surrounded by mountains on all sides, we only found two sides. Moreover, we didn't go to the top of the mountain. Maybe the wolves are on the top of the mountain, so we won't go to the top of the mountain. That’s it.”

Seeing that winter was coming, living in such a leaky and damp cave, she was really worried that they would not survive the winter and would freeze to death in this winter.

However, Wen Xian remained unmoved.There are already speculations, why should I go to die?

"No one is allowed to go." She sneezed, gathered her petticoat, and turned over to face the cave wall. "From tomorrow on, the fourth child will sew a leather jacket out of pigskin. I will draw a sample for you, and you will follow it. That’s it. Others chop wood and prepare charcoal.”

Ancient costumes are cumbersome and they have to be made according to this format. The pigskin can only be used to make a short leather jacket.

She followed the method of making coats in her previous life, so she had to make a medium-sized leather coat.

I don’t know if it’s because of being surrounded by the sea, but the temperature has dropped extremely quickly recently.Even though it's only September, Wen Xian feels like winter has already entered.

The clothes they originally wore could no longer withstand the cold wind. They could no longer wait and had to get the charcoal out as soon as possible.

Otherwise, they might freeze to death or be smoked to death in the cave before they can find cotton.

In addition to burning charcoal, we also have to work hard to save more dry reeds, foxtail grass and other hay, and then make them into hay quilts, which can at least resist the cold.

"But..." Wu Junlan opened her mouth and wanted to say something else, but was interrupted mercilessly by Wen Xian.

"It's nothing, that's it." Wen Xian turned away from her and said, "If anyone doesn't listen to the instructions and runs up the mountain, he will be responsible for his life or death. I will not save him from the wolf's mouth." people."

Wu Junlan's expression was dark and unclear, and she said with a sullen face: "I understand, madam."

After a sleepless night, after breakfast early the next morning, Wen Xian went to the woods with a knife.

The right wood is crucial to the quality of charcoal.

Generally speaking, hardwood is more suitable for burning charcoal than softwood, and it is easier to produce high-quality charcoal.For example, oak, teak, hickory, etc.

When choosing wood to burn after cutting down the tree, you must ensure that the wood is dry, free of insects, and of moderate thickness.

Wen Xian didn't plan to use the firewood stored in the cave. She planned to cut down the trees to burn charcoal.After choosing a suitable tree, Wen Xian took turns cutting down the tree with others.When it's almost done, chop the trunk into pieces about one meter long.

If there is a thick tree trunk, cut it open and chop it into wrist thickness.

Afterwards, place the chopped wood pieces in a ventilated place to dry.Allow the water in the wood block to gradually evaporate and dry out.

This step alone took a full week.

The temperature dropped a few degrees again, and Wen Xian vaguely regretted not cutting the wood to dry earlier.

Although there is sunshine these days, it is not as warm as in the past.

She raised her eyes and looked into the distance. There were dark clouds approaching densely, and there was a faint tendency of rain.

Wen Xian couldn't help but panicked and said: "It's going to rain, hurry up and try to burn two piles of charcoal tomorrow."

She glanced at Wu Junlan and said, "Second brother, come here and help me, and let's stack the wood together."

Don't think that she didn't know what Wu Junlan was paying attention to. Just when she saw Wu Junlan shrinking her presence and walking out with a knife, she knew that Wu Junlan wanted to go up the mountain.

Wu Junlan hadn't given up the idea of ​​going to the hills behind to find cotton, and Wen Xian felt helpless and powerless.

She knew that Wu Junlan relied on the fact that she was from a family of military generals and had some foundation in kung fu, so she was not afraid of anything and wanted to challenge him.

But if their strength was really enough, how could she not want to find cotton?

After all, they were too weak, and she couldn't bear to watch everyone die.

"Yes, madam." Wu Junlan reluctantly moved over and followed Wen Xian like a puppet on strings.

Wen Xian sighed deeply in her heart and began to play with the dried wood blocks.

There are many ways to burn charcoal, and Wen Xian chose a relatively simple method.

First, stack the dried wood blocks next to each other, vertically, like a pyramid, with the layers stacked upward and outward.

It was the first time to make charcoal. Wen Xian did not dare to waste a large amount of firewood, so she could only make a small pile first.

After stacking the firewood, use the mixed clay to paste it up along the periphery of the firewood to form a cellar.

The earth cellar is in a sealed stacked state, with a bowl-sized hole at the top for igniting fire.

Leave three small holes in a circle at the bottom of the cellar for ventilation, and then use a dagger to draw an earthen door along the soil.

There is no need to open the earthen door now, it will be opened after it is burned.The purpose of marking it out now is to prevent the burned soil from being too hard to scratch.

When everything was ready, they started lighting a fire in the hole at the top of the cellar.After igniting the fire, slowly stuff it into the earth cellar, and the fire will burn slowly from top to bottom.

After the fire is completely burning, seal the hole at the top of the cellar and wait for the wood to burn and char.

During the carbonization process, the moisture and volatile substances in the firewood are gradually released, leaving behind the carbonized charcoal.

Wen Xian learned this method from watching wild survival videos in her previous life, but she has never tried it, so she doesn't know if it can be successful.

Fortunately, only a quarter of the firewood was used to be on the safe side, so even if it failed, there was still a chance to save it.

(End of this chapter)