American Hunting: Starting with Solitary Life in the Wilderness

Chapter 43 Sudden Weather Change
On the morning of the forty-fourth day, Lin Yu'an was awakened by an unusual howling sound.

He lifted the thick reed curtain, and a strong, cold north wind rushed into the stone house, making him shiver involuntarily.

Lin Yu'an walked outside the shelter, braving the biting wind, and pointed the camera at the lake. "The situation is not good, a strong wind has picked up!"

The once relatively calm surface of Lake Chirko was now turbulent, with white waves whipped up by the gale and crashing violently against the rocks on the shore, creating a deafening roar.

The sky was also terribly overcast, with thick clouds hanging low, threatening rain or snow at any moment.

Lin Yu'an frowned as he looked at the overturned canoe he had tied to a tree with a nylon rope on the shore.

"In this kind of weather, the Pioneer absolutely cannot be launched."

"With such big waves on the lake, my little boat would be no different from a leaf in this wind and waves. It's too dangerous."

The plan to go fishing was completely ruined, which cast a shadow over Lin Yu'an's mood.

He checked the gillnets last night and they were already empty. He planned to find a new spot to set the nets today, but the wind suddenly picked up so strong that he was destined not to be able to set the nets in the deep water today.

Back at the shelter, Lin Yu'an sat by the stove, feeling the warmth emanating from the terracotta bricks, but a sense of unease settled in his heart.

"Boat fishing and gillnet fishing are both out of the question for now. I have to think of other ways."

After a quick breakfast, the first thing he did was check the traps. He started by inspecting the lasso traps that he had set up along the rabbit trail in the forest.

However, after checking all four trap locations, the result was the same: they were all empty, without even a trace of being triggered.

"It seems that these little guys have all hidden themselves away during this windy weather and aren't coming out to play much."

He then tried searching the area near the spruce forest where he had previously found the grouse, but apart from the trees being blown about by the wind and the fallen leaves swirling on the ground, he didn't see a single grouse feather.

There was no other way but to stockpile more firewood in preparation for possible rainy days in the future.

Lin Yu'an returned to the shelter and opened his food storage bag, which was almost empty. There were a few pieces of smoked dried fish, a small handful of nuts, and some dried berries.

"The situation is indeed a bit serious."

"If I eat this food sparingly, it can last for two or three days at most. In other words, if no new food comes in tomorrow, I may run out of food."

A strong sense of food crisis, like the cold wind outside, began to invade his heart.

He realized once again how much luck had played a part in his previous successful hunts, whether it was beavers or grouse, and that the norm in the wilderness was scarcity and uncertainty.

"We can't stick to these few hunting methods anymore! I must take the initiative, expand the search area, and try new hunting methods."

The wind subsided slightly in the afternoon, but it was still cold. The waves on the lake were smaller, but it was still not suitable for canoeing.

Lin Yu'an didn't wait any longer and began to take action.

He first targeted potential food sources that he previously considered "not cost-effective" or "difficult to handle".

"Previously I mainly focused on meat, but now I can't let go of anything that can provide energy."

He recalled the rhizomes of some tall ferns he had discovered during his previous explorations.

"I know that the rhizomes of some ferns are rich in starch and are an important food source in some primitive tribes."

"But I need to identify it very carefully and process it correctly, such as soaking it for a long time, crushing it, and rinsing it to remove the toxic substances."

"This is a high-risk option, but if it can be confirmed to be a safe variety and the correct handling method is mastered, it can be a good emergency food."

He also thought of the inner bark of trees. In cases of extreme hunger, the tender inner bark of some trees, such as pine and birch, is edible and contains small amounts of sugar and nutrients.

In addition to these plant sources, he also turned his attention to smaller animals.

“I might not have looked down on those little creatures before, such as wood mice and field mice.”

Lin Yu'an looked at the camera with a complicated expression, "When it comes to survival, nothing is unacceptable. Protein is just protein."

He began carefully searching for traces of these small creatures around the shelter and near some dead trees and rocks, and tried to make some smaller, more concealed miniature traps.

For example, a "neck snare" made of thin thread, or a "miniature pressure plate trap" built with stone chips and thin wooden sticks.

While setting up miniature traps, he did not give up his desire for large prey.

Despite the bad weather, he decided to conduct a short tracking and reconnaissance mission. He wandered through the deep forest for more than three hours but still found no trace of any large animals.

As evening fell, Lin Yu'an dragged his weary body back to the shelter.

Today's results were still not ideal.

The identification and processing of fern rhizomes is too complicated, and he dared not try it lightly without being completely confident.

He scraped some of the inner bark of the tree, but after tasting it, he found it bitter and hard to swallow, so he could only use it as a last resort.

The numerous miniature traps set today yielded no results.

Lin Yu'an smiled wryly, "It seems that nature wants to test my limits."

The atmosphere inside the shelter was somewhat oppressive, and the scarcity of food weighed heavily on his mind like a boulder.

Lin Yu'an rubbed his somewhat cold hands and opened his food storage bag.

"Although today's exploration was not fruitful, life must go on, and dinner should not be taken lightly."

"Moreover, it is precisely at times like these that we need to ensure our energy intake so that we have the physical strength to meet tomorrow's challenges."

He took out several pieces of smoked dried fish from his food storage bag; these were pike he had caught earlier.

After being smoked, it has an appealing reddish-brown color and a faint smoky aroma, but it has also become somewhat dry and hard due to being stored for several days.

He then scooped out a small piece of solidified beaver oil from another small earthenware jar with a wooden spoon.

Lin Yu'an placed the stainless steel pot on the stove's burner. After the pot was heated, he used a knife to cut off a large piece of beaver oil and put it into the pot.

"Fuck-"

The beaver oil melted rapidly under high temperature, producing a pleasant sound, and a rich and unique aroma of oil instantly filled the stone house.

Once the oil temperature rises, he cuts the hard, dried smoked fish into appropriately sized pieces and then puts them into the hot oil.

"Smoked dried fish is quite dry and hard. Frying it slightly with beaver oil allows the fish to absorb the oil and become more moist, which also brings out a richer aroma."

"More importantly, it allows me to consume more beaver oil along with the smoked fish. I don't want to be eating only beaver oil one day."

Lin Yu'an carefully turned the fish pieces in the pot with chopsticks to ensure that each side was heated evenly and coated with the golden oil.

When the fish pieces were fried until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with an enticing golden-yellow color, Lin Yu'an took them out of the pan and placed them in a clean ceramic bowl.

There was no rice, no vegetables, only these few pieces of dried fish cooked with beaver oil and smoked. But in Lin Yu'an's eyes at that moment, this was undoubtedly a delicious meal worth looking forward to.

He picked up a piece of dried fried fish that was still piping hot, blew on it, and then eagerly put it in his mouth.

"Um--!"

Lin Yu'an's eyes lit up instantly, and his chewing became exceptionally enjoyable.

After being fried in beaver oil, the originally dry and hard smoked fish becomes tender and juicy! The smoky flavor is perfectly brought out and enveloped by the oil.

Lin Yu'an mumbled his praises, chewing quickly while savoring the pure satisfaction brought by the fats and proteins.

He ate the fried dried fish piece by piece with great relish.

He carefully scraped up even the bits of oil with fish scraps left in the bowl with his fingers and put them in his mouth, not wasting a single drop.

After finishing the last piece of fried dried fish, Lin Yu'an smacked his lips with lingering satisfaction, savoring the remaining aroma in his mouth.

He looked at the stainless steel pan that had just been used to stir-fry fish, with a layer of golden oil and some burnt fish bits still clinging to the bottom, and a shrewd glint in his eyes.

This chapter contains 2500 words.

The new book list is the same as this morning, unchanged.

Catch up with reading 3600 the day before yesterday.

Thank you to these 3600 readers!
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(End of this chapter)