Alaska Gold Rush Diary

The water in the pool is very clear, so you can clearly see many fish of all sizes swimming in it.

I ate palm hearts all day today. Although they tasted good, I still felt unsatisfied eating only vegetarian food.

Therefore, seeing the fish swimming around in the water and imagining the taste of cooking them into a pot of steaming soup, the two of them couldn't help but swallow.

As for the method of fishing, Zhou Xin had already made plans.

He pulled the high-quality replica of the BB gun out of his bag, a look of excitement on his face.

I've been busy these past few days and haven't had time to practice shooting at all. This is a good opportunity to practice properly.

Many of the fish in the pool swim in relatively shallow water, so the air gun is powerful enough to deal with them.

Zhou Xin loaded the steel balls into the magazine, drew his gun, and fired at the area where the fish were gathered.

The steel ball pierced through the chest and plunged rapidly into the water, barely making a splash.

The fish in the water scattered and fled.

A short while later, a small fish about ten centimeters long floated to the surface, belly up.

It hit the target on the very first shot!

Alo watched with wide eyes, his face full of admiration.

Of course, Zhou Xin knew very well that this did not mean that his American-style iaido had been perfected, but was simply because the fish had gathered too closely together, which was equivalent to increasing the target area.

Next comes the real practice and test of marksmanship.

By this time, the startled fish had dispersed and were no longer as clustered as before.

Moreover, most fish are swimming, making them moving targets, which naturally makes it much more difficult to hit them again.

But this suited Zhou Xin perfectly, as it was a good opportunity to practice his shooting.

Zhou Xin then instructed A Luo to gather firewood from the surrounding area, while he began to practice with complete concentration.

It must be said that hitting such a randomly moving target is indeed very difficult, especially since Zhou Xin was using blind firing.

Hidden shooting relies almost entirely on feeling and touch, essentially allowing the hand to aim directly, while the eye only serves to locate the target.

If he hadn't been practicing for a while, they probably wouldn't have had any fish to eat tonight.

At first, I hadn't gotten the hang of it yet, and after a dozen or so shots, I only managed to scare the fish into darting around.

However, after dozens of shots, his feel for the shot improved, and he finally hit the target once.

Seeing the fish rising to the surface, his confidence grew, and he continued shooting into the water.

Next, his accuracy began to rise, and he gradually began to get a feel for it in his mind and hands.

Later on, almost every shot hit at least one fish.

Before long, dozens of fish of various sizes were floating on the water.

Seeing this, Zhou Xin finally put away his gun with satisfaction.

He broke off a branch, waded into the water, and scooped the fish back up.

Roughly estimated, these fish weigh at least seven or eight pounds in total.

Alo had gathered a large pile of firewood, enough to keep the fire burning all night.

Zhou Xin built a stove on the shore and began preparing dinner for the day.

Since the two of them stopped moving forward very early today, it was still quite early, and the sun had just set.

Since there was a lot of fish, Zhou Xin knew he couldn't finish it all in one meal. He planned to cook some for dinner and smoke the rest to keep as food reserves.

He picked out a few of the fattest fish, gutted and cleaned them, and then began to cook them.

Heat oil in a wok, first add the wild ginger you picked along the way, then start frying the fish.

Pan-fry the fish until both sides are slightly browned, then add water and simmer.

Soon, the pot started to boil vigorously.

Next, Zhou Xin cut the porcini mushrooms that A Luo had just cleaned into pieces and put them into the pot to stew together.

Add salt, cover the pot with a few large leaves, and then wait for the delicious dish to be ready.

During this process, Zhou Xin cleaned up the remaining fish and laid them out one by one on the stones next to the fire.

Alo wasn't idle either; he set up the hammock tent for the two of them.

Finally, the porcini mushroom and fish soup is ready.

A Luo brought out bowls, and the two of them sat around the pot and ate.

The unique flavor of porcini mushrooms and the delicate taste of stream fish are perfectly matched, making it simply delicious!

Neither of them spoke; they simply focused on eating their fish soup.

After eating palm hearts for two days, they finally got to eat big bites of meat, and both of them felt very satisfied.

Tofu can be boiled a thousand times, fish ten thousand times; fish soup that's been simmering on the fire for a long time gets better and better the more you eat it.

After eating most of the fish and porcini mushrooms, Zhou Xin washed the eclipta prostrata he had collected during the day and scalded it into the pot.

Eclipta prostrata is crisp and tender. When blanched in a pot and dipped in fish soup, it becomes even more delicious, even rivaling porcini mushrooms.

Hot pot was a completely new food for A Luo, but judging from his satisfied expression, he really enjoyed this Chinese dish.

The two quickly finished the whole pot, even drinking the soup.

After finishing their meal, the two took off their clothes and jumped into the pool for a relaxing bath, also washing their dirty clothes clean.

After changing into clean clothes, the two sat on a rock by the fire and finally felt a moment of peace.

Zhou Xin boiled a pot of water, added a few wild ginger leaves, and brewed a pot of ginger tea. The two of them drank the tea and enjoyed this rare moment of comfort.

The tea was hot, their stomachs were full, the fire was burning, and they felt refreshed. This was arguably the most comfortable moment the two of them had experienced since they set off.

"Mr. Zhou, thank you for taking me under your wing. I have learned a great deal from you," A Luo said, unusually.

He had kept these words in his heart all day, and now he finally mustered up the courage to say them.

Zhou Xin smiled slightly and said, "You're welcome. I also need to thank you. If you hadn't reminded me yesterday, I might have been bitten by that sharp tongue."

Seeing the gentle smile on Zhou Xin's face, A Luo felt a warmth in her heart.

"I..." He wanted to say something, but ultimately couldn't get the words out.

Zhou Xin glanced at him, then remained silent and looked down at the map on her phone.

The two sat by the fire until night fell.

"You go to sleep first, I'll keep watch for the first half of the night," Zhou Xin said.

After last night's jaguar incident, Zhou Xin dared not sleep without a firelight anymore.

He wasn't sure if they were still within the jaguar's territory, so he had to prepare for the worst.

Moreover, because of the proximity to the pool, the sound of the flowing water is very loud, so if the jaguar gets close again tonight, they definitely won't be able to detect it.

Therefore, someone must keep watch tonight to ensure the fire continues to burn.

Without delay, Alo quietly slipped into the tent.

Although the sound of flowing water was loud, the two were exhausted after a long day of travel, and the noise did not affect their sleep.

As darkness descended, Zhou Xin stared at the fire before him, pondering his next course of action.

He had walked along this stream for so long, but he hadn't smelled any gold. I mean, there's no gold deposited in this stream.

They could only continue along the stream, hoping to reach the confluence and a larger stream or river, and then see if there were any traces of gold there.

In short, we can only keep moving forward.