Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

The drone flew high above, looking down on the wilderness where two tiny figures busied themselves repairing a rocky cave entrance.

They stripped the bark from tree trunks, fashioned them into threshold-like long strips, and placed them at the very bottom of the cave entrance, digging out the mud from beneath the boulders and wedging small stones into the gaps to secure them firmly in place.

Stones were used to fill the bottom layer, with long wooden strips stacked on top, and Bi Fang had even carved many small grooves into the timber to add texture to the wall surface.

The wooden strips were connected using mortise and tenon joints, a simple yet practical solution.

Once stacked, the construction resembled a solid layer of wooden wall, leaving only two openings: one was a stone flue leading outside for smoke, and the other, smaller than the original cave entrance, would be fitted with a wooden door.

Wooden boards were joined using wooden pegs, and the final piece, with two protruding cylinders, would be fitted into recessed pits in the wooden wall to form a hinged door.

Finally, a roof needed to be installed.

"The original cave might leak water through the gaps between the boulders, so we need to construct a tiled roof. It doesn’t have to be too complicated; we just chop the trees into circular slices."

With just a segment of a tree, Bi Fang and Baus managed to split many circular slices. Although not pretty and uneven in thickness, they were adequate for use.

Laid out neatly on the roof, the slices overlapped like tiles, and with appropriate waterproofing at the very top, rainwater would simply flow down the "tiles."

The solution was straightforward: placing a straight stick at the very top, covering it with clay, and baking it with fire until it was dry and fixed in place.

After these efforts, the cave no longer resembled a rocky structure; instead, it looked more like a wooden hut.

The fans expressed their envious admiration.

[A Hobbit’s abode]

[So cool]

[The secret base of my dreams]

[Such efficiency! It’s only eight o’clock, and a wooden hut has been built in less than a day?]

[That’s not all, they even foraged for food and sun-dried saltwater in the meantime.]

At eight o’clock, Bi Fang looked up at the twilight sky, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and headed to the pit where he had been making salt earlier, with a concave stone slab in the middle.

Inside it was the yellow crystalline substance that had precipitated from the roasting flames.

After washing his hands, Bi Fang tasted some of the grains, and the salty flavor mixed with a faint bitterness spread through his mouth.

Salt could be extracted from a mixture of wood ash and seawater filtered through clothing. After several rounds of boiling the filtrate to dryness, coarse salt was produced.

Despite not completely filtering out impurities, such salt from the ocean was enough to fulfill the short-term sodium needs; at the very least, it would greatly enhance the flavor of the food.

Salt truly is the foremost of all flavors!

Estimating the time left until nightfall, Bi Fang said, "There’s about an hour left before it gets dark. Let’s go out into the wild and see if we can find more spices."

Spices often had distinct and strong flavors, and with his keen sense of smell, Bi Fang actually found two additional spices: sage and dill, both found near the river.

They looked indistinguishable from the weeds, yet they were excellent for preparing meat.

The aroma of sage was intense, a common ingredient in men’s fragrances.

Dill was less familiar to many people.

"This herb is native to Western Asia but is now mainly produced in the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe. It looks similar to fennel but has a more pungent scent. It’s particularly suitable for cooking fish as it helps remove the fishy smell, and the dill leaves can be eaten directly or dried for a fragrant seasoning," explained Bi Fang, inhaling deeply and looking blissful.

With salt and three kinds of spices, tonight’s dinner was destined to be a feast.

Baus could hardly wait, "Can we head back now?"

"Wait a second," Bi Fang glanced at the swaying reeds by the river, "We’ve come across some reeds; we can harvest some to make a mattress."

"A mattress?"

"That’s right."

Bi Fang handed the knife to Baus, and together they cut a large bundle of reeds.

This plant can be seen by nearly every river around the world.

After cutting the reed rhizomes to the same length, Bi Fang tied them into small bundles using tree rope, and soon the audience understood that he was actually making a mattress.

The reed stalks were very elastic and tied up quite thick, making them soft and comfortable to lie on, almost as good as modern mattresses, though the noise could be a bit loud.

Whenever one turned over, a loud friction sound could be heard.

Baus lay down to try it and exclaimed, "You’ve really changed my perception. I’ve never seen anyone make wilderness survival so enjoyable—houses, soft mattresses, delicious spices and food."

[Is this what a big shot looks like?]

[To me, other people’s survival looks just like being in prison]

[Being in prison, haha]

"It’s time for dinner."

Bi Fang carried the mattress on his back and brought a handful of spices back to the shelter, where he started a fire and began cooking.

He crushed the spices and spread them evenly on the remaining barracuda, tossing all the shellfish into a wooden trough and stewing them in brine, also sprinkling in the crushed spices.

Finally, there was the fern he hadn’t eaten at noon, which he also stewed in clean water.

Soon, two meat dishes and one vegetable dish were served on the table.

One plate held tender boiled fern leaves, one a messy stew of shellfish, and the last smoked barracuda, sprinkled with crisp spice leaves, fragrant and rich.

By then, the sky had completely darkened, and the bonfire roared into life, the wood cracking and popping, sending out sparks.

A faint scent of fireworks spread into the air.

Both of them dragged a rock over to sit opposite each other.

It didn’t look like wilderness survival at all but more like a holiday getaway.

Baus gazed at the three dishes in front of him, reluctant to eat, and excitedly took out his phone to take a selfie with the two of them.

With the click of the camera, the moment was captured forever.

Under the starry night sky, Baus had his arm around Bi Fang’s shoulder, both smiling broadly.

In front of them, the bonfire blazed, scattering sparks, with the vast wilderness behind them and a wooden hut with patterns.

The fern was crispy and delicious, several times better than eating it raw, and the salt-soaked fish also brought out a richer flavor, with the fishy taste barely detectable.

For a moment, everyone forgot that this trip was fundamentally about survival.

After dinner, the two-person journey came to an end.

As the helicopter’s rotors spun, Baus had to shout to be heard.

"This will be the most special trip of my life; it was beautiful, and though very tiring—I can even feel my thigh muscles trembling now—but the knowledge you shared, your experiences, oh, and your fish, were all great. I feel they were even tastier than what I’ve had in most restaurants."

"I think you’re fully capable of opening a restaurant in Central Country."

"I’ll consider it."

Bi Fang waved to Baus with a smile.

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"Well, it was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Fang. Goodbye!"

"Goodbye!"