Hunting Wilderness: Starting with the Butcher

Chapter 53: Pottery Making and Jerusalem Artichokes!

After seeing off the program crew who came for their first inspection, Yuan Linghan proceeded with the plan as usual. The pottery she had made earlier was now almost dry and ready to be placed in the kiln for quenching and firing.

A brick kiln is actually made of clay and dried. Although it is stacked, it can still effectively lock in heat, ensuring that the flame temperature can be higher during the firing process of the air-dried pottery.

In Yuan Linghan's view, this brick kiln could later be converted into a baking oven or drying oven. In short, once the brick kiln is built and the pottery is fired, it will still have its uses. Grilling large pieces of meat is certainly more convenient and faster than open-air grilling.

The unfinished pottery bowls, pots, jars, cups, and other ceramic pieces are carefully placed into the brick kiln. Then, a smoke vent is left at the top of the kiln, and the rest of the kiln is sealed tightly. Finally, firewood is lit at the bottom of the kiln.

As the firewood roared to life, fiery red flames shot out from the smoke vents above the kiln, indicating the incredible temperature inside. Although this was Yuan Linghan's first time firing pottery, he knew it was just the beginning.

Sitting beside the roaring brick kiln, Yuan Linghan smiled and said, "This is my first time trying to fire pottery in the wilderness, and I don't know if I'll succeed in the end. But if I try a few more times, I should be able to fire the pottery I want."

After firing for nearly two hours, until even the clay bricks were scorching hot and red-hot, Yuan Linghan felt the kiln temperature was about right and stopped adding firewood. He even sealed the kiln after the flames had completely died down.

When firing pottery, some people choose not to seal the kiln and let the pottery cool naturally. However, Yuan Linghan believes that the large temperature difference between day and night here means that sealing the kiln to lower the temperature can reduce the probability of the pottery cracking. Moreover, pottery fired in a sealed kiln is harder.

Although this firing method is unprofessional, the pottery produced should be sufficient for Yuan Linghan's daily needs. And after the challenge ends, he probably won't take any of this pottery with him!

The kiln was completely sealed, and all that remained was to wait for it to cool completely before opening it. Yuan Linghan wasn't entirely confident that the firing would be successful. Even if the pottery cracked after firing, as long as the shape was still good, it could still serve as a vessel for placing items.

"The shelter is built, and the first batch of pottery has been fired. Next, I need to expand the hunting area and collect more edible supplies to store. Ten days have passed, and I think the snow season will arrive here soon."

After having lunch at the shelter, Yuan Linghan, armed with a bow and arrows, a hunting knife, and an axe, embarked on his first hunting expedition into the mountains. Heading deeper into the mountains, Yuan Linghan quickly reaped his rewards.

A grouse that was leisurely foraging for food was spotted by Yuan Linghan, who easily shot it dead with a single arrow. After draining its blood, the grouse was stuffed into a bag made of tarpaulin.

For Yuan Linghan, who went into the mountains to hunt, besides hunting animals, he hoped to find some plants rich in starch. If he could find such plants, he would be able to cope even if heavy snow blocked the mountain pass.

Fortunately, perseverance pays off. Reaching the edge of a valley, Yuan Linghan keenly spotted a patch of familiar-looking plants. Approaching for a closer inspection, Yuan Linghan exclaimed with delight, "Wow, everyone, guess what I found!"

As he said this, Yuan Linghan quickly bent down and went to the plant's root system, digging rapidly with his hunting knife. Before long, he unearthed several oval-shaped stems that resembled ginger.

This ginger-like tuber is known as Jerusalem artichoke in China. However, its scientific name is Jerusalem artichoke, and it is a common plant in North America. Although it resembles ginger, its taste is completely different.

For Yuan Linghan, these tubers are rich in fructose polymers such as starch and inulin, which, when eaten with meat, would undoubtedly enrich his diet. After eating meat for ten days straight, he craved carbohydrates even more!

Having confirmed that a large patch of Jerusalem artichokes was growing there, Yuan Linghan lost interest in continuing the hunt and began digging up the mature plants. If properly preserved, this food could last him until the end of his challenge.

They dug up all the Jerusalem artichokes in the area, reburying the smaller tubers. The remaining larger tubers were all packed up and taken away by Yuan Linghan. The entire waterproof bag was filled to the brim.

The pheasant they had hunted earlier was hung directly on their waist. Carrying a cloth bag full of Jerusalem artichokes, Yuan Linghan walked quickly towards the shelter. Anyway, there wasn't much time left before dark, and since this hunt hadn't yielded much, it wouldn't hurt to come back another time.

Having eaten meat for so many days, he was now eager to taste Jerusalem artichokes. Besides, these Jerusalem artichokes needed to be properly preserved. They looked like nearly twenty pounds, but if he ate them every day, they probably wouldn't last long.

But with this discovery, Yuan Linghan believes that Jerusalem artichokes can probably be found growing in other parts of this jungle area. As long as they stock up on this food before the snowfall, they won't have to worry about eating meat every day!

In the past, if someone said that eating meat could become tiresome, Yuan Linghan might not have believed it. But since arriving at Black Bear Bay, his staple foods have been rabbit and fish. Even with excellent cooking skills, eating too much of this would make him lose his appetite.

Now that he has collected these Jerusalem artichokes, he can finally change his diet, and he is naturally happy!

Back at camp, Yuan Linghan cleaned the grouse he had just hunted, keeping the edible innards and also preserving the intestines and other entrails. He planned to use them for fishing at the lake the next day.

Once the snow season arrives, fishing will become much more difficult. Although ice fishing is possible, who can guarantee that there won't be any problems walking on the ice? Even if you can break through the ice, who can guarantee that you'll definitely catch fish?

Instead of gambling on uncertainties, it's better to seize the current window of opportunity, catch as many fish as possible to store, and have a better chance of surviving the long winter. He thinks meat bait is far more efficient than artificial lures!

Wash the dug Jerusalem artichokes thoroughly and then place them in a well-ventilated area to air dry. Once no moisture is visible on the surface, proceed with storage. Only by accumulating resources can one have a better chance of success later.

Hunting large animals can still be done when the snow season arrives. On the other hand, if you don't seize the time now to fish and gather food, you may have no chance to find wild mushrooms and Jerusalem artichokes after the heavy snow closes the mountains.

Yuan Linghan kept the Jerusalem artichokes that were in good shape and undamaged, and used the others that were picked out as flaws for dinner. And the dish he was going to make tonight was, naturally, grouse stewed with Jerusalem artichokes.

As night fell again, feeling the noticeably stronger mountain wind, Yuan Linghan looked up at the sky and said with some worry, "Is it going to rain again? If it's freezing rain, it might be difficult for me to collect more Jerusalem artichokes later."

After talking to himself for a while, Yuan Linghan finally went into the shelter and began to stew grouse and Jerusalem artichokes in the soup pot he had brought with him. As for the seasonings he added, apart from salt, he did not add any other seasonings he had collected.

Before stewing the grouse, he rendered and preserved the skin and fat. These animal fats are precious in the wilderness. Not only chicken fat, but also the fish oil he collected from cleaning the fish earlier was rendered and stored.

These oils will be needed for frying and stir-frying the smoked and dried ingredients later. Compared to eating soupy food every day, Yuan Linghan prefers stir-fried food. That's why he needs to store more animal fats!