Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness

I'll save a spot here,

Finish editing before 3 AM,

Just to prevent piracy.

So busy these past couple of days, almost everyone at home has gone yang, got to wear masks even inside...

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"Ah, this is the life!"

Bi Fang took a bite of meat, tenderloin nestled near the spine, often stretched, free of any sinew or fascia, making it exceptionally tender, a burst of flavor with each bite.

A hint of smoky aroma lingered before his lips and teeth, dispersing the slight chill of the savanna night.

The wooden bowl beside him now held water warmed to the perfect temperature. He took a sip, feeling entirely at ease, as though a breath of fresh air had traveled from his Heavenly Spirit Cover straight down to his tailbone.

The cheetah, Harley, let out a meow, unfortunately, Bi Fang didn't share any morsels of meat with it.

The creature had its fill of raw food at noon; it was merely being greedy now, not warranting any attention.

After finishing off the entire skewer of meat on the branch, Bi Fang felt his belly swell, a rare indulgence in good food led to overeating, and his stomach worked overtime to convert the meat into energy, continuously flowing into his limbs and body.

It was somewhat cold when night had just fallen, but now he was feeling quite warm, even sweating a little.

[Eat big chunks of meat, drink big sips of water (joking)]

[Envious, outdoor barbecue]

[That's the real deal, going into the wilderness and not getting eaten is already a win]

Under the envious gaze of his audience, who had just enjoyed an outdoor barbecue, Bi Fang came to two dry deer hides, scraping repeatedly with a small piece of wood across the skin to ensure no residual fat or subcutaneous tissue remained.

This process would enhance the overall quality of the hides, achieving a softer touch in the end.

Having done all that, Bi Fang added some wood to the fire, adjusted the hides to ensure they wouldn't catch fire, then he took the wooden bowl, poured in some water and fat, ready to render some grease.

The animal was a treasure from head to toe, two turn-horned antelopes greatly enriched Bi Fang's resources, whether food or tools.

Setting the wooden bowl over the fire, Bi Fang stripped off excess tissue, tied it with tree rope, and hung it above the campfire to smoke.

During the day, the temperature on the African Savanna hovered around twenty degrees Celsius, and without some processing, food would easily spoil at such temperatures, becoming inedible, especially with various mosquitoes and insects on the savanna which could infect the meat with unknown viruses and parasite eggs with just one bite.

"The mosquitoes in Africa are infamous, so we should try to avoid lingering by rivers or forests, and if you're here on vacation, you can use insecticide, but remember, using it can harm the environment and increase mosquito drug resistance, so it's best to use it as little as possible."

"Also, wear light-colored, long-sleeved clothing to cover your skin as much as possible, and when camping, use mosquito nets and coils, the ones soaked in insecticide work best."

"If you're not a tourist, but a stranded traveler, actually, a long time ago, I demonstrated some techniques for this situation, like rubbing red clay. You can dig up the soil to find it, dry it simply, sterilize, and then apply it directly to your skin. For better results, add some aromatic substances or specific plants to the clay, like this one."

Bi Fang pulled out a piece of branch from his backpack, the leaves were clearly left on purpose.

When he took it out, the Gambian pouched rat Jerry was still hanging on the branch, evidently he had just been fiddling with the leaves, up to who knows what.

[What's this?]

[Another plant I don't recognize]

[Master Fang always picks some weird stuff to keep in his backpack, could be spices, could be herbs; I'm used to it now.]

It's not every time something is picked that there's an opportunity to explain.

Many times, Bi Fang would come across some useful plants, either while explaining a certain knowledge point or completing a task.

As a professional, he would instinctively pick and store them in his pouch, only recalling to explain to the audience when he needed to use them, just like now.

He found this plant not far from the Turn-horned Antelope herd, shortly after collecting his spoils, he picked it and left in a hurry to leave, not having time to explain to the audience.

"What I have in my hand is a section of a branch from the 'Mosquito-Repellent Tree,' its leaves contain a substance called 'Citronellal,' which is a natural mosquito-repelling organic compound."

"Under high temperatures, 'Citronellal' is released from the leaves into the air, thus achieving the effect of repelling mosquitoes."

"Many Africans build their houses under this kind of tree to avoid mosquitoes, and I reckon that's what that group of Turn-horned Antelopes thought too, when they gathered near that tree."

Plants that can repel mosquitoes often do more than that; they can also drive away flies, lice, or other small insects.

Especially in places like the riverbank, many animals will unconsciously go to areas with fewer mosquitoes.

"If you can't find red clay or distinguish the plants, there's one last simple method, and that is to find the dung of herbivorous animals and smear it on your body, which can achieve a similar effect, and the general African people use cow dung."

Bi Fang picked a few leaves from the Mosquito-Repellent Tree, tore off the outer film, and rubbed it directly onto his skin, smearing it so that the juice came out, along with a faint fragrance in the air.

Especially on his cheeks and arms, he rubbed repeatedly to make sure they were coated with enough scented substances.

Now, he could finally have a good night's sleep.

The previous few nights had been cold, and Bi Fang was dressed very neatly, yet he couldn't escape the buzzing sound in his ears.

Not until the fat had also been rendered and all the work was nearly done, did Bi Fang turn off the live broadcast and, accompanied by Harley, slowly slip into dreams.

Plants often have an incredibly vigorous vitality; the next morning, as Bi Fang looked out over the savanna, he could already see the thin greenery, not sure if it was due to the arrival of the wet season or because he and the leopard had gradually moved to a different area.

[Morning, Master Fang, what are we doing today?]

[Are we going hunting again?]

"Hunting is not urgent for now; we still haven't sorted out our spoils."

After cleaning himself, Bi Fang poured out the hardened fat, mixed it with wood ash and leaves from the Mosquito-Repellent Tree, and made a bar of soap at the correct ratio.

Its use was obvious—for cleaning the body.

During the many days of travel, Bi Fang had yet to bathe, and he was very uncomfortable.

But first, he needed a water storage container.

The rivers in Africa were not safe to enter, so he had to heat water in a container for washing.

Bi Fang had containers, like kettles and stomach pouches, but they were all too small for bathing and too bothersome, and the stomach pouch was currently filled with clotted blood, which was even more of a problem.

"I'm planning to make a pottery jar; first, I need to see if there's any clay nearby."

[This scene seems familiar.]

[I remember, a pottery was made when we did iron smelting.]

[That's why it looks so familiar.]

[I'm going to check out the highlights from the past.]

Bi Fang started looking around the campsite.

He needed a pottery jar, not necessarily for the luxury of bathing; there were many other uses for it, so it wouldn't go to waste.

"Pottery crafting is among the earliest technologies developed in human culture, with many containers still in use today being made with natural river bed clay, combined with the simplest handcrafting and firing techniques. The containers you make yourself might be rough, but they will serve as your cooking and dining tools, and also for boiling water for baths."

"In a wilderness survival environment, you can't buy ready-made clay, but you can find many natural materials readily available around you."

"Most clay is formed after granite is weathered by wind and sun, and it can be found almost anywhere; however, it's best to dig at river bends to find clean, unstained clay, because the best clay deposits are likely to be found there."

Bi Fang arrived next to yesterday's river. This wasn't where the hunting had taken place, and after checking for safety, he found a good spot and started digging, quickly finding clay.

Bi Fang had already demonstrated the production process earlier, but considering some people might not know, he went over it again.

To make pottery, a high temperature for the flame isn't required; you don't need a blast furnace or charcoal. Just dig a pit, and plenty of firewood will be enough.

"The tricky part comes with shaping. Small pots can be handcrafted directly, but not large pots. If they're not smooth enough, they're prone to cracking during firing, so we have a little trick, which is to roll the clay into smooth, rounded strips and stack them, layer by layer. This can prevent explosions due to lack of smoothness to some extent."

"Ah, a new method."

"I haven't learned this one!"

"Another day of gaining knowledge, take notes, take notes!"

"Kid, pay attention, you've got stuff to learn."

Many viewers who had watched the iron smelting episode were also piqued with curiosity.

Another brand-new trick.

Just when the audience thought they had learned all of Master Fang's tricks, he always came up with something new and novel.

Bi Fang found a clean, tidy stone slab, remoistened the sun-dried clay, turned it into pottery clay, and slowly stacked it up, starting with a round clay base, forming long strips with his hands, bit by bit.

"Between each layer of strips, you must join them carefully so that there are seemingly no crevices, making it seem like one whole piece."

Bi Fang's technique was, of course, good. Through the layers of kneading, the pot began taking shape, showing no signs that it had been assembled from long strips.

Soon, a pot roughly the size of a common pickling jar slowly formed under Bi Fang's hands.

After a bit of sun exposure to harden the pot, Bi Fang placed it directly into the pit, filled it with dry wood, and lit a fire.

The wet yellow pot, baking in the flames, quickly paled in color. By the time Bi Fang took it out, it was almost completed.

"Normally, it would require several days of drying before firing, otherwise it is prone to cracking. But I'm after speed, and I have plenty of raw materials. Making one isn't hard, so I just fired it directly. Now it seems alright."

Bi Fang poured some water into it, and it was watertight.

"Handicraft master!"

"Craftsmen on B Island feel totally outmatched compared to Master Fang!"

"When it comes to crafting, Master Fang is the real deal."

"Master Fang, teach me your skills!"

"I want to learn handicrafts too (Dog's head)."

"I have a feeling what you guys are talking about isn't quite proper."

"Grasping and squeezing, rolling and shaping."

Now with a large container, it was finally possible to boil water.

Unfortunately, it had to cool down, another long wait.

So it wasn't until the afternoon that Bi Fang soaped up and had a reasonably warm bath.

Fortunately, there was no time display on the mission, so there was no rush.

Bi Fang planned to continue staying there today, exploring around the camp to see if there was anything useful.

Indeed, there was a find.

An extremely huge and incongruent tree burst from the horizon into everyone's sight.

The trunk of this tree was very thick and short, resembling an entire loaf of bread, and up at the crown, it branched off sparsely, draped with huge nests. Brown little birds flitted in and out, making it seem like the tree crown had received a rather unflattering haircut.

"Hey, I think I've seen this tree before."

"Looks familiar, but I can't quite name it."

"I know it, it's a baobab tree!"

"Geez, I finally recognize something."

"That bird's nest is so freaking huge!"

"What bird is this? I think I've seen it before."

"Not sure, but I've seen it on a nature show."

"It's a baobab tree, and up there are weaver birds."

Bi Fang beamed with a large smile, delighted by the scene.

It's mainly about encountering another fascinating creature.

"On travels in Africa, it's common to see a tree with large communal bird nests, which are the creations of weaver birds. They are sizeable and look similar to sparrows. They weave their pendulous, oval nests from grass stems, leaves, willow fibers, etc., hanging from tree branches. Due to their communal nature, their nests keep joining together, making for an impressive sight."

"The world's largest bird nest is located in a desert in South Africa. It is said to be 6 meters long, 4 meters wide, and 2 meters tall, housing at least 500 nesting birds, which is quite frightening. It's like putting a hat on the tree."

"That's my darling covered in hats."

"Holy, five hundred birds??"

"Can all of them fit in?"

"How bad must it smell inside?"

"Such a novel angle."

"Snake: Is this the cafeteria?"

"What's this baobab tree then? Not going to explain?"

"I remember the baobab tree is quite useful, right Master Fang?"

"That's right," Bi Fang nodded. "The baobab tree is so useful; it can quench thirst and satisfy hunger for travelers. Look at its trunk, it's thick, isn't it?"

Everyone nodded involuntarily. Bi Fang stood under the baobab tree's crown, appearing quite small in comparison.

It was so thick it seemed it would take at least ten people to encircle it.

"No matter where a baobab tree grows, even though all have thick trunks, to survive through the dry season, the wood is exceptionally porous: tough on the outside but soft on the inside."

"This type of wood is most efficient at storing water. During the rainy season, it uses its bulky form and soft wood to replace the root system, soaking up and storing large quantities of water."

"Its woody part is like a porous sponge filled with plenty of water. When the dry season comes, to minimize water evaporation, it quickly sheds all its leaves and slowly uses the stored water."

"After it has absorbed enough moisture, it sprouts leaves and produces large white flowers. It is said to store thousands of kilograms, even more, of water, truly a water tower of the wilderness."

"And that's just its hydrating function. According to reports, its fruit is also very tasty, resembling the taste of bread, which is why it is named with the word 'bread' in it."