Chapter 369: Chapter 221: Daily Life of Survival on the Icefield

First, carve out large blocks on the thick layer of snow, then insert the snow knife horizontally into the base of the snow layer, using leverage to loosen and push down the heavy snow blocks.

The snow blocks crashed to the ground with a thud, stirring up a cloud of snow mist.

Layer by layer, he cleared the excess snow off the roof, especially carefully removing the accumulated snow around the chimney, relieving its lateral pressure.

In the end, he left only about half a meter thickness on the roof, providing optimal insulation without posing too much risk.

Having finished all this, the sweaty Lin Yu’an finally felt his stomach begin to protest fiercely.

Returning to the warmth of indoors, he prepared to cook himself a belated hearty lunch to reward his morning’s hard work. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

He placed the prepared rabbit meat chunks into the iron pot, first covering them with a small amount of snow water, and set it on the fire to bring to a quick boil.

A layer of gray blood foam soon floated to the surface. Using a wooden spoon, he carefully skimmed off this layer of foam.

While skimming, he shared his cooking insights, "For any meat, especially game, this step is crucial during stewing. Removing the blood foam can eliminate most of the source of the gamey taste."

"The meat of the snowshoe rabbit is high in protein but low in fat, making it dry if roasted directly. Long stewing can fully dissolve the gelatin and flavor substances in the meat into the soup."

He fished out the blanched rabbit meat chunks, discarded the murky water in the pot, and added clean snow water again.

Then, he took out some thawed, hard mussel meat, placing it together with the blanched rabbit meat chunks, ready for the next step.

"Merely removing the gamey smell is not enough. In resource-limited conditions, how to make simple ingredients explode with the most intense flavor, that’s the real challenge."

He retrieved from the supply corner a small jar made of birch bark, containing some remaining milky solid wolf oil.

He selected some wolf oil and placed it into the preheated empty iron pot. The fat quickly melted, emitting a "sizzle."

Once the oil was hot enough, even beginning to smoke faintly, he poured the blanched rabbit meat chunks and thawed mussel meat into the pot together!

"Sizzle——!"

As the ingredients contacted the hot oil, they exploded with a vigorous sound, and a large amount of steam, carrying a strong aroma, surged upward.

He quickly stirred the ingredients in the pot with a wooden spoon.

Under the effect of the high-temperature wolf oil, the surface of the rabbit meat rapidly contracted, turning from the previous grayish-white to an enticing golden yellow.

The mussel meat also underwent the process of pan-frying again, with the frozen fishy taste swiftly evaporating under high heat, replaced by a reactivated ocean freshness.

Not until all the rabbit meat chunks in the pot were coated with an even golden-brown did he pour clean water into the boiling iron pot.

Another loud "sizzle——" erupted, the pot instantly roiling with white waves.

He sprinkled only a small amount of his self-refined coarse salt, then placed the iron pot on the fireplace flame, covering it to start a slow stew.

Another hour passed, and the alarm on the recorder went off again. Lin Yu’an went out to conduct a second smokehouse inspection, everything was still perfect.

Upon returning to the shelter again, an unprecedented, almost solidified rich aroma had thoroughly occupied the entire space.

When he returned from the cold, pure air outside back to the warm shelter, the strong aroma that had been stewing for so long instantly filled his nasal cavity several times over.

It was a complex aroma, with very little gamey smell, leaving only the essence of both flavors.

The two flavors perfectly fused together in the rolling broth, making the whole pot of soup smell both rich and clean, filled with the most primal aroma of the meat soup.

Inside the shelter, there was only the crackling of the firewood burning in the fireplace and the bubbling sound of the meat soup simmering in the iron pot.

Outside, the sunlight quietly spilled over the boundless snowy plains, that white snowed house smokehouse continuously releasing wisps of white smoke into the sky.

This was a tranquil and perfect polar afternoon.

Time slowly passed. The rabbit meat soup in the iron pot continued to emit a bubbling sound under the persistent licking of the fireplace flames.

It was this increasingly intense aroma of the meat soup that quietly delved into the deep sea of December’s sleeping consciousness, awakening its most primal instincts.

Originally sleeping like a white cotton candy on the wolfskin bed, December’s small nose started twitching rapidly at a high frequency unconsciously.

It seemed to be, in its dream, chasing a marvelous illusion composed of aromas. Its little mouth even smacked unconsciously, as a vague, longing murmur emerged from deep in its throat.

Finally, under the stimulation of this aroma, its long eyelashes trembled violently a few times, and it suddenly opened its eyes wide.

Just awakened, it was still a little groggy, its gaze unfocused, looking around blankly.

But upon smelling that overwhelming, incredibly real rich aroma, its brain seemed instantly activated, with all its senses focusing on the sole source.

It had slept for a good three-plus hours, and the dual exhaustion from the vigorous morning activity and long sleep made its hunger reach an unprecedented peak.

It immediately climbed off the wolfskin bed, even stretching lazily with a big yawn, stretching its rapidly growing body.