Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness-Chapter 721 - 718 Success is in Sight

The tanning was completed, and next came the smoking of the hides.

Bi Fang fashioned the hide into the shape of a bag, extinguished the open flame, and set up a tripod over the embers. He then slipped the hide bag directly over it, with the opening facing down.

"This step of smoking is very important, as its purpose is to prevent the hide from reverting to rawhide upon contact with water. Rawhide cannot be used for clothing; it becomes stiff once it loses moisture and you simply can’t wear it. That’s why I take this step very seriously every time."

"I remember I told you not to use an open flame, as it easily burns the hide. After a few hours, flip it over to continue. When that’s done, it’s considered finished hide."

While waiting, Bi Fang was not idle; he pulled out a reindeer stomach bag filled with liquid that had frozen into ice.

This was a collection from the eyes of reindeer, not much, but very useful.

"The liquid from the eyes mixed with twigs can also be used to make strong glue, and the hooves can be saved for boiling into strong glue as well. During the boiling, skimming the fat off the surface yields good bone oil, which can be used to soften leather."

"I had to give up the four large hooves of the musk oxen last time to lighten the load as much as possible. This time, having improved load capacity, I decided to keep them."

After completing the process, what followed was simply a matter of tedious work.

The next day, the hide tanning was finished, and everyone was exhausted. The low temperature last night plunged everyone into the emergency activity of saving the ice hut. After finishing the hide, Bi Fang also joined in, scarcely having a moment to spare.

Fortunately, with everyone’s efforts, the ice hut did not freeze over, the whales under the ice were still brimming with life, and the temperature also made a temporary climb to below minus forty degrees. Although still harsh, it was "warmer" compared to the minus fifty degrees of the previous day.

Another piece of good news was that the Thesus had broken through the thick ice and began ramming again, which suddenly increased the speed of progress by a great deal.

Now, with less than two miles between them, if someone had good enough eyesight, they could even make out the vague silhouettes under the starry sky!

With this in mind, everyone was full of enthusiasm. The number of tourists by the ice hut also grew again, stabilizing at around thirty, ensuring a sufficient workforce.

"Does anyone want to try some roasted reindeer meat?"

In front of the campfire, Bi Fang held the piece of meat high up and asked the group.

Reindeer meat?

Whether they were cutting ice blocks or resting nearby, everyone paused upon hearing this.

Bi Fang was nearby, and everyone was clear on what he had been doing. That morning, Bi Fang had roasted half a reindeer at breakfast, and they had wondered how one man and six dogs could consume so much, not realizing it was intended for them.

Seeing no reaction, Bi Fang called out again, "The taste might not be so good, but does anyone want to try it?"

Folks finally caught on and swarmed over with a bang.

"Me! I’d like to try it!"

"Let me have a taste!"

"Move aside, let me see!"

Though there were only a little over thirty people, they crowded around Bi Fang so tightly that there was no room to move.

Having stayed on the Arctic ice field for two days, even those who were initially strangers became aware of Bi Fang’s identity and deeds. Everyone was interested in the reindeer meat roasted by the adventurer himself.

Bi Fang swiftly cut the meat pieces off the reindeer, sprinkled them with salt, and handed them out to people.

Half a reindeer, nearly a hundred pounds—sufficient for more than thirty people, even if each person ate a pound. Besides that, no normal person could consume a pound of pure meat in a meal. And even though the cooking was skilled, reindeer meat was somewhat tougher than musk ox meat and not considered particularly delicious.

It was just so-so, but the fact that wild reindeer meat could be made to taste "so-so" with only salt spoke volumes about the tremendous help provided by Bi Fang’s wilderness culinary skills.

"It won’t taste good if it gets cold, don’t wait too long."

Even though it had just been taken off the fire, Bi Fang couldn’t warn people about the heat, because once away from the flames, the huge temperature difference would rapidly cool down the chunks of meat.

"No need to rush, there’s enough for everyone."

Bi Fang, like a small barbecue vendor, skillfully sliced the meat, threaded it onto cleaned sticks, and handed them out one by one.

[Wow, I’m so envious, I wish I could eat barbecue made by Master Fang himself.]

[Master Fang, feed me!]

[Master Fang’s wilderness barbecue, I really want to try it.]

[Peter Pan has sent the host a meatball*1—I’m curious about the taste of reindeer meat.]

"Huh, it actually tastes surprisingly not bad!"

"I didn’t eat breakfast, and I’m hungry now, it smells kind of good!"

"Not bad, but a little tough."

"Absolutely worth the price of admission, I never thought that an ordinary Arctic trip would be so much fun, I’m so lucky!"

This chapter is updat𝙚d by freeweɓnovel.cøm.

After the simple meal was shared, Bi Fang also fed the impatient sled dogs at his side and briefly ate himself before starting to craft clothes.

"In long-term wilderness survival, making clothes and other items from things around you is a very basic skill."

"Although turning animal hide into leather takes a lot of time and energy, you’ll find that the leather goods made this way are stronger and more durable than industrial leather goods."

"This is one of the rare cases where wilderness products can surpass modern industrial products."

Normally, items made in the wild are generally of lower quality than industrial products. For example, the soap Bi Fang made with lye and fat can’t possibly be better than what’s sold in stores, otherwise, what would be the point of the development of the chemical industry?

But animal hide is different, being a natural product, it’s both stronger and more durable. As it’s a natural product, it effectively covers one’s scent, which is more conducive to approaching prey, and doesn’t make noise from friction like down jackets or technical outerwear, allowing for excellent camouflage.

"When making clothes, you can use a variety of materials to sew animal hides. Animal tendons can also be used for sewing clothes, but it’s best used in drier areas."

"Of course, plant fibers are also an option, but such seams are prone to splitting and need to be mended frequently. For this purpose, I chose to first use hide glue to bond the edges, then sew them, which makes them very strong."

The reindeer hide had been cut into long strips, most of which were made into tubular forms to serve as trousers, simply pulled over the legs.

"Pay more attention to keeping the knees warm. Otherwise, it’s easy to develop arthritis or rheumatism. We can add another layer."

Over the long hide tubes, Bi Fang added a shorter tube at the knees, and finally, put on a deer hide jacket, making him suddenly swell a rounder shape.

Although slightly less aesthetically pleasing, it added a bit of wildness characteristic of the wilderness. Most importantly, Bi Fang finally started to feel warm!

Until the afternoon arrived, Thesus was less than five hundred meters from the gray whale, and even those with poor eyesight could now see its silhouette under the starry sky!

"That’s good, let’s turn Thesus around. Next, it’s time to send the gray whale back to the ocean!"

Bi Fang’s words were uplifting, and everyone began to high-five each other, laughing joyfully.

Success was in sight!