Chapter 24: From now on, you are the chief of our sanctuary

The newbie named "Mosquito" indeed has good carpentry skills.

White and Tomorrow struggled for a long time to saw a piece of lumber using steel bars as a ruler, but Mosquito easily sawed a pile of them with just a saw in hand.

Not only that, but these boards also had interlocking edges, making it easy to fit them together and form square hollow brick slots.

In no time, they had made several molds for the bricks.

"Your timber processing skills are hideous. Look at this... they're practically growing mushrooms," Mosquito wiped off some sweat and leaned the saw aside, looking at Tomorrow and White, asking, "Is this enough?"

"It's enough, it's enough! Thanks, brother, you've been a great help!" White had a joyful expression on his face and patted Mosquito's shoulder.

Mosquito shyly smiled and chuckled.

"No problem! Just let me know if you need anything."

White grinned and patted his shoulder.

"Great! I'll remember that. I won't hesitate next time!"

Mosquito: "..."

With the molds, making mud bricks became much easier.

White and Tomorrow mixed the clay they had collected from the riverside with a little water, kneaded it into a sticky dough, poured it into the molds, and arranged them on the ground in a square shape. Then they placed some charcoal in the middle gap and coated the surface of the mud bricks with ash.

This was a method that White had learned from those survival in wilderness videos.

When the first layer of mud bricks had dried almost completely, they changed the direction and continued stacking the second layer, and they kept stacking one layer after another until the stack of bricks reached higher than their heads.

When they were done, White carefully lit the charcoal inside the stack of bricks, allowing the fire to start from the middle and gradually engulf the entire stack.

"Will this thing work?"

Looking at the smoke rising from the "mud stack," Tomorrow wiped the sweat off his forehead with his muddy arm, looking as if he had crawled out of a dung pit.

White didn't look much better, with a face covered in charcoal dust, as if he had just crawled out of a coal mine.

"Who knows, we'll have to wait and see."

It was their first time trying this method, and they had only seen adults do it when they were children. They had no idea if this method would work.

They could only wait until tomorrow to find out.

"Let's go. Let it burn here for now."

"Let's go check the cement kiln. I feel like we're getting close to the finished product. This time, let's use more force for the air blast and try to make a bucket before we hit the deadline!"

On the other side, with the help of Mosquito, Hurricane and Nighten had finally completed the improvement of the Nth generation fishing trap.

They replaced the original cylindrical structure with a cage-like structure and reinforced the main structure of the trap with sturdy steel bars, replacing the weak wooden strips.

No matter what fish went in, they wouldn't be able to escape!

The three of them went to the lakeside together, planning to give it another try.

They looked quite cheerful.

As for Light Chu, he continued to contemplate the art of smoking meat.

Although he hadn't made much progress...

"Respected Governor, may I ask what you are... doing?"

Hearing a voice from the side, Light Chu stood up from in front of the smoker, clapping the charcoal dust off his hands, and looked over to see [Tomato_scrambled_eggs] staring at the smoker rack he had made with a curious expression.

If he remembered correctly, this guy seemed to be a chef who graduated from New Oriental Culinary College.

With this thought, Light Chu's eyes lit up.

"I'm researching how to make smoked jerkey... You came at the right time. From now on, you're the chef of Outpost 404!"

Without giving the gamer a chance to speak, Light Chu looked at him seriously and continued speaking.

"We are facing a very serious situation. Besides the construction of the surface outpost facilities, we also need to stockpile enough food for the 100 compatriots who will arrive on the surface before winter."

"I need your help!"

[Tomato_scrambled_eggs] looked bewildered.

Being a chef...

In reality, he was indeed a chef, and he had even cooked two dishes before logging in. But he didn't expect to have to do his job again in the game.

Is this like a career change for gamers?

After a while, he finally spoke.

"But... what can I do for you?"

"Good question."

Light Chu looked at the smoker beside him.

"I've been trying to smoke meat, but the results haven't been ideal. I need you to solve the problem of food storage... I've read your information, and the organization said you have relevant experience in food handling, is that correct?"

Tomato was stunned.

"I have some understanding, but this is just a game after all—I mean, I'm not sure if my experience here would be applicable."

Thinking that this was a game world, Tomato changed his wording temporarily, but it seemed that the NPC didn't mind. Perhaps the program automatically ignored elements unrelated to the game.

"It's fine. I need the opinion of a professional," Light Chu said, looking at the smoker beside him. "Take a look for me and see where I went wrong with the smoker I made."

Looking at the wood rack in front of him, Tomato fell into silence.

Instead of saying that something went wrong...

It was more accurate to say that everything was wrong.

"Well... firstly, smoking meat should be done in a sealed environment. The way you're roasting it now, even if it's burnt on the outside, it's useless. And on top of this meat, is that sprinkled seasoning?"

"It's a special kind of tobacco leaf."

"Tobacco leaf?!"

"Indeed," Light Chu nodded as he looked at Tomato, who wore a face of astonishment. "This is an inland region, salt is expensive. The local survivors use these tobacco leaves rich in aromatic compounds and tar as a substitute for salt. They crush it and apply it to the surface of the food, and through heating, the preservatives mix with the surface oils of the food, achieving a preservation effect."

Can it be done this way?!

Tomato was completely shocked.

Indeed, some aromatic compounds could be used as food preservatives, but it was the first time he heard that this thing could be used for consumption.

Maybe it wouldn't be deadly if it wasn't used in excess?

But his intuition told him that this smoking method was essentially using poison to counteract poison...

"Actually, you can smoke meat even without adding salt... It's just that the flavor won't be as good. I'm not familiar with the method you mentioned, but from a health perspective, this way of smoking food doesn't seem suitable."

Tomato expressed his opinion in a more tactful manner, considering the NPC's favorability setting. The higher the favorability, the more likely he would receive hidden quests.

In real life, he would have rolled his eyes.

"Not using salt is also workable?!" Light Chu was stunned.

"Well... microorganisms need moisture to survive, and smoking meat essentially dehydrates the water content in the meat. Having salt would improve the effect, prolong the storage time, and enhance the flavor. But it's possible without it as long as the process is done correctly."

"Of course, if the meat has a high fat content, dehydration becomes more difficult... It still depends on the specific type of meat."

Having said that, Tomato paused for a moment and glanced awkwardly at the smoker beside him before whispering.

"But regardless of the situation, you haven't sealed it... It definitely won't work."

If they could cure food without using this peculiar tobacco leaf, it would undoubtedly be good news for the outpost.

However, Light Chu still had some doubts.

Even if the survivors on Betye Street were ignorant, since they could survive in this wasteland until now, they shouldn't be mistaken about this survival skill.

Where exactly did things go wrong?

However, Light Chu didn't intend to think about such complicated matters for the time being.

Firstly, he wasn't that idle.

Secondly, if NPCs could solve everything, what was the point of having gamers?

"Very well, I entrust this honorable and arduous task to you!"

He patted the shoulder of this new gamer firmly.

Light Chu solemnly handed over the task of smoking meat to [Tomato_scrambled_eggs] and gave him instructions on safety issues before walking away in a pleased mood.

Good.

Another problem solved.

Speaking of which, there was already progress with the food issue. Should he try to recruit more gamers and increase productivity?

With just his own hands, he might not be able to complete the construction of the sanatorium walls by the end of the month.

While Light Chu was thinking about this, a sudden excited cheer came from nearby.

"Awesome!!!"

"Damn, it finally worked!"