King of the Wilderness

Chapter 364: Chapter 220: Day 33!

The blizzard has stopped.

Without the roar of the gale, the entire world is so quiet it seems as if time has frozen. The howling that could tear through steel last night has vanished without a trace.

Instead, there is a profound, absolute silence. In this silence, one can even clearly hear the ”buzzing” sound of one’s own blood flowing through the ear canal.

He took a deep breath, the biting cold air washing through his lungs, making his mind instantly crystal clear.

The air is filled with a faint pine scent that wafts from the distant black spruce forest after the blizzard.

After admiring this awe-inspiring post-snow scene for a moment, Lin Yu’an withdrew back inside the house, closing the door again to block out the dazzling light and biting cold air.

He reached for the tri-proof electronic recorder placed next to the sleeping bag. After turning it on, he first switched to the environmental monitoring page.

”December 3rd, 7:05 in the morning,” he whispered to the camera.

”Inside the shelter, the current temperature is 3.1℃, humidity 52%. The external environment... Hmm, it looks like we’ve got some good weather.”

After finishing the recording, he began his most important morning routine, preparing breakfast for December.

The whole process was as smooth as flowing water; the UVC sterilization box worked silently, the thermometer calibrated the water temperature, and the numbers on the electronic scale were precisely controlled to one decimal place by him.

Today, there was a small change. He flipped through the Chapter on ”Incremental Feeding” in the Emergency Guide.

After confirming that all physiological indicators for December yesterday, especially the condition of the excrement, were all perfectly normal, he decided to execute the next plan.

”Alright, little one, based on your excellent performance, your breakfast today will be upgraded.”

He said to the camera, also addressing December, who was already eagerly waiting by his side.

”The guide suggests that once the cub is fully adapted to formula milk, the total milk amount for each meal can be increased by 5% to 10% every one to two days, to match its astounding growth rate.”

”We gave 250 grams per meal yesterday, but today, I’ll increase it to 270 grams. This is approximately an 8% increase, a very safe and steady range.”

Then, he precisely measured out 54 grams of milk powder and 216 grams of warm water, shook it well, and tested the temperature.

Before handing the bottle to December, he wrote a new entry in the feeding log of the electronic recorder:

”7:20 in the morning, feeding. Ratio 1:4, total intake 270g. (Due to good adaptation yesterday, begin the incremental feeding scheme today with the first increase of 8%).”

The feeding process was as warm and smooth as ever, with December satisfying his hunger and letting out a burp, which Lin Yu’an patiently patted.

Then he ran to a corner of the wolfskin bed himself, holding the red rubber ball, and began his daily ”morning workout.”

After settling this little ancestor, Lin Yu’an finally had time to officially begin his outdoor work for the day.

He put on a thick coat and once again pulled open the heavy wooden door.

Although he had already witnessed the snowy splendor, standing once again in this silent and magnificent white world, his heart was still filled with awe.

Last night’s blizzard had covered his shelter and newly built snow igloo smokehouse with a thick ”new quilt.”

Especially the snow igloo’s air intake and flue exit, which were blocked completely by soft snow, and without clearing them, today’s cold-smoking plan could not proceed.

He did not immerse himself too much in the beautiful scenery but immediately began the clearing work.

After nearly an hour, he finally cleared a clean working area in front of the shelter and around the smokehouse.

After finishing the clearing, Lin Yu’an stood in front of the snow igloo smokehouse, looking like a giant mushroom growing in the snow, dusted off the snow from his hands, with a slight look of anticipation on his face.

”Alright, the physical work is done, now we begin today’s technical work.

”After testing through yesterday’s blizzard, our cold smokehouse is intact. Today we will conduct the first official cold-smoking operation to process these precious Red Spot Salmon.”

First, he returned to the shelter and took down a few previously seasoned Red Spot Salmon from the crossbeam with coarse salt and juniper berries. These fish had been hanging in the dry air for over 24 hours.

Holding one of the fish up to the camera, its surface was no longer wet but had a slightly dry yet sticky texture.

In the light, the fish skin reflected a soft luster, as if coated with a thin layer of varnish. His fingertip felt a clear stickiness when he gently touched the fish skin.

”Everyone look, after air-drying, the surface of the fish has already formed a slightly sticky, translucent film.”

”In professional smoking techniques, there’s a specific term for it, called the ’protein film’ or ’drying film.’”

He began a detailed explanation, speaking slowly to ensure every detail was clear: ”The formation of this film is actually a simple biochemical process.”

”When the fish is cured with salt, the salt breaks down the cell structure on the surface of the fish, causing some of the soluble proteins to dissolve out.”

”When the fish is placed in a dry and ventilated environment, the surface moisture evaporates, and these dissolved proteins form a protein film on the surface of the fish.”

”Don’t underestimate this film, it plays a crucial role in the cold smoking process.”