Well, I’ll be damned, the cabin barely big enough for one person was practically filled wall to wall with smoked meat. With the next forty-eight days to go, even if I didn’t hunt any further, my food supply would be more than ample to the point of extravagance.
In contrast to Lin Yang’s rather comfortable situation, the other contestants were not so lucky.
Norman, from Channel 4, accidentally hit his foot with a falling ax while chopping wood and became the first person to drop out of the competition.
The young Indian lady from Channel 6 also found herself in a precarious position.
As a botanist, ever since she arrived on this land, she had mostly gathered various berries, tubers, and lichens for sustenance.
This kind of food could suffice for a short period, but with the huge energy expenditure from building shelters, she soon began to run a deficit.
However, Contestant No. 6 was incredibly tenacious. Taking suggestions from the live broadcast’s audience, she set up several simple snares around her territory. Luck seemed to favor her, as there were plenty of rabbits in the vicinity; by the morning of the second day, she had caught five rabbits, reversing her situation from the brink of withdrawal.
In comparison, contestant No. 8, the black youth Claude, was doing the best next to Lin Yang.
On the first day of the competition, he caught a porcupine, which meant that he didn’t have to worry about food for at least a week. After his shelter was built, Claude began preparing for hunting.
He spent a considerable amount of time roaming around a ten-kilometer radius.
At first, the audience was somewhat critical of his behavior, but in reality, the guy was getting a good grasp of the hunting ground.
On the ninth day, Claude had a new achievement; using a bow and arrow, he successfully killed a Wolf Weasel. The thirty-pound Wolf Weasel significantly replenished his food supply.
As Claude’s knowledge of the hunting grounds deepened, his catches became more frequent: grouse, squirrels, rabbits all made it to his everyday hunting menu, and the stockpile of supplies on his outdoor platform steadily grew.
On the other hand, Lin Yang, full and content, had a very important task that needed his prompt attention.
After a brief tidy-up, he emerged from his cabin a little past two in the afternoon.
"Good afternoon, everyone. There’s something I need to get done quickly this afternoon. You’ve seen how I deal with the game, and this bear skin is a rare cold-weather resource. This afternoon, I’ll show you how to tan hides using an ancient technique."
Hearing about tanning hides, the average viewers were befuddled.
"What’s that? What does tanning hides mean? Can’t you just stretch and dry the skin and then use it?"
"I think there’s that saying, the leather we wear for shoes and clothes, all go through chemical processing to make the leather softer, more suitable for wear. You can tan hides without any materials in the wilderness?"
Lin Yang nodded: "In a modern industrial context, leather is generally tanned chemically, for example with alum solutions, to make the hide softer and its structure more stable.
Without these conditions, I can only use basic wood ash. Come on, let’s get to work and I’ll explain as we go!"
With a hunting knife in hand, Lin Yang quickly made his way to where the innards and bear skin were stored. He wrapped them up, picked them up and headed straight for the lakeside.
"Tanning leather involves a series of procedures. Given my limited capabilities, I can only do what’s feasible. Luckily, it’s a fresh hide, which is easier to work with than a dry one. I’ll take this offal and dump it away from the habitat and into the water, and then clean up the hide."
At the water’s edge, Lin Yang nonchalantly tossed a large bag of offal into the distance, then strutted back, bear skin in tow.
"Because I didn’t consider the hide when hunting the Black Bear, this skin has quite a few holes, but no matter, it’s for my own use. Now, let’s get started for real!"