Zhou Xu's Plan

For his Freshwater Extraction Device to work properly, they had to keep adding firewood and pouring water into the pot.

In this primitive age where nothing was available when needed, even getting a drink of water was truly no easy feat.

While they waited for the freshwater to accumulate, the skewered insects were ready to be roasted over the fire.

Since none of the tribe members had ever done anything like this before, the arduous task of grilling the skewers naturally fell to Zhou Xu.

Before he crossed over, Zhou Xu had rather enjoyed barbecue, so he could at least be considered half an expert at it.

His control of the heat had been among the best in their skewer-eating squad, and here, he completely outclassed everyone.

The insects themselves were rich in fat, and under Zhou Xu's grilling technique, they slowly began to glisten with oil.

At the same time, the tribe members gathered around unconsciously sniffed. For some reason, their dry tongues and mouths began inexplicably producing a little saliva, moistening their mouths.

This should be about done.

As this thought flashed through his mind, Zhou Xu pinched up some salt crystals he had picked up from the salt belt beside the lake and casually sprinkled them over the skewers.

The ready-made seasoning was right there. How could he not use it?

After sprinkling on the salt, he roasted the skewers for two more turns to let it melt. Then Zhou Xu brought the insect skewer to his mouth, opened wide, and bit one roasted insect into his mouth.

Why the hell would he need to do any mental preparation?! He was practically starving to death!

Besides, he had eaten similar skewers before.

With that bite, he broke through the shell that had already been roasted crisp, and Zhou Xu clearly felt the abundant protein explode directly in his mouth.

The taste was basically exactly what he had expected, which reassured him quite a bit.

Then, while chewing the insect in his mouth, he handed the skewer to Fei Que beside him.

"One each. Pass them around. Don't swallow them in a hurry—chew them thoroughly in your mouths before swallowing."

Chewing a few more times would always make them feel a little fuller.

They had limited time, and the number of insects they had caught was limited as well. Given the situation, he could only distribute one to each person for now.

When distributing things, people had always feared inequality more than scarcity. This was especially true when the items concerned their very lives. Zhou Xu did not want food distribution to trigger internal strife right from the start.

Before this, the tribe members had always stuffed insects into their mouths as soon as they caught them. They did not roast them, and they did not even bother pinching off the heads or removing the innards.

Before this, Fei Que had had no concept whatsoever of "tasty" or "delicious." That was until he stuffed the roasted insect into his mouth and bit through its crisp shell...

He was stunned!

Food had originally been nothing more than a means of survival to him. He had never imagined that insects could be this delicious!

For some reason, at that moment, he suddenly felt an urge to cry.

Sniffling, Fei Que did not forget Zhou Xu's instructions and began distributing the roasted insects to everyone, one by one.

The reactions that followed were basically identical to Fei Que's.

At that moment, something new appeared in the vicious cycle that had bound the tribe members: they hoped they could eat food like this every day! Desire had begun to take root!

And at that very moment, the era of eating raw flesh and drinking blood had completely passed for them...

During all this, Zhou Xu could clearly feel the people's reverence for him growing stronger.

If the reason the tribe members had previously listened more to Dashan was because of the prestige Dashan had accumulated in the tribe over the years,

then at that moment, Zhou Xu's rapidly soaring prestige in the tribe had instantly crushed Dashan's completely.

He had effortlessly accomplished something Dashan—and, in the tribe members' eyes, anyone else—could never possibly have done. It was an outright dimensionality reduction attack.

Now I understand why emperors in the past loved those sycophantic treacherous ministers so much. This feeling really is pretty great.

Even though he knew perfectly well that this was not good, under those gazes that seemed to be worshipping a god, Zhou Xu could not help but feel a little lightheaded with pride.

Then a howl from his stomach dragged him back to reality...

I'm still completely unsatisfied.

He was a proper adult. Setting aside whether he would get tired of the taste, judging by his appetite alone, he could eat an entire plate of fried silkworm chrysalises by himself and still put away a large bowl of rice afterward.

This little bit of roasted insects was not even enough to wedge between his teeth.

Wanting to find something else to fill his stomach, Zhou Xu turned his gaze toward the fruit-shell bowl collecting water.

The overall efficiency seemed to be faster than he had expected. In just this short while, it had already collected more than half a bowl of water.

Zhou Xu had long since been parched beyond endurance, so he did not stand on ceremony. After signaling for Fei Que to use the other fruit-shell bowl to collect water, he directly picked up the half-full bowl and took a small sip.

Perhaps because he had gone too long without water, this ordinary mouthful of distilled water tasted more delicious to him than any nectar or fine wine!

Suppressing the urge to drain it in one gulp, Zhou Xu, as usual, handed the remaining freshwater in the bowl to Fei Que.

"One small sip each. Go distribute it."

"Yes."

Compared with the direct shock the roasted insects had brought them, the distilled water left the tribe members much calmer.

What filled their hearts more was surprise, especially for those who had drunk the lake water before.

If not for the various methods Zhou Xu had displayed earlier, which had already caused them to revere him as a god, these people definitely would not have dared to put this water into their mouths so readily.

After drinking it, they could only feel that this was a miracle!

However, half a bowl of water was certainly not enough for the entire tribe to share. Those waiting at the back inevitably grew anxious, and seeing this, Zhou Xu spoke directly...

"Don't worry. There's more here. Everyone will get water to drink."

After saying this, he turned and asked Fei Que a question.

"What about the bark we tore off earlier?"

"Here."

"Good. Everyone who has drunk water, gather over here."

Someone like Zhou Xu, who loved playing management strategy games, was usually very systematic in everything he did. And the better he played, the stronger this ability became.

Zhou Xu was the same. He was someone who planned everything meticulously. From discovering the Black Forest, to establishing the camp, to making fire and collecting water, he already had a highly detailed plan in his mind.

And what he had to do now was carry out his plan step by step.

"Dashan, while it's still light out, take a few people and gather more branches."

After giving this instruction, Zhou Xu turned his gaze toward the other tribe members who had gathered around.

"Now, do as I do. Take one strip of bark of a suitable length from here, then cross the strips together like this. Take it one step at a time. Don't rush."

At present, there were only two things in this area of the Black Forest that they had discovered could serve as food: insects and rats.

And just how fast those rats scurried, Zhou Xu had already witnessed earlier. Trying to catch them barehanded was unrealistic.

The best method was to make traps! Then wait for those rats to walk right into them!

Here, Zhou Xu truly had to thank his grandmother. After retiring and having nothing to do, she had casually done handicrafts at home to earn a little pocket money for fun.

So whenever he returned to the countryside during winter or summer vacation, he would casually join in and make some things as well. That had allowed him to master a practical skill.

And now, it really was coming in handy!