Chapter 35 Part 1

Large sea snails, especially ones that had grown to six or seven jin, were almost impossible to keep completely free of nematode parasites. This was an objective fact, but Lu Aotian was still utterly disgusted.

Fortunately, Ji Nuo had sliced the meat thin enough. The nematodes hiding within the thick snail flesh had nowhere left to hide.

Coconut snails had a relatively good meat yield, and this snail was much cleaner than the giant, aged one Han Cheng had encountered before. Ji Nuo adopted a simple and brutal approach: he located sections with nematodes, cut them off, and discarded them. Lu Aotian watched as the remaining pieces turned into pristine, tender white snail slices, his little dimples deepening with satisfaction.

After Han Cheng returned the knife, Ji Nuo lifted the steamed coconut crab onto a stone slab to cool. Then, he boiled a pot of water and quickly blanched the snail slices to remove any residual mucus.

The oysters, sea snails, and clams—Han Cheng called them the three mini brothers—had finished expelling their sand. Following Ji Nuo’s instructions, Han Cheng tossed them into the pot to make a broth. Once it boiled, he skimmed off the foam and added the tougher meat from near the snail’s opening, letting it simmer over a low flame.

Next came extracting the crab meat. They had no proper tools, so Ji Nuo smashed a leftover coconut shell with a rock. They picked out shards of the right shape to use as scoops, and the three of them began digging out the meat together.

Ji Nuo noticed Lu Aotian swallowing repeatedly. Smiling, he used a rock to crack open a huge crab claw and held it to the little dumpling’s already glistening lips. “We’ve worked our little friend hard. A reward for Ao’ao—take the first bite.”

Lu Aotian’s eyes instantly flashed with a bright light. He blinked his long lashes, looking a little embarrassed.

Though he was reluctant to admit it, he was gradually accepting this temporary family of three. He no longer felt that the coconut crab he had discovered belonged solely to him (exceptions made for his bickering matches with Han Cheng). A delicious dish couldn’t be completed without the effort of every family member. How could he just selfishly eat alone…

Taking the crab claw, Lu Aotian took a huge bite—”Awu!” His small mouth was instantly stuffed full, and his alluring peach blossom eyes narrowed into satisfied crescent moons.

Weighing nearly eight jin, the crab was enormous for its species, making its claws particularly formidable.

Although Han Cheng was hungry too, he wasn’t as utterly impatient as Lu Ao’ao, the little glutton. As he scraped crab meat from the side, he watched the kid inhale his food and began to worry the boy’s jaw might dislocate from opening his mouth so wide.

Lu Aotian was genuinely starving. Normally, he would have dismissed meat of this quality. It was firm, yes, but not sweet enough, a bit dry in texture, and it lacked the legendary coconut fragrance.

But right now, eating on an empty stomach doubled the aroma of everything. He even felt he could devour the entire crab in one go without any further preparation.

Ji Nuo and Han Cheng watched Lu Aotian turn himself into a little tabby cat. They shared a knowing smile and wordlessly continued smashing the tough crab shells in their hands.

The meat yield of a coconut crab was fairly small compared to its massive body, but with a foundation of eight jin and the combined effort of two adults and a child, a mound of crab meat resembling a little snowy mountain gradually piled up on the stone slab.

The coconut crab had a tail the size of a grown man’s fist. When torn open, the inside was packed with richly aromatic crab roe and crab oil.

Because coconut crab meat had a unique texture, it tasted best with the roe and oil. The tail was jokingly known as the coconut crab’s built-in “dipping sauce.”

Ji Nuo scooped out half the oil and roe, mixed it into the crab meat, and packed everything back into the giant crab shell. He placed it over the fire to grill, a simplified version of kani miso-yaki, letting the meat and oil fuse their aromas to compensate for each other’s weaknesses and double the flavor.

As for the remaining oil and roe, Ji Nuo had set aside a portion of the most tender inner meat from the coconut snail. He flipped the steel lid of the distillation device to use as a makeshift wok. After swirling the oil and roe in it, he tossed in the razor-thin snail slices, stir-fried them with high heat for a few seconds, and plated them immediately to preserve that crisp, tender texture.

The cleaned lid went back onto the pot to continue simmering the broth. The meat used for the soup was the tougher section, so it could cook longer. By now, all three were intensely hungry and unanimously decided to eat first while waiting for the snail soup.

Using three coconut shells as bowls, wild pineapples—rich in fiber and sugar—served as their “staple food.” A kani miso-yaki the size of a grown man’s two hands, and stir-fried tender snail slices arranged in a cleaned orange coconut snail shell. Thus, the family of three’s first meal on the deserted island officially began.

Perhaps it was intentional on the part of the follow cameraman, but both star dishes—the kani miso-yaki and the stir-fried snail slices—each received over ten seconds of high-definition close-ups. The backdrop was the azure sea and a beautiful white sand beach dotted with coconut palms. The steaming island delicacies sent up wisps of white smoke, each tender slice of snail meat glistening temptingly under the sheen of crab roe, making mouths water through the screen…

The live stream viewers were driven utterly mad:

[AAAAHHH too much, this is too much! Bai Yong, is this what you call surviving on a deserted island?!]

[Wuwuwu someone please tell me, tell me coconut snails and coconut crabs taste absolutely terrible! Quick! My mouth is already flooding…]

[I swear, with Ji Nuo’s cooking skills, even with barely any seasoning, as long as you have crab oil and roe, he could make stir-fried rubber tires delicious.]

[I’m so jealous, I really am! I wasn’t even this jealous when Ao’ao found the Melo Pearl! I want to eat the seafood feast Nuonuo made so badly QAQ!]

As for how it tasted, one could tell perfectly well by watching little friend Lu Ao’ao inhale his food.

Even with only a pinch of sea salt added, the savory-sweet taste still made the cub’s eyes blaze like twin searchlights.

The crab meat, which Lu Aotian had previously found a bit dry compared to other crabs, experienced a tremendous leap in both texture and aroma after being infused with the coconut crab’s own oil and roe. It was as though this crab meat was born to be soaked in it.

And the snail slices, which Han Cheng recalled as nothing special, had their tender, smooth, and crisp texture perfectly preserved thanks to the careful selection of cut and Ji Nuo’s expert cooking. The fresh sweetness of the snail slices collided with the intensely aromatic crab roe, resulting in an unexpectedly outstanding flavor.

The three of them faced the live broadcast lens and ate a hearty seafood feast. By the time the stir-fried snail slices and kani miso-yaki were scraped clean, the small seafood and snail soup, simmering over a gentle flame, was also ready. A bowl for each person, fragrant and delicious.

The pure taste of the sea was wrapped in a warm, comforting broth, sliding down their throats to warm their stomachs. The tip of Lu Aotian’s nose beaded slightly with sweat. He felt utterly comfortable and, after finishing his soup, contentedly patted his round little belly.

Because they had ample ingredients, Ji Nuo had made a large pot of the soup. When first discussing it with Han Cheng, they decided that since there were no refrigeration options, cooking extra to share with the other guests would be best.

After the two adults and the child had their fill, Han Cheng hoisted the big pot. Ji Nuo held the cub’s hand with one hand and carried the leftover half portion of wild pineapples with the other, and they walked toward the coconut grove.

~

At the same time, the three groups of guests in the coconut grove were still frantically busy.

The production team’s core principle was: Even if the adults are starving, the children must not be. So aside from Bairun Milk, each child was also given a coconut bread roll.

As for the adults, lunch was simply coconut water and meat to make do.

Coconuts could keep hunger at bay, but it always felt like something was missing without a proper meal. However, with limited resources there was little they could do. Everyone’s thinking was aligned: prioritize building a shelter first, then go beachcombing later to see if any edible seafood could be caught.

But even though all the adults had a heart to work hard at crafting, in many cases, their eyes understood while their hands were clumsy as pig trotters—especially for those with no prior crafting experience.

Kang Feier was a quick learner, Movie Empress Ming Yu was handy, and Weng Kai had some prior experience weaving grass. These three were gradually getting into the swing of things. Chu Chengpeng and Peng Li, however, had pig trotters for hands with extremely low output. Thank goodness for the bug-like existence of the retired special forces soldier William.

Whether it was dragging thick, heavy bamboo stalks from the northwest corner to use as a framework, climbing up and down to secure the tent top with simple wooden pegs, or expertly and rapidly weaving coconut leaves, William helped the guests immensely.

Otherwise, relying solely on the guests’ own efforts, they might not have finished a presentable coconut-leaf tent even by nightfall.

After several hours, all three adult groups’ fondness for William had skyrocketed. They praised him constantly, with Weng Kai even calling him “good brother” at every turn.

The gratitude was real, as was the encouragement for him to keep up the hard work. William was well aware of this, so he doubled down, laboring intensely. His goal was for everyone—including the audience—to develop a favorable impression of him. That way, if an incident occurred later, having a good image would make it easier to wash his hands completely clean of any blame.

After several consecutive hours of intense physical labor, William was confident of victory.

Just then, a fresh, savory aroma drifted over from not too far away. Almost simultaneously, several people looked up. The first thing they saw was the large pot in Han Cheng’s hands.

Weng Kai was the first to stand and take it. “What’s this?”

Han Cheng explained, “A simple desalination device we traded with the production team. It can double as a cooking pot.”

Kang Feier put down the coconut leaf, scooped up her daughter, and rushed over. First, she scanned all three of their faces from top to bottom before exclaiming, “You guys actually managed to get a hundred milliliters of fresh water!”

Han Cheng inclined his head slightly. Ji Nuo told everyone to grab their coconut shells for soup first, and they could talk while eating.

Holding the drowsy little dumpling in his arms, Ji Nuo collaborated with Han Cheng to fill them in on their current findings about the island. The overall situation was less than optimistic.

On the easier side, seashells like the conch and clams near the shore were all too small; they could only be boiled for broth to lend a bit of umami flavor.

Although they managed to eat coconut snail and coconut crab thanks to Ao’ao, they couldn’t just sit around waiting for such unlikely occurrences. They could try catching crabs when they emerged from their holes at night.

As for sea fishing, the waves today were too rough. Han Cheng had felt it when he dove near the rocky beach to seize the coconut snail. He felt the water conditions were unsuitable for most people’s swimming abilities.

Therefore, they absolutely had to find a reliable way to obtain food.

Han Cheng said, “So we want to weave two ground cages for catching fish and crabs.”

Even if they caught no crabs, they would at least have a basic safety net.

The other guests nodded in deep agreement. Compared to Han Cheng and Ji Nuo, they had spent far too much energy on building shelter. Once they finished this task, going into the sea to hand-catch fish would be too difficult, making it even more crucial for them to deploy some ground cages in advance.