This was just a wild guess, but it was worth a shot.
A handful of berries wouldn't fill his stomach, but a rabbit would.
With that in mind, he immediately picked a blueberry branch laden with fruit. He walked to the edge of the cliff, found a crevice in the rock, and wedged the branch inside. Then, he secured it with several stones to prevent it from being pulled out by the strong wind or any slight movement.
'Rabbits aren't the brightest creatures. You always hear stories about them running into trees. If a sweet, juicy bunch of blueberries was growing on the edge of a cliff, a dumb one would probably come over for a bite, right?'
He lay prone on the ground and carefully poked half his head over the cliff's edge. He glanced down at his shelter to confirm its position before slowly backing away.
When he felt enough time had passed, he returned to his shelter, carrying a basket of wild blueberries that had some heft to it.
First, he checked the smoking progress of the salmon. After flipping it over, he set out again without a moment's rest.
The resources on the mountainside were even more abundant than he had imagined.
After a few trips back and forth, a small mountain of blueberries, raspberries, and cranberries now sat on the broad leaves laid out next to his stove.
Besides these sweet and sour berries, he had also gathered a large handful of chives and mountain leeks, and had even dug up a basket of Jerusalem artichokes.
"Friends, come and see what I harvested today! This has been an absolutely exciting day!"
He didn't care if anyone was actually watching on the other side of the internet; he just wanted to share his joy.
"These are chives, also known as northern onions. They're a type of wild onion. Like mountain leeks, they are aromatic plants used for seasoning."
"Any friends familiar with Great Xia cuisine should know just how important scallions and chives are. With these, my cooking for the next few days will become much more interesting!"
Although they were wild varieties and he had never tasted them before, they belonged to the onion and chive family and were very similar in appearance and aroma. He figured their flavors couldn't be too different.
While the salmon was still smoking, he quickly chopped some chives, mashed them together with some blueberries, and spread the mixture over the surface of the fish.
"Wild blueberries are mainly sweet and sour. When roasted at high temperatures, the excess water evaporates, leaving behind only sweet fructose."
"By adding a blueberry jam step to our original simplified Northern Europe-style cure, we're adding a layer of sweetness to the salmon. This turns it into an improved version of maple-smoked salmon!"
"The unique aroma of the chives will enhance the flavor of the fish, keeping it from being too one-dimensional. Even in North American supermarkets, you find lots of chive-flavored snacks and crackers, right? Just imagine that fragrance, paired with smoked salmon and blueberry jam. Isn't that a perfect combination!"
He was completely lost in his culinary daydreams, talking more and more without even realizing it.
"I have some wild apple water on hand right now, which can substitute for lemon juice to cook the jam. Raw cranberries are just too sour—I can't handle that level of acidity. I might as well balance it out with blueberries and raspberries."
He placed his small frying pan on the fire, poured in a little warm wild apple water, and first added the cranberries to bring them to a boil.
Once the liquid in the pan had turned a vibrant rose-red, he added the blueberries and raspberries to simmer together.
The skin of the blueberries contained a large amount of anthocyanins, and in no time, the entire pot of water was dyed purple.
"Adding an acidic liquid like lemon juice not only brings out the sweetness of the jam but also helps to sterilize and preserve it, extending its shelf life."
"The nights in Alaska during autumn are extremely cold, so I don't have to worry about the jam spoiling in the short term. Still, it's best to eat it as soon as possible."
"Also, Jerusalem artichokes are a great find. They're an excellent source of carbohydrates in the wild. I've been surviving out here for four days, and this is the first time I've found any carbs."
"With carbohydrate intake, the body will prioritize burning stored glycogen instead of easily breaking down fat and protein. This helps maintain health, prevents me from becoming too weak, and stops my resistance from dropping."
"I originally thought there would be a lot of potatoes growing on the Yukon River Shore, but I ended up finding Jerusalem artichokes first."
With such a bountiful harvest, and with plenty of daylight left, he couldn't be bothered to rest. He prepared to make another trip to the river to fetch some water before dark.
He placed the pot of wild apple water, which had just cooled down a bit, back on the fire. He tossed in a handful of cedar leaves and fir needles, planning to wash his hair and give himself a quick sponge bath, squeezing every last bit of value out of this pot of water.
As for whether the water was acidic or alkaline, he couldn't be bothered to think about it. As long as it could wash his hair, that was enough.
Besides, many skincare products are acidic, which, in a way, can have a whitening and skin-softening effect. He was a rugged man; there was nothing to worry about.
The cedar water didn't need to be boiled for too long. After simmering for about ten minutes, it could be taken off the fire and left to sit for half an hour, allowing the temperature to naturally cool to a level his skin could tolerate.
If the temperature was too high, it could destroy the active properties of the infusion and scald the skin. If it was too low, washing with it could easily lead to catching a cold. He needed to master the balance himself.
"Am I seeing things? Is this kid seriously going to wash his hair in the wild?"
"Can you even wash your hair with water boiled with wild apples, spruce, and cedar leaves? Those are such common trees, why have we never seen any other contestant use this method before?"
"I grew up in North America, and there are spruce trees all over the suburbs. I've never heard of using them like this. I know you can eat the young shoots, but they don't taste very good."
After two days of his jungle gourmet special, Lin Chen's popularity online was already in a league of its own.
Originally, no one would have believed that a chef could make anything presentable in the resource-scarce wilderness. After all, even acquiring the ingredients was an extremely difficult task.
Unexpectedly, in just three days, aside from the first day, Lin Chen had managed to create two completely different dishes on two consecutive days—and judging by their appearance, they weren't just sloppily thrown together.
After two of his food videos were shared online, they immediately sparked heated discussions.
Many curious homemakers even tried to follow his lead, uploading pictures of the food they made and gaining several thousand followers overnight.
Compared to Lin Chen's blissful life, the other contestants were having a much more miserable time.
Now, on the fourth day, almost everyone had made their way to the banks of the Yukon River to build their permanent shelters.
The self-proclaimed "Cold-blooded Butcher," an animal killer, did nothing but pull a few fish from the river to kill each day; he hadn't managed to catch a single decent prey. In contrast, the dexterous carpenter had caught several wild rabbits with his numerous contraptions.
Meanwhile, the doctor spent his days gathering various plants to make anti-inflammatory and wound-healing medicines. Although he had set many branch traps, they only served to provide free, delicious meals for the animals, and he had grown visibly thinner from hunger.