The night was deep, and the fire in the shelter flickered, casting a warm orange-red hue on the stone walls.

It was time to enjoy a high-calorie dinner to compensate for the energy deficit from today’s long journey.

He went outside the shelter, uncovered the camouflaged snow layer over the 55-gallon Giant Barrel, and twisted open the heavy lid.

A cold smell mixed with various seafood scents hit him.

He picked out the main course for tonight’s dinner, a perfectly flash-frozen Deepwater Redfish found on the southern coastline previously.

This fish was not big, weighing about a pound, but it was bright orange-red and plump, clearly a type rich in oil.

Returning to the warm shelter, he placed the fish popsicle and a handful of rock-hard Hairy Scale Fish next to the fireplace, letting them slowly defrost in the radiating heat.

When the Redfish started to soften, he skillfully used his Hunting Knife to gut it.

Unlike a flounder, this Redfish’s liver was not large, and he carefully extracted it.

Then, he used the knife blade to meticulously scrape away a thick layer of white fat attached to the fish belly’s inner wall.

“Deep sea fish generally have high body fat content to resist the cold and high pressure,” he said, placing the precious fat and fish liver into a preheated stainless steel pot together.

He added nothing extra, just patiently rendering them over a low flame.

Under the effect of low temperatures, the fish liver and fat tissues slowly melted, and clear golden fish oil slowly seeped out from the tissues, emitting a slight sizzling sound.

The entire shelter was once again filled with the rich and unique aroma of fat.

A few minutes later, when the fat and fish liver in the pot had rendered into familiar crispy and fragrant cracklings, he fished them out, sprinkled a bit of sea salt, and savored them, swiftly replenishing the first wave of energy.

Now, what remained in the pot was a layer of clear hot base oil.

He tossed in the whole Hairy Scale Fish, and the high heat quickly fried them to a golden crisp, then he served these energy snacks.

Only then did he chop the previously gutted Redfish into large pieces and pan-fry them in the pot.

The fish skin quickly shrank in the hot oil, becoming aromatic and crispy, while the snow-white fish meat was pan-fried to be fresh and juicy in its own oil.

This dinner was simple and direct, yet full of high calories and high protein.

He carefully poured the remaining fish oil into a container made of shells, waiting for it to cool and solidify; his edible oil reserves had increased again.

The twenty-fourth day, and the sky was lightening.

Lin Yu’an did not go out immediately after sunrise as usual; he knew today would be a pure “construction day.”

The open space at the entrance of the shelter would become his outdoor workshop.

He quickly finished an energy recharge by having a few of the Hairy Scale Fish he pan-fried last night for breakfast, with boiled hot water. Then, he started checking and preparing today’s tools.

He took out the Forest Axe and checked the sharpness of the axe blade. Next, he took out the rarely-used triangular saw.

He explained simply to the camera: “For framework assembly, the axe is responsible for power, while the saw is for precision.”

Finally, he neatly coiled the fine nylon rope he had disentangled from the cable and hung it on his waist.

With the tools ready, he set off towards the willow grove by the riverside.

As he walked, he planned, “To ensure portability, this ice fishing shack doesn’t need to be too large; its length is about two meters, just enough for me to lie down and rest.”

“And its unfolded height is about one point three meters, width one point five meters, enough for me to sit and operate inside, and it can accommodate a small fire pit for warmth, and even space for processing the catch.”

Finally arriving at the willow grove, he began selecting materials for the A-shaped Dragon Bone, only choosing the willow tree trunks with a diameter of three to four centimeters, nearly four meters long, with the best flexibility.

Using the handsaw, he began cutting, the saw teeth rubbing against the wood fibers, making a rhythmic “shush shush” sound.

After more than an hour, he had collected four “Dragon Bone” materials that met the requirements, along with a large number of Willow Branches about one to two centimeters in diameter for weaving and filling.

He bundled these materials into several large bundles and dragged them back to the open space in front of the shelter to begin constructing the ice fishing shack.

First, he drew an isosceles triangle outline on the snow with a base about one point seven meters wide and a height about one point six meters, which would be the side view of the completed ice fishing shack.

Picking up the first and thickest, most flexible willow branch, he carefully placed it beside the fire, using the radiating heat to slowly and evenly heat it to increase flexibility and prevent cracking when bending.

Then, he carefully and forcefully bent this warm willow branch, using the triangle’s peak as the center, into a perfect A-shape.

He firmly staked the ‘legs’ of this A-shaped Dragon Bone into the snow, temporarily securing it.

Next, he made three more identical A-shaped Dragon Bones using the same method.

Now, he arranged these four A-shaped Dragon Bones in a row on the snow, forming a tunnel-shaped structure about two meters long.

He said to the camera: “The Dragon Bones are in place; now beginning the weaving. Using the ‘weft’ to lock all the Dragon Bones together to form a solid whole.”

He took a thinner willow branch as the weft line, wrapping it a few times around one ‘leg’ of the first A-shaped Dragon Bone to secure it.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep