Starting from Robinson Crusoe-Chapter 48 - 17: Landing, Part 3

Chapter 48: Chapter 17: Landing, Part 3
The sea was calm and tranquil, and Chen Zhou was hopping sideways like a crab on the raft. He paddled vigorously a few times this way, then a few times that way, finally steering the raft into the Rock Beach.
When the tide rises, all the rocks scattered across Rock Beach are submerged underwater. If one were to travel among them in a canoe or small boat, the bottom would inevitably hit the rocks, causing leaks or even sinking.
However, the flat-bottomed raft had no such worries. Its unique hull shape effectively reduced the draft, eliminating the concern of running aground.
Additionally, navigating through the Rock Beach, Chen Zhou discovered an unexpected advantage—the water in the Rock Beach was shallow and clear, allowing him to see the tops of the rocks. By using a paddle to push off from a rock, he could propel the raft forward.
This unconventional paddling method was similar to using a punt pole; it required strength but no technical skills, making it very suitable for Chen Zhou.
With the aid of the "punting-style paddling method," Chen Zhou accomplished the seemingly impossible task, successfully docking the raft beside the river channel.
Worried that the receding tide would strand the raft, he deliberately kept a distance of over a meter from the riverbank, using two planks to build a small bridge to reach the land.
Lai Fu, having drifted at sea for so long, had almost forgotten what it felt like to have solid ground beneath its feet. While on the raft, it curiously looked around, and if it weren’t afraid of losing track of Chen Zhou, it would have already plunged into the river.
Now that the raft was docked, it couldn’t contain its deep-seated yearning for land and leapt ashore a step ahead of Chen Zhou.
The riverbank was muddy all over, and as soon as Lai Fu’s heavy body landed, it was instantly coated in mud.
But it didn’t care at all, wagging its tail and running freely, dashing through the grassy hillside and into the woods with a leap. Its carefree happiness resembled children playing in water by puddles after a summer rain.
Watching Lai Fu play wildly, Chen Zhou smiled knowingly. He temporarily put aside the terrible paddling experience and began transporting the supplies from the raft, tirelessly moving them one by one to the woods on the hillside by the riverbank.
He initially intended to find a suitable open area in the woods and then construct a simple shack on it.
However, after a walk around, he found that the island’s environment was completely different from the forests commonly seen in the north. The trees here reproduced naturally and grew wildly, extremely densely, leaving no trace of open spaces from any artificial planting.
Especially near the river at the bottom of the slope, there grew a kind of arbor similar to willow trees by the river. The branches were tough and slender, barely over a meter in height but nearly two meters in width.
The dense branches and leaves interwove almost into a wall.
In these low shrubs, even turning around was difficult, let alone placing wooden boxes and barrels.
With no other choice, Chen Zhou had to stack the supplies at the edge of the forest, using wooden barrels to form a simple wall and covering it with canvas, before returning to the raft.
Lai Fu was nowhere to be seen, and knowing there were no large beasts on the island, Chen Zhou wasn’t worried about it. While paddling back to the Rock Beach, he summarized the lessons learned from the first island landing.
Firstly, he found his estimated round-trip time to be overly optimistic.
Even when moving with the tide, since the raft didn’t travel in a straight line, adjustments were needed for direction, navigating the Rock Beach, and docking in the river channel, which took much longer than expected.
As for loading and unloading cargo.
Loading was simple and quick, but unloading and carrying boxes a hundred meters back and forth between the hillside woods took so much time that an hour might not be enough, let alone half an hour, when there were many supplies.
Moreover, after unloading, returning against the current with his poor paddling skills, even with an overperformance, took at least two hours to reach the side of the ship.
If not paddling but using the sail, the prospects were even more bleak.
The wind direction on the sea was ever-changing, mostly southwesterly winds blowing towards the island. Even when there was an eastern wind, it was very weak.
His makeshift sail had stringent conditions, and unless he had great luck and encountered a strong wind in the correct direction, it was mostly decoration.
After all, having been made in just a few hours, its decorative value exceeded its practical value, although it was quite good for drying clothes.
Given this, if he were unlucky and missed the eastern wind, he might not be able to paddle back during high tide and would have to wait for the tide to recede and follow the water back to the ship.
But returning with the receding tide, if not accurately controlling the direction, might cause him to be swept into the open sea.
Theoretically, the likelihood of veering off course into the deep ocean was low, but the danger was too great, and any mistake would be fatal.
Looking at the short paddles at both ends of the raft, Chen Zhou made up his mind.
"Once back on the ship, I’ll immediately improve the tools."
He had once taken a wooden boat in the Jiangnan Water Village, where the rowers used long paddles attached to both sides of the boat.
When in use, the rower sat in the middle of the boat, holding both paddle handles, pushing them back and forth to paddle water on both sides simultaneously. Whether moving forward or backward, it was quite efficient, resembling the "fool-proof" paddle style Chen Zhou favored.
Moreover, the design of this long paddle was quite simple, not complicated to make, taking little effort, and meeting his needs well.
Of course, besides the paddle, there were also thorny issues with the forest conditions on the riverbank slope. Clearing a suitable area for storing supplies would require machetes and axes.
He remembered all these, planning to bring them on the next island visit.