Starting from Robinson Crusoe-Chapter 56 - 20: Cat_2

Chapter 56: Chapter 20: Cat_2
But on the slope, the rainwater always flows downwards. If the drainage channel isn’t done properly, the pit will inevitably accumulate water like before.
Moreover, the earthen bed without a chimney is a big problem. When you make a fire, the entire tent fills with smoke, making it hard to open your eyes, not to mention the fire hazard. It’s better to keep using the wooden frame.
After making a plan, Chen Zhou spent the better part of the day setting up the new tent.
This makeshift Shelter didn’t have doors or windows, so the wind passed through both sides, making smoke less of a concern.
At one end of the Shelter, three large wooden crates were combined into a bed. At the other end hung a black iron pot, accompanied by a nightstand on the mud floor and a decorative picture nailed to a tree trunk, creating an absurd and bizarre scene.
After arranging the indoor furnishings, Chen Zhou spread the mate’s fur bedding on the bed, stuffed half a set of silver cutlery into the nightstand drawer, and felt a rare sense of "home," which gave him quite some comfort.
"Well, at least it finally looks like a house."
He lay on the bed, looking at the slanted ceiling branches, feeling rather satisfied.
Building the new home took up the entire 15th.
The 16th was half sunny and half rainy.
From this day, Chen Zhou stopped resting in the mate’s quarters, even for a moment.
On the same day, most of the important resources on the ship were moved out, and Chen Zhou began dismantling things violently to seize resources that Robinson couldn’t get.
He cut the main mast, tore off the ropes, suspended furniture, dismantled windows, sawed railings, uninstalled toilets; anything in good condition was his target.
In Chen Zhou’s plan, his little yard should have a greenhouse.
During the rainy season, the greenhouse would protect crops vulnerable to waterlogging. The windows with glass were just right to assemble into a row of covers, installed above the greenhouse, closed on rainy days, opened on sunny days.
Although there’s no shortage of sand on the island, he had no flux and no closed furnace to reach the required temperatures, making it impossible to produce usable glass; dismantling it from the ship was the best choice.
After taking all the windows and doors from the ship, Chen Zhou began researching how to remove the marine well.
Initially, he tried to pull the marine well up from the floor, which could save a lot of effort.
To accomplish this, Chen Zhou fetched a mechanical jack, placed it at the base of the marine well, attempting to tilt the iron pipe underneath to create a gap, making subsequent removal easier.
Undoubtedly, this plan failed.
It wasn’t that the jack couldn’t pry the wooden boards open, but the jack’s top was too hard, pressing a dent into the iron pipe at the marine well’s base.
To avoid making things worse with clever tricks, Chen Zhou had to give up opportunistic means and began forcibly dismantling the floor between the upper and lower decks of the ship.
Ax, long saw, sledgehammer, chisel...
Sawdust flew, and deafening noise filled the entire deck of the ship.
In the process of sawing through the floor, Chen Zhou faintly heard some unique sounds from beneath his feet, thinking it was mice, he continued his work.
Unexpectedly, as a new floorboard was lifted, two cats suddenly dashed out from the gap between the upper and lower wooden boards.
They were small, one gray, one black and white, with dull fur and emaciated bodies.
When fleeing, they fluffed up their fur, trying to make themselves look bigger.
But from their sluggish running pace, it was clear they hadn’t eaten a full meal in a long time.
Instinctively, Chen Zhou dropped the floorboard in his hand, wanting to catch the two little creatures.
But the drainage room’s walls and windows had long been dismantled, and in the brightly lit lower deck, aside from a few immovable cannons, there was nothing; the kittens were impossible to catch as they tried to escape.
In the sunlight streaming through the ship’s porthole, amid the revealed floorboards, many cockroach and bug remains came into Chen Zhou’s view.
Based on this, he speculated that the two kittens hiding in the floor layers might be living off insects.
But cockroaches and bugs are not part of a cat’s regular diet.
Long-term consumption of insects led to the two kittens being malnourished, not only were their bodies weak, but Chen Zhou also noticed earlier the gray cat’s eyes were clouded, with heavy tear stains at the corners, already indicating illness.
With such poor physical condition, without timely medical treatment, that cat probably wouldn’t survive for many days.
Abandoning the continued dismantling of the drainage well, Chen Zhou followed the direction in which the two cats fled, finally managing to corner them in the bow’s lower deck.
This room’s accumulated water hadn’t been cleared in time, and with recent frequent rains, the water level rose again, submerging even most of the steps into the room.
The two kittens, chased into a dead end, stood trembling by the water, huddled together, looking at Chen Zhou with fear.
Blocked at the front, pursued from behind.
All they could do was hiss and make low growls from their throats to scare the enemy.
But under absolute size pressure, their threats only made them seem more vulnerable and easily bullied.
Carefully, Chen Zhou stretched out a hand to grab the back of the black and white kitten’s neck.
The kitten quickly hissed, stretched out a paw to scratch Chen Zhou, scaring him into quickly retracting his hand.
Seeing their attack succeed, the two kittens looked around, ready to escape again.
However, in the narrow corridor, with Chen Zhou blocking the way, they had no chance to get around him.
"Hehe."
Smiling at the two kittens, Chen Zhou suddenly took off his jacket, fashioned it into a large net, and threw it over the kittens.
Not expecting this move, the two kittens were caught off guard, meowing and clawing, but unable to break through the jacket’s enclosure.