Chapter 9: The Baobab Tree (Monkey Bread Tree)
1189 Words
Bethany flatly refused, covering her eyes with her fair and delicate fingers to avoid looking at the pants. Jackson looked to the other two for their opinions, but they just looked up at the sky, pretending not to see!
Alright, a real man should lead by example!
The pants were torn into strips. Jackson found a stone, selected a large, wide, symmetrical piece of metal with protrusions, dug a small pit, and slowly hammered the edges with the stone!
"I see!"
Lily observed Jackson's actions a few times and quickly understood his intention!
"Let me do it!"
Lily volunteered for the task, and Jackson didn't insist otherwise, letting her take over. Lily mimicked Jackson's gestures and strength, lightly tapping the edges of the metal piece!
Yesterday, Jackson had spotted a few small trees with straight roots in the jungle. He needed to cut them down to construct a temporary shelter against the wind and rain!
"Do you two know how to clean fish?"
Jackson took out an axe. "Lily, give them the small knife, go to the beach and clean the fish, I'll go chop trees!"
Even though Bethany was extremely reluctant, she encouraged herself internally, knowing that survival in the wild without value would lead to elimination!
As it neared noon, everyone's work was nearing completion!
Although the makeshift pot was bumpy and uneven inside, it could still hold things. After admiring her handiwork, Lily happily made four more bowls!
Bethany and Lisa, having experienced their first kill in life, managed to clean the fish and prepare the conch despite their initial fear!
Jackson chose a higher spot on the ground, dug a pit, inserted four pieces of wood, and recklessly shook the branches to test their stability. He then cut a long vine, used the axe to notch the arm-thick branches, and wrapped the vine around all four!
Finding it not sturdy enough, Jackson reinforced each branch with two large stones, with the vine haphazardly entwined with smaller vines!
Once everything was done, Jackson took a break, took a couple of sips of coconut water, and cut down large leaves, laying them haphazardly on top, layer upon layer, with branches and leaves, finally covering the topmost layer with wild banana leaves!
The top was set up, but the sides were drafty. The women, having finished their tasks, curiously ran over, and were in complete awe of Jackson!
"Wow, Jackson, I didn't expect you to be so amazing! We won't have to worry about rain tonight!"
"Bro, Bethany really admires you!"
"Silly security guard, you're quite capable!"
Faced with the women's compliments, Jackson felt as if he were in a wonderful world, floating on air!
"Look at you, all smug, silly security guard!"
Lisa snorted coldly, her tone sour, glaring at Jackson as she grabbed a vine to secure the shelter by wrapping it around four trees. Lily thought for a moment and intertwined two smaller vines, placing a leaf at each intersection!
"I'll go get some dry kindling to use as bedding, so it's easier to sleep tonight!"
"Hey, big bro, where are you going to sleep tonight?"
Suddenly, Bethany stomped her foot in embarrassment and called out to Jackson, her cheeks flushed. Lily secretly kicked her, and Lisa's expression turned strange, staring at Jackson with a hint of resentment!
Are these three trying to kick me out of the shelter?
"How about I sleep next to Jackson?"
Lisa bit her lip, comforting herself that Jackson is the security guard of her company, so she should take care of him!
"I'll sleep in the middle, and you two can sleep inside!"
Lily coughed lightly, her gaze falling on Jackson's strong and muscular physique, her cheeks turning crimson!
"You guys figure it out yourselves! Meanwhile, set up some traps in the jungle to catch some game!"
Although Jackson was a principled person and didn't want to force others, he had been working hard all morning without even a thank you or food, and his stomach was growling with hunger. What's wrong with taking a nap?
Man, women really are fickle!
Feeling frustrated, Jackson grabbed a ribbonfish, cut it into three pieces, and went into the jungle. He had already scouted the places where small animals frequently appeared. He dug three large pits, covered them with banana leaves, and placed a piece of ribbonfish and a piece of coconut meat on each leaf!
After carefully observing the pits, Jackson tied vines to each tree branch, calculated the length, and tied a slipknot at the other end. Once an animal fell into the pit, its struggle would tighten the vine, making escape impossible!
Jackson retraced his steps, carrying a bundle of vine-tied kindling back, when he suddenly saw an impressively strong tree at the spot where Lisa was bitten last time!
After his initial shock, Jackson suppressed his excitement, trembling as he discarded the firewood. He approached the tree with full alertness, carefully confirming that it was indeed a baobab tree, extremely rare, and unexpectedly found here. Jackson silently fist-pumped in excitement!
A heavenly gift of life!
This rare tree is called the baobab tree, primarily found in tropical regions of the African continent!
Jackson walked around the baobab tree. From a distance, it resembled a giant r****h. Most baobabs are found in Africa's arid regions, and they are succulent plant trees with a barrel-like trunk full of water, fresh water!
A small baobab tree can store three tons of fresh water! Jackson was so excited that he could hardly contain his urge to cheer and celebrate!
This tree absorbs underground water with its roots and also stores it in its body during rain. You can extract water by chiseling a hole!
But the surroundings were too dangerous to visit frequently, and Jackson didn't dare assume there weren't crocodiles lurking nearby!
After considering the risks, Jackson hurried back, handed the firewood to Lily, tied all the plastic bottles with the remaining cloth strips, slung them around his neck, and also took the pot!
Holding a stick to plug the tree hole, Jackson slowly chiseled a hole in the tree's body with a small knife, roughly the size of the stick, then quickly used the mouth of a plastic bottle to plug the hole, and water flowed into the plastic bottle!
One, two, three, all the bottles were filled, and the pot was also full of water. Jackson quickly plugged the hole with a stick; the water was too rare and precious!
With a blend of anxiety and excitement, Jackson safely reached the fire pit!
"Brother, is this water?"
The women noticed the plastic bottles around his neck were filled with water, helped take them down, opened them to smell, and then tasted with their tongues to confirm it was fresh water, and then they showered him with kisses in gratitude!
Lily excitedly hugged Jackson's waist, Lisa rarely showed a smile, her lips curved into a gentle, charming smile, her eyes lowered, and her aura became much softer!
Overwhelmed by the intimate attention of three beautiful women, Jackson's heart raced, his blood surged to his head, almost making him feel faint!
- Writer
