Chapter 162 What are we protecting?
[Hahaha, what a clear voice]
[I’m hungry.]
[So cute. ]
[I've already had dinner here, so it should be lunch, right? 】
Bifang looked at the sky and found that the sun had risen to halfway in the sky, around eleven or twelve o'clock in the afternoon.
"Hungry?"
Étienne nodded, then shook his head.
Bifang smiled when he saw this: "If you're hungry , just say so. It's normal to feel hungry after a long day. Don't hide it. It's not good."
"Many times, the situation gets worse because of ignoring some signs. You don't know but I do, so tell me if there is anything going on. Don't try to hide it."
Etienne felt embarrassed. He stretched out his index finger and thumb and gestured: "I'm just a little hungry."
The two of them set out in a hurry, without bringing anything with them, and they didn't have breakfast early in the morning. Anyone would be hungry after such a long time.
The geese can find grass to eat on their own, so there is no need to worry, but humans cannot.
A month's time is a daunting challenge for anyone .
Bifang stood up and looked at his clothes. Several thick coats were not dry yet, but the quick-drying linings were fit to wear. After putting them on, he came to a rock nearby.
The rock was covered with green fungus-like stuff, which looked a bit disgusting, but Bifang actually scraped it off with a knife.
[What is Lao Fang doing? Why is he eating this? ]
[Fang Shen, you can look back, the plump and juicy white-fronted geese (funny)]
[Good fellow, you dare to eat it in the second year of junior high school? ]
[This is called emergency hedging, and this is overseas, it is not illegal, I eat one a day. ]
[The above person is so cruel. If you keep eating like this, I'm afraid you won't be able to reach France after finishing it, right? ]
[Not all wings should be braised, they can also be fried or steamed. ]
Bifang was also amused by the silly fans: "That's reserve food, reserve food, you know? I won't eat them unless it's absolutely necessary, understand?"
[Oh my god, you really have this plan? ]
【Carrying the bones of eighteen wild geese from Lapland to France. 】
"Okay, no more jokes. Look at the lichen on this rock. It's a very good source of food." Bifang introduced while scraping the lichen.
"Not only lichens, but also the bark and young shoots of spruce, pine and polar willow can be eaten, but they must be cooked or roasted before eating."
"Lichens, which many people are used to calling ground vegetables, and in some places are also called fairy vegetables, are formed by algae and free fungi. They contain very high levels of amino acids, minerals and calcium, and their protein is even higher than eggs, so don't look down on them."
After scraping most of the lichen off the rocks, Bifang went to the lake to wash it briefly, and then strung the lichen on sticks and roasted it like slices of meat.
"Because it's so humid nearby, there will be a lot of bacteria on the lichens, so we have to bake them to soften them and sterilize them."
In a few minutes, the lichen, which was originally slightly firm, quickly softened under the high temperature, and Bifang handed a string to Etienne.
"You can try it. There's not much seasoning, but it should taste good."
Etienne took it doubtfully, looking at the lichen that had turned black after being roasted, and didn't know how to eat it. As a Frenchman, he doubted whether it was edible.
Just when Etienne was doubting his life, Bifang had already begun praising the taste of the lichen.
"Some of them are like a mixture of eggs and wood ear mushrooms. They are very crisp and taste good. It would be even better if they had salt. Unfortunately, we don't have any. We can't live without salt for a month. I will try to make some in a few days."
[Is it so fragrant? ]
[It is very fragrant. We eat it here often. It tastes very smooth, a bit like crispy rice noodles. However, Lao Fang’s rice noodles don’t have any seasoning, so I can’t say for sure.]
[I always feel that Fang Shen's sense of taste is different from that of ordinary people. What he says tastes good may not necessarily be authentic]
[Ah, look at the little brother’s reaction]
Is it so delicious?
Seeing Bifang praising the dish, Etienne, driven by hunger, imitated Bifang and tasted a piece carefully.
"vomit!"
Etienne covered his mouth, his face bitter, a strong smell of earth exploded in his mouth, the lichen in his mouth was slippery and sticky, making Etienne feel as if he had swallowed a piece of snot, it was so disgusting that he could hardly swallow it.
Is this for human consumption?
[Hahaha, I knew that no matter what it is, it won’t taste good without seasoning! ]
【Fang Shen’s Wonderful Taste】
This is a normal person’s reaction.
Etienne kept retching, but even so, he did not spit out the lichen in his mouth.
Etienne had watched Bifang's survival video and knew that food resources in the wilderness were extremely precious and must not be wasted. If Bifang said it was edible, then it must be edible.
So Etienne suppressed his nausea and swallowed the lichen in one gulp.
Bifang was eating his lunch silently, as if he didn't see this scene.
If Etienne had vomited just now, the mission would have been terminated.
Étienne persisted.
The wild geese nearby were still eating grass, completely unaware that they had just been through the gates of hell.
At first, Bifang was also very conflicted about whether to take Etienne with him.
There is actually a difference between his protection and Etienne's, and they can even be said to be two different things.
What Bifang protects is only the biodiversity, a possibility for the future, rather than these eighteen fixed geese.
This is also a misunderstanding that most people have. Bifang also encountered this in his previous life and could not understand the behavior of animal protectors sacrificing their lives.
It is generally believed that animal protectors are the kind of reckless young people who rush into farmers' homes and smash things. This is completely wrong.
On the one hand, it stems from the lack of understanding of biological protection. On the other hand current animal protectors have done many puzzling things that are really confusing.
True animal protection has never simply meant protecting animals, but rather maintaining a dynamic balance in nature, using human power to maintain order while humans are destroying nature.
As ironic as it sounds, it is true.
Because the future of humanity may depend on this irony.
One of the typical examples is Artemisia annua. If Artemisia annua becomes extinct for decades, will artemisinin still exist?
Is there any hope for so many people suffering from malaria?
The more species there are in an ecosystem, the greater its creativity. The extinction of each species indicates that many species are about to die.
Only by protecting the food chain can we better maintain the ecological balance.
True animal protectors never protect animals.
But human beings themselves.
This responsibility can be big or small, depending on how much weight it carries in people's hearts. Many victims take this responsibility too seriously.
But Etienne is different. What he protects is not the ecology or nature. He just protects the simplicity that has accompanied him for six months, from 18 eggs to become the "companion" of 18 geese.
For Etienne, wild geese are like the cats and dogs that grew up with him.
In the old house where I lived when I was a child, pure white sheets were drying in the corridor. The wind blew the green leaves swaying, making a rustling sound. The afternoon sun shone in from the window at the end of the corridor, sprinkling warmth on my body.
At that time, you were still a little child, waiting for your parents to come home from get off work. After waiting for a long time, you finally heard the sound of keys unlocking the door. You couldn't wait to open the door, but were surprised to find that your parents had brought you a new playmate.
It is cute, furry and has a baby voice.
In the next ten years, it accompanied you in tears and laughter, stayed by your side and licked your face when you were beaten by your parents, and even became so old that it could hardly walk.
But suddenly one day someone from the Animal Control Bureau breaks into your house, waving a net bag and saying that the pet you raise does not meet the regulations and needs to be euthanized. As a teenager, would you secretly let it go or even take it to live in another city?
Bifang saw this determination in the eyes of fourteen-year-old Etienne.
Since I'm already flying, I might as well fly all the way to the end.
He stood up, found a wooden stick, and stuck it straight into the soil.
Many old viewers could tell at a glance what Bifang was going to do.
[Ah, Lao Fang has to judge the direction again! ]
[I know this, what is AB connection, right? ]
[Isn't there a faster way? Why doesn't Lao Fang use it? ]
"Because the route has deviated, I need to know where this lake is on the map so that I can determine the direction to continue moving forward."
Bifang slid down along the shadow of the stick.
"This time I want to calculate the longitude and latitude."
