Chapter 5 Tequila
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[There is an agave plant two hundred meters ahead. It can be used to make hemp rope, brew liquor, or serve as food.]
Agave?
Now, that’s a useful thing!
But...
Let’s put that aside for now.
After checking the prompt in the last direction, if nothing better turns up, Ye Da will go dig up the agave!
Ye Da turned to the west—the direction of his tree hollow. To avoid being blocked by the tree hollow, he even moved about ten meters to the side before standing to face west, waiting...
[There is a bamboo grove 1,000 meters ahead. If you’re lucky, you might be able to dig up some bamboo shoots there.]
A bamboo grove?
Looks like my luck isn’t too bad!
Ye Da’s eyes brightened at once. Besides being a valuable resource in itself, a bamboo grove comes with a special benefit.
That is, a water source!
Since bamboo is a water-loving plant, even if there isn’t a visible source nearby, digging under a bamboo grove will often yield water.
So...
Ye Da became quite eager to visit the bamboo grove.
Still, compared to searching for water in the grove, he decided it was better to first secure the agave, which was within easy reach.
Agave isn’t just for making liquor; it can also be processed into fiber to make hemp rope. And the heart of the agave—the stem base—can be eaten as a vegetable after steaming or boiling. Ye Da remembered seeing on a food program that agave hearts are a local delicacy in Mexico!
Once he brought the agave back, his diet for the next few days would be nothing short of balanced and nutritious!
Having made up his mind, Ye Da sprang into action!
He set off toward the south.
To avoid getting lost, he marked arrows on the trunks of the large trees along the way!
That way, he wouldn’t have to rely solely on his analytical glasses to find his way back, and could move much faster.
Winding his way through the forest, Ye Da noticed that the woods were filled with towering trees, each one so tall he couldn’t see the top, and even the occasional fallen branch was massive.
Therefore...
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After trying to drag one of the fallen branches, Ye Da abandoned the idea of collecting them for now.
He decided to focus on getting the agave first, and if there was time afterward, he’d come back to chop up a couple of branches for firewood.
Two hundred meters would only take a few minutes at a brisk pace.
But Ye Da wasn’t sure how large the agave would be, so as he walked, he counted his steps, lest he miss it if it was hidden in the grass or behind a tree.
When he reached the spot, he saw the agave growing right in the center of a clearing, and realized his worries had been unnecessary!
Because...
The agave was as gigantic as an oversized aloe, with a diameter of two meters and a height well above his own—at least two and a half or three meters tall.
Its thick leaves, except for the pale spots that distinguished them from aloe, and the serrated edges, looked almost identical to aloe leaves!
With such a massive plant, it would be hard to overlook.
But...
Faced with this giant agave, Ye Da looked down at his small stone axe, then up at the plant, feeling a tingle on his scalp. How was he supposed to deal with this?
He mulled it over for so long that a new prompt appeared on his analytical glasses.
[Agave: Remove the withered leaves at the base, approach the rootstock from the nine o’clock position, and begin chopping at the base of the leaves, removing all the leaves from bottom to top.]
These glasses can even analyze a battle plan?
Ye Da’s eyes widened in delight at the words on the lens!
He wasn’t sure if his little stone axe could really handle such a huge agave, but he decided to follow the glasses’ instructions and give it a try.
If it worked, great; if not...
He’d think of another way.
Swish!
Swish, swish!
Ye Da stepped forward and started pulling off the lowest leaves of the agave.
The analytical glasses hadn’t lied.
The seemingly menacing leaves came away easily with a gentle tug.
After dragging the fallen leaves aside, Ye Da saw that the leaf stems were already dry and yellow, indicating that they were dead but hadn’t yet fallen off.
Once all the dead leaves were cleared, a gap opened up at the base of the giant agave.
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Ye Da now took up his stone axe and began to chop away.
Before long...
The massive agave leaves toppled one by one, leaving behind a thick, succulent agave heart. Ye Da worked a while longer to dig out the agave heart from the ground.
“Phew! Exhausting!”
He hugged the bare agave heart, which looked like a giant pineapple and weighed at least fifteen or twenty catties.
It was quite heavy.
But with this, he wouldn’t have to worry about vegetables for the next few days.
As for the pile of leaves...
Ye Da gazed at the heap of agave leaves, which looked like a small mountain. Imitating a trick he’d seen Bear Grylls do on a survival show, he bit down on the tip of a leaf and pulled. Sure enough, a thick fiber was drawn out from within the leaf.
[Low-quality flax +1]
Low-quality flax from agave—what a haul!
Ye Da’s eyes lit up as he looked at the coarse, sap-covered fiber in his hand. If one leaf produced a unit of flax, then from this whole heap...
He roughly counted—there were at least fifty or sixty leaves, yielding fifty units of flax!
If he found some nails, he could upgrade straight to a deluxe treehouse.
But...
How to bring this pile of spiny leaves back?
Ye Da checked the time on his interface. It had been fifty-five minutes since he’d left the tree hollow, leaving him with one hour and five minutes before he had to return.
He’d need to save time for the return as well.
Just in case...
Ye Da decided to carry the agave heart back first!
By the time he lugged the agave heart back to his tree hollow, it was 7:05 in the morning.
As Ye Da debated whether to go back for the remaining leaves or explore a different direction...
His analytical glasses displayed a warning.
[Swamp: Only 5 hours, 54 minutes, and 31 seconds remain until the supply crates refresh.]