Chapter 460 - 294: The Gift of Spring

Chapter 460: Chapter 294: The Gift of Spring

"Of course, I’m drinking."

Lin Chen cheerfully walked to the stream’s edge. Spreading his legs, he didn’t squat down right away. First, he stomped gently to pack the ground, then took two steps back. He knelt, leaned over, and scooped up a handful of water to his lips.

The stream water near the top of the hill was icy cold. He didn’t know where it flowed from, but its taste was crisp and faintly sweet.

The stream was shallow, only about half a palm deep. There was no sign of shrimp or small fish, but the stones on the bottom were covered in a layer of moss, with many unknown snails clinging to it.

He had no interest in those snails. There was too little meat, and they were a pain to eat for all the effort.

He took more than twenty gulps in a row, stopping only when the parched feeling in his throat slowly disappeared.

Just as he was about to get up, his eyes accidentally glanced at a thick layer of withered, yellow maple leaves piled on the grass across the stream.

’Maple leaves?’

’Late March?’

The two keywords collided in his mind, and a piece of knowledge, long sealed in the depths of his memory, quietly surfaced.

A flash of excitement and eagerness appeared in his eyes, and he shot to his feet.

"I’ve got it!"

The two women, who had been staring at him, wondering if he would fall into the water, were startled by his sudden movement. Marcia shivered, and Erica even raised a small fist as if to hit him.

"What are you screaming about all of a sudden? Are you trying to scare someone to death?"

"Hey, hey, hold on, hold on. Look, what’s this?"

Lin Chen caught her small fist and, laughing, pointed to the layer of dead leaves.

"What? Withered, decaying leaves?"

"Exactly."

"And?"

"Wow, I’ve already given you such a big hint. Use that little brain of yours. A forest guide can’t be this clueless, can she?"

Provoked by his words, Erica was instantly fired up. She shook off his hand, leaped to the other side of the stream, and stared at the layer of fallen leaves for a moment.

Marcia came to Lin Chen’s side, her hands hanging naturally at her sides, lightly pinching the hem of her jacket as she watched Erica’s back intently.

Erica furrowed her slender, willow-like brows and muttered to herself. ’It’s just a pile of dead leaves. What’s so special? Is there something underneath them?’

’No, he’s two or three meters away. With such a thick layer of leaves, he couldn’t possibly see anything hidden underneath. So his inspiration must have come from the leaves themselves.’

’Pine needles, maple leaves, birch leaves, willow leaves...’

Her gaze swept over the various types of leaves mixed together, and information related to each of them flashed through her mind.

’It’s the end of March, the season when vegetation is just starting to revive. These fallen leaves must have accumulated over the winter... No, that’s not the right line of thinking.’

’Late March... late March... Could it be that some parts of these trees are edible at the end of March?’

’Definitely not the fruit. That stuff doesn’t appear until late summer or autumn at the earliest. Leaves are around all year except winter, and normal people don’t eat them. Strange, what else could it be?’

She looked up, her gaze sweeping over the surrounding trees, and was suddenly drawn to a large patch of peeling bark on the trunk of a maple tree.

This maple tree looked as if it was suffering from patchy baldness, its thick trunk covered in uneven patches of missing bark.

This strange phenomenon caught her attention. Combined with the maple leaves covering the ground, she blinked, and a sudden glint appeared in her eyes.

"Maple syrup?!"

"Bingo! That’s right!"

Lin Chen and Marcia both breathed a sigh of relief. The former was glad he wouldn’t have to cut this part out, while the latter was genuinely proud of her.

’Watching the competition videos, Erica didn’t really have any standout moments. She basically survived the whole time by the sea, gathering seafood and picking coconuts, unlike Lin Chen and Andre who were busy with construction and hunting.’

’Lin Chen, in particular, even built a large-scale water diversion system and a raft, and even went out to the open sea to dive for fish.’

’Compared to them, it was like Erica was just there to have fun, showing no professionalism at all.’

’The only reason she was popular was purely because of her looks and figure.’

’As her mother, of course, she had read the comments about her daughter and secretly visited her homepage. Nearly sixty to seventy percent of the comments were praising how pretty and sexy she was, with very few mentioning anything about her wilderness survival skills.’

’But now, once this video is released, her extensive knowledge of wilderness survival will surely impress people, and they won’t just be focused on her appearance.’

’Having navigated the business world for so many years, she was well aware that beauty is a woman’s innate weapon. But if used improperly, it could become a temptation leading to a fall from grace.’

’Therefore, while she was a bit worried about Erica’s social skills, she was basically in full support of her choice to become a forest guide.’

’After all, her father worked for the forestry bureau, so she’d been exposed to it since she was a child and was very familiar with the field.’

’Dealing with nature is much simpler than dealing with people.’

"You’re not actually thinking of extracting maple syrup, are you?"

Once this bold idea surfaced, even Erica herself felt it was a bit unrealistic.

One of North America’s specialties is maple syrup. It’s also the most widely used syrup here, and the most famous dish is maple syrup waffles.

When she was little, she had followed her dad to visit a maple syrup tapping area. It could only be done in early spring each year, usually lasting for 4-6 weeks, depending on the local temperature fluctuations between day and night.

The principle behind maple syrup production is actually very simple. In the summer, maple trees use photosynthesis to create and store starch. In the winter, they convert this starch into soluble sugar that flows into the sap, providing nutrients for sprouting in the spring.

The conditions for sap to flow require nighttime temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius and daytime temperatures above 5 degrees. This creates a freeze-thaw cycle, which is essential for sap production.

Once temperatures rise and the nights no longer drop below freezing, this cycle slowly stops, which is the main reason it can only be harvested once a year.

And to get high-quality maple syrup, it’s best to choose sugar maples. This type of maple has a sugar content of 2%, while normal maples have 1%—a full twofold difference.

While the latter can also be used to make syrup, it takes twice as long to boil and evaporate, making it less efficient than the sugar maple.

The process of extracting maple syrup is also very simple, similar to the steps Lin Chen took to make oyster sauce. You just collect enough maple sap, put it in a large, open pot, and boil it continuously, concentrating 40 liters of sap into 1 liter to create standard maple syrup with a 66% sugar content.

This is the commercial standard for maple syrup. If you’re making it for home consumption, you can concentrate it further to increase the sugar content for a richer flavor. However, this also risks scorching it and creating a caramel taste, which requires more skill from the operator.

Putting the boiling step aside, they couldn’t even collect the maple sap. It requires an electric drill to make a hole in the trunk, and then a special tap has to be inserted to let the sap flow out.

"That’s right. This is my territory now. It would be a waste not to make some maple syrup myself. Once this season is over, the chance is gone. After we finish recording this episode, I’ll have to quickly find someone to help get it set up."

"You’re going to extract maple syrup yourselves?"

Marcia raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Can you mail me a bottle when you’re done?"

"It’s just the taste of regular maple syrup. You can just buy it at the supermarket."

"It’s not the same."

"What a strange preference."

’The request wasn’t unreasonable. After all, the woman sent her hundreds of thousands in living expenses every month. Although she saved most of it and didn’t use it, Erica couldn’t deny that having the money gave her a lot of confidence when she was out and about.’

’It wasn’t an outrageous request, so why not? Besides, since Lin Chen said he was going to do it, it was definitely happening.’

’Most people probably don’t know how maple syrup is made. Filming the process and turning it into a show might generate some buzz.’

Their gazes met in mid-air. With just a single look, they instantly understood each other’s intentions.

’That’s exactly what he’s thinking!’

Since he’d chosen to be an outdoor vlogger, he had to use nature’s gifts to create his videos.

In China, many high-quality vloggers had become wildly popular by filming themselves making various traditional cultural items, bringing traditional culture back into the public eye.

Although he didn’t have that kind of skill, he could still make some simple things.

After a short rest, the three of them set off again, this time heading straight for the sea.

Although Marcia did want to experience bare-handed survival, she also knew how difficult it would be in the forest under these conditions. She didn’t want to ruin her health over a three-day experience, which would require a long recovery afterward. The trade-off wasn’t worth it.

Her plan was simple: follow the path Erica had taken, head straight to the sea to spend two and a half days, and then return.

By the time they reached the seashore, it was already past noon, close to one o’clock.

With only five hours left until dark, they had to build a shelter during that time.

Not one, but two.

Lin Chen himself didn’t really care. As long as it could block the wind and keep him warm, a small shelter was fine. He didn’t toss and turn in his sleep anyway.

The only thing that worried him was whether Erica would be willing to sleep with her mom.

"What? Me sleep with her? No way, absolutely not!"

"If you don’t sleep with her, are we supposed to build three shelters? That’s way too much work."

"I can just squeeze in with you, can’t I? That’s how we did it at the beginning in Panama."

"Absolutely not!!"

Marcia’s face was stern. "Before you are married, I will absolutely not allow you to spend the night sleeping with a man!"

"What does your permission have to do with me? I haven’t just slept with him, I’ve done it several times. All the viewers and fans know that."

"Hey, hey, hey, could you please be a little clearer? You squeezed in with me while I was asleep, saying you were cold. Don’t give people the wrong idea!"

"I may not be able to control you when I’m not around, but now that I’m here, I absolutely forbid it!"

Marcia showed no sign of backing down. An imposing aura emanated from her as she narrowed her eyes. "I don’t care what his character is like or whether he’s an outstanding man. Until your father and I give our approval, this is absolutely forbidden!"