Jiang Ye carried the plate back to the spaceship and placed it on the table before putting on his spacesuit.
Cen Yemeng also put on her spacesuit, following him. "Are you going to the garbage mountain again? What are you going to pick up?"
"To build a kitchen," Jiang Ye said, closing his helmet. "If you see anything that could be used in a kitchen, tell me."
"Okay!" Cen Yemeng nodded.
The trash-collecting couple set off towards the garbage mountain again.
It was the same garbage mountain as yesterday. Jiang Ye climbed up along the original path, remembering something quite suitable.
Reaching the mountainside, he looked down and searched. After a few steps, he pulled out a metal frame from a pile of plastic bags.
The frame was about a meter and a half long and nearly a meter high, a simple structure with two Z-shaped legs and two crossbars. The paint on the surface had bubbled and peeled off, making it look mottled, but the silvery-white metal exposed beneath the paint showed no signs of rust.
"Is this an... electric keyboard stand?" Cen Yemeng recognized it.
"It can hold pots. For example, you can place it over a fire to boil soup, and after it's done, put the pot on this to cool," Jiang Ye said, testing the frame's stability. "This thing is very stable, no need to worry about it tipping over, and it's hollow underneath, so it cools down quickly."
Cen Yemeng applauded, but her spacesuit muffled the sound.
Jiang Ye placed the frame back and continued searching upwards.
The ground was covered with vast amounts of garbage, but useful items were rare.
Cen Yemeng picked up a bag of steel wool. She tore open the packaging, revealing eight brand-new steel wool balls. It was possible that the bag had been filled with some special gas, as they hadn't rusted for such a long time.
"Do you want this? It can be used for scrubbing."
"Yes! It's not just for scrubbing, it can also start a fire, a very good tinder!" Jiang Ye's voice was excited.
"Start a fire?" Cen Yemeng was a little confused. "Can steel wool burn?"
"I'll show you how to start a fire later, and then I'll use it to wipe your backside with gauze paper to show off!"
The two reached the mountaintop, where several deformed stainless steel basins of various sizes were scattered. They could be used as different kinds of pots.
They first brought all the items back to the spaceship and placed them on the open ground behind it.
Then, they headed back to the garbage mountain.
Jiang Ye picked up several two-meter-long metal rods, a bundle of wire, and a few large batteries.
Cen Yemeng was collecting fuel. She didn't see any wood. There might have been wooden debris before, but the repeated wind and rain might have corroded it all. So, she could only collect plastic bags.
"Is this enough?" Cen Yemeng asked, holding a large bundle of plastic bags.
"Put it on the ground, I'll check it," Jiang Ye said.
Cen Yemeng put down the large bundle of plastic bags. Jiang Ye picked them up one by one, discarding some after a glance, while others he shook and tugged. After a thorough inspection, only one-third of the plastic bags were deemed suitable.
"I'll teach you how to distinguish between toxic and non-toxic plastic bags. Toxic plastic bags produce a lot of carcinogens when burned and can easily cause nausea and dizziness. We definitely can't use them for cooking," Jiang Ye explained. "Polyethylene plastic bags are the best. Pure polyethylene burns to produce only water and carbon dioxide, with no pollutants."
"Toxic plastic bags often have a rougher surface, feel sticky or slippery. Those cheap-feeling plastic bags are often toxic. If they look okay, give them a good shake; those that make a crisp sound are good, while dull sounds are bad. Later, we'll wash them with water to remove any dirt from the surface," Jiang Ye paused. "Non-toxic ones will float, while toxic ones will sink in water. Finally, try to avoid colored plastic bags."
"You know so much!" Cen Yemeng's eyes sparkled, and she hugged Jiang Ye admiringly. "I'll remember it."
The two collected another large pile of plastic bags and returned to the beach.
Actually, cooking ingredients were also simple; all that was needed was to start a fire and have a pot.
Jiang Ye took off his stuffy spacesuit, rested for a moment, and then picked up a shovel to get to work.
He first dug a fire pit on the beach, large enough to hold the fuel.
Then, he inserted three metal rods around the edge of the fire pit, with their tops meeting, and secured them with wire.
Finally, he used a long wire to hang a small stainless steel basin over the fire pit, completing the pot stand.
Cen Yemeng had already washed all the plastic bags and spread them out on the beach to dry. The sunlight was quite intense, and they dried quickly. Cen Yemeng then gathered the plastic bags, rolling them into small bundles.
Jiang Ye threw some of the plastic rolls into the fire pit, along with a piece of dry, torn rag as initial fuel.
Then, he took out a large battery from his pocket.
The battery was rectangular, with both positive and negative terminals at one end, making it very convenient.
Jiang Ye placed the battery on the ground near the edge of the fire pit, with the positive and negative terminals facing upwards.
He tucked a small piece of torn cloth into the edge of a steel wool ball and pressed it directly onto the positive and negative terminals.
Flames immediately erupted!
Jiang Ye quickly threw the steel wool ball into the fire pit. The first plastic roll ignited instantly, emitting a faint blue flame!
The melting plastic flowed and continued to burn, quickly igniting the second plastic roll, then the third, the fourth...
"Done!" Jiang Ye exclaimed with joy.
Cen Yemeng looked surprised but reacted quickly, taking a bowl of water from the nearby water collector and pouring it into the pot above the fire pit.
Jiang Ye, meanwhile, ran back to the spaceship and grabbed a handful of dried fish flakes and dried seaweed.
After a slight hesitation, he also took a compressed biscuit.
Returning to the fire pit, he tossed the dried fish flakes and dried seaweed into the pot, and broke off a small piece of the compressed biscuit to add as well.
Cen Yemeng added several more bowls of water, filling the pot.
The fire in the pit burned fiercely. All the plastic had melted into liquid, coating the entire fire pit and producing a vigorous flame that licked the bottom of the pot.
Jiang Ye sat down, hugging his knees, and Cen Yemeng sat beside him, also hugging her knees.
Both of them gazed expectantly at the pot, their eyes illuminated by the firelight.
The plastic was quite durable, burning for over ten minutes without any sign of diminishing the flames, as if it could burn forever.
A rustling sound gradually emerged from the pot, followed by bubbles that grew larger and larger—the water was boiling!
"This is so good, so good, so good!" Cen Yemeng cheered. "We have fish soup to drink!"
"Let it boil a bit longer. See, the seaweed hasn't unfurled yet," Jiang Ye said with a smile.
In the boiling water, the dry seaweed gradually unfurled, returning to its original appearance as if just plucked from the sea.
The fish flakes also swelled, becoming white, tender fish meat with distinct fibers.
A tiny piece of compressed biscuit dissolved, floating on the surface.
The aroma began to emanate.
The two swallowed in unison.
Finally, the height of the flames gradually decreased, and then slowly extinguished.
The soup in the pot had turned white, and the aroma was intoxicating!
The two held their bowls, scooping the soup with spoons and picking up the meat with chopsticks.
Upon taking the first sip, Jiang Ye was stunned.
Damn, this was delicious!
It was even better than fish from restaurants!
The fish on this planet... they were something else! They had evolved in a delicious direction!
Cen Yemeng's eyes widened too. "It's this good? And we didn't even add any seasoning!"