“Hand-drilled fire?” The program crew stared at Ye Lingchen and shook their heads.
“Y, we’re not trying to discourage you or anything, but we did a variety show before and one of the segments was to hand-drill fire. But it was not until later on that we discovered it was impossible,” someone said.
“Yeah. No matter how much time or power is used, it’s difficult to actually produce flames,” someone else said.
After hearing what the program crew said, Dalei and the others became skeptical in their hearts. Each of them looked at Ye Lingchen.
However, Ye Lingchen’s complexion remained calm. He did not immediately start hand-drilling the wood, but instead he got up and continued to pick some leaves and weeds from the ground. Every single one differed from one another and it was clearly chosen with care.
Without waiting for anyone to ask questions, Ye Lingchen had already started explaining, “It goes without saying that it’s very difficult to hand-drill a fire. I don’t mean that simply in the practical sense. The materials must be carefully chosen too. It’ll be impossible to produce flames if the wrong leaves are selected. Besides, some leaves are inherently flammable, so if they could be paired with each other, it’ll make it easier to create a hand-drilled fire.”
“Mr. Y, then will the different leaves and weeds you chose make it easier to drill wood for fire?” Arnelle asked.
Ye Lingchen nodded.
“Wow, you know a lot of things. I don’t even need to use my brains when I’m with you,” Arnelle could not resist exclaiming excitedly.
“This is all just common sense. It’s nothing.” Ye Lingchen shrugged before saying to Brother Yang, “Brother Yang, can you handle this pheasant?”
“No problem!” Brother Yang rolled up his sleeves. “It’s perfect that we do it at the same time.”
Then, Ye Lingchen made all the preparations and held a branch between both his palms. He then proceeded to hand-drill the wood.
He was very fast and he controlled his frequency well too. It was done at a very uniform speed, making it look rather pleasant to the eye.
The audience gradually quieted down and watched as Ye Lingchen rubbed the branches quietly.
Even the audience in front of the TV was quiet. They waited in silence and were able to hear the rustling sound produced by the hand-drilling action.
Ye Lingchen rolled the branch within his palm while blowing it from time to time to maintain proper air circulation.
Arnelle and Chen Xiaoyan were sitting on either side of Ye Lingchen. They waited with their heads tilted to one side.
The question in everyone’s mind was whether hand-drilling could really produce a fire.
Barely five minutes later, a greenish smoke slowly rose from the hole.
“Smoke!” Chen Xiaoyan exclaimed softly. Her beautiful eyes were full of eager anticipation.
Not long after that, the smoke got thicker and thicker. In the next moment, a red flame immediately rose.
“Fire! It’s really fire!”
“God! He’s really God! He really was able to hand-drill a fire!”
Continuous gasps ensued and everyone surrounded him to take a look. There was shock all over their faces as they stared at the flame’s sudden appearance.
“Bring the leaves!” Ye Lingchen said.
Chen Xiaoyan took the leaves and sticks that were prepared beforehand and placed them onto the fire.
Crackling!
The crackling fire lingered in their ears. It sounded like music to everyone’s ears. The light from the fire made everyone’s faces red, and it was evident that Chen Xiaoyan and the others were extremely happy.
“Hahaha, Brother Y, I, Dalei, have never admired a person so much before. I have only one word for you! Respect!” Dalei laughed.
“Brother Y, I’m glad to have you!” Brother Yang said too. He handed over the cleaned fish and pheasant to Ye Lingchen.
The six of them sat around the fire, talking and laughing.
The cameraman shot the scene with the utmost precision.
[Wow, the scene changed so suddenly. I suddenly feel that Survival on Deserted Island is a really relaxed program.]
[Oh, previous commenter, you’re a bit slow on the uptake! I feel like Y’s participation in this show turned Survival on Deserted Island into a life that one would yearn for.]
[Yes, with Y there, there’s no need to worry about anything. It’s practically a vacation!]
[I’m so envious. I feel like this kind of life is so close to nature and is really beautiful. I suddenly feel like going camping and having a picnic.]
…
The people in the program group looked at Ye Lingchen and could not help but smile bitterly. It was over—their bargaining chips were gone and all they could do was watch the participants enjoy the food.
“Mr. Y, you must be good at cooking, right?” Arnelle looked at Ye Lingchen with a glowing gaze, one that appeared to say, ‘You’ll never let me down’.
“Ahem, all of us aren’t that good.” Brother Yang coughed a little and felt slightly embarrassed.
“Y, I…don’t know how to.” Chen Xiaoyan was a little embarrassed to look at Ye Lingchen. She paused for a moment and said, “But I’ll learn next time…”
Ye Lingchen shook his head. “Forget it. Let me do it.”
In such an environment, it was unrealistic to expect someone to cook up a delicious meal. It was better to rely on himself, as good food should not be wasted.
“YES! I knew you wouldn’t let me down. I love you!” Arnelle wanted nothing more than to hug Ye Lingchen and kiss him. To have someone like Ye Lingchen to rely on in such circumstances made her feel incredibly safe.
“Time is running out. Let’s just grill the fish. As for the pheasant…we can just make Beggar’s pheasant[1],” Ye Lingchen said with a smile.
After that, he took out the pot and placed the spices before him.
Then, he poured water into the pot and dumped the spices—including five-spice and star anise—into it. That pot of water and spices were subsequently put on the fire.
At the same time, Ye Lingchen walked nearby to pick up a huge banana leaf. He placed the whole pheasant into it and the bird’s stomach was also stuffed with various spices. While he was still in the woods, he found some unique plants to cover the whole pheasant. Finally, he wrapped it completely in lotus leaves.
Clay was then wrapped around the lotus leaves to form an earthen ball. After that, the flames were drawn out to surround the earthen ball, allowing the fire to cover the earthen ball completely.
Ye Lingchen’s steps might seem easy, but in everyone else’s eyes, they were actually very complicated. There was the choosing of materials, the addition of seasonings, as well as the cutting away of certain fish or bird parts. It was hard to even remember all those steps.
Grumble!
The water in the pot was beginning to boil. Ye Lingchen placed the fish into the hot soup and poached it. He told everyone to continue adding the fire around the earthen ball, as the flames must always cover the ball at all times.
After poaching for five minutes, Ye Lingchen took the fish out, skewered them on the bamboo, then began grilling it on top of the fire.
“Take one skewer each and grill your fish over the fire,” Ye Lingchen said to the other five.
“Okay!” Arnelle could not help but feel excited and immediately took one from him.
She took the skewer but did not immediately put it over the fire. Instead, she smelled the fish and was completely hypnotized by it. “Wow, Mr. Y. How did you do it? The fish smells so fragrant, I’m dying to take a bite out of it right now!”
“I just used some seasoning to remove the fishy smell. It’ll taste better after you grill it.” Ye Lingchen turned over the skewer in his hand and smiled…
[1] Beggar’s chicken (叫花鸡) is a popular dish in China, whereby chicken is stuffed, wrapped in clay and leaves (usually lotus, but banana or bamboo may be substituted), then baked slowly in low heat. Here, Ye Lingchen is using pheasant, so we term it as Beggar’s pheasant. There are various stories on the origin of the name, but most of them revolve around a beggar who stole chicken and either used the method because he had no utensils, or because he wanted to cook it in such a way that would not attract the attention of imperial guards.
