Fluffy Mates Chase Their Boss on Survival Show novel Chapter 12

Chapter 12 Making Salt

[Am I imagining things? When Layla smiled just now, I actually thought she was beautiful!]

[She’s always been beautiful, right?]

[Now that you mention it, Layla is actually pretty. Why didn’t we notice before?]

[Who among you ever paid attention to her?]

The moment that comment appeared, the livestream fell silent.

In the past, Layla had been so universally despised that no one had paid much attention to what she actually looked like.

Layla took the chickens to the water source, plucked them, drained the blood, and cleaned out

the innards.

One of the most valuable traits she had developed in the apocalypse was never wasting food.

She didn’t throw away the organs either. After washing them, she placed them on a large leaf and brought them back to the treehouse.

With seawater available, she no longer wanted unsalted food.

She knew a relatively simple method for extracting salt from seawater, but she needed a container.

She looked around and found a stone with a natural depression in the center, perfect for holding liquid.

She picked up another, smaller stone and began hammering away at the first, widening and deepening the hollow.

By now, the livestream viewers were accustomed to Layla’s resourcefulness.

A fierce female who dared to catch large octopuses and crabs could surely manage anything.

With her container ready, making salt was easy.

She poured seawater into the stone pot and mixed in last night’s wood ash.

After stirring and letting it settle, she tore a small strip of fabric from her clothes and tied it around a bamboo cup.

She used another bamboo tube to scoop the ash-water mixture from the stone pot and poured it through the fabric-lined cup.

The ash particles were filtered out by the cloth, and the filtered water was poured back into the clean stone pot to be boiled over a fire.

“Are you making salt?” Not far away, in the dense forest, a tall, slender man stood beneath a tree, looking down at the mess on the ground. He couldn’t help but ask.

Few people appreciated being interrupted when they were focused on something. And the male before her was one of Stella’s love interests.

In her eyes, he was no different from George.

Damn. I’m already annoyed.

“Why are you back?” Layla asked, her displeasure barely concealed, causing Shane to furrow his brow slightly.

[Layla has no idea what’s coming for her right now.]

“Can we have chicken today?” Shane asked, eyeing the chickens hanging at the cave entrance.

Layla inwardly groaned. I’m already regretting this. Is it too late to back out?

Apparently not. Shane had already stood up and started untying one of the chickens.

[Shane seized the initiative before she could react.]

[He secured his spot with actual skills. Looks like Prof. Slater is getting a free ride.]

[He said he wasn’t picky, and now he wants chicken. I could see Layla’s exasperated expression.]

In the end, Shane got his chicken. Layla put him in charge of watching the stone pot while she scouted the area, returning with some mushrooms.

She said, “Look, these are edible. You can’t rely on me alone. From now on, pick mushrooms whenever you can. Later, I’ll teach you which vegetables are edible.”

Shane nodded attentively, looking more focused than his most desperate students during finals.

After eating, Shane led Layla to the clay deposit. On the way, he casually wove a basket from branches and handed it to her to carry.

Thanks to the markers he’d left yesterday, they found the spot without trouble. “It’s right here.”

Layla spotted the small pit in the ground without him pointing. The clay Shane had used to lure her in must have come from there.

“Start digging.” Shane handed her a shovel.

Layla crouched down and got to work. She had strength and skill. Before long, she had filled the basket and started heading back.