Dawn slowly unfurled over the border village. Soft golden light streamed through the old wooden slats of the orphanage, and dust motes drifted lazily through the frigid air.
Every child woke up and went through the same daily routine they always had: washing their faces, gathering straw, and folding the thin blankets they used to cover themselves. Everything was the same as usual—except for the feeling in their chests.
“Damn, it was freaking cold last night. Even though I’d mentally prepared myself, it still scared the crap out of me. How the hell did you guys put up with this?” Nash grumbled, hugging himself and rubbing both arms hard as if he could chase the cold still buried in his bones away.
The wooden floor was freezing. The cold of the countryside was nothing like the “being mentally prepared” he’d had in mind.
“Are you cold, Nash? It feels normal to me, especially compared to winter. You never used to complain,” Tiny asked curiously. He tilted his head at his friend, who seemed more sensitive to the weather than usual.
“It’s not so bad now. I was talking about last night,” Nash replied as he walked over to line up for bread.
Last night had been cold enough to bite through their skin. Even with full stomachs, the children’s bodies were still too frail to withstand the nighttime wind.
By the time he arrived, the other children were already waiting. If Tiny hadn’t woken him, he probably would still have been curled up in the straw. Everyone stood quietly in line.
Nash looked over them all before speaking. “Once you’re done eating, come gather here for a moment.”
Everyone nodded.
After receiving bread from Brad and quickly finishing breakfast, all the children gathered in front of the orphanage. Their breath turned into thin white vapor. Nash stood at the front before speaking.
“All right, let me say this first. Once we get good enough at finding food to live on, I’ll teach the boys how to forage too. Not just what we’re going to find today—we’ll add other things as well. I promise.”
Smiles slowly appeared on the children’s faces, and their eyes shone with a brightness rarely seen before.
“Then boys, let’s hit the city!”
Silence. Every child looked at the others in confusion. What did “hit the city” mean?
Nash blinked, then let out a soft laugh. “We can go to the city now.”
He’d completely forgotten. Some words were strange in this place.
The boys nodded and left the village in a small group, heading toward the city. The red dirt road stretched ahead of them.
Nash watched them for a moment, then turned back. “As for the girls, let’s wash the pot we used yesterday.”
There was one pot, a wooden tray, and four wooden cups. He picked up two of the cups. “Mei Li, grab the other two cups and come with me.”
“Where are we going?” Mei Li asked.
“To scoop up ash,” Nash replied.
“What are you going to do with it?” she continued asking.
“Wash the pot. Don’t ask any more questions. I’ll explain later.” He cut her off immediately. Otherwise, the questions would never end.
According to the body's original owner's memories, cleaning their utensils meant using nothing but water, washing them over and over, and leaving them in the sun to dry. The grease always remained. Ash could be called a “new invention” here.
The other children were about to carry the pot and tray over, so Nash called out, “Set the shrimp heads aside too! And you, don’t start asking questions yet.” He turned and gave Mei Li a warning look. The girl puffed out her cheeks slightly but followed him anyway.
The two of them scooped ash from the fireplace into the wooden cups and walked to the stream behind the orphanage. Clear water flowed lazily, accompanied by a soft, refreshing murmur.
“All right, wash the pot and tray with water first,” Nash instructed. The girls helped wash off the scraps of food.
“Pour it onto the plants,” he ordered next, worried that the dirty water might flow back into the stream.
Once the first rinse was finished, Nash poured ash into the pot and slowly scrubbed it with his hands, rubbing all around the inside, outside, and rim. The dull black grease stains gradually faded. He dipped it into the water, rinsed it clean, then poured the ash water onto a plant beside the stream.
“Ash water can drive away some kinds of insects,” he told his friends. At least, that was how it worked in his old world.
He repeated the process once more until it was clean, then ran his finger over it to check.
“Huh. Interesting,” he muttered.
He’d only ever read about it and had never tried it himself, but the result was awesome.
“From now on, wash anything greasy this way. It’ll help reduce the grease and make it cleaner. Here, take a look, then do the same thing with the tray.” Nash explained. The girls gathered around to inspect the pot.
“Whoa… wow!” they all groaned in amazement at once.
They had been hired to wash dishes at taverns and inns in the city before. No matter how they washed them, the grease always remained. But now this friend they shared a roof with had found a way to solve the problem.
“Once you’re done washing, lay the shrimp heads out in the sun to dry. We’re going to crush them and scatter them over the bare ground beside the orphanage. We’re going to feed the earth,” Nash instructed. He’d read somewhere that shrimp heads were useful for soil. At the very least, they contained some calcium.
Mei Li studied him. “Have you discovered your talent? You understand your talent now, don’t you?”
Nash gave a dry laugh. “I don’t know. But I’ve known about this stuff for a long time. I’ve heard scholars and mages talking about it. I just never said anything. But who knows? It might have something to do with my talent, since I honestly don’t know.”
Just play along for now. He could deal with it later.
“That must be it. Otherwise, how would you know things like this?” Mei Li murmured, as if searching for an explanation for herself.
Before long, everything was washed. “All done.”
“Once you’re finished, lay the shrimp heads out somewhere open. Then put away the tray and cups. After that, we’ll head upstream, near the forest entrance,” Nash said.
The water here was too deep. Upstream, it would be shallower and easier to search.
Nash carried the pot and led the group of girls along the stream. They continued upstream for nearly twenty minutes until they spotted a small wooden bridge the villagers used to cross toward the forest entrance. He stopped and set down the pot.
“Wait here for a minute.” He said it quickly, then walked into the water to measure its depth.
“Another weird word,” the children thought. They were all wondering what “a minute” was supposed to mean this time.
He walked back, scooped a little water into the pot, and set it on the bank. “All right, follow me.”
As soon as he said it, he was startled by himself. It had only been two days, and he was already picking up the way people here spoke.
He slowly turned over the rocks one by one until he found a river shrimp.
“Look at its size. Anything at least two of our fingers long is big enough to keep. Anything smaller should be left to grow. This one’s good.”
He bent down.
Snatch!
He caught the river shrimp with perfect precision.
“This is called a river shrimp. All right, follow me.”
He continued on, turning over several more rocks. Sometimes he found another river shrimp and let the other children try to catch it. Sometimes they succeeded, and sometimes it slipped away. Soft laughter rang out.
This place really was abundant. He found something under almost every few rocks.
Finally…
“This one is called a crayfish. You catch it the same way,” Nash said, bending down as before.
Snatch!
“Gotcha, you little thief!” Nash shouted happily.
Every girl looked at the others. That was another strange expression.
He chuckled softly before dropping it into the pot.
“It doesn’t have to be rocks. Anything that falls into the water or floats on it and might provide a place for them to hide underneath could work—logs, water grass, moss, algae. Lift things slowly and check underneath,” Nash explained. Then he led everyone to an area where the streambed was sandy.
“This kind of area is where we found another creature yesterday: clams.” He reached into the sand and, after a while, pulled something up. “This is a freshwater clam. We’ll keep ones around this size. Let smaller ones go. There are also some around rocky areas where you can still see the sandy bottom, so try looking there too.”
Mei Li tried to copy him.
“Don’t just tap around. Put your hand under the sand. If you feel something hard, pull it up and check. If it looks like this, you can put it straight in the pot,” Nash advised. Before long, all the children began to get the hang of it.
“All right, split up and search for both clams and shrimp. Spread out a little. If you’re not good at catching shrimp, look for clams instead. Just gather a reasonable amount. Don’t take more than we can eat. We should leave some behind so we’ll have something to eat another day,” Nash continued instructing them.
The ability he had received told him that these creatures laid eggs all year round, with their peak season during the rainy season.
“When the sun gets too strong, rest in the shade. Once we have more than sixty in total, we can head back,” he said. They had found more than forty yesterday. With several people helping today, sixty should be enough.
“Then where are you going?” Mei Li asked.
“I’m going to find a way to catch fish,” Nash replied casually.
But everyone raised their heads at once. Fish? Really?
“What? Why is everyone staring at me?” he asked in confusion before continuing. “I’m going to look for a method today. Take care of things here, everyone.”
With that, he crossed to the other side of the stream and continued along the water. In his mind, images began to take shape: a fish pit, animal traps, or maybe a small weir to divert the water.
A new plan was taking shape. And this was only the second day.