Day 84, all preparations complete! (Part 1) A bonus chapter for my class representative.

The sky finally cleared, and the long-awaited sun at last appeared. Yesterday, when I saw the sky beginning to brighten, I guessed the rain would soon cease—and sure enough, the sun rose today.

Clear weather is immensely important to me now. The mud bricks can dry quickly in such conditions, and only once they are fully dry can I fire them in the kiln. If I manage to produce tiles through firing, it would be an extraordinary achievement—perhaps even paving the way to make bricks someday.

Of course, it is still too early to celebrate. For those two large kiln lids to dry completely will take several days at least.

I hung the dried fish, smoked meat, and other items in the drying area. The kiln bars and the small water barrel were placed by the treehouse door.

To my surprise, the inner bark I torn from the tree bark to serve as bowstrings was already dry. Naturally, I don’t have time to craft them now, so I laid those inner bark strips by the door alongside the other items to dry.

I must seize this fine weather to dry some salt. Our supply is running low, and if I don’t hurry, we’ll be back to those bland days without salt to season our food.

I took the large water bucket for storage, along with a basin. The basin was necessary because the salt-drying rock pit surely held some rainwater; before bringing in seawater, I had to scoop out this rainwater.

The large bucket is awkward to move and requires both hands, so I tossed the basin and an axe into it for convenience. Luckily, the rock pit isn’t too far from the treehouse; otherwise, hauling the bucket there would take too much time.

After two days of continuous rain, the ground was still muddy and slippery. My plastic bottle shoes kept sliding, forcing me to take them off. Walking barefoot was far more comfortable, though I had to be more careful.

Fortunately, the seaside wasn’t far. Aside from a few sharp stones pressing into my feet, I avoided any sharp roots or other hazards.

As expected, the rock pit had accumulated quite a bit of rainwater, though within an acceptable range. I estimated it would take about an hour to scoop it nearly dry. Setting the bucket aside, I used the basin to start scooping.

Within just two days, the standing water in the pit had already become home to many small aquatic insects. Each basin of water contained some of them. Though a bit unpleasant, they posed no threat to me, so I paid them little mind.

At the expected time, the pit was finally emptied. I could now begin bringing in seawater. With the bucket, efficiency was much improved compared to last time. Choosing the morning hour also meant I would tire less quickly. The rising sun was gentle, and the sea breeze brought refreshing coolness.

This large bucket could hold several dozen pounds of water at a time. By noon, the entire rock pit was filled with seawater. Though tiring, seeing it full filled me with quiet satisfaction; soon, I would harvest many salt crystals.

If this fine weather held for three to five days, I might collect some salt. I fervently hoped for no more rain in the coming days.

It had been a long time since I checked the beach debris, so I planned to visit the hive as well to see if any bees had survived. If any had, it would be a blessing indeed.

The hive wasn’t far; a short walk brought me there. But not long after setting off, I noticed a pile of debris washed ashore by the waves. Though mere trash, to me it was as thrilling as a lottery ticket from a civilized world.

“Huh? What’s this?”

Among the debris were several small plastic buckets, much like those children use for playing with sand. There were also black plastic bags, large pieces of plastic and wood—mostly useless. Yet, I found two slippers. They weren’t a matching pair; one was intact, the other broken. This was certainly great news.

Though differing in size, at least I could wear them. The damaged one could be repaired with some vines. This find was a boon. No fishing nets appeared in this batch of debris, though I had previously thought the ocean might be relatively clean. Turns out, plastic products—especially vest-like bags—were abundant, always found amid the beach litter.

These items must have drifted on the sea for a long time; moss-like growths covered the slippers. They felt slimy, and rinsing them in seawater several times didn’t remove the growths. I would have to scrub them with dry grass once back.

Though I hadn’t found a proper pair of shoes, at least I had two slippers. With these, I might craft a proper pair of shoes. There was a boot I found earlier in the treehouse; by cutting leather from it to form uppers and stitching them onto the slippers, I could create a finished pair.

I rummaged through all the debris but found nothing else useful—not even plastic bottles.

...

At the hive, the bees remained, though few in number. It was a relief to see them still surviving. Busy bees came and went, gathering pollen and honey. In time, I hoped to harvest some honey. Fortunately, Flash now loved taro powder; otherwise, I might have needed to fetch some honey sooner. But for now, there was enough taro powder to last Flash a long while.

...

By the time I returned to the treehouse, it was past noon. One good thing about Xiao Hei was that if I wasn’t home, he wouldn’t wait anxiously to eat—he could feed himself on fruit. No need to worry about him. But Flash was still too young; I hadn’t fed him this morning, so he was now crying out in hunger.

I prepared a bottle of taro powder with a touch of honey and fed it to him. He was starving and quickly finished the taro powder. These days, his routine was basically eat, play, eat, sleep!

Since Flash became part of our little family, Xiao Hei rarely went out; even when he did, he mostly played with his tennis ball in the yard, carrying it or nudging it with his head.

After a light meal, I brought in the fully dried inner bark. It was time to make the bowstring. I selected strips of bark and divided them into three portions, then twisted the three together.

I encountered some difficulties while braiding them, but eventually resolved the problems; it was just a matter of inexperience.

I should be able to finish the bow today. Though I had only practiced archery in the park before, and was never very accurate, with enough practice I hoped my aim would steadily improve.