Chapter 10 (1/2)

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The sun rose just above the horizon, a new day had come.

In the cave, Zhang Heng opened his eyes and saw that Ed was up, sitting. “Good morning, Zhang.”

“Morning,” Zhang Heng yawned

“My goodness. How I wish to have a cup of coffee, fried egg, sausage, and toast right now,” The former captain lamented, “But given our current situation, we can’t ask for too much, can we? Too bad the coconuts are giving us too little calories. One of those green ones can only provide 200 calories worth of energy. Even if don’t exercise, we’ll be burning at least 2,000 calories a day. Also, we need to expand our menu in order to obtain a richer source of nutrients. Well, since we’re by the sea, I think we can take advantage of that.”

“What do I need to do?” Zhang Heng asked.

“Hold your horses. Your life in the city has caused your digestive system to be very fragile. Even if I told you how to catch food from the sea, with no way to cook it, one crab can cause you to the runs so bad it’ll lead to dehydration. We need fire. The water that you found earlier will need to heat before drinking. It only needs to be cooked for three minutes to kill most of the bacteria in it. Right now, I’ll teach you how to start a fire first.” Ed paused for a moment before beginning to explain, “The most important thing you’ll need to start a fire is to find the right wood. Fast-growing softwoods are the best kind. The drill [stick] and the base can be taken from the same tree. Tear off a tree bark and dry it under the sun…”

Zhang Heng listened to the instructions intently, but when it came to actually performing the task, it was not as easy as he imagined it to be.

He spent the whole morning trying to start a fire.

Alas, it was one failure after another. The action of twirling the drill-stick alone rubbed away a whole chunk of skin from his hand. It hurt so bad that he grimaced. At the same time, because they did not have time to search for food, he and Ed ate all their reserve-coconuts which barely filled their stomachs.

What was even more frustrating was that even after all the effort they put in, they had nothing to show for it.

“Zhang, you cannot go from a rookie to an expert in one day,” Ed comforted. “The beginning is always the hardest.”

Zhang Heng tossed the broken stick on the ground in contempt. “That is true but failure is still agonizing.”

“Failure is also a valuable experience. Tens of thousands of years ago, our ancestors have continued to evolve from failures.” Ed empathized. “You are a smart student, Zhang. Don’t worry. There’s still time for you to learn and grow. Now, tell me what have learned from this failure?”

“The wood is still no good. The skin on my hands are flayed and there’re still no sparks. I have to try using other woods.”

Nevertheless, fortune is as unpredictable as the weather. At sundown, a gust of wind blew, and a mass of dark cloud gathered above their heads. It happened so quickly that Zhang Heng did not have enough time to gather the things. The tree bark that had been drying on the rock was soaked in rainwater.

His entire day of work was wasted.

Disheartened, Zhang Heng lay on the cavern floor with his arms and legs spread out like an ‘X’ staring at the ceiling of the cave. “Ed, I don’t think your chicken soup for the soul is going to work anymore.”

“Give up then,” Ed said in a quiet voice.

“Huh?”

“But it’s limited to only before the rain stops. It’s only after you’ve vented all your negative emotions can you better devote yourself to work.”

“Are you always this optimistic, Ed?”

“It could be that I’ve encountered situations than this in my travels across the Amazon forest. Thinking about how I’ve managed pulled through inspires me not to give up.”

“Does experiences make us who we are?” Zhang Heng muttered under to himself, remembering what the bartender told him, feeling as if he had on to something.

“It looks like the rain is not going to stop before dark. You should go to bed. There is still a lot of work to do tomorrow,” Ed said and as he lay down to sleep.

The two went to bed on the second night with an empty stomach.

…