Chapter 35: It Is Time to Get a Toothbrush

Chapter 35: Time for a Toothbrush

After finishing their meal, Xu Yi turned his attention to the bottom of the wooden barrel. Since he couldn't sleep just yet, it was the perfect time to trim the main body of the barrel to a suitable height.

Once Su Keke had eaten her fill, she sat beside Xu Yi to begin her daily studies. She enjoyed learning; she found that recognizing new characters brought her great joy and a sense of accomplishment. Regarding advanced education, Xu Yi’s philosophy was that it should be tailored to the individual. Su Keke had both talent and interest, so he was very supportive of her learning ahead of her grade level. If a child possesses a genuine interest and talent for learning, one should support and guide them; otherwise, you risk stifling their potential, and they may eventually lose interest in acquiring new knowledge altogether.

After teaching her five Chinese characters, Su Keke sat to the side and practiced writing them diligently. Xu Yi spent half an hour leveling off the top and bottom of the wooden barrel. Then, using his axe, he carved a depression into the center and placed some hot coals into the hollowed-out area. Next, he went to fell a tree about the thickness of a human thigh. After cutting a section, he split the log in two. By using hot coals to burn into the wood, he could create two simple bowls. Xu Yi decided he would handle the burning process in the latter half of the night.

He built three campfires; even if animals were to attack, they would likely be deterred by the flames. With that secured, he prepared to sleep. He hadn't slept since midnight the previous day and was exhausted.

"Keke, Dad is going to sleep now. If there's an emergency, wake me up immediately. If everything is fine, wake me up promptly at 12:00." After giving these instructions, Xu Yi lay down in the hammock. "Since these vines are still quite thick, it’s a bit stiff." He climbed out, pulled out a bundle of snake skins, and laid them over the hammock. "Yes, that’s much more comfortable."

Xu Yi closed his eyes with satisfaction and quickly drifted off to sleep. Once Xu Yi lay down, Su Keke gripped her spear, though she did not stop practicing her writing. The forest remained relatively quiet, with no animal calls nearby. Still, she occasionally looked up to scan the surroundings for any signs of danger. The coals in the barrel continued to smolder, emitting wisps of white smoke. Without a breeze, the combustion of the coals was limited.

The forest was still, and because the area was somewhat sunken, the oxygen levels were lower, which kept the fire from flaring up. Xu Yi hadn't explained this to Su Keke because he was worried she might get burned, and she, being a sensible child, didn't touch it. She practiced her writing for over an hour, and once she felt she had mastered the new characters, she reviewed the five she had learned the day before.

Today marked their fifth day. Su Keke had begun to grow accustomed to spending her nights in the jungle and had started to get used to the surrounding darkness. In the blink of an eye, it was midnight. Su Keke went to wake Xu Yi.

Upon waking, Xu Yi felt quite refreshed. Because the hammock was comfortable, the quality of his rest had improved significantly. Su Keke lay down in the hammock and rocked for a while before drifting off to sleep.

Xu Yi retrieved the two pieces of wood he intended to turn into bowls and placed some hot coals on them. He took off his shirt and used it to fan the flames. This provided more oxygen, causing the coals in the barrel and the bowls to burn more efficiently, which naturally accelerated the process. Once the bowls were burned to a certain depth, Xu Yi used the dinosaur leg bone he had scavenged earlier to blow air directly onto the embers, allowing him to control the burning and achieve the depth and width he desired. By morning, he had managed to burn the rough shapes of two bowls. Tomorrow, during their midday break, he would use a stone chisel to scrape away the charred parts, resulting in a pair of usable wooden bowls.

At seven o'clock in the morning, Su Keke woke up.

"Why are you up so early today?" Xu Yi asked, curious. "Don't you feel well?"

Su Keke shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I just woke up."

Xu Yi nodded, thinking that perhaps because she had slept better last night, she had recovered more quickly. "Then it's time to brush your teeth. I've ground up some charcoal powder; we can use that." Since they hadn't been able to brush properly for days, Xu Yi worried about the damage to their teeth. He had ground some very fine charcoal powder for this purpose.

"Charcoal powder?" Su Keke looked at him, her expression suggesting she was skeptical. "Can you really brush your teeth with that?"

"Yes, the ancients used to use charcoal powder to clean their teeth. Of course, after cleaning, some powder will stay in your mouth. We don't have anything better right now, so this is all we have." If there were other options, Xu Yi wouldn't have chosen this. It was fine when they had toothbrushes, but without them, it was harder to rinse away the charcoal residue.

Su Keke nodded, dipped her finger into the powder, and held it out.

"Here, use this water to brush and rinse," Xu Yi said, handing her a wooden bowl filled with water, then dipped his own finger in the charcoal powder to begin cleaning his teeth.

After brushing for a few minutes, Xu Yi felt the plaque was gone and his mouth felt much fresher. He took out his phone and checked his teeth in the reflection. "Still quite black. Without a toothbrush, it's hard to clean the charcoal particles out from the gum line. It looks like I'll have to make some toothbrushes."

Because they had been searching for a water source and hadn't established a permanent shelter, they hadn't had the time to craft items like bowls or toothbrushes. Xu Yi had a premonition that they would find water today. His intuition told him he was very close. Once they found water, they could find a suitable spot nearby to set up camp. With a camp, he could finally craft items to improve their quality of life. He did not want him and Keke to live like savages in this parallel world.

After washing up, the two of them finished the remaining snake meat. Feeling ninety percent full, they were quite satisfied. After packing their belongings, Xu Yi set off with Su Keke. He handed his spear to her because, in addition to carrying the basket containing the snake skins, he was also burdened with the rolled-up hammock, which rose above his head. He had the water barrel strapped across his body and needed his hands free to clear a path with his machete.

The two entered a new section of the jungle, beginning their sixth day in this parallel world.