Vegetables

Zhang Han awoke early the next day to fiddle around with his new tools and parts. He remembered about fixing up that 'lucky cat' for Vaien and got that out, using a bit of leather and chain to make a short necklace. He threw it aside after finishing.

He saw the parts of the hull he'd gotten and considered making armor. The problem was the weight of it and how it would impede movement, but on the other hand, such equipment might save him from a surprise bite from one of the monstrous animals that lived out there.

Perhaps some light armor, then, such as wrist guards? But that would be a long term project.

Zhang Han tried to think of more modern items that would increase convenience. Seeing the large, cylindrical blaster left outside of the cave, he decided to tinker around with it first.

He took apart the outer hoop that held it together then spread the pieces across the ground outside so Vaien wouldn't trip on them once he woke up.

Speaking of...that man seemed to sleep in a lot, like a lazy bum. Maybe he was just extra content to have a way to vent his sexual urges the past days. Who knows.

Zhang Han was perfectly all right with having peace and quiet.

He took out the cores from the center of the blaster carefully, three in total, avoiding the wires and other mechanical plates that could set-off an aftershock. Cores, which acted at the energy cycler and amplifier for all the small cones that made up the blaster, were the shape of an orb with several other complex circuits around them.

This was actually one of the most valuable parts of a spaceship.

They were long-lasting, and if he found a way to recharge them...but first he needed to decide what he wanted to do with them.

Thinking of practical items, Zhang Han knew that the water he drank here wasn't exactly...purified. It was in a large metal basin, just inside the cave entrance. Vaien had brought up a large bucket of river water to fill it the other day.

And that had made Zhang Han quite nervous about drinking it. What if the river water was polluted by animal waste or parasites? In any case, boiling the water before drinking it would at least give him a small amount of assurance.

He went to the water basin and tapped a finger of the silvery metal.

It didn't seem to have any rust on it. He wondered if the material would be safe if exposed to flames, and got out his instalight. A small flame sparked out of an eraser-sized lighter and hit against the water basin's metal. He held it up for a while, and although the metal's surface did get hotter, the material didn't melt or warp.

Thus, Zhang Han knew it should be safe for heating.

Warm water could be useful for a number of occasions. Drinking, cooking, washing wounds or one's face, and once he installed a core, it would heat in a few minutes, rather than putting a pot over a fire where it would take closer to twenty minutes.

He finished installing it in about an hour.

What to do next…

Zhang Han heard a soft grumbling noise.

Vaien had twisted his brows as he rolled about in the pile of furs in the depth of the cave. There was sweat on his forehead. He seemed to be uncomfortable, Zhang Han noted, as though in the middle of a bad dream.

Zhang Han lifted up a spare bit of plastic and threw it at him in an arc.

It hit Vaien square on the forehead and two bloodshot eyes snapped open as he grabbed it and disintegrated it in his palm with anger.

"..." Zhang Han was glad he didn't wake him directly, after all.

"Why are you waking me up…" Vaien growled in a grumpy yet groggy tone. His eyes squinted at the sunrise. "It's early...? Why are you up so damn early? And why'd I have to get up so early too?!"

"You appeared to be having a bad dream."

Vaien scoffed and raised his eyebrows, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Whatever." He sauntered over to the water basin, at which point he splashed some water onto his face and was mildly surprised. "It's warm?"

Zhang Han once again had an answer. "I added a heating function."

There was a brief silence, then Vaien gave him a face of confusion.

"...why?"

"Safer drinking water."

"As if it wasn't pristine already."

"There could be unknown contaminants not visible to the eye."

"..." Vaien relented. It was best to let this matter lie. Zhang Han, he had learned, could be stubborn and nit picky in a number of ways. He then saw the piles of items outside the cave and cocked his head. "Is that all you're gonna do with the stuff I dragged all the way back for you?"

Zhang Han said not a word, but lifted up the lucky cat necklace.

"Oh," said Vaien. He finally stopped being irritated about being woken up early. "Good, you fixed it."

He took it from Zhang Han's hand and looped it over his head. Now a optimistic lucky cat hung in front of Vaien's tunic.

"I just started working on stuff," added Zhang Han. "The water heater was mostly just for ease of living. I mainly plan to make items useful for combat. Say, I do have a question for you…"

"Hm?"

"Is there anything to eat other than meat?"

Vaien had expected something along the lines of 'what weapons will work well against the creatures here' or other similar inquiries, not a change of topic. But he just thought about it a second and replied, "Nope."

Zhang Han frowned. "No wild vegetables or fruit?"

"There might be? But why would I need to eat that when something more filling is around?"

"...then, you're a carnivore?"

"Yeah, you aren't?"

Zhang Han sighed. "No. I need to eat vegetables and fruits to get the necessary nutrients to survive."

Vaien had an expression of displeasure. "A lotta work to keep yourself alive."

"..." Zhang Han somehow felt sad and a bit envious. "I can't help it. Anyway, do you know about any kinds of vegetables or fruits?"

"There might be some out there. Go look, I guess."

Zhang Han was silent for a while. Maybe in the future, but how could he go out and look by himself right now? Vaien was truly an incorrigible, arrogant man. Anyway, he could survive on meat alone for a while, he just didn't know how long until it became a problem.

Vaien stared at Zhang Han's dull expression, trying to read it. There seemed to be the faintest hint of disappointment...? Was he being too harsh?

An unknown feeling welled in Vaien's chest, as though it were stuffy. He scratched his head. "...you know what, I'll try and find a couple things the next time I go out."

Zhang Han's eyebrows raised slightly. "Okay. I can run a few analyses with one of the electronics I brought back to see if they are edible."

Now he only needed to hope that Vaien brought back something edible.

Vaien readied for the day and then went out, climbing down the cliff. Zhang Han stayed behind to work on his projects.

…

In about two hours, Vaien returned with a large snake over his shoulder, leafy greens and colorful berries in a satchel on his side. The berries were pink and red, clustered together.

One of the 'vegetables' Vaien brought appeared to just be grass that he plucked from the grassland below. Zhang Han immediately dismissed it as viable food. There was another plant with broad leaves and roots made of thick tubers that perhaps would be good.

He picked up his programmed scanner. It came from the command board of his ship, part of what would normally detect objects, hazards, and life in space. It could also detect harmful substances. In this case it could be used for the plants Vaien had haphazardly brought in.

He lifted the scanner and went over each of the food items.

The root tubers seemed safe. The clustered berries were not safe at all, they had high levels of solanine. Very, very poisonous. He would die within hours if he ate them. There was also a juicy heart-shaped fruit that was a white and pink color. It was safe.

The grass was safe, but had no real nutritional value.

Of course.

Zhang Han dropped the extremely poisonous berries over the cliff.

Vaien had been watching the entire process with skepticism, then stared at the foods left behind.

"I wonder how they taste?" he said.

Zhang Han almost smiled. "Want to try them first?"

Vaien opened his mouth to say yes, then closed it, puckering his lips in a sulk.

"I'm not afraid of being poisoned, so don't even try it."

Zhang Han gave him a look like 'who said I was poisoning you'.

He picked up the soft white and red fruit, the outside of it fuzzy against his fingers, and sniffed it. It smelled all right. The scanner hopefully wouldn't' fail him...he closed his eyes and took a bite. The flesh inside was light tasting and floral scented. A refreshing flavor. He chewed a bit then swallowed.

"It's good," he honestly praised.

Upon hearing that, Vaien gave up his superficial disinterest from before and snatched the fruit out of Zhang Han's hand, biting into it with two canine teeth.

A moment later he swallowed it down hard with a face of disillusionment.

"Bland," his eyes narrowed with condemnation. "I shouldn't have trusted your screwed up sense of taste. You could eat a hopper and still say it tasted good!"

Zhang Han furrowed his brow. He's so childish. Just ignore.

He went for the root tuber next. It was dense, and when Zhang Han bit into it, the texture was a little grainy. Not as enjoyable, but there was a hint of hearty sweetness, and the inside of the root was a golden color with purple spots. Overall, he liked it.

Unfortunately neither Zhang Han nor Vaien knew that baking this root would make the inside of it softer and bring out the pleasant flavors...