Chapter 80: Temporary Residence

“Actually, there is one decent well,” Xu Xiuchuan said with a sly grin, winking at Wang Chong.
Wang Chong paused, then realized what he meant and made a disgusted face: “Ah, you mean that one? Pfft.”
“What’s that about?” Yang Zicang asked, looking at them curiously.
“That’s not a well; it’s a cesspit.”
“A fertilizer source—pretty nice, actually, except it overlaps with reality.”
Wang Chong wagged his finger and added:
“I think it was that idiot Master Zuo, who went to the toilet without washing his hands while building the engine.”
“Huh?” Yang Zicang’s face stiffened.
“Ahem, Brother Yang, you know how scarce stuff is here—water, paper, even leaves. That one was just a fluke.” Xu Xiuchuan chuckled.
Having grown accustomed to the scarcity of supplies here, he simply took it as a common joke that he would bring up and boast about to passersby whenever he got the chance.
Since then, Master Zuo had become a celebrity in their settlement, known by the title Master Zuo of Excrement.
Yang Zicang wished he hadn’t asked.
……
In the distance, by the black stream, people could occasionally be seen standing or crouching with buckets, waiting—even in the dead of night, steadfastly guarding the waterfront, awaiting the rare passing of a work scene.
“It’s already midnight, and so cold—why are you still waiting here?”
“There’s really no concept of day and night here anymore. Sure, it’s cold now, but there are fewer people. When the light gets stronger, there will be crowds.”)
If it were just for fun, Yang Zicang would gladly squat by the stream, waiting for rare work and manufacturing scenes. But once survival becomes a factor, this scene takes on a helpless tone.
“Hey, have you guys seen the phantom of a wok being forged? I urgently need it.” Two people ran over from the direction of the Canopy Settlement.
“No, that kind of thing doesn’t appear once in several months.”
“I saw iron being smelted a few minutes ago. Hurry up and follow the water to catch up.”
Xu Xiuchuan seemed quite cheerful and said, “Hehe, the rarer the forget-me-not stream scenes, the better the stuff they can get to trade. By the way, it’s getting late, Brother Yang, you should head back and rest.”
“I’ll come with you to check out the Canopy Area.”
“Huh? But our place, outsiders here…”
Yang Zicang patted his own suitcase. “Surely these are enough to exchange for a night’s bed.”
……
Ahead, a shantytown assembled from various materials sprawled like a slum. It stood weathered yet resiliently on the wasteland, letting wind through on all sides.
This was the desolate shantytown settlement, commonly referred to as the shack district.
“Hold it, Wang Chong. Where did you pick up this newcomer?” The burly man at the entrance looked up.
On the gravel ground, Yang Zicang, dressed in clean and tidy clothes, seemed somewhat out of place in this environment.
“He…”
Before Wang Chong could speak, Yang Zicang raised a hand and said, “I arrived here yesterday. Can I stay in your place for two days?”
“No, unless you exchange for at least a Triangular-level Forgetting Mind Model, then you can stay for a month. If you don’t know what a Forgetting Mind Model is, ask the guy next to you.”
The burly doorkeeper was about to bury his head and go back to sleep, but was startled by the noise Yang Zicang’s next actions made.
The young man outside the fence crouched down and opened his leather suitcase, revealing it was full of clothes, along with a few snack packets and a notebook squeezed into the gaps.
“I’ll only stay for two or three days. You can pick one set of clothing from here.”
“Holy cow!”
Before Yang Zicang could elaborate, the man’s eyes lit up intensely, and he rushed out from behind the small fence. He crouched down, his large hand rummaging through the clothes in the suitcase.
The stubby guard on the other side of the main entrance was also attracted, scratching his head as he stepped out.
“Are you serious?” He immediately took a liking to a brown leather jacket in the suitcase.
“It’s even got a faux fur collar, my god!”
This guy had his eye on the best piece from the get-go.
“Get lost, dead Niuwa, I saw it first!”
Niuwa glared and put the jacket on himself. Though it was a size too small when worn, it still clung well to his lean, toned body from being underfed.
“What’s all the fuss about?”
A person with a steadier demeanor than the two stepped out from the gate.
“Captain Jia,” Wang Chong and the other greeted him politely.
Captain Jia glanced at the clothes in the two men’s hands, then fixed his eyes on the suitcase.
“And these clothes?”
Yang Zicang smiled slightly: “One garment for one day’s lodging, deal?”
“Huh? Are you serious?”
“Of course.”
Captain Jia quickly kicked the two men in front of him to shoo them away, then grabbed the collar of the brown leather jacket Niuwa had put on and yanked it off.
“Boss, I picked this one!”
“You think you’re worthy of it? Take it off! Give this to the shelter leader.”
The gatekeeper Niuwa reluctantly shed the leather jacket.
“What are you up to, hauling so many clothes?”
“Bulk selling.”
“Deal. One piece for one day. The suitcase will count as two days. The snacks — eh, consider it as one day as well. Payment made, no refunds.”
Before Yang Zicang could interject, Team Leader Jia stuffed the scattered clothes back into the box, heedless of the mess, and grabbed the beam on the railing with his other hand: “Come on in. Just… Wang Chong, and what’s his name—can you fit a bed into your room?”
Wang Chong nodded in compliance.
“Alright, that’s settled. By the way, what’s your name?”
As he asked the passing Yang Zicang, Team Leader Jia instinctively touched the small pocket on his chest, remembering it held nothing, and wiped his forehead with a hand, as if his sweat needed a clean-up.
A gust of cold wind brushed everyone’s cheeks. Yang Zicang replied: “My name is Jia Zijian.”
“A codename? Fine, let’s go with that. On board as investors for now? If you run into any issues, feel free to contact me.”
“There’s no need for that.”
Rebuffed ungratefully, Team Leader Jia’s face dropped in displeasure.
……
In the room made of wooden lathes and planks, Niuwa soon led workers to add a large bed, taking up almost half the space. With the three beds squeezed together, the place turned into nearly a big kang. Pale red magic crystals warmed against the chill and a pile of hay were scattered on the bedding. With no extra cost, this was an act of remarkable cheating to nab so many clothes.
For them, It posed not a cent spent on jostling away so many garments as a preferential treatment prize earned.
“Is this what you cover yourselves with to sleep in?”
“It’s-it’s fine. This grass keeps you pretty warm.”
Shaking his head, Yang Zicang went over to the wood wall, yanked out the straw jammed between the planks, and peeked through the crack at the outside.
Two ox-like creatures were tethered near the shelter compound, while more figures could be seen by the stream in the distance.
Three pairs of eyes appeared behind the gaps in the wooden planks.
“Help me find a Fountain of Forgetting to drill a water well tomorrow.”
“Huh? Brother Yang, what are you planning?”
Yang Zicang smiled and said, “Actually, the reason making the Forgetting Engine for wells is so difficult is largely due to the water source issue, right?”
“Not entirely. The soil and mineral deposits play a huge role too. Seemingly similar soil and rock actually contain different mineral elements. Most people aren’t great at geography and can’t tell the differences much. Without blueprints, you have to keep experimenting with formulas.”
Everyone has taken geography class, but few know what type of soil lies one meter underground in mountainous or saline lands, or what’s at three meters or ten meters, what it’s useful for, or where underground springs come from—that stumps most people.
And at that moment, in Yang Zicang’s sensory vision—
{So, Zicang-sama. This must be why only large settlement camps can accurately produce water well Forgetting Engines.}
Hearing the voice from through the Mental Link, Yang Zicang’s eyes softened with warmth.