10 Chapter 10: Beyond the Era

What's that shiny thing? Clara pulled out a solid board, wiped off the dust, and realized it was a mirror...

There's a mirror here... Clara looked at her reflection in the mirror—oval face, distinct black and white eyes, rosy lips, and fair and tender skin. Isn't this herself? It really is a mirror! No, something's wrong! This is a civilization artifact beyond this era!

She touched it back and forth, the material was strange, like tempered glass, smooth to the touch. The rectangular corners had a curvature, but both sides were the same, very thin! After studying it, she found a tiny seam in the middle that seemed to open. She tried for a while, but couldn't open it.

Gloria ran over and asked, "Clara! What are you doing?"

"Do you have this at your home?" Clara asked Gloria.

"No! What is this?"

When Grandma Saw Clara holding that thing, she suddenly shouted, "Quick, throw it away! It will suck away your soul."

As she spoke, Grandma extended her cane and knocked the mirror out of Clara's hand. "This is something the older generation picked up. Looking at it, you'll see yourself inside. My great-great-grandfather looked at this thing and later went crazy." She vividly remembered throwing it away; her memory wasn't that great anymore.

Such stories! Clara picked up the object and told Grandma, "Grandma, this is a mirror and won't suck away souls. Can you give it to me? I really like it."

Grandma hesitated, really afraid that Clara's soul would be sucked away. However, seeing Clara's pleading eyes, she couldn't bear to refuse. Clara knew Grandma's concerns and held the mirror, making funny faces and showing them, saying, "See, nothing happened. My soul is intact."

Grandma and Gloria burst into laughter. The three of them enjoyed roasted sweet potatoes again. Grandma and Gloria were pleasantly surprised at the taste. Before leaving, Grandma gave Clara a few pieces of animal hide, asking her to make more clothes.

Leaving Grandma's house, Clara asked Gloria to take her to find bamboo. She wanted to make a set of tableware, explaining her idea to Gloria. Gloria didn't understand what bowls and chopsticks were, but she knew about bamboo, and there was a beautiful place with a large bamboo forest.

It was indeed a vast bamboo forest! The layer of bamboo leaves on the ground was thick, indicating it was very old. Looking into the bamboo forest, it was ethereal and tranquil, with fresh and lush bamboo shoots emerging. Clara spotted a particularly thick bamboo, about the size of two bowl openings. She cut it down to make a perfect bamboo water bucket.

At this moment, Clara realized they had no tools, no saws, no axes! How to bring the bamboo back? She touched the small knife in her backpack and was on the verge of tears! This was too frustrating! Why can't this small knife turn into an axe?

Clara lamented in front of the bamboo, unable to cut it down. She could only sigh at the bamboo and said to Gloria, "Let's dig bamboo shoots!"

Better find iron first before cutting bamboo! Clara made a plan in her mind. Finding iron ore was urgent!

Clara stuffed a bag full of bamboo shoots, felt some candy in her bag, took two and handed them to Gloria, saying, "Have some candy!"

Gloria took the candy, examined it, and asked, "Can we eat this?"

"Yes! It's very sweet, but you have to peel off the paper!" Clara helped her peel the paper and gave it to Gloria. Gloria put it in her mouth, immediately tasting a burst of milk flavor. Her eyes lit up, nodding happily, "It's really sweet! Clara is so kind!"

Oh, Gloria was so easy to please, just give her something delicious, and her tail would wag happily. Gloria put the other piece carefully into her clothes, patting it and saying, "This one is for Rowan!"

Mentioning Rowan, Clara remembered that Gloria's husband was Rowan. "Is Rowan good to you?" Clara casually asked.

"Rowan is very good to Gloria. We're going to have a baby after the rainy season. Clara, you have to work hard too!" Gloria said to Clara.

Clara was stunned, her face blushing. A baby! She hadn't thought about that! And why wait until after the rainy season? Clara looked at Gloria, who spoke about this with great seriousness, feeling like having a baby was a sacred thing.

Oh well! Why think so much! Halfway there, Gloria wanted Clara to teach her how to weave straw shoes again. They made several pairs together, two for Rowan, two for Gloria, and Clara made two for herself. However, she didn't know how big Mateo's feet were, so she just followed Gloria's size for Rowan's feet and made two pairs.

Straw shoes could be worn now in warm weather. When it got cold, they could make fur boots!

Iron, it's really crucial! Clara realized the importance of iron tools. No wonder in history, the Bronze Age was such an important stage. With copper and iron, the quality of life would experience a leap!

Clara told Gloria about the importance of iron and asked her to pay attention. They went to the water to fetch water together. Clara was thinking about what to eat tonight. Maybe roast sweet potatoes, and then she noticed many smooth slabs under the waterfall. Right, why not bring one back and use it for cooking?

The more she thought, the more beautiful it seemed. Clara chose a slab, found some straw, and cleaned the stone. Gloria didn't understand, but she didn't ask. She just helped Clara bring it back, then said goodbye and went home.

Clara didn't know if it would succeed, so she didn't tell Gloria. She would inform her once the experiment was successful.

Clara tidied up the thatched house, and the stove for roasting meat was surrounded again. She placed the stone slab on it perfectly. Clara walked around the house, planning to open a door opposite the bed and build a shed to move the stove outside. She also thought about making a table, chairs, and cabinets.

What to do! The more she thought, the more excited she became! Clara grinned foolishly at the wall. Seeing that it was getting late, she hurriedly took out the vegetables she dug today, washed them, and prepared to start cooking dinner!

This time she wanted to use the stone slab! Tonight, she wanted to surprise Mateo and let him know how capable she was. Clara wiped the stone slab and cut the meat she had taken from the wild animals yesterday into pieces. She didn't know what kind of meat it was, but it tasted good these past few days, just not like pork.

When everything was ready, Clara realized there were no matches! How did Mateo start the fire these past two days? It seemed like she just gently flicked the fire pit, and there was fire.

Clara flicked the fire pit, but it was a cold fire pit, no warmth at all. Clara suddenly felt the room was chilly, and her exposed arms were cold, raising goosebumps! Could it be that she extinguished the fire seed!

As it gradually got dark, Clara quickly found some stones and dry grass to start a fire. It sounded easy, but in reality, it was too difficult!

"Clara! Clara..." She heard Mateo calling her from afar, full of excitement.

Clara put down the stones and went out to greet him. She saw Mateo carrying a large prey on his back. When Mateo saw her coming out, he waved happily, pointing to the prey on his back, "Clara, look, we can make a lot of bags with this." 

It was a zebra. Mateo had actually hunted a zebra! Clara was a bit speechless, calculating in her mind whether zebra meat would be tasty.

"Mateo, you're really amazing!" Clara praised her as she approached. Then she helped Mateo drag the zebra down. Mateo let go of the prey, and Clara felt her hands suddenly heavy, almost stumbling. Mateo quickly hooked her waist, preventing her from falling.

"Hehe... Clara is clumsy." Mateo laughed heartily, his emerald eyes sparkling. Clara couldn't help but stare blankly. Mateo looked really good when he laughed. 

Dragging the zebra to the wall of the thatched house, Mateo clapped his hands, preparing to go inside. Clara smelled a fishy odor from Mateo and waved her hand, saying, "Mateo, you stink! Go take a bath!"

Mateo, who had been living alone, sniffed himself. Where was the smell? He didn't want to take a bath. Today, he was too hungry after hunting the zebra, and thinking about the meat bun from yesterday made his even hungrier. But seeing no meat roasting on the stove and a stone slab on top, he felt a bit unhappy. Clara didn't give him roasted meat.