After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World novel Chapter 256

Aberdeen City, Twenty-one years ago

The young Garan and little Bean stared at their stock of essential condiments with a bit of pride.

Winter was coming and it meant major rationing in the orphanage would happen.

When they were smaller, they had no choice but to eat what was available and when it was available. This often meant very painful stomachs and heavy shivering from the cold.

But nine-year-old Garan and his BFF Little Bean were already big kids and they were determined not to suffer so badly anymore.

So they worked very hard during the errands and part-time jobs to stock up long-lasting food. They also bought salt and, because the shopkeeper admired their independence (i.e. she thought they were adorable), she gave them a few pieces of candy.

"What is this? What are you doin’? Has it snowed already?" Little Althea asked as she saw the two boys putting salt on their meat.

Bean cackled at her stupidity while Garan smiled fondly, using the base of his hand (because his fingers had salt) to rub her small head.

"This is called salt, This would make our food last longer." He said. "It’s so we won’t go hungry when the snow falls."

Although Garan did his best to feed Althea well, to the point that he himself went hungry, she still did experience it. Now that she found out that they wouldn’t be hungry again, Althea looked at Garan with admiration. This made him very proud.

She then decided to help them with their task, which Garan naturally allowed her to do.

She cutely mimicked the actions of the older boys, taking a bit of salt and rubbing it on the raw meat.

For some time, they could only hear the soft flap of meat being turned and the soft rubbing sound of salt.

It was peaceful for a while until the little girl exclaimed,

"Iiichhh! Salty! Pyew! Pyew!"

The boys turned to look at the four-year-old with a scrunched-up face, her chubby cheeks looking even more pinchable.

Bean laughed out loud. "Who told you to eat it! That’s why it’s called salt, idiiooottttt." He said, which earned him a little bump from Garan.

"Hey!"

In fact, Garan also wanted to chuckle at her cute scrunched-up face, but held back because he knew she’d cry.

Instead, he smiled at the little girl and told her about the powder. "It is very salty, but all our food tastes good because of it."

"Weally?"

"Yes, every delicious thing you have ever eaten probably has a pinch. Just a pinch for a load of meat."

"Oh…"

He chuckled and, after wiping the salt off his hands, took out a piece of candy he got from the shopkeeper lady. He unwrapped it and gently put it in her mouth.

"Don’t swallow it whole, okay? Just chew."

"What wis thwis?" She mumbled, but the moment the little thing touched her taste buds and melted there, a new unfamiliar sensation exploded her mind.

Little Althea felt like she climbed up the clouds.

It was her first taste of real sugar.

Doing a bit of pep talk, she soon immersed herself in her experiments. _{freewёbnoνel.com}