A shelter and a soup pot

In the morning, Miaomiao woke to sunshine and birdsong and stretched.

The campfire on the beach was still burning slowly, kept at a level that would neither go out nor consume too much dry wood. Bruce was no longer on the pile of dry grass beside it that had served as a mattress.

Miaomiao looked around and soon spotted Bruce at the edge of the distant woods. He was dragging something toward her.

"Good morning, Bruce." Miaomiao flicked her tail curiously. "What are you doing?"

"Good morning." Bruce set down what he had found in the woods and pointed to each item as he explained. "Palm leaves, sturdy branches, dry grass, vines, and some bark."

"What are they for? Can we eat them?" Miaomiao eyed the jumble of materials, her eyes full of hope.

"No."

"Huh? Oh..."

Bruce couldn't help chuckling at the little mermaid, who looked so disappointed that even her tail drooped.

"Miaomiao, we can't live on food alone. The temperature varies too much on this island, so I need to build a simple shelter. More importantly, I have to find a way to contact the outside world."

Miaomiao didn't quite understand. All the merfolk lived together, and if any of them swam too far away, they only had to call out to get an answer from their people. She didn't understand why Bruce didn't simply call for his own people.

Perhaps this was another custom of land humans?

Miaomiao didn't understand, but she respected it.

She sat quietly to one side, watching Bruce struggle to strip bark and cut tough grass stems with a sharpened shell or a thin, sharp-edged stone flake.

Clearly, the shell wasn't much use, and the stone flake was hardly any better, though both were better than nothing. Bruce was accomplishing these tasks almost entirely through his extraordinary strength.

After watching for a while, Miaomiao couldn't stand it anymore.

"Bruce, are you trying to separate them? Why are you cutting them?"

Bruce didn't stop working. He kept sawing away as he explained to the girl, "These grass stems are very flexible and strong. I want to prepare them, then twist and braid them into rope. After that, I'll use the branches, palm leaves, and dry grass to build a simple shelter. Like a shell that protects the soft, tender flesh inside."

Got it.

But now I have even more questions.

Miaomiao cast a disdainful glance at the pile of junk. How could things like these possibly make a sturdy, pretty "shell"? Her people's homes beneath the sea were each more glittering than the last, decorated with all kinds of beautiful things.

Miaomiao extended her sharp nails and, with a few quick swipes, dealt with the bark and grass stems Bruce had been trying to prepare. Then she flipped over and dove underwater again.

Having gradually grown used to the little girl disappearing underwater every so often, Bruce remained perfectly calm. He merely looked at the shell and stone flake-with which he had spent ages cutting, only to achieve less than she had with a few swipes of her claws-and sighed helplessly.

"All right, superpowers..."

This time, Miaomiao hadn't gone diving to catch fish. She wanted to find something for Bruce's "little house," at least to make it look less shabby.

Miaomiao swam swiftly across the seabed. In her experience, besides decorations that came from the sea, such as shells and pearls, certain places on the ocean floor were bound to hold the decorations land people liked. After all, despite being unable to survive in the ocean, they had once been willing to risk their lives crossing it just to bring those things home.

With help from some passing dolphins, Miaomiao found exactly what she wanted-a shipwreck that had sunk to the seabed at some unknown time.

The wreck was enormous. After years of erosion by seawater and nibbling by fish and shrimp, much of its wooden hull had rotted away. Schools of little fish had even made their homes there. Miaomiao found a way inside easily and began rummaging around.

Hmm, a pearl necklace. This isn't even as pretty as the one I gave Bruce. Don't want it.

A golden crown. Not bad. I'll bring it back for Bruce to wear for fun.

A harp? All its strings have snapped. It wouldn't even make a handy weapon.

What's this? Some kind of plant seeds, apparently. After soaking in seawater for so long, they've already rotted.

A jeweled dagger? Bruce can hang this from his roof.

Is this... a bowl? No, it's bigger than a bowl. This must be...

A pot?!

Miaomiao's eyes shone brighter and brighter. Was this the legendary pot? The magical pot that could make all sorts of delicious food?!

Take it! I absolutely have to take it!

By the time Bruce's simple shelter was nearly finished, Miaomiao had returned with her spoils-

A huge chest big enough to fit her entire body inside.

Like a happy little sparrow, the little mermaid chattered away, sharing her adventures with him as she opened the enormous chest.

Then Bruce Wayne-the worldly richest man in Gotham City, a playboy who threw money around like water-was nearly blinded by the glittering contents.

A crown set with over a dozen rubies the size of pigeon eggs, a dagger with a golden sheath and a sapphire hilt, a solid silver wine flask covered in gems, a great heap of gemstones in every color and variety...

Bruce had seen far more treasures than these at auction houses, in collectors' holdings, in museums, and elsewhere. Every family with a long heritage was bound to have its own private collection room. But this was the first time Bruce had ever seen anyone pile such rare and valuable treasures haphazardly into a large chest without even the slightest protection.

Worse still, a third of the chest was filled with kelp, wakame, agar seaweed, oysters, sea crabs, mussels, and assorted fish and shrimp...

The sight was so jarring that Bruce, with his years of aristocratic upbringing, couldn't help closing his eyes to calm the turmoil within.

She's just a child who doesn't know any better...

Unfortunately, even with his eyes closed, Bruce could still hear the little girl's cheerful, lilting voice.

"Bruce, look! Is this the kind of pot you use to cook? I heard you can make all kinds of delicious food with a pot. I brought back lots of ingredients. Let's cook something to eat, okay?"

Bruce opened his eyes and looked at the "pot" in Miaomiao's hands, utterly speechless.

"Bruce?" When he still said nothing, Miaomiao grew a little nervous. "Don't you like these things? Or did I get it wrong? Is this not a pot?"

Looking into the little girl's large, watery eyes, Bruce went against his conscience.

"No, you're right. This is a pot for cooking."

"I knew it!"

Reassured, the little girl brightened again, slapping her tail with a series of loud smacks.

"Bruce, Bruce, let's cook something to eat! I've wanted to taste the soup you usually drink for a really, really long time~~"