With snow on the ground and little farm work to be done, everyone had a lot of free time on their hands.
"I didn't know ...... you'd come this far."
Almost all the children. Plus five ladies. There was even Barbara, the mayor's niece and Eric's wife.
"Well, we don't have an age limit," she said.
Jin wondered if he should be treated like a small child.
"We should divide them into two groups.
The content will be the same, but the way of teaching will be changed. It's not so much a change as a change of classroom.
So, Barbara and the teachers are moved to the next room.
It was Jin's idea that it would be somewhat awkward for parents and children to be in the same classroom.
So, on the first day, Jin was in charge of the children and Elsa was in charge of the adults.
"Okay, today we are going to make clay vessels. You can make a plate or a cup.
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
The words of Jin, who was loved by the children, were accepted with open arms.
"Then I'll pass out the clay."
The assistant is Reiko. She hands out clay to the children.
The clay was chosen to be fine-grained and firm enough for beginners to handle.
"Okay, now, put your weight on the table and knead it.
"Yes, sir."
"Wet your hands with the water from the tub beside you, and blend them in."
Yes, sir.
Jin has only done pottery a couple of times, so he is saying half of what he has heard from the old man.
By the way, the clay used to make pottery must be kneaded well to remove air from the clay, or else the clay will form "soot" or crack easily when it is fired.
"If you knead well, the air and particles in the clay will be homogenized and smooth, and it will not crack easily when it dries."
"Yes. ......?"
The last explanation seemed too difficult for the children.
"Oh, and you can make it about 1.3 times as thick and ...... big as you feel like it, or a little bit bigger. The clay gets smaller as it dries."
"Okay."
Jin walks among the children, who are kneading the clay with all their might, and offers advice.
"It's a little hard to make a big plate. The weight of the clay changes the shape.
"Yes."
It was a simple advice, but the more dexterous children seemed to realize something and made their own vessels of their own design.
(Come to think of it, maybe it's just an extension of playing with the dirt.)
As Jin thought, most of the children in the village of Kaina had made various things with clay as a pastime.
Of course, they did not burn them, and they were not practical, but it seemed to be enough for them to learn how to handle clay.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Meanwhile, Elsa is teaching an adult group. Her assistant is Edgar.
"Here is the clay. It is roughly kneaded, but please knead it well again.
"Yes, sir. I got it."
Even though they are adults. Most of them have played with clay in their childhood. They have no problem with their hands.
Elsa's guidance was no problem, and everyone completed a vessel of their favorite design.
The children were all able to complete their favorite designs.
Jin and Elsa were standing in front of the finished vessels in their respective classrooms.
"<>"
Engineering magic that dries the object. It does not start from the surface, and the water is evenly dispersed so that there are no cracks.
"When you don't use engineering magic, dry it slowly in the shade.
"Yes."
"If you try to dry it too quickly, it may crack or worse, break.
I understand.
Elsa's work is also progressing smoothly, and both have finished drying.
"Then let's bake them.
Jin puts the vessels made by the children and adults into the baking kiln ......, which is a modified bread oven.
"<>"
This is also a magic tool, so it works with a magic key word (keyword).
"Well, this should be ready in a couple of hours or so. Until then, ...... we're going to have lunch first."
"Yay!"
The time is about 11:40. It's a little early for noon, but we decide to have lunch.
"Anyone interested in helping me out?"
"Yes!"
Everyone in the classroom ...... raised their ...... hands, including adults.
"Then let's split up and get ready. Today's lunch is nabeyaki udon!
At this point, Jin realized that he should have shown the earthenware pot for nabeyaki udon before the class. And then...,
(Okay, next time we have a pottery class, let's make an earthenware pot.)
(Okay, next time we will have a class to make earthenware pots).
First of all, we washed our hands well and started preparing for the class.
The group is divided into those who chop green onions, those who chop fish paste, those who boil greens, those who make soup stock, those who make sauce, those who fry tempura (adults), and so on.
Jin and Erza proceeded with the preparation of nabeyaki udon, thinking that this was like a home economics class.
"All right, let it simmer well before you eat it.
"Yes!
They prepared a cooking stove for each of us, and an earthenware pot was placed on top of the stove and started to simmer.
"I think it's time. Be careful, it's hot. Oh, you can eat it in a small bowl.
Jin has the bowls prepared for serving. Chopsticks and a bamboo ladle are also provided.
The villagers of Kayna have become quite proficient in the use of chopsticks by now.
"It tastes good with a sprinkling of kryptona (mitsuba) on top.
Jin likes the smell of mitsuba, so he adds it to the hot udon noodle pot.
Yuzu and shichimi (seven spice) are also available as condiments.
Shichimi consists of <.
>,<><> may be added depending on the restaurant.
The original shichimi, by the way, was found in Mitsuho by Jin's agent <>.
It was probably named by from Tosa, so it was called in Kansai style (in Kanto and Tokyo area, it is called ). (In the Kanto and Tokyo area, it is often called shichishikarashi.)
"Hot, spicy and tasty ......, good when it's cold!"
Barbara was eating them enthusiastically.
"Wow, it's delicious!"
"It's delicious!"
"Look, you're snotty!"
The children were also sniffling as they ate.
While watching such a smiling scene, Jin, who has a cat's tongue, also enjoyed his nabeyaki udon at his own pace.