Riding into the center of their town, others had set up their areas for bartering. They had so many interesting things; next week they would have to see what they could add to their supplies. Ishmael could make more yuzu preserves to barter with as she had found a lot of small empty jars in the recycle bin; she was not above dumpster diving and these jars would not need to be canned. If the yuzu was going to be used right away, it didn't have to be processed in a canner.

Making it to the Tomo's, they bid goodbye to Abe and waved to the others on the top balcony. Finally home, they parked their bikes by the back deck and the guys unloaded everything into the kitchen for Ishmael. She took Ryu to a spot near the outhouse trail but far enough away from it to be his 'bathroom' spot. He peed, then sat and looked up at her.

"Hungry bubs?!" Ryu huffed and stomped his little paws. Ishmael walked slowly as he followed her into the house. He had now become her little furry shadow. All of them were hungry as the guys sat on the couches in the living room chit chatting. Ishmael scooped Ryu up and dropped him in Seo's lap.

"Hey buddy!" Ryu stood in Seo's lap, front paws on his shoulder, tail wagging , he watched his new mommy as she rustled the dog food bag. She opened a can of fish; it was just fish canned in water so it was fine for him to eat and there were no bones in it. A little dry and a few pieces of fish plus the juice from the can; his dinner was ready. First she put a small bowl of water down for him. Now his training would begin.

"Joon?" Seo came over to her with the puppy in his arms. He nuzzled into the pups head. Ishmael sat his food down as he began to wriggle to be let down. "You can put him down." Ryu immediately went to the bowl but was stopped. "Sit." His furry little butt was on the floor, eyes trained onto her. Seo just stood there, arms folded waiting to see if the young pup would mind her commands. Ishmael had him sit for a few seconds before giving him his next command. "Eat!" he quickly began gobbling his food as she knelt down to pet him. "Pet him too Joon, that way he won't see you as a threat when he eats."

"How do you know how to train dogs, MelMel?" Seong had been watching everything as well.

"Poppo taught me. He used to train dogs."

Ishmael petted him the entire time he ate. Once he was done she took him right back outside and to his bathroom spot even though he grumbled. Kim was curious. "What is she doing? He just came in!"

"Yeah but he's a puppy. Puppies will usually use the bathroom right after they eat or play. So afterwards you have to take them outside or they will crap on the floor."

"Ohhhh."

Ishmael came in with him right behind her. She sat the pillow she had gotten him behind the couch and in front of the patio door. That way he could see if anything was going on in the backyard. After about five minutes, Ryu stayed in his bed and was soon asleep. Now she could start lunch; it would be just curry with chopped up veggies and rice. Soon there was laughter as the guys were all on the floor playing with Ryu. Sean was trying to take a picture with Ryu as he licked him right in the mouth then started sniffing around.

"Take him out! He's getting ready to pee!"

Sean grabbed him and made it outside just in time. It was still fairly early and the guys wanted to work on the other carts. Before they went outside, Ishmael asked if they could stop by the other house and see if there was a propane tank. Sean and Haru agreed to go and look for her.

Ishmael put the food they had gotten away in the fridge, which was now packed. She really hoped there was a propane tank at the other place. Using the gas stovetop she had gotten would make canning everything so much easier. Flour and rice went into more buckets along with some bay leaves she found in the cabinet. Lids securely on, the buckets went back into the garage and stacked on some cinder blocks so they weren't sitting on the floor. They were now good on rice and flour so she crossed them off the list. With a little down time now that the curry was cooking inside on the butane burner, She washed up the jars and lids for her upcoming canning session.

About 40 minutes had passed and Sean and Haru returned. Hearing the gate, Ryu was at the door, his cute curly tail wagging. It didn't take him long to recognize the other's in his new pack as he whined to go and greet them.

"Sis!"

She walked to the patio door and looked, Ryu standing next to her. They had found propane. She picked Ryu up to keep him out of the way and so he wouldn't get stepped on.

"They had some! Awesome!"

"There's 6 more this size."

"6?! That will definitely get us through the winter and allow me to get everything canned! Thank you guys so much!"

"Of course little sis. You have that propane stove?"

" Yeah, it's still on Seong's cart."

"Where did you guys find that at Haru?" Seo was sure that they had searched the yard.

"Inside the house right by the back door."

"It wasn't locked?!"

"No. There's a shit ton of solar panels also and I think four more batteries. We found some metal housing for the gas line too. We can set it up so you can cook on the deck. That way you're not going all the way to the grill area and back."

"I don't want that tank close to the house guys." Seo had a point, safety was another top concern now.

"The line is long enough that we can set the tank by the post at the far wall. We can bury it so that it's out of the way, I'll also build an enclosure for it."

"Sounds good. Umm...you and Sean can start on that and we can keep working on the carts."

Ishmael was filling a pot with water. Ryu was a smelly little thing and if he was going to stay inside, he needed a bath. She started up a fire so she could heat up the water and bathe him outside. Ryu already knew to stay back from the flames.

"Babe what are you doing?"

"He needs a bath!" Seo shook his head and returned to the work at hand. Ryu followed her back inside as she got two of the used towels to dry him off with. Tomorrow she would have to do laundry now that the poles were set, she would string the wire up later after Ryu had his bath. Ishmael shut the curry off, put the lid on it and wrapped the pot in a heavy towel to keep it warm. She plugged the rice cooker into the solar generator and set it on the side table by the patio door. Once the rice was done, lunch would be ready. Her and Ryu wandered out into the large yard, he completely ignored the hens and chicks. He must have already been scolded and taught to leave them alone.

Sean had left the wire and connectors to be used as the clothesline sitting by one of the poles. It was at a level that she could work on it without getting a ladder. She decided to do it now while the water came up to temp. Ryu just sat off to the side and watched her. The guys took notice.

"Will you look at those two. That crazy pup treats MelMel like his mom and she just found him."

"Well look at us. We all treat her like a sister."
"Eh! Except for Joon." They all laughed but it was true.

The guys were now experts at putting together the smaller bike carts. Each one had a job and they sat the process up assembly line style. Two did the frame, the other attached the wheels, the other one did the base and coupling for the bike. Ishmael went to grab some shampoo and conditioner. Ryu happily followed her around, clueless of his impending bath.

Back at the bbq area, the water was warm enough as she emptied it into the already half full bucket. She tested the water with her hand and it was perfect puppy bath water.

"You need a bath little boy if you're going to sleep in my bed." Ryu cocked his head at her as she pulled him over. First cup of warm water and he whined just a little. "You're okay, stinky dinklers!" The young puppy stood there and took his bath like a champ. Now he smelled fresh and flowery as he grumbled away. Wrapping him in one of the towels she rubbed him somewhat dry. The other towel cocooned him like a burrito and she carried him inside. Sitting him on the floor, he tried to give himself a good shake but only succeeded in tumbling over.

"You feel better huh?!"

Ryu strutted around the area in front of the patio door and stopped to watch the guys as they worked. Ishmael wondered if the town vet would be out at the market. Sean and Haru were done with the propane tank installation and had her a nice little cook area on the covered patio. The wrought iron cook top was secured on a sturdy metal stand they had found in the garage when cleaning it.

Walking back outside, she left Ryu in the house to finish drying off. "Hey Joon, can you spare Sean and Haru?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I want to see if the town vet is at the market. Ryu needs to be checked out and he needs something to keep him from getting fleas since he's going to be inside most of the time."

"Oh god, fleas are the last thing we need!" Kim shivered at the thought of it.

"Okay, the vet office looked like it was open. Hey Sean, Haru?"

"We heard. Yeah that sounds fine. Plus I want to see what's all at the market. You got anything to barter little sis?"

"Uhh, I got some of the strawberry jam. Maybe the frozen...no we'll have those for dinner! I have some of the yuzu preserves left."

"Bring some of the jam and preserves. Any more eggs?"

"3."

"Bring two of your small cans of butane."

"Okay." Ishmael returned to the house and came back with Ryu in the carry bag and a box of items to barter. Haru came up to her with 4 more eggs from his hens and added them to the egg crate she had. They took one of the small carts that was completed and headed back to town.

"You know little sis, these yuzu preserves are a hit for bartering!"

"So I see, glad I got so many, there's still more left to make. I'll work on preserving them for next week's market. Maybe I can get some more of the fruit later." Ryu struggled to look out of the bag, once he could see, he settled back down. Ishmael supported him with one of her hands to keep him stabilized while on the bike.

Reaching town, the area was bustling for not having any power. All of the store owners were out in middle of town with their goods set up on tarps or blankets. The ones from Bepu also had arrived and set up, most of it in coolers.

First the group had to take care of Ryu before they could look around. The vet was indeed still in town and seeing animals. She had to wait twenty minutes as there was someone ahead of her. While she waited the guys walked around. She took Ryu off to the side so he could potty. Soon it was his turn. Since they had left the barter goods with her, that was the first order of business. His visit cost her a butane canister and 2 of the yuzu preserves. The vet gave him a good exam. Ryu was pretty healthy, despite his small size and the vet assured her that was from not eating properly but a good and robust diet would clear that right up. He gave her a 6 month supply of flea stuff that she could apply to the back of his neck. He was old enough that it wouldn't bother him. Lastly, he got a rabies shot and puppy shots. Ishmael thanked him and went to find the others. The vet let her know to not be surprised if Ryu slept for the rest of the day due to the shots.

Walking to find the others, she had Ryu walking next to her when she heard him bark. Turning around he was sitting down, he looked tired and figured the shot was already working. Back to his carry bag he went. As she walked, she thought it would be an excellent idea if the town had it's on freezer to store meat like the people in Bepu. Forgetting about finding her brothers, she sought out the owner of the local grocery store. She asked if he had his freezers still and he did. He had lost the meat but he still had the freezers and cold storage. She thanked him and hurried to find the others.

"Ge! Ge!"

"What?"

"Come on, we need to go, I have an idea!!" She hurried over to her bike and quickly got on. Ryu grumbled at being juggled around.

"Wait! I'm trying to get a mower!" Haru was trying to trade the rest of their goods for an old style push mower.

"Fine, meet me at the house!" Ishmael sped off towards home, leaving the two men bewildered. Speeding past the Tomo's they yelled out for her. "Can't stop gotta go!" She reached the house in no time and rushed through the gate with her bike.

"Hey guys!!"

"What?!" Seo thought something was wrong.

"I have an idea!!" The men all stood, waiting for her to spill it. "So! Sean and Haru found that other solar set up, right?"

"Yeah....?"

"Mr. Kaiga at the grocery store still has his freezers! What if we use that other solar array and hook it up to the freezer/cold storage and the people here can keep meat frozen just like the folks in Bepu!!"

"Where's Haru and Sean?!"

"Trying to barter for something. Did you even hear what I said Joon!?" Seo went to say something else when Ryu barked, snapping him back to the here and now. "Thank you sweet boy!"

"How the hell do you keep coming up with shit sis?!" Kim still couldn't believe the ideas she was able to pull out of thin air.

"I don't know! So what do you guys think?!"

"That will help the town out a lot guys." Seong was always the voice of reason.

"We can have some of the men from Bepu help since they already have their system in place. Each resident can keep like a tote or something in the freezer to store their meat. I just don't know how big the freezers are."

"You really are our lucky charm sis." Ishmael made a silly face at Seong.

"I say we do it guys. That way we can learn how to do a solar setup of that scale and come back and set ours up."

"Works for me guys. Well we got the carts done. Let's go to town and talk to Mr. Kaiga and the other elders. Now's a good time since everyone is together for the market."

"Oh! I would keep the Kitaro house hush hush." Even though Ishmael was open to helping others, she still wanted to keep some things they had private.

"Oh babe, come here!" Seo brought her in for a hug, careful not to squeeze Ryu who was between them. "I love you and your brilliant little mind."

"Love you too!"

"Well let's head back to town and tell the Elders of the idea. See if we can get some help from Bepu since they're here also. Babe, stay in the house."

"I will. Food will be ready when you get back."