Chapter 161: Selling Peaches
Although she didn’t have time to say much to Zhou Qian before rushing to the trading market, the bus was just too slow. By the time she arrived, it was already 10:00.
Huai Yu, familiar with the process, skipped the line and entered directly. The machine buzzed and whirred as it spat out the inspection card. The familiar staff stared at the big, rosy peaches emitting a faint fragrance, their left eye reading “greedy,” their right eye “desire.”
But when the inspection card came out and he took a look, his heart instantly sank.
No wonder. Never mind how fresh and in-demand these peaches were—the mutation value, deliberately controlled by Huai Yu, was a 6…
Unaffordable!
Even brushing off a bit of peach fuzz felt like a crime!
Huai Yu, however, looked calm as ever.
She had gradually learned, through repeated tests, how to fine-tune the purification level. Those eight peaches Zhou Qian had in the hospital definitely had a mutation value between 3 and 4.
She flashed a sweet, innocent smile at the staff, who sighed and secretly congratulated themselves—
In this sea of people and long queues, why had they felt a sudden pity and let her through the express lane back then?
And look how that one small favor led to such a powerful connection!
Nowadays, anyone who could get their hands on peaches had to be top-tier. No one dared to think too hard about why such good stuff was still being sent to the market…
But thinking of all the deep-pocketed, big-family-backed bosses at the market, they couldn’t help but speculate.
No matter how much shock today’s mutation value stirred up in the staff’s hearts, for Boss Tang, this was just another ordinary morning.
At home, the chef had used the finest flour to make a batch of cowpea and lean meat pancakes, paired with golden millet porridge. Everyone at home was stuffed to the brim.
He even grabbed the last pancake on his way out!
And this batch of cowpeas? He only gave a little to his most important clients—the rest he kept at home.
Yesterday, the chef had been busy all day—washing jars, complaining that the household salt and chili weren’t good enough—ordering everyone around. But everyone happily cooperated, bustling with excitement—Why? Because they were dying to taste pickled cowpea stir-fried with minced meat.
That good mood lasted right up until he met Huai Yu.
When his round, chubby figure waddled up, it was like a high-speed spinning soccer ball; even the air seemed joyful—
“Little Yu, what good stuff have you got today?”
Huai Yu stood at the shop door in a moment of strange silence.
She looked around at the dazzling, well-stocked showroom, momentarily unsure who the real businessperson was here—her or Boss Tang…
But it didn’t matter!
She confidently handed over the inspection card, lifted her chin, and said coolly: “Make me an offer.”
Boss Tang was stunned by the numbers on the card, then peeked into the basket. His face immediately flushed as if all the blood rushed up, steam practically coming out of his head!
“Fresh peaches!”
He lowered his voice like an excited but cautious bandit who’d just made a big score, “Mutation value 6!”
Huai Yu nodded calmly, “So of course, I thought of you right away!”
“Well? Want to take them or not?”
No way was he letting this duck fly away after it landed in his mouth—if he did, he’d be slapping himself awake in the middle of the night!
But the price…
Honestly, he’d never seen such top-quality goods before! Gritting his teeth, he said, “120 points per peach!”
Hiss—
Even Huai Yu was a bit shocked by that number.
She’d mentally prepared, knowing that once the mutation value hit single digits, every increase would bump the price up a level. But she hadn’t expected the jump to be this steep!
She didn’t hesitate: “Deal!”
So how many peaches were in her basket? A full 41.
41 × 120 = 4920
She absentmindedly handed over her bracelet, never expecting that in just one day, her savings would almost hit another nice, round number!
Damn!
Still 80 short—oh wait, adding in the bus fare, 96 short of 15,000! She was just sighing to herself that she’d better bring a couple more pounds of cowpeas next time when Boss Tang handed the bracelet back with a smile:
“Since you thought of me first with this great stuff, I’ll round it up for you.”
“Little Yu, next time you get something this good, don’t forget—my price is always the best!”
Huai Yu beamed at the neat 15,000 on her bracelet. At that moment, even Boss Tang’s chubby face looked charming to her, and she nodded hard:
“Okay, definitely!”
…
With a clean 15,000 on her bracelet, nothing in the trading market tempted Huai Yu anymore.
She wandered happily, hesitating a bit when passing Uncle Zaozi’s furniture shop—ever since hearing about his family situation from Boss Tang, she’d been kind of avoiding him. She still didn’t dare face Uncle Zaozi.
But…
She’d have to go to the wasteland sooner or later—she couldn’t stay this timid forever!
After thinking it over, she stepped into the shop.
Uncle Zaozi was nothing like the pitiful, heartbroken figure she’d imagined. His wife was off somewhere again, and Uncle Zaozi was happily brewing tea—
Uh, Kerlung tea.
He was holding the cup up, inhaling deeply, looking completely blissed out.
“Uncle Zaozi.”
Huai Yu greeted him, and when he looked up and saw her, his face lit up too:
“Little Yu!”
It had only been a few days, but the injuries on his head and face were completely gone. He was back to being his usual shrewd, enthusiastic self, “Come in, come in! I was just thinking of you!”
“It’s already mid-May. In a few days, the first batch of people who went to the wasteland after Labor Day should be back.”
“Didn’t you say last time you wanted to see the highway station? Come to the city district tomorrow night, don’t leave—I’ll take you to the highway station at 1 AM on my bike!”
Huai Yu’s eyes widened, but instead of excitement, she looked surprised:
“Uncle Zaozi, how long does it take by bike from here to the highway station?”
Uncle Zaozi thought for a moment, “At night, with no traffic, if I take it slow… to the nearest East District entrance, about an hour and forty minutes.”
Huai Yu: “…”
Thank goodness she wasn’t the one pedaling.
She nodded firmly, “Okay! I’ll be there! But Uncle Zaozi, can you pick me up at Flower City Hospital?”
It was safer for her to sleep at the hospital overnight.
“No problem,” Uncle Zaozi agreed readily, explaining, “I pass by there anyway—normally, taking the bus in the morning is safest.”
“But since you live in the Rose Corridor, I figure you’re not interested in ordinary stuff. Let’s check out what good things show up at night.”
“But be careful—the mutated creatures get restless at night, so stay alert.”
