Chapter 19: Ling Jing Kept Quiet, Focused Only on Collecting Money
“How much did you get?”
“A whole sackful!”
“Whoa, quite a haul!”
“Of course! I’m definitely having those pork cracklings!”
“Not bad, Jia Wen, Jia Si! You dug up so many potatoes!”
“Uncle Xu! We can’t carry any more! Can we stash these with you?” The little boy cradled a large, green-skinned potato in his arms, his face flushed with excitement.
“Hey! There are scallions over here—dig ’em up, dig ’em up!”
“Are these scallions or Chinese chives? Damn it, it’s been so many years since I last cooked that I can’t even tell anymore.”
“Who cares what it is? Bring it back and it turns into cash!”
“Unless it’s just plain weeds, then you won’t get a copper, haha!”
In the abandoned farmland that had gone neglected for who knew how long, a lively, bustling scene was now unfolding.
Though everyone remained heavily bundled in protective gear, their work was accompanied by nonstop laughter and cheerful banter.
The onlookers watching from the sidelines were utterly flabbergasted.
What was with this joyous harvest-festival vibe?
Why did every single one of these scavengers suddenly look so honest, hardworking, and ridiculously cheerful?
Strange… Why were their own hands starting to move, too?
Oh well, since they were already here, they might as well gather some. What if… it was actually useful?
Even when several mutated creepers suddenly lashed out, the hyperactive crowd simply swarmed forward and hacked them to pieces.
They even clamored, “Can we trade these branches for cash too?”
While mutated vines of this grade were quite common in the safe zone… wasn’t your reaction a little too twisted?!
“All right, I’m heading back to trade! I’ve scavenged enough for now!”
“Me too! This big basin of sweet potatoes is heavy as hell! Must weigh quite a few catties!”
“Let’s go together, see who brings in more!”
“You’re on!”
Before long, most of the scavengers working the fields had filled their containers to the brim. In groups of two and three, they departed the farmland and headed in the opposite direction.
The small knot of bystanders also gathered up the rotting, contaminated produce they had blindly dug up and trailed behind the main group, entirely out of the loop.
“Boss! We’re back!”
“We just dump them into this box, right?”
“Whoa! This big sack of potatoes gave me eleven City Coins!!!” Having made a killing, Long Shi nearly leaped into the air.
“I didn’t do half bad either! Six coins!” Old Hu boasted, holding his large wooden washbasin loaded with sweet potatoes.
“Five coins! That’s as much as a medium crystal!” The middle-aged man, who had been muttering “no way, impossible” the entire morning, was now grinning like a child.
“Sister, Sister! We earned another five coins!”
Lina shook out her cloak, while Lilin looked just as thrilled. “Let’s head right back for more!”
“Old Xu, how did you end up with so little?” Holding her six coins, Auntie Yun laughingly scolded Uncle Xu, who had only managed to trade for three. “Told you that basin of yours was too small. You should’ve just brought a bedsheet like Jia Wen and his brother.”
“Look, Mama, we made so much money.”
Little Xixi crouched down, scooping up the handful of coins dispensed by the exchange box and offering them to her mother.
The frail young man bent over, collected his earnings, and wordlessly turned his handcart back toward the farm, his retreating figure brimming with an unmistakable spring in his step.
“Brother! Look! Real money came out!”
Panting and sweating, Jia Wen and Jia Si tipped the massive pile of potatoes wrapped in their bedsheet into the chute. With a loud clatter, the machine spat out seven City Coins!
Beaming, Jia Wen swept up the coins and tugged Jia Si toward the stall. “Little Si, we’re having meat!”
Looking up at the boss, he spoke with polite, barely suppressed excitement: “Hello, I’d like one portion of those pork cracklings, please!”
With that, he neatly dropped eight coins into the cash box.
This was the first time Jia Si had ever seen steaming-hot food. His head barely cleared the top of the counter platform. Staring wide-eyed at the roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pork cracklings, he let out a breathless, drawn-out “Whoaaa—”
What were all these things? They smelled incredible!
“Here you go, enjoy.”
The mysterious, miraculous boss handed them a small carton of pork cracklings with a pleasant smile.
Swallowing his saliva, Jia Wen took the box, picked out a crackling, and passed it to Jia Si first.
“Brother! What is this?”
Pulling down his face cloth, Jia Si held the pork crackling nearly touching his nose, licking his lips as he asked.
“It’s meat. Food made from real meat. Eating this will help your body heal. Go on, take a bite.”
Jia Si took a careful nibble, and the sheer deliciousness instantly rendered him speechless: “! Mmph…?! It’s… it’s so good!”
With flushed red cheeks, the little boy took another crunchy bite.
“Food… isn’t food supposed to be… completely tasteless? Why does this taste so amazing!”
His mouth was so stuffed that his words came out as a garbled, incoherent mumble.
“It’s different. This is different,” Jia Wen murmured, gently stroking his little brother’s cheek.
Whether it was a placebo effect or something real, he felt that inside this haven called the “Chinese Restaurant,” the moment his brother ate the food, the sickly pallor on the boy’s face noticeably receded.
“Brother! You have some too!”
Jia Si took another bite, and seeing Jia Wen staring at him intently, he grabbed a piece and shoved it into his older brother’s hand.
“Yeah!”
There was no need to pinch pennies anymore.
There was an endless supply of potatoes and sweet potatoes waiting in the dirt. As long as they worked hard, they could eat plenty more delicious food!
The two brothers happily cradled the carton of cracklings, their mouths slick with savory rendered fat.
The same scene was playing out all around them.
Having returned from a bountiful run, some treated themselves to pork cracklings, others to roasted sweet potatoes, and still others to roasted potatoes. Many held piping-hot food in their hands, their faces glowing with sheer contentment.
The bystanders who had tagged along were completely paralyzed with shock.
Good grief… What on earth was this place?
Poisonous weeds could be traded for hard currency?!
Roasted potatoes were safe to eat?!
And there was actual meat?!!!
Frozen in disbelief, they stood wide-eyed, just like the middle-aged man’s group earlier that morning.
“What are you standing around for? Dump your vegetables into that box and you’ll get cash!”
“Once you get your City Coins, go buy food from the boss! It’s dirt cheap—four coins for a roasted potato, six for a roasted sweet potato, and they even purge toxins!”
“Eat with an easy mind! Everyone inside this white light is totally safe—there isn’t even a drop of emerald mist!”
Those already feasting chimed in one after another, their voices dripping with pride.
The middle-aged man was shouting the loudest of all.
…Hold on a second.
Weren’t you guys just as clueless as us last night?!
We only lost sight of you for a single morning—how did you become so chummy with the place already?!
You’re acting like you run the damn stall!
Have some shame, will you?
Still, an exchange was an exchange!
Shock aside, the newcomers immediately hugged their meager handfuls of scavenged crops and rushed to line up behind the exchange box.
Thank goodness! Thank goodness their curiosity had driven them to follow all the way here!
Otherwise, they never would have known such a miracle existed!
If anyone hadn’t seen this place with their own eyes, describing it to them would only make you sound like a raving lunatic.
No wonder those people had dodged their questions with “can’t explain it” and “I don’t have time to make you understand”!
Damn it all! If they had known earlier, they would have scavenged way more produce along the way!
With waves of rich roasted potato and fried meat aroma drifting right under their noses, who could possibly resist?!!
Before the stall, the atmosphere was at a fever pitch; behind the counter, Ling Jing kept quiet, focused only on collecting money.
Every time a wave of scavengers rushed back from the abandoned farmland, the revenue counter on the cash box spiked noticeably.
One hundred points.
Two hundred points.
Three hundred points.
…Four hundred points!
“Boss! Are there no more pork cracklings left?”
A customer who had just earned some fresh coins looked at the empty counter on the tricycle and wailed in despair.
“Not enough for a full portion,” Ling Jing said, picking up the last paper carton.
“I’ll take it anyway!!”
She glanced inside the carton: two large pieces and one smaller scrap.
“In that case, I’ll give this portion to you for five City Coins.”
“Deal, deal, absolutely!”
The rush continued until the bells from within the high walls began to toll—and the scavengers reluctantly pulled themselves away from the stall, looking back with every three steps.
“Boss, will you still be here tomorrow?”
“Yes, I will.”
“Will you change spots again?”
“No, I’m staying right here.”
“Great, that’s wonderful… Well, we’re heading off, then?”
Ling Jing smiled and waved them goodbye. “See you all tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, the revenue displayed on the cash box crossed the five-hundred mark.
It finally came to a stop at [553/400].
