Chapter 20: Fully Loaded Return
Three back baskets were stacked and packed inside, the basin was squeezed in, large burlap and plastic bags also found their place, and some miscellaneous items were arranged on top.
Huai Yu bent under the heavy weight, but still struggled to reach a large store—
“Soybean Mobile Flagship Store”
A large cardboard sign was displayed at the entrance:
“Second-hand clothing, shoes, and socks processed, disinfected”
She looked at the colorful, chaotic clothes that had been disinfected through brute-force means and was very pleased with the price of 2 points per jin (half a kilogram).
Of course, the clothes inside the store were better looking and newer, and some were even brand new, but the prices…
Huai Yu thought: Summer’s almost here, and she only needs a couple of simple pieces of clothing to swap out, no need to go overboard. She wasn’t even planning to buy a quilt.
But just as she was thinking this, a woman inside was picking out clothes with her companion: “I think after the rain, there’ll be another cold snap…”
Huai Yu froze.
Ah, still not enough life experience! She put aside her money-saving thoughts and walked into the store.
What she urgently needed were socks—second-hand socks were 1 point a pair, while new ones were 2 points.
“I’ll take three pairs!”
Old-style second-hand rain boots were 8 points a pair! Unopened old models were 13 points, and new models were 16 points.
She decisively picked a pair of old black ones. No other reason, just that the color and style looked durable.
A nearly new short down jacket was 35 points each.
Nearly new sports pants were 15 points a pair.
Coats and long-sleeve T-shirts together cost 19 points.
She also picked up a pack of basic hair ties, which cost 2 points.
After this round of shopping, Huai Yu was left with only 62 points from the initial 152.
She then looked at her shoes. They were dirty, but still wearable. However, if she visited Boss Tang again next time, these shoes wouldn’t match what she was about to say.
She gritted her teeth and bought a brand-new pair of white sports shoes.
These shoes were from a well-known brand, and after buying them, Huai Yu was left with only 40 points.
She wasn’t planning to spend any more.
Though she had reserved 400 points for the defense military, she still wanted to leave some leeway, so she was just thankful she bought a few more baskets.
One basket on her back, one in her arms, holding her bucket, and her coat—previously used as a bundle—back on, she finally managed to get everything packed.
She was preparing to head home, but on her way to the east entrance of the pedestrian street, she saw the man selling dates still sitting there.
As for the dates on the ground… it seemed none were missing.
Huai Yu walked over.
The man was dozing off, and when he sensed someone approaching, he lazily said:
“No free samples, if you want to eat, you buy them, 5 points for all you can pack.”
“Give them to me then,” Huai Yu smiled at him.
It was her first time here, and if it weren’t for the good place he pointed out, things wouldn’t have sold so quickly or fetched such high prices.
Huai Yu smiled sweetly at the stall owner: “I just wanted to thank you. Boss Tang from Huaxia Golden is really nice—uh, can I take the dates?”
The stall owner suddenly woke up, his eyes wide: “Oh, it’s nothing, just a casual remark. Are you really taking them?”
“Yes!” Huai Yu smiled innocently. “I’ve never eaten fruit with such high mutation values, I want to try.”
The man looked enviously at her: “You’ve never tried them? That means you’ve had a good life… Alright! I’ll give them to you.”
He wrapped up the four corners of the burlap and dumped the dates into her back basket, relaxing.
“Four points is enough!”
He was lazy and didn’t like to move, and his contribution points weren’t high, but the dates were grabbed from the East District expressway.
Explorers often bypassed Three Qing Mountain from the other side, and since they had to test mutation values when entering the city, they would throw away things that were too valuable or cumbersome.
He lived nearby, so he’d hang around there, and even though there was competition, he always managed to fill his belly.
At first, he priced the dates at 5 points a jin, hoping to catch a sucker, but now that the government had settled everyone’s lives, no one was picking up these bargains anymore.
Big mistake.
Huai Yu nodded, extending her arm to show her bracelet.
She glanced at the shabby watch again, and the time was almost five o’clock.
After returning the temporary bracelet and walking to the bus stop, she found several people with large bags, all fully loaded.
Fortunately, not many people boarded the bus with her, and she was lucky enough to find a seat in the back.
She glanced at her watch again—5:22, matching the bus screen’s time.
The twilight outside deepened, and the towering, rugged Three Qing Mountain appeared as a block of dark ink, mysterious and dangerous.
She stared blankly, unconsciously using her ability while playing with a date, as if casually passing the time.
…
By the time the bus arrived at the station, it was nearly 7:00. Huai Yu struggled to get off the bus with her bags. Looking at the dark mountain shadows in the distance and the lone streetlight by the bus stop, she suddenly said to herself:
“Should’ve asked how much a flashlight costs.”
But it wasn’t urgent, so she sighed and moved on. She hurried to her little treehouse and, without resting, rushed straight to District 69.
After some thought, she poured the dates into a plastic bag.
However, she suddenly remembered that she had used her ability on these dates. Since her strength was weak and she had only been playing with them out of boredom, she wasn’t sure if there had been any changes, or if they were safe to eat…
But since the big pine tree had used her ability to give her pine cones, they should be safe, right?
She thought for a moment, then dipped the dates in the bucket and tried one.
Hmm?
She looked at the date again. It seemed the same as when the stall owner ate it, but it wasn’t as bad tasting as she expected!
In fact, it even had a slight sweetness to it.
It was just that it felt like eating a hollowed-out radish or an old winter date… This wasn’t the best gift to give out, right?
But thinking back to the slightly bitter pine nuts from last time, the defense military seemed to like those.
Never mind.
Huai Yu strapped the back basket on, grabbed her lighter, and set off.
Though it was dark, she could still make out the faint outlines. And as long as she followed the direction of the rose corridor, she knew she wouldn’t go wrong.
It took her 43 minutes to walk from District 37 to District 69.
Such a long way—if only she had a car.
This time, she wasn’t just thinking about it; she was filled with anticipation for the future. After all, she had a watch now. Maybe next time, she could save up for a bicycle?
On the other hand, Captain Zhou was a little surprised that she had come so late and was concerned whether she needed help with something.
However, as soon as she left the camp, she saw Huai Yu standing under the streetlight with a bright smile:
“Captain, big brother!”
She waved excitedly: “I’ve earned contribution points! I can buy the multi-functional shovel now!”
