Chapter 235 | Chapter 236 | Chapter 237
Chapter 235: The Pink Communicator
Half a month later, the eggplants were pickled and ready.
It was too hot, and for half a month, Huai Yu hadn’t received any meat. For an average ability user, compressing water into ice was something they could practice, but doing so continuously for cooling wasn’t worth the effort.
Most importantly, summer was too beneficial for plants, so the expedition teams had cut back on their trips into the mountains. If she wanted meat, she had to buy expensive pork at the Jin Yuan residential complex. Since Zhou Qian had such a hearty appetite, her savings of thirty thousand points were looking precarious, making Huai Yu incredibly anxious!
Now, she stared at the row of jars, buckets, crocks, and cans she had set up in the bamboo grove tunnel, feeling like a landlord inspecting her treasure vault, before waving a hand grandly:
“Time to sell!”
Zhou Qian looked up at the blazing sun, then glanced toward the signal tower that had long been erected in District 69, and concluded: “We’ll go to the trading market tomorrow morning. You need to buy a communicator first.”
With no network and inconvenient charging, the smartphone Huai Yu wanted wasn’t realistic. Considering durability and portability for the wilderness, a basic communicator would be more practical.
Huai Yu nodded. “I’ll just suffer through the next six months—”
She did the math: “It’s August soon. Once September passes, October is for preparations… we can set off in November!”
She was instantly brimming with ambition: “Tomorrow, I’m going to sell all of these vegetables!”
But how?
The next morning, at the first bus departure of the day, Huai Yu boarded along with Zhou Qian.
The driver yawned and smiled at Huai Yu. “Little lady, you’ve put on a bit of weight. Seems you’re living well with your family!”
Zhou Qian twitched the corner of his mouth, the movement pulling at the scar on his cheek. The driver, unfazed, added his own praise: “Not bad, the young man looks much more spirited, too! Though, how did you get so dark…”
Zhou Qian was indeed excessively tanned now. Huai Yu thought to herself that this had nothing to do with digging the earth; he simply wasn’t the type to tolerate the sun well. They paid their points and headed toward the back of the bus, sitting in the corner—not for any other reason, but to avoid the matchmaking attempts that usually happened there.
It had to be said, the chances of running into someone you knew on this bus line were far too high!
It had been nearly a month since they last visited the trading market; with the sweltering heat, business was quite slow. For once, they didn’t have any cargo to carry, and Huai Yu felt incredibly light-headed as she passed through the non-inspection lane.
She couldn’t help but sigh: “Boss Tang said the trading market was supposed to open for street vendors at the start, but two times in a row, just as they were about to promote it, the polluted rain came down.”
Otherwise, it would definitely be livelier here than in the Jin Yuan complex.
Zhou Qian was pragmatic: “It’s too far. Even if it were open, you wouldn’t be able to shop here every day.”
Huai Yu felt a little dejected. “Can’t I come once a week, treat it like going to a market?”
But thinking of the hassle of transferring buses and the exhaustion of carrying goods each time, she really wanted a vehicle!
As they talked, they arrived at Boss Tang’s shop.
The heat was stifling. Boss Tang was lounging in a recliner, a fan blowing nearby, with a large basin of ice in front of him. A thin layer of meltwater had already formed, and the temperature in the room was noticeably lower than outside.
Huai Yu was envious. “Boss Tang, did you buy that ice? Is it expensive?”
Seeing it was her, Boss Tang slowly moved his plump body off the recliner. The effort left him covered in sweat, and he hurriedly fanned himself.
“Half-bought, half-given, really. With the high temperatures lately, every household can take their ID to the community center to get two bricks of ice each day… I used to use the air conditioner, but the power cables along the road are damaged by mutated plants every three days, so it’s always cutting out.”
So it was free!
Huai Yu asked curiously, “Does every community have an ice-making machine?”
Boss Tang laughed. “Ice-making machines are so expensive to run! The municipal government hired high-level water-type ability users, specifically seconded from the Garrison Army—you know the new Commander Bai who came to Flower City, right? She’s been coming back and forth for inspections, cooperating with the municipal government on quite a few projects.”
“Like with these ice blocks, the points saved go toward bonuses for them. The ability users are happy, and it’s convenient for us.”
Zhou Qian realized that the city was offering more and more public livelihood projects. It seemed that life, on the whole, was improving, which was a good thing. But if things continued this way, restrictions on ordinary people heading into the wilderness would only increase…
What he had told Huai Yu about this being their last chance might just come true.
Huai Yu couldn’t help but think: “Having abilities must be nice.”
Zhou Qian cast a sidelong glance, thinking: The way you say that, you’d think you didn’t have any.
But he quickly steered the conversation back to the point. “Do you have communicators? We want to buy two.”
“Must-haves, of course!”
With business on the table, Boss Tang moved nimbly, slipping behind the counter with practiced ease. “Second-hand or new? If you trust me, I’ll get you second-hand—99% new, they work just as well… and it’s not for me to say, but Xiao Yu, you should have bought a communicator long ago.”
Huai Yu smiled. “Second-hand, definitely!”
She replied, “I couldn’t help it. Mutated plants interfere with signals, and there are no signal towers near my place. I bought one before, but it wasn’t stable…”
In reality, it was still unstable. Even though the signal tower wasn’t far away, who could help it when she lived between the wilderness and Sanqing Mountain? The interference from the plants was far too heavy.
Boss Tang didn’t suspect a thing. He swiftly produced a box and set it on the counter. “I know! The network is only stable within local areas now; it’s such a hassle! I have thousands of games in my shop that are almost finished… Xiao Yu, are you still not buying a game console?”
Huai Yu shook her head. “I want to buy a car, so I need to save my points.”
Boss Tang flipped through the box, looking for a suitable communicator, and laughed when he heard “car.” “Ambitious! A car doesn’t come cheap!”
He handed over a pink, phone-watch-style communicator. “Here, this one. 99% new, very popular! Fixed price: 1,900 points!”
Huai Yu: …
Honestly, she’d rather spend those points on a game console.
But Zhou Qian, standing to the side, nodded in satisfaction, clearly thinking that the pink one looked perfect on a girl. Boss Tang shared the same sentiment:
“Look at the saturation of this fluorescent pink—it’s the most eye-catching one among a thousand green leaves. It’s even more striking than bright red. Most manufacturers can’t even calibrate this color!”
“It’s durable, cold-resistant, and heat-resistant; it works perfectly between -40 and +40 degrees. Plus, it has many functions: you can check the time, use it as a transaction wristband, make calls, send messages, and the signal is relatively stable…”
He was full of enthusiasm. Based on past transactions, he wasn’t really making much profit on this communicator. Huai Yu looked at the box filled with colorful, high-saturation fluorescent communicators, tolerate again and again, but finally couldn’t help herself and looked under the counter: “Don’t you have any that look better?”
Chapter 236: News of a Vehicle
Huai Yu was truly a lover of beautiful things.
That is to say, she currently had savings of thirty thousand points—buying a pretty communicator shouldn’t be an issue, right?
Boss Tang sighed helplessly and opened the display cabinet for her to see. “There you go, the rest are all brand new. Take your pick.”
Huai Yu looked down and saw a sea of fluorescent red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet… The only difference was that they were newer and still in their packaging. She looked at these, then looked back at the fluorescent pink communicator Boss Tang had picked out, which suddenly didn’t seem so ugly anymore.
She begrudgingly selected that one.
By comparison, Zhou Qian’s actions were much faster. The Defense Army’s current uniforms were quite striking, so when he put on the bright red communicator—which emitted an odd, fluorescent glow—onto his dark wrist, it looked perfectly natural.
Boss Tang, while binding Huai Yu’s personal information, remarked: “This is quite good. If you really don’t like it, later on, if you happen to have connections within the Garrison Army, you could pay a high price to buy one of their communicators. Their exclusive models are white, with a special fluorescent coating, and they even have a gold emblem on top!”
Huai Yu’s interest was instantly piqued. “Can I buy one now?”
Boss Tang shook his head. “Those are high-end items. If any ever appear on the market, they get snapped up immediately. Plus, they start at 5,000 points. If you’re really certain you want one, I can keep an eye out for you.”
Five thousand points!
Huai Yu shook her head instantly: That was an entire set of modified tires gone!
“Then, do you know of any news about where to buy a car?”
Boss Tang shook his head. “I’ve been keeping an eye out for you, but that stuff is even more sought-after than communicators…”
He hesitated for a moment before suddenly asking: “How about… you come see me the day after tomorrow, and I’ll ask for you?”
Huai Yu: “!!!”
“There really is one!” She exclaimed, leaning over the counter, eyes on Boss Tang. “Who is it? Can I ask today?”
Boss Tang hesitated, glancing at Zhou Qian before answering, “It’s Gao Ming.”
Gao Ming?
Huai Yu was instantly conflicted.
“He’s been behaving well and might be released early—but his previous savings were either confiscated or paid out in damages. If he wants to continue his research after getting out, he needs to earn some points. With his death-defying personality, having a car is too dangerous, so I was thinking of persuading him to just sell it.”
“Then… Ketaro, do I have to return him?” Huai Yu was so reluctant.
“No, no, no!” Boss Tang waved his hands frantically. “He has a criminal record; he might get hauled back in any day, and it’s too dangerous for Ketaro to follow him.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve already told him—Ketaro stays with you… If it’s convenient, just bring him some food and drink whenever you come to the trading market.”
“He has terrible self-care skills!”
Huai Yu breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest in agreement. “No problem at all!” She had the most food and drink.
“Is he going to live with you?” Huai Yu curiously scanned the shop, wondering if there was a living space inside.
Boss Tang shook his head. “No, I’m planning to find him a place that’s a bit more remote, more open, and safer. You know how he is, always stirring up trouble…”
Huai Yu thought of Ketaro and understood with a sigh.
In any case!
She looked at Boss Tang: “The day after tomorrow! I’ll definitely be here the day after tomorrow. Please, you must ask for me!”
Once they were out of the shop, she looked down at the fluorescent pink communicator on her wrist, then thought about the car that would most likely be hers soon, and she felt as if she were bubbling over with happiness.
It was Zhou Qian who reminded her: “If you don’t get back to selling those vegetables, even if he sells the car the day after tomorrow, you won’t be able to afford it.”
Huai Yu snapped back to reality!
…
When they found Chen Xing, she was sitting in the spacious, empty office. There was an ice basin in front of her, the only difference being that there was no fan, just a hand-cranked one.
Seeing Huai Yu approach, she waved her over. “Come, come, it’s cooler over here.”
Huai Yu surveyed her surroundings—
The company was still the same large, empty office, but since it had been a while, dust was scattered through the air; only the area where Chen Xing was sitting remained clean.
The desk and recliner, which had been piled high with snacks during her last visit, were now empty of any sign of her acquaintances. Since Fanta, Qixi, and Xuebao had entered the military academy, only Chen Xing remained.
Huai Yu remembered that there was a testing device in the room inside, and she also remembered the basket of juicy, terrible-tasting peaches that used to sit in the corner, as well as the pile of junk in the warehouse where she was still constantly finding hidden treasures…
But now, she could only see Chen Xing’s smile, which seemed entirely unburdened. “Isn’t it empty? We bought this place in March. Back then, we were full of ambition, thinking the caravan would eventually develop into a scale like [Bai Zhao Subsidy].”
But facts proved that not everyone could be a good leader.
“But now, selling it won’t bring in many points, so I thought, while the weather is still hot, I might as well renovate it. That way, when Fanta and the others come back on break, we’ll have a home of our own.”
“Mm!” Huai Yu nodded. “If you’re not running a company, you can turn it into a residence! Such a spacious place, and the streets outside are wide, too. By next year, maybe there will be a lot of people parking and setting up stalls; it should be very lively.”
Chen Xing laughed, her thin face glowing with genuine joy.
Coming back to herself, she asked, “Did you come to see me for something?”
“Mm!” Huai Yu nodded happily. “The dried vegetables and pickles you wanted—I have them all ready. But it’s too much stuff to carry… if it’s convenient, could I ask you to drive over and pick them up?”
Chen Xing was surprised. “So fast?!”
“But that works out perfectly!” She nodded happily. “My collaboration with Zhao Feiyan’s people is going quite well, and they’re all free right now. Bring the vegetables over tomorrow and let them name a price.”
“But Xiao Yu, they are ruthless negotiators. Your goods are easy to sell, so you must stick to your bottom line!”
Huai Yu nodded, then felt confident. “I’m great at haggling, too!”
Chen Xing pondered for a moment. “When you go to pick up the vegetables, should you bring Uncle Zao along?”
She had always dealt with people and knew more news than Huai Yu. “Don’t let Uncle Zao’s status as an ordinary person fool you; he has very broad connections. Some of the newly transferred Garrison Army soldiers are people he knows.”
“If they are willing to procure supplies, you could earn quite a bit before winter sets in!”
The Garrison Army…
Huai Yu thought of Zhou Qian’s previous arrangements, which happened to be lacking such a connection. She nodded immediately. “Deal!”
She checked the time. “Let’s go. Come back with us for lunch, try the dried and pickled vegetables, and we can discuss the prices then!”
She only had thirty thousand points right now. She didn’t know how much Gao Ming’s car would cost, but she would need at least fifty thousand. Even with Zhou Qian’s savings, they were still at least ten thousand short!
They might be buying the car the day after tomorrow—Huai Yu couldn’t wait!
Chapter 237: Pickled Chili Peppers
After a gap of two months, Chen Xing drove over once again, stopping tremulously by the roadside.
Just one more press of the accelerator and she would be at Zhou Qian’s house. Stopping right here, she could see the distant, towering Rose Corridor. A turn of the steering wheel would take her into the Rose Corridor’s territory, and rounding a small slope would bring her to Huai Yu’s home.
But…
“How about we just get out of the car here.” Usually decisive and sharp, the ability user was remarkably low-profile now. “Xiao Yu, you understand—it’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just that I’m strapped for cash right now. If something happens to my car, I can’t afford the repairs.”
If she couldn’t afford to fix the car, she couldn’t collaborate with Zhao Feiyan. If she couldn’t collaborate, she wouldn’t earn points, and without points, she would only become more destitute…
In short, she could set foot on this land, but her car absolutely could not.
Huai Yu: …
So, when would she ever have a car of her own! Would Gao Ming be willing to sell his the day after tomorrow? Would today’s batch of goods be enough to scrape together enough points?
“Fine,” she said, not wishing to push her. “Then I’ll bring you over. Don’t be afraid, okay? Look at Brother Zhou Qian; he can get close now, so you’ll be fine, too.”
“Really?” Chen Xing’s thin face was focused. “I don’t believe you.”
“I can go back and eat. If you really want to treat me, can you just bring the food over? I’ll squat by the side of the road and eat.”
“Also, if we’re not eating, let’s hurry up and load the goods. I can take you out to eat at a restaurant instead.”
Don’t blame her for being a coward. In reality, after the polluted rain, all mutated creatures had become far more irritable. The reason they were currently idling at home was that the combination of the sweltering heat and the polluted rain had left this group of ability users too exhausted to do anything but rest.
Now, looking at the Rose Corridor, which seemed to be growing ever more lush and resplendent, Chen Xing felt more terrified the closer she got. Her nerve was even worse than it had been last time.
Huai Yu: …
Since Chen Xing had said as much, how could she bear to let her sit by the roadside with a bowl? Huai Yu sighed and said, “Alright then, just wait a moment. Brother Zhou Qian and I will haul the goods out, and then we’ll go out to eat!”
At this mention, she quickly brightened up: “Are there many people eating out in the city these days? What kind of dishes do they sell? Is it expensive?”
Chen Xing was clearly a regular at restaurants. “They’ve existed for a long time. Even before we returned to normal life, there were plenty of hole-in-the-wall eateries in the base.”
“The expedition teams brought their own ingredients, and the restaurants handled the processing and cooking… Oh my! It’s just that the materials weren’t up to par back then; actually, many of the chefs had worked state banquets—their skills were excellent.”
But as to which dish was good… apologies, but having been plagued by the cataclysm for several years, even state banquet chefs struggled to cook without rice.
Still, seeing Huai Yu so expectant, Chen Xing hesitated and decided not to burst her bubble.
Zhou Qian, who had actually eaten out before, held no illusions about it. He suggested instead: “Does the [Bai Zhao Subsidy] company have a chef? If they do, we can deliver the goods, and they could cook a meal for us right there so we can taste it and set our prices accordingly.”
“If we can’t come to an agreement, we can just take the goods directly to Uncle Zao or Boss Tang. That way, we get a meal and don’t waste the trip.”
That sounded reasonable. Chen Xing nodded immediately. “Yes, the company has a chef. Since the caravan is so large, not everyone goes into the wilderness every time, so there are several fixed employees like that.”
With that decided, Huai Yu, with her heart set on her car, urged Zhou Qian on with extra vigor: “Come on! Can you carry this large vat?”
Zhou Qian was speechless. “Step aside.”
He had the strength, but he wasn’t a fool who only knew how to use it! The vat was filled with pickled eggplants and didn’t have much liquid, so he simply rolled the vat all the way to the roadside.
As for the other dried cowpeas and potato slices, they just threw them into burlap sacks and carried them over.
Chen Xing glanced at the distant Rose Corridor and activated her ability. The soil in front of them arched into a slope of varying heights, allowing her to easily slide the vat into the back of the truck.
She only needed to stand in the truck bed to adjust its position.
The two of them—one an ability user, the other a former Defense Army soldier with vastly improved physical fitness post-cataclysm—did all the heavy lifting. Only Huai Yu, who couldn’t lift a shoulder-pole or carry a load, followed behind feeling aggrieved, clutching a small jar and feeling that the heavens still owed her an almighty ability.
Once they were both in the truck, Chen Xing started the engine and stole a curious glance at the jar. “What is it that you’re guarding so protectively?”
Huai Yu smiled triumphantly, pulled out the chopsticks she’d brought along, opened the jar, and offered a taste to Chen Xing—
This familiar flavor!
Chen Xing’s instinct was clearly faster than her thoughts; she opened her mouth, took it in, and began to chew.
The next moment, her chewing seemed to hit a pause button. Her entire face froze. Her ears and nose turned red, and she instantly opened her mouth, gasping: “Hiss-hah! Hiss-hah!”
“What did you feed me?!” She gasped, stopping the truck halfway to look for water everywhere.
“Pickled chili peppers!” Huai Yu watched her curiously. “I saw you eating chili peppers last time, so I thought pickled chili peppers wouldn’t be a problem?”
Chen Xing had already unscrewed her canteen and was guzzling down water, but she was still panting like a puppy, her tongue lolling out. She wiped the sweat from her brow, feeling both pained and delighted. “Xiao Yu! No wonder you’re guarding this so carefully; these pickled chili peppers will definitely sell for a high price!”
Huai Yu said “Ah” and looked down at the jar. Would these really sell for a high price? Her other items weren’t bad either! The only reason she was clutching the jar herself was that it was likely intended for art—it had a very unstable base and would likely shatter under the bumps of the journey.
Plus, there was a lot of brine in the pickled peppers, so carrying it by hand was safer.
And now, Chen Xing had only eaten one bite, yet felt as though her very soul for chili peppers had been awakened.
She hissed again. “You don’t understand, Zhao Feiyan is a spice-lover. Back before livelihoods had recovered, when everyone was living in the base, he was already willing to trade precious contribution points just to get his hands on spicy chili oil.”
“With this jar of peppers in hand, don’t worry, he won’t be able to escape!”
As she spoke, she stared at the jar with hungry eyes. “Actually, I used to be pretty good with spice, too. It’s been so long since I’ve had any, my judgment of the flavor might be a bit off…”
Huai Yu: …
“But,” she pointed at Chen Xing’s canteen. “If you eat another bite and get hit by the spice again, you won’t have any water left to drink.”
Chen Xing shook her canteen, and sure enough, heard only a faint, echoing slosh of the last few drops. She sighed mournfully. “Forget it… I’ll eat them next time. By the way, how much are you planning to sell these pickled chili peppers for?”
Huai Yu clearly knew nothing about the pickled vegetable market, but that was okay—she knew how to calculate her costs.
The chili peppers were force-grown, the original seedlings were 10 points, and the jars were reusable, but the most expensive part was the flavor after purification!
