Chapter 58: Chili Seeds
Huai Yu laughed.
She more or less understood what the two defense soldiers meant.
Probably because she was dressed too plainly, and on top of that, was carrying a basket and venturing toward the Rose Corridor, they had mistaken her for someone who was strapped for points—
Well, to be fair, she was kind of strapped.
She only had a little over 20 points left.
But she had already received too much kindness from others.
From the helpful reminders when she first received relief food, to Captain Zhou—whom she’d only met once—sending her a sleeping bag, to all the ongoing help afterward, even Boss Tang treated her kindly.
Huai Yu believed that a person’s good fortune was limited.
The more kindness others showed her, the more she should cherish it. Now that she had already broken free from the most basic survival needs, and everything she had gained was a gift from heaven and earth, there was no need to use those things to earn favor from ordinary people anymore.
Each defense soldier swiped one point from their wristbands and received a big handful of mao sprouts from the young girl in front of them.
The three of them laughed together for some reason.
By the time the grass skins from peeling the sprouts had formed a pile in their hands, they arrived at Jinyuan Community.
More people crowded onto the platform, and Huai Yu smiled and said goodbye to the two, carrying her basket as she got off at the stop for the first time.
The stop was next to the ruins of an elementary school.
Wild grass had grown everywhere through the broken walls, though nothing edible remained—likely all dug up by local residents.
From the chatter of the aunties on the bus, she had learned that the place had once been broken through by a huge mutated pumpkin vine from the Student Vegetable Garden.
Although that mutated pumpkin was crazy and tasted terrible, it had still sustained over a hundred people during a time of extreme shortage.
Walking a few steps forward from the school and crossing the road, she arrived at the grand gates and roads originally built for Jinyuan Community.
Carrying her basket, Huai Yu entered the community and noticed other people with baskets and bags, likely from nearby smaller communities.
With fewer people there, those residents would bring their extra goods to Jinyuan to trade. After more than a month of life returning to normal, a small market had clearly formed here.
She stepped into the once-grand fountain plaza and saw that it had turned into a bustling ring-shaped marketplace. Sackcloth mats were tightly laid out on the ground, and the sound of haggling filled the air—it was lively.
Huai Yu seemed to have arrived a bit late. She walked around the plaza twice with her basket but couldn’t find an empty spot to set up her stall.
However, she did see someone selling second-hand farming tools. When she asked about the price, even an old hoe cost 12 points.
The hoe looked like it had been used for ages, probably something a village compound casually pulled out.
The smooth wooden handle was wedged tightly into the metal head with a thick nail, unlike the new one-piece manganese steel hoes on the market.
Huai Yu tested the weight and found it just right. Thinking about her farming plans, even though the hoe would cut her remaining points in half, she still gritted her teeth and bought it.
Using the excuse of this purchase, she sat down next to the farming tools booth with her bamboo basket.
The stall owner next to her glanced at her but didn’t chase her away. An elderly woman on the other side commented:
“Girl, we’ve got some mao sprouts around here too. They’re not filling and not much to eat. Don’t think you’ll get much for those.”
Huai Yu smiled and nodded. “I know, I’m just giving it a try.”
The old woman’s stall had about twenty freshly dug shepherd’s purse plants.
She nodded in response and asked, “How much are you selling them for?”
Huai Yu was about to say five points per jin, but changed her mind last minute. “One point per handful.”
She grabbed a handful of the sprouts from her basket, tidied them up, and tied them with a rubber band to display them.
Just then, the farming tool vendor’s grandson came back. Seeing the bright green, neatly arranged sprouts, he squatted down and curiously examined them.
He looked no older than six or seven and probably had never tasted these before. Huai Yu smiled, pulled one out, and handed it to him:
“Try it.”
At Jinyuan, not everyone used mutation detectors. Many trades were done by taste.
After six years of eating all kinds of wild plants, people couldn’t always tell what was great, but they certainly knew what was edible and roughly what it was worth.
The little boy carefully accepted the sprout, clumsily peeled the green outer layer like Huai Yu had, revealing the soft, white inside—
“Wow!”
His eyes widened and he ran off to call another little girl:
“Sis! Come try this!”
Not long after, her tiny stall was surrounded by a circle of kids.
All of them looked at the sprouts with wide-eyed curiosity and desire—it seemed like none of them had seen them before.
Huai Yu sighed with a smile and started handing them out:
“Here, one for each of you.”
The stall owner glared at her from the side:
“You sure know how to do business.”
Then added, “Fine, give me a handful too. It’s been years since I’ve had those—but I’m trying one first. If it tastes terrible, I’m not buying.”
Huai Yu beamed as she handed him a sprout. She didn’t bother pointing out that the kids were already eating them—if they were bad, they wouldn’t still be here.
Before long, another kid led his mom over, eyes fixed joyfully on the green sprouts.
Huai Yu was a bit stunned. She hadn’t expected something that seemed unsellable would be completely sold out in no time.
Even though she only earned about a dozen points, the feeling of setting up a stall like this was different from selling to Boss Tang.
Somehow, it made her feel genuinely happy.
The Jinyuan Community market was pretty interesting. A lot of the items were second-hand or gently used. There was even a “recycled treasure zone,” frequented by residents from all around.
Instead of points, people often bartered.
Some were even selling vegetable seedlings.
According to the vendor, he’d set up a little greenhouse at home and the seedlings were selling like hotcakes.
The chili seedlings were going for 10 points each, and they sold out quickly.
What a pity.
Huai Yu stood there watching for a while, touched the dozen points she had just earned and the few she had left in her pocket, then gave up with a sigh.
But after a moment, she turned back.
“Do you sell seeds?”
“Sure do!”
The vendor seemed used to this kind of question and pulled a small bag of chili seeds from his pocket.
“One point per seed. Buy ten, get one free. But whether they sprout or how they grow, that’s on you!”
