Chapter 95: Water-type Ability
“Fish fry?”
The person being asked looked confused: “Never heard of… Oh right! Our Jinyuan Community has a man-made lake. Just go straight from the main gate and you’ll see it.”
“I remember someone picked that lake back then… Maybe there are still some fish or shrimp in there.”
Huai Yu responded with an “Oh” and then squatted down to examine the items on the stall.
This stall was a bit of a mess—looked like it had been cobbled together from junk piles.
After a while of inspecting, she picked up a rusty measuring tape and then eyed a blackened wooden box:
“What’s this?”
The seller perked up a bit: “This? You young girls probably don’t recognize it—it’s an ink line tool carpenters used to use.”
Ink line tool?
Huai Yu seemed to know: “Is it the one where you pull out the string, fix the brass nail end to the ground, then snap the inked string and it leaves a straight line mark on the floor… like that?”
“Yes, yes!” someone nearby who recognized it chimed in. The seller was surprised too: “You’ve used one before? Well, not surprising. Nowadays people use whatever works, new or old—whatever gets the job done.”
“So, want it? I’ll give you a deal.”
Huai Yu hesitated for a moment: she only had about 800 points left—was buying this ink line really necessary?
But with this, combined with the measuring tape, drawing territory lines for Kuang Biao would be way easier.
That guy gets pushy the moment she lets up—he needed more strict measuring from now on.
And who knows if he’ll be more restrained now after getting played by the two goslings.
Thinking of that, she handed over the slightly rusty measuring tape as well: “Both. If it’s cheap enough, I’ll take them. I don’t have much money.”
The seller clearly didn’t believe her: “You’ve got a bike…”
He nodded toward the oversized jade-green bangle on her thin arm:
“That seller used to scam people with treated jade bangles and got fined all the time. Now they’ve found a new way to make money… Girl, you’ve got a bike, don’t haggle over one or two points—how about this, both for 15 points total, take it or leave it.”
He wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about selling, lacking energy the whole time: “No more bargaining. You won’t get it cheaper even in the city’s pedestrian market.”
Huai Yu: …
Truthfully, she had some bargaining skills.
But…
He was right about one thing: at the Hongsheng Market, a single measuring tape would cost 18–21 points.
She nodded: “Deal.”
She also made a mental note—next time she needed to keep the bangle hidden under her sleeve.
Not wearing it? Might get stolen.
Wearing it? Too flashy—people would know she had a bike.
She tucked the bangle under her sleeve, added the two small tools to her basket, and then continued toward the community’s man-made lake.
The Jinyuan Community was seriously huge—around 1,000 mu (roughly 165 acres) of land, all filled with tall buildings.
She heard the place was developed when property prices were booming, but the project was abandoned halfway.
However, the man-made lake in the center was real enough. A high-ranking individual who gave up on city life had selected this place to settle.
As she walked, Huai Yu figured that person must’ve had some real ability.
Otherwise, what use would such a big lake be?
These places were all vetted by the Mutated Plant Defense Army—just like the pond near the Rose Corridor. The water there looked lush and green, but had no fish.
Before long, she reached the artificial lake.
And standing at the edge, she spotted green lotus leaves rolled up like little boats emerging from the surface!
“Lotus roots!”
She perked up immediately and rushed forward—only to be stopped.
“What are you doing?! This is private property!”
Snapping out of it, Huai Yu saw the lakeside pavilion was now enclosed with thick curtains on all sides, leaving only one corner open, where a couple was visible.
The pavilion was their home.
The woman was mending fishing nets, while the man wore muddy boots—probably just came ashore.
Huai Yu smiled apologetically: “Sorry, I didn’t expect to see lotus leaves here. I just wanted a look… Um, are you selling lotus roots?”
They didn’t refuse outright. The man looked her over: “We do sell, but not cheap—25 points for a seed lotus root. You don’t need me to include leaves, right? Usually comes with one or two.”
Lotus roots weren’t a necessity, and compared to other crops, they had lower returns and required water—
Nowadays, selling lotus roots is tough.
Huai Yu thought for a moment. 25 points was a bit steep, but considering it’s a long-term investment…
She turned to look at the just-emerging lotus leaves and quietly sensed—
“This one’s mutation value is pretty high. If 18 points works, I’ll buy a few.”
Huh?
The man raised his brows: “You’re an ability user too? I thought so—no one spends like this unless they’ve got water-type abilities…”
His tone softened a bit, clearly feeling some kinship. Weak abilities were rare even if not powerful.
Huai Yu caught on and responded with a polite smile, as if silently confirming it.
Then she asked, “Do you have fish or shrimp? Loaches, crabs—anything’s fine.”
With such a big lake, surely there was more than just lotus roots. The man nodded:
“Got all that. Fry are one point each. Shrimp, loaches, crabs—take your pick, one point for four.”
Huai Yu reached into the lake to sense—it was kind of dirty. Seemed pretty mutated.
“How about six fry for five points? And five of the others for one point.”
“If that works, I’ll take 200 points worth. Plus six lotus roots. Total: 300 points.”
Her remaining points were mostly for grains and essentials—nothing pressing. And she could always grow bean sprouts or forage in the mountains later.
So while Huai Yu usually acted thrifty, she could be surprisingly generous when it mattered.
Huh?
This time the couple was genuinely surprised.
Plenty of folks came looking for fish or shrimp—everyone was trying to get creative with food. Some even salvaged old fish tanks or had farming experience and wanted to raise something.
But purchasing power in the Jinyuan Community was limited. Even counting nearby neighborhoods, a customer this generous was rare.
The couple hesitated for a moment, whispered together, and finally the man stepped forward again:
“Alright!”
“But just so we’re clear—our fry are really small. You understand, right? Fish meat’s in high demand. If they were any bigger, the price wouldn’t be the same.”
Moments later, Huai Yu stared at the tiny fry, barely bigger than tadpoles, and fell silent.
If it weren’t for the man’s water-type ability, who could scoop up a bunch with just a handful of water, she wouldn’t even know how to catch them.
She couldn’t help but sigh:
“These… really are tiny.”
