Chapter 248: Continuous Rewards
“That’s great! Quickly unlock the marketplace,” urged Ye Jiamei.
Yu Haojie didn’t hesitate either and told Yu Luo to proceed, but now that she was at this point, she suddenly felt reluctant.
With nine thousand points, if she exchanged them for growth value, who knew how much her abilities would improve? Even if she didn’t use them on herself, she could help either of her parents gain inner strength first.
But thinking about the ten thousand people waiting for food and drink, she made up her mind and immediately spent three thousand points to unlock three levels of the marketplace.
As soon as the marketplace was unlocked, the system’s mechanical voice echoed in her mind.
[Congratulations, host, for unlocking three levels of the marketplace. You are rewarded with one Invisibility Talisman, effective for half an hour.]
Yu Luo froze.
Yu Haojie and Ye Jiamei saw their daughter deep in thought and, noticing the flicker of surprise on her face, grew nervous.
After checking her newly acquired Invisibility Talisman, Yu Luo immediately explored the third-tier marketplace. As expected, aside from some medicinal herbs and Western medicine, most of the items resembled those found in an ancient general store.
When she checked the prices, she was overjoyed.
Everything was incredibly cheap! A foot of rough cloth cost only three copper coins, a foot of fine cotton cloth was ten coins, a crude ceramic bowl cost just one coin, and a large clay pot was only about twenty coins. Even iron pots, which were considered valuable, were just eight hundred coins.
Although the original owner of her body rarely left the marquis’ residence and didn’t know much about market prices, Yu Luo had purchased supplies twice during the exile journey, so she had a rough idea. The system’s prices were on par with those outside, and some were even lower than market rates.
The so-called general store contained an assortment of goods, from large water tanks and bathtubs to needles and thread, from grain seeds to pots and pans, from ready-made clothes to fabric.
Honestly, just this one general store shelf could fulfill most of her needs.
“Father, Mother, let’s check out the underground cellar first.”
Yu Luo withdrew her consciousness from the system, her eyes gleaming with excitement. Her parents didn’t ask further and followed her to the backyard.
With guidance from the system, they found the entrance to the cellar. Inside, it was pitch dark, so Yu Luo quickly purchased a few lamps. As they held them up, the previously black cellar was illuminated.
Upon closer inspection, they discovered that the cellar had several lamp posts designed for oil lamps or candles, which could brighten the entire space. Without hesitation, Yu Luo bought several large vats of kerosene and lit the lamps. Instantly, the entire underground storage became brightly lit.
“This cellar is really well-built! Look at the ceiling—it’s all reinforced with stone. I have no idea how the system did it. Even the floor is paved with stone slabs, and despite all the rain recently, it’s not damp at all. This is the perfect place to store food,” remarked Ye Jiamei.
“Yes, the system must have put in a tremendous effort. No wonder it’s still weak and needs to recover. That’s probably why it didn’t have the energy to build shops and houses in the city. It must have exhausted its resources,” Yu Luo agreed.
“Father, Mother, wait here. I’ll start purchasing food now.”
“Alright!”
While her parents held the lamps and waited, Yu Luo focused her thoughts. She immediately bought 800,000 jin of regular rice and 200,000 jin of white flour.
In the blink of an eye, an enormous pile of food appeared in the cellar. Even though Yu Haojie and Ye Jiamei were aware of the system’s existence, witnessing such a massive visual impact still left them utterly shocked.
“How much is this?”
“One million jin of food—800,000 jin of rice and 200,000 jin of flour. Father, help me keep a record. When Zhang Hu and the others come to collect it, we need to account for everything. Otherwise, as time goes on, we won’t even know if our city is profiting or losing.”
“Understood, got it.”
With a wave of her hand, a desk and two chairs appeared out of thin air.
“Father, sit while you record—it’ll be more convenient. Mother, you don’t have to stand the whole time either. I still have a lot of things to buy.”
“Alright, let’s watch our daughter perform her magic!”
Ye Jiamei’s eyes sparkled with excitement as she quickly took a seat, ready to witness more of Yu Luo’s abilities.
Not long after, Yu Luo placed rows of wooden shelves around the remaining empty space, filling them with weapons she had taken from the private armory. As she reported the numbers, Yu Haojie diligently recorded everything in the ledger.
Clothes, shoes, gloves, hats, bedding, mosquito nets, wound medicine, cooking essentials—within less than half an hour, Yu Luo completely filled the massive cellar.
“Now, let’s check out the ice cellar. We need to stock up on vegetables and meat.”
She picked up a lamp and led her parents to the next underground storage area. After another round of shopping, Yu Haojie’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“You bought all these from the system’s marketplace?”
“Yes! I quietly restock the meat and vegetables every time I come in. It’s enough to last until we can harvest crops from the farmland.”
“This system of yours is incredible! Now, let’s go to the backyard and buy more horses, along with wood and construction materials. Those will be essential for building the city,” suggested Yu Haojie.
Yu Luo’s expression stiffened slightly. “I only unlocked three levels of the marketplace, and there are no livestock available for purchase. Right now, including the horses we took from the bandits and the ones I bought earlier, we have only a few dozen. As for cattle, we have just over ten.”
“Huh? Without enough transportation, moving supplies will be a nightmare. And forget about coal mining in the future—just transporting these materials is already a hassle,” Ye Jiamei noted, temporarily setting aside her excitement over their newfound wealth. Transporting everything manually would take far too long.
“Xiao Luo, ask the system if it sells iron rails and wood. We’ll definitely need them for construction. If we can buy bricks and cement, that would be even better. For now, let’s use our family’s carriages to transport some food first. Once everyone is settled, we should build a rail line from the city to Stone Mountain. Modifying wagon wheels could significantly speed up transportation.”
“That’s a great idea. Most of the farmland is near Stone Mountain, and so is the coal mine. We could also set up a brick kiln there. A railway connection would be very practical.”
After consulting the system, Yu Luo learned that such items were only available at the seventh level of the marketplace.
Gritting her teeth, she unlocked four more levels in one go.
[Congratulations, host, for unlocking four levels of the marketplace. You are rewarded with 100 inner power enhancement pills, which can be consumed by you and your parents.]
Hearing the system’s message, Yu Luo was so excited she nearly bit her tongue.
If she had known earlier that the system would provide such rewards, she would have unlocked the marketplace sooner. Then, she wouldn’t have felt so reluctant about spending her points each time!
