The little people immediately looked up in unison, their eyes lighting up. "Yes!"
"Wait a moment, I'll go get the goods." Qin Zhiyuan quickly walked to the refrigerator, opened the door, and took out the package of leftover Toast that hadn't been finished earlier.
The Toast had been in the refrigerator for a while, carrying a slight chill. He put on disposable gloves and deftly took out a slice of Toast, placing it on a clean board.
Then, Qin Zhiyuan picked up a knife and carefully measured before cutting down, his gaze focused intently on the square slice of Toast in front of him. The surface of the Toast was golden and enticing, emitting a faint wheat aroma.
The knife slowly descended, making a "thud, thud" sound that was particularly clear in the silent room.
His movements were skillful, and soon, the originally complete square Toast was cut into 16 evenly sized mini Toast pieces.
Each small piece of Toast was about 2.5 centimeters in side length, small and exquisite. For the mini people who were only one-eighth the height of normal humans, the size was still a bit large, but at least it wasn't so big that they couldn't handle it.
After cutting, Qin Zhiyuan placed these mini Toast pieces one by one into the transparent bags he had bought online the night before, carefully putting two slices in each bag.
Then, he placed the bags flat on the snack sealing machine, pressed the switch, and the machine emitted a "sizzling" electric current sound. The heating wire of the sealing machine quickly warmed up, tightly sealing the openings of the bags.
Just like that, a clean and hygienic bag of Toast was completed.
Without any pause, Qin Zhiyuan followed the same steps, fully immersing himself in the production process. His hands moved quickly between the Toast, bags, and sealing machine, his movements smooth and continuous.
In no time, the originally empty tabletop was filled with neatly arranged bags of beautifully packaged small Toast, like soldiers waiting for inspection, emitting an enticing aroma.
One slice of Toast became 16 slices, with two slices per bag, resulting in 8 bags—a huge profit.
Although each bag of Toast looked mini, in the world of the little people, this was already an enlarged version.
However, the weather in their world was too hot, and even sealed, Toast would spoil after two or three days, making it unsuitable for the little people to stockpile. For now, he would sell it like this temporarily, but he needed to think about what to sell that could last longer, and then add more products later.
Qin Zhiyuan went to the side of the Store and placed a Toast sample on the ground.
As soon as he put it down, the little people who were busy nearby were drawn to it like magnets, immediately gathering around it. Their eyes locked tightly on the beautifully packaged giant bag of Toast on the ground, filled with desire.
Li Yang was the first to react. He carefully crouched down, his movements gentle as if touching a rare treasure. Slowly extending his hand, he gently picked up the bag of Toast, held it in his hands, and examined it closely.
"Toast!" the female team member's voice suddenly rang out, sharp and excited, as if she had discovered a new continent. "So big! And it looks so fresh, not moldy or spoiled at all!"
Her eyes were wide open, full of surprise and disbelief.
This Toast looked like a small part of a normal Toast, but its size was still much larger than ordinary Toast, almost as big as most of her head in length and width.
Han Qingying's speculation that the shop owner might be a giant was indeed accurate. If this weren't food meant for giants, how could even a single portion be so enormous?
Over the past three years in this post-apocalypse, they had wandered from place to place, scavenging for food. What they found was either moldy, covered in green fungus and reeking of decay, or long-expired, tasteless, stale provisions. Every meal felt like a challenge to their digestive limits.
As for normal food still within its shelf life, the prices were outrageously high, an unattainable luxury for ordinary civilians like them.
Now, fresh toast was right before their eyes, available for purchase at will—it was truly exhilarating.
Li Yang spoke up urgently, his voice trembling slightly, his heart filled with both anticipation and anxiety, fearing the price might exceed their means. "Boss, how much for this toast?"
Qin Zhiyuan rubbed his fingers together twice, silently calling out to the System in his mind.
【What’s their average monthly salary? How many Points can they earn?】
【Less than a thousand. Most people only earn a few hundred a month, and with the high cost of living, they end up spending it all just to scrape by.】
The System’s voice echoed clearly in his mind, reporting numbers even lower than he had expected.
Qin Zhiyuan pondered for a moment, weighing the costs against the little people’s financial situation, before replying gently, "One Point per pack, with two slices in each pack."
For an adult little person to eat their fill in one meal, they would likely need about two or three slices of toast this size—roughly one and a half packs. With three meals a day, that would amount to around five Points. Add in one or two Points for drinking water and daily-use water, and that was the minimum daily expense for basic survival.
He also planned to develop new products for sale, intending to gradually earn the little people’s remaining wages through other goods.
Upon hearing the price, the little people could hardly believe their ears, nearly moved to tears.
They never expected that in this scorching, food-scarce, and difficult-to-preserve post-apocalypse, such delicious, fresh toast would be sold for so little. This mysterious shop owner was practically running a charity.
"Buy! Let’s start with thirty packs!" Li Yang waved his hand decisively, placing the large order without hesitation.
Qin Zhiyuan immediately became busy, tirelessly making toast while handing over the finished products to them.
Fortunately, his household supply of toast slices was ample. Even though he had already used some, there were still over a dozen slices left. With each slice yielding eight packs, he could produce over a hundred portions—enough to meet the little people’s needs for this purchase.
Li Yang held the incredibly precious large toast sample in both hands, his trembling from excitement causing the toast to sway gently.
Slowly and carefully, he tore open the packaging. Instantly, a rich, distinct aroma of freshly baked bread surged forth like a tide, quickly filling the air and drifting into the nostrils of everyone nearby, tantalizing their taste buds.
"So fragrant, the scent of bread…" The teammates around couldn’t help but exclaim in unison. They all inhaled deeply, mouths unconsciously watering, throats swallowing repeatedly, their eyes filled with longing for this delicious treat.
Li Yang could no longer restrain the craving in his heart. Impatiently, he tore off a large piece of toast and stuffed it directly into his mouth.
The moment his teeth sank into the soft bread, the sweet flavor exploded in his mouth, its rich texture and delightful taste leaving him utterly enchanted.
He chewed quickly, his throat bobbing with each swallow. Every bite was immensely satisfying, as if he were savoring the finest delicacy in the world.
"Captain, is it good?" The people around him watched eagerly, their eyes filled with anticipation as they asked with mouths watering.
Li Yang was too busy enjoying the food, his mouth too full to speak. He could only give a thumbs-up and nod vigorously to express his admiration for the toast.
Bags of toast were placed before them. The team members who received their goods were like travelers who had wandered in the desert for a long time and finally found water, their eyes gleaming with uncontrollable excitement and desire as they eagerly unwrapped and tasted it.
A female team member gently took out a slice of toast, brought it to her lips, and took a small bite, savoring the long-lost flavor. The soft texture and sweet taste of the bread instantly brightened her eyes.
She couldn’t help but let out a soft, satisfied sigh, her voice tinged with emotion. "It’s so delicious. I’d almost forgotten what fresh toast tasted like over the past three years."
The other team members were far less refined. They reached directly into the packaging bags, grabbed handfuls of toast, and stuffed them into their mouths all at once, their cheeks bulging as they wolfed it down.
Han Qingying, however, ate with extra care. Her eyes held both a longing for the food and a cautiousness, as if afraid this was all just a beautiful dream that would vanish the moment she woke up. She couldn’t bear to finish it all at once, chewing each bite slowly and deliberately, letting the sweet flavor linger in her mouth.
In the cool, pleasant temperature around the mysterious Store, eating such clean, fresh food was an experience they hadn’t had since three years ago, just before the Post-apocalypse began.
Back then, none of them had imagined that an ordinary day would end with the world descending into an apocalypse, and the good old days would never return.
Soon, the toast in everyone’s hands was completely devoured. They licked their fingers with lingering satisfaction, their eyes still filled with deep nostalgia for the toast. But reason told them they couldn’t continue eating—these supplies had a more important mission to fulfill.
Li Yang and his teammates numbered five in total, plus Han Qingying, making six people. They had bought thirty bags of toast, five per person. Each of them had already eaten one bag, leaving four bags per person.
The remaining toast was to be taken back to the base as solid proof that fresh food was available here. Upon returning to the base, they could resell the toast and water to others, earning some Points in the process. Then, with more Points, they could return to make further purchases—this was also a business opportunity.
Everyone happily settled the bill. At Qin Zhiyuan’s Store, they had spent a total of 140 Points.
This transaction allowed Qin Zhiyuan to make a hefty profit. Even after the System’s commission was deducted and converted into Chinese yuan, it still amounted to over a thousand yuan—effortlessly earned.
"Welcome back next time, help spread the word when you go back. New store opening, need more customers." Qin Zhiyuan watched as items were loaded onto the vehicle one by one, and as the group was about to leave, he didn’t forget to warmly remind them.
As long as word got out and more people learned about the store’s existence, he would never lack customers again. His goods were of high quality and affordable, so he wasn’t worried about selling them.
"Don’t worry, boss, we’ll help spread the word!" Li Yang and his teammates readily agreed, then waved goodbye to the store.
The appearance of the store was a tremendous boon for everyone, undoubtedly a ray of light in the dark Post-apocalypse.
Though they didn’t know exactly what kind of person the store owner was, he sold things so cheaply—clearly capable of profiting from the disaster but choosing to do charity—he must be an incredibly good person!
Of course, they would help spread the word, hoping only that the store would keep running and never disappear.
The roar of the car engine sounded, and with a press of the accelerator, they left the store’s vicinity, speeding toward the base and kicking up a cloud of dust and exhaust.
They were heading back now, ready to shock everyone with a vehicle full of supplies!
Author's Note: