“Twenty-two pieces of sugarcane in total, two of them are for the child. Here you go, ma’am.” Su Yue handed the packed sugarcane to the elderly woman, giving the child a playful wink.
Her own little one would probably be just as adorable someday.
The child liked Su Yue and smiled brightly at her, then immediately reached out to ask his grandmother for a piece.
“All you ever think about is eating!” the grandmother scolded but still gave him a piece.
She then activated her light-brain to transfer the money.
Su Yue quickly opened her light-brain to receive the payment.
Sixty-star coins went into her account, and her face lit up with a huge smile.
As the woman and child left, she waved goodbye to the little one.
With the first sale done, the rest became much easier.
Su Yue was articulate and quick-witted. Soon she had completed three more transactions.
Only one customer approached her; the other two were initiated by Su Yue, who noticed their interest and started a friendly conversation.
The approach was simple: let them taste it for free, and if satisfied, they would buy.
If someone tried to haggle, she would offer a few extra pieces or sample pieces.
Almost all sales were successful.
After a while, Su Yue spotted another potential customer.
Just as she was about to approach, a drone hovered nearby above her.
“Warning! Exiles DQS107 Su Yi, DQS108 Su Yue, detected selling goods illegally in the commercial street. Please leave immediately!”
Su Yue was startled.
At the same time, everyone around looked at them warily.
The potential customer immediately lost interest and walked away.
“Warning! Exiles DQS107 Su Yi, DQS108 Su Yue, detected selling goods illegally in the commercial street. Please leave immediately!”
The mechanical voice repeated from the drone.
Su Yue was frustrated.
Knowing they couldn’t continue selling, she called Su Yi and left.
The persistent drone followed them all the way until they exited the commercial street.
“Yue Yue ” Su Yi looked at the departing drone, worry written all over his face.
Su Yue straightened herself.
“It’s fine. We got caught because we stayed in one spot too long. Next time, we’ll move while selling and avoid those drones. They shouldn’t chase us again.”
Commercial street vendors were used to drones, much like city inspectors in the old world; chasing people was normal.
It was only her lack of experience selling in the commercial street that caused them not to finish selling all the sugarcane strips.
Tonight, she would process the remaining sugarcane in the space with her brother.
Tomorrow, they would sell them all and exchange them for star coins.
After buying the energy crystal, Su Yue tore her gaze away from the enticing electronics and left with Su Yi.
Just as they reached the building downstairs, a sudden roar came from behind.
Su Yue turned and saw a hovering motorcycle rushing straight at them.
Su Yi dodged and blocked the way in front of Su Yue.
The bike stopped just less than ten centimeters from him.
“Hey! Kid, not bad for an S-level psychic! Quick reaction!” The man on the motorcycle removed his helmet and reached to pat Su Yi on the shoulder.
Su Yi snorted and dodged easily.
The man didn’t get angry; he just laughed.
“Upset? Just joking!”
Su Yue frowned behind Su Yi.
The man was Zhou Yin, a gang leader on this street with about ten subordinates.
Before being exiled, he was an infamous interstellar bandit, feared by everyone.
She and her brother had just moved here, and Zhou Yin had already noticed them.
It started because one of Zhou Yin’s men harassed her, and her brother knocked him down.
After that, Zhou Yin took an interest in her brother’s skills.
“Not funny,” Su Yi said angrily, clenching his fists as he prepared to strike.
Zhou Yin hurriedly made a blocking gesture.
But the punch never came.
Looking closer, he saw that Su Yue had grabbed Su Yi’s arm.
Zhou Yin laughed at Su Yue.
“You’re sensible, Yue Yue. Don’t take on a big guy like me!”
“I’m Yue Yue’s brother!” Su Yi shouted, annoyed.
Su Yue held him back again.
“Big brother let’s go home and eat. Don’t waste time on troublemakers,” she said.
Zhou Yin didn’t fear pain or confinement, but she didn’t want her brother getting imprisoned.
Previously, her brother had punished Zhou Yin’s subordinate and Zhou Yin himself, and they were taken by the Security Bureau for confinement.
Drones patrolled randomly; it was too easy to be caught.
If the Security Bureau arrived, confinement was the least of their worries they could be recorded in the files, and the sentence might be extended.
No matter how the “city inspectors” chased people, vendors still existed.
So, Su Yue and Su Yi returned to the commercial street.
They observed other vendors while selling their sugarcane strips.
After being chased by drones again and asking other vendors for tips, Su Yue finally understood the rules of survival for commercial street vendors.
Stay in one spot for more than thirty minutes, and you’ll be chased.
Stopping for more than five minutes counts; the accumulated stop time reaching thirty minutes triggers a chase.
Due to a limited number of drones, enforcement wasn’t perfect, but it was mostly accurate.
Also, being chased three times in one day meant it was best not to enter again.
A fourth time would result in a fine, usually no less than 500-star coins.
After learning the rules, Su Yue was unfortunately chased for the third time.
Fortunately, they had nearly sold all the sugarcane strips, including those in the space.
She collected the remaining few backs into her space.
To avoid fines, Su Yue decided not to enter the commercial street again and headed back with Su Yi.
After half a day of work, they had earned a total of 1,080-star coins a huge sum for them.
Su Yue and Su Yi waited at the hover bus station.
Spending eight-star coins on the fare, they returned near their apartment.
Compared to the hour-long walk earlier, the ride took just over ten minutes, even with several stops.
It was almost six o’clock.
The streets near the apartment had grown busier.
Shops were bustling, hovering cars everywhere, and many street vendors appeared.
In non-commercial areas, drones didn’t bother vendors after five in the afternoon.
The crowded streets created plenty of demand.
With potatoes and wild vegetables at home, Su Yue had no interest in synthetic food stalls.
She and Su Yi entered a grocery store.
The electric saw was almost out of power; she needed to buy an energy crystal for small appliances.