Before Holly Grant knocked on the door, the only emotion Mandy Donovan had left was regret.
‘Culture has been fractured.
How much culinary skill could possibly be left?’
This body of hers had eaten boiled food for sixteen years.
“What kind of skill does boiling require?” Etta Moore asked, a curious glint in his eye as he looked at the equally pensive Gary Moore.
“Brother, do you know?”
Gary Moore shook his head.
He and his younger brother had worked as helpers in the welfare center’s kitchen.
All they saw was people putting ingredients into water, boiling them until they were cooked, and then distributing them.
How was Mandy Donovan supposed to explain to these two kids that the “boiled” dishes she was talking about—like spicy boiled fish, spicy boiled beef, all sorts of spicy boiled vegetables—weren’t the same as just “boiling with water”?
It wasn’t the literal meaning.
“You’ll find out later.”
“Why can’t I find out now?” Etta Moore asked curiously.
“Because I don’t feel like telling you!” Mandy Donovan flicked Etta Moore on the forehead.
“Why so many questions?
I’m not an encyclopedia.
Not now, not ever.
For common sense stuff, try to learn it on your own!”
‘I’m their wife, not their mother!’
BANG!
A knock unlike any other.
The whole door was shaking.
Mandy Donovan opened the door to find Holly Grant holding a pot.
She had a red mark on her forehead!
‘Mystery solved!’
Mandy Donovan finally understood why the knock had been so strange.
“Mandy, this is your share.
You can bring over some bowls to put it in.” Holly Grant’s voice was quiet, a little awkward at first, but then it became more natural.
“Hurry!”
Half a pot of some unidentifiable food.
It was more than she’d expected, but another problem arose—they didn’t have any bowls.
Mandy Donovan spread her hands.
“If you’re not worried about us eating your pot, you can lend it to us for now.”
“Here, take it!” Holly Grant shoved the pot into Mandy Donovan’s hands.
“I don’t believe you can actually eat a pot!
Just remember to return it in a bit!”
She left without a moment’s hesitation.
Mandy Donovan hooked the door shut with her foot.
“Kids, time to eat!”
The pot sat in the middle of the room as the three of them stared at each other.
No utensils!
“How are we supposed to eat?
Take turns drinking a mouthful?” Etta Moore tried to lift the pot.
The pot was very hot.
The moment his hands touched it, he nearly dropped it!
He hissed through his teeth, quickly setting the pot down and blowing hard on his scalded hands.
The foolish boy’s actions were almost painful to watch.
Mandy Donovan rolled her eyes.
“Come on, it’s time for your Gold Element Superpower to work its magic.
Make a few spoons and a few bowls.
Don’t make the bowls too big.
And make a ladle, too.”
The two brothers used their superpower together, and in no time, they had created the items Mandy Donovan described.
Mandy Donovan used the ladle to portion out the “food” from the pot into their three bowls.
“Dig in!”
She scooped up a spoonful and put it in her mouth.
The moment it touched her tongue, her expression froze.
The food’s texture was just as indescribable as its appearance.
Although she had no expectations for wasteland food, she had held out a tiny bit of hope for the mutated potatoes.
But now!
CRACK!
Her hope shattered into a million pieces.
“Brother, the mutated potatoes are pretty good!
Let’s go dig for more tomorrow,” Etta Moore said, shoveling one mouthful after another into his mouth.
“Mandy, why aren’t you eating?”
Gary Moore was also very satisfied with his bowl of food.
“Mandy was right, ‘boiled’ and ‘boiled’ aren’t the same.
These mutated potatoes are really good.
We should ask Mandy if we’re going to dig for more tomorrow!”
“If you want to dig, go by yourselves.
I’m going with our neighbor to buy some meat.” There were a lot of things to buy, and Mandy Donovan planned to get the big-ticket items first.
“You guys just wait here and pay the points when I get back tonight.”
The two brothers had no objections to this.
Gary Moore took charge of scrubbing the pot clean, and Mandy Donovan went to return it.
Henry Grant answered the door.
Seeing the clean pot, his favorable impression of his new neighbors grew immensely.
“Mandy, when you have time, you should go foraging with my Holly.”
“You got it, Uncle Grant,” Mandy said, casually writing a verbal check she had no intention of cashing.
Holly Grant said with an awkward expression, “You can come forage with me.”
Shadows shifted under the cracks of several other neighbors’ doors.
Mandy Donovan gave Holly Grant another empty promise and returned to her own home.
She no longer needed to rely on foraging to survive, so she certainly wasn’t going to compete with others for the scarce food in the gathering area.
As for the mutated potatoes, the two brothers thought about them all night.
The first thing they did after waking up was put their shovels into a bamboo basket.
Mandy Donovan instructed them, “After you get back from foraging, I want you to focus on making water buckets!
The more, the better!
It’s dry outside, so take a couple extra bottles of water.”
“The buckets have lots of uses.
You can use them yourselves, or you can sell them.
Besides, when I tell you to use your superpower to make things, it’s for your own good.”
Mandy Donovan never missed a chance to “PUA” them a little.
They were young and very malleable.
Since they were living under the same roof, she didn’t want her roommates to be the type to cause trouble for her.
May Grant came and knocked on the door, and Mandy Donovan left with her.
After walking for a bit, Mandy felt that something was off.
Shouldn’t they be sneaking to the Black Market?
“Aunt Grant, are we just going to the Black Market like this?”
“That’s right.
It’s not far, so walking is best.
But we have to be quick.
They’re only open for two hours this morning.” May Grant had almost forgotten.
She grabbed Mandy Donovan’s arm and quickened her pace.
“Figure out what you need to buy, and fast.
If you get there and can’t find something, just ask the people at the Black Market.
They’ll definitely point you in the right direction.”
Mandy Donovan’s reaction was a beat too slow.
“The people at the Black Market are that easy to talk to?”
“Of course!
If you can afford the points, they even do home delivery.” May Grant shielded her eyes with her hand while urging her on, “Hurry, hurry!
If we’re late, a lot of the good stuff will be gone.”
‘When did the Black Market start caring about customer service?’ Her confusion, far from being resolved, only deepened.
The Black Market was built on an open plot of land next to a drifter camp.
A few meters separated the two.
Two teams of large men carrying short clubs patrolled the open space.
As for the Black Market itself, it consisted of a small central building surrounded by single-story houses.
“It’s this conspicuous?” ‘Doesn’t a black market need to be hidden?’ Looking at the flagrantly open market, Mandy Donovan started to suspect that May Grant had been scammed.
May Grant took Mandy Donovan’s hand and patted the back of it.
“This is really it.
You’ll get it after you’ve been here a few more times.
By the way, what are you looking to buy?”
‘It seems there’s more to this Black Market than meets the eye.’ Since May Grant didn’t elaborate, Mandy Donovan didn’t press the issue.
“I want to buy some wooden planks for a bed frame, and I’d also like to see if there are any seeds.
Thick clothes, blankets, that sort of thing.”
Buying things was one reason for coming.
The other was that she wanted to sell the thousands of pounds of moderately contaminated charcoal she had in her Space.
Everything else in her Space was either low-contamination or zero-contamination.
The moderately contaminated items made her feel very uncomfortable.
The Space was static; things came out in the exact same condition they went in.
Her discomfort was purely psychological.
“Then let’s split up and shop separately.
When you’re done, I’ll wait for you at the main entrance and help you carry the planks,” May Grant decided immediately.
She wanted to buy some meat to help her family build up their strength, and also some grain flour, which was in a different direction from what Mandy Donovan needed.
“We have to be fast.
They’re only open for half the day.”
Mandy Donovan had originally suspected that May Grant was trying to get rid of her on purpose, but when she heard that and caught a glimpse of the people rushing in and out of the Black Market, she knew she had been overthinking it.
“I need to buy some meat first, too.”
“Follow me,” May Grant said, leading Mandy Donovan through the crowd to one of the single-story buildings.
She said with frustration, “We’re still too late!”
The door to that building was closed, and a sign was hanging on it.
It read, “Sold Out.”
“Well, I guess I’ll just have to go buy some grain flour.
The flour is at the very edge of the market.
What about you?” With no meat to buy, May Grant was no longer in a hurry.
“Let’s split up and shop, just like we said.
We’ll meet up when we’re done.” Mandy Donovan sent a message to Etta Moore on her wristband, telling him they hadn’t been able to get any meat.
As soon as they separated, Mandy Donovan walked up to one of the patrolling thugs.
“I want to buy wooden planks and a cabinet.
Where should I go?”
The thug stared at Mandy Donovan for two seconds before pointing toward one of the buildings.
“Over there—”